Democratic Palestine : 23 (ص 24)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 23 (ص 24)
- المحتوى
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Non-Jewish Zionism
Dr. Regina Al Sharif is a Palestinian researcher and the author of a book based on her study of the origins
of Zionism in American and European history and culture. In a lecture delivered in English in Kuwait, Dr.
Al Sharif gave an exposé of the major ideas tackled in her book. Although of historical nature, her study
has current relevance in view of the special support being given to the Zionist state by American Christian
fundamentalists, such as Jerry Falwell and his ‘Moral Majority’ - a group that is also ardently backing
Reagan’s most reactionary policies.
The main thrust of the author’s lec-
ture (and book) is that Zionism ap-
peared in Western Europe, and then the
US, several centuries before the
emergence of an official Zionist
movement. Without this early trend, no
official Zionist movement would have
materialized. The author concludes that
the support of Western Europe and the
US for the state of ‘Israel’ sprouted
naturally from the seeds of Zionism
Originally sowed in western culture. She
also concludes that European and US
partiality for the Zionist entity is most
likely to continue and increase, because
this support does not stem from tem-
porary or superficial factors of from
the presence of the Zionist lobby.
Moreover, this partiality is directly
proportional to western animosity
towards the Arab nation.
Dr. Al Sharif’s conclusions serve to
discredit illusions popular among
rightist Arab forces that: (a) there is a
possibility of lessening US favoritism
for Zionism, and steering it in their
direction; and (b) the US can be
rendered an impartial mediator in the
Arab-Zionist conflict.
Despite these commendable conclu-
sions, Dr. Regina’s ideas have their
shortcomings. Whether intentionally or
not, she overlooks the material base of
imperialism’s alliance with Zionism.
While her emphasis on the cultural and
ideological aspects provides interesting
points that are often overlooked, one
does not get the picture of Zionism’s
organic connection with imperialism’s
pursuit of monopoly capitalist goals in
the strategic Middle East. Dr. Regina
does, however, point out the con-
vergence of Zionism with British col-
Onial interests in the Middle East at the
end of the 19th century. Her research
lends credibility to the hypothesis that
24
if Zionism had not existed, the colonial
powers would have invented it. Her
analysis also substantiates the fact that
without the support of the colonial
powers, Zionism would not have
materialized into a concrete project.
Following is a resumé of the lecture
given by Dr. Al Sharif in Kuwait. (The
subtitles are our own.)
ORIGINS OF THE SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIP
The special relationship between the
US and the Zionist entity is a truth long
boasted of by both parties. Former US
President Carter gave an adequate
description of this relationship in an
address to the Israeli Knesset in March
1979. He said that this was «not merely
a special relationship» but «a unique
one... which cannot be destroyed
because it is deeply rooted in the cons-
cience, values, religion and beliefs of
the American people...» On what basis
has this special relationship been
erected and what are the factors con-
tributing to its survival? Dr. Regina
believes that Zionism is the binding in-
gredient between the west and the state
of ‘Israel’. The Zionism she is refering
to is non-Jewish Zionism, as distinct
from Jewish Zionism.
The general impression 1s_ that
Zionism is a purely Jewish
phenomenon, as if it were a Jewish
ideology embraced by European Jews
towards the beginning of this century.
However, from her research, Dr. Al
Sharif concludes that Zionism is a
product of western culture and civiliza-
tion, of which it is an inseparable part;
it is the fruit of the Judeo-Christian
tradition. The history of western
civilization is full of myths, beliefs and
superstitions that are Zionist in nature.
As a consequence, US policies are
designed to serve Jewish Zionism. The
US and western European countries
view the Middle East from a Zionist
viewpoint. This fact requires one to
view the US-Israeli relations based on
studying the nature of Zionism itself,
keeping in mind that Zionism was born
and nurtured in the west, and works to
benefit western interests.
Jewish Zionism emerged as a
coherent political ideology and a
modern, organized, political movement
in Europe towards the end of the 19th
century. However, the major pro-
Zionist hypotheses can be traced back
300 years before the convening of the
first congress of the official Zionist
movement in Basel in 1897. The Zionist
trend was developed over four centuries
of European religious, social, political
and ideological history. Non-Jewish
Zionist traditions have their roots in
myths which were incorporated into
western history mainly through the
Protestant Reformation of the 16th
century. Protestant teachings in-
troduced Zionist myths into European
thinking during the 16th and 17th cen-
turies. These were to a great extent
concordant with the myths that later
formed the ‘internal logic’ of Jewish
political Zionism, for example: the idea
of God’s chosen people, the promise
and the second coming of Christ.
ZIONIST MYTHS FROM
PROTESTANTISM
The first of these myths placed the
Jews as a people apart from all other
peoples. The myth of the promise is
based on the indestructable connection
between the ‘chosen people’ and the
Holy Land, with Palestine having been
promised to them in advance as the
land of the Jewish nation. The second - هو جزء من
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