Can a party be leftist and Zionist?
Summary
Ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, two Israeli youth groups with leftist identities are promoting Zionism in different ways. One group supports peace efforts abroad, while another plans to build a settlement in the West Bank, leading to debate over whether leftist politics and Zionism can coexist given Zionism’s history and impact.Key Facts
- Two Israeli youth groups, Israel’s Young Democrats and Hamahanot Haolim, take leftist positions but support Zionism.
- Israel’s Young Democrats partnered with Austria’s Young Greens to promote peace before the October elections.
- Hamahanot Haolim plans to build a new kibbutz (community) in the occupied West Bank near Jericho.
- The director of Hamahanot Haolim says left-wing Israelis should populate settlements rather than far-right settlers.
- Critics argue “leftist Zionism” is a political idea used to defend Zionism while upholding systems they say oppress Palestinians.
- Zionism began in 19th-century Europe as a Jewish nationalist movement aiming to create a Jewish state in Palestine.
- Early Zionism mixed nationalist ideas with socialist language but carried out settler-colonial policies.
- The United Nations once called Zionism a form of racism in 1975 but withdrew that stance in 1991.
- There is ongoing debate about whether Zionism based on Jewish statehood and displacement of Palestinians can align with leftist values like equality and justice.
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