Is Zionism authentically Jewish?
Zionism is controversial. Supporters of Zionism argue that the Jewish people have a right to their own state, especially given the persecution Jews have faced throughout history and around the world. That is the argument from rationality.
Then there is the claim that the Jewish people have a divine right to the land of Israel, Palestine, and/or based on faith.
Critics of that rational argument argue that the inhabitants of Palestine also have a right to their homes, and that the Jewish people had no rational, moral right to displace them and keep them under oppressive conditions without freedom.
Zionists have tried to silence criticism by labelling critics as being "anti-Semitic", hating Jews, and wanting to do harm to them.
This ignores an important point: there is a strong and important JEWISH critique of Zionism as being a desecration and misrepresentation of Judaism.
Today, I am pleased to have on the podcast Rabbi Dovid Weiss, spokesman for Neturei Karta International, Jews United Against Zionism.