#ZionistHistory: 3,000 Years Ago to Today

(Credit: Ephraim Moses Lilien)

A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent.

NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments.

NB Deuce: Zionism means the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland. For this to be true, it must be true for all other people too. Zionism cannot coexist with oppression, injustice, or crimes against humanity without losing its meaning entirely. Indeed, the right of all people to self-determination in their ancestral and historic homeland is the core tenet behind Zionism since Exodus. Without it, Zionism is merely another form of tyranny.

***

The 1st expression of Zionism in Jewish history comes from the story of Exodus where the Jewish people are freed from Egypt to return to their homeland, circa 13th-16th century BCE. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/134279.Exodus_and_Revolution

Shivat Zion refers to the exile & return of the Jewish people, in tandem with the rise & fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Notably, this cemented the notion of a Jewish diaspora originally conceived during the earlier Assyrian conquest. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-babylonian-exile

"The Zionist ideal of a return to Israel has profound religious roots ... The Hebrew language, the Torah, laws in the Talmud, the Jewish calendar, and Jewish holidays and festivals such as Shavuot all originated in Israel." https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-the-return-to-zion-quot

The breakup of the United Kingdom of Israel & Judah ~930 BCE is due to Solomon's successor dealing foolishly with the northern tribes. This likely contributed to each kingdom eventually being conquered by the Neo-Assyrians & Neo-Babylonians. https://www.worldhistory.org/israel/

After the ancient post-exilic period ended ~538 BCE, the kingdom of Judah & Jewish people were ruled by empires from the Persians to the Greeks to the Seleucids until the Hasmonean dynasty was founded during the Maccabean revolt ~165 BCE. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ancient-jewish-history

The end of the Hasmonean dynasty, & Jewish independence in our homeland for thousands of years, was because of a civil war between 2 brothers + the citizenry who wanted to be ruled by their clergy rather than kings. Then, the Romans came. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2850/2850-h/2850-h.htm

Scooting backward, #Hanukkah exists because of the Maccabean revolt ~167 BCE which overthrew the Seleucid Empire. The Maccabees' use of conventional & guerrilla warfare would inform future combat with Rome during the Wars of the Jews. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/827/the-maccabean-revolt/

The Roman occupation of Israel really dates back to 63 BCE when the Jews were ensnared in the 3rd Mithridatic War & Pompey (that one) sacked Jerusalem, installing a puppet ethnarch - but not a king! - from the failing Hasmonean dynasty. https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/roman-jewish-wars/

The Sicarii are one of, if not the, earliest known organized assassins. They were comprised of Jewish "zealots" fighting against the Roman occupation of Israel starting around 6 CE. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/sicarii

Under Roman occupation, Jews waged 3 wars in revolt, with periods of general unrest in between, that lasted from ~66 to ~136 CE. Following these losses, they were repressed, enslaved, or exiled, & their homeland was renamed Syria Palaestina. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2850/2850-h/2850-h.htm

Renaming Israel to Syria Palaestina in 136 CE & putting Aeolia Capitolina on Jerusalem's ruins was intentionally to sever Jewish connection to our homeland. The name Palaestina comes from "Philistine," an enemy of the ancient Israelites. https://www.worldhistory.org/palestine/

~135 CE with the end of "The Jewish Wars" with Rome, was the true beginning of the diaspora. Jerusalem was forbidden on pain of death, except for Tisha B'Av, & the remaining Jews in Israel were increasingly exiled, enslaved, or massacred. https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Bar-Kochba_Revolt/

While the Jewish diaspora was fully underway, Israel still saw periods of struggle. Notably a revolt from the Jewish Galilee circa 351-351 CE against Eastern Roman Emperor Gallus in response to his allowance of Christian attacks on Jews. https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-this-day-galilee-jews-revolt-against-caesar-1.5241291

The temple was almost rebuilt during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Julian ~363 CE as part of his efforts to foster other religions besides Christianity. Sadly, his untimely death halted Jewish aspirations at regaining self-determination. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/emperor-julian-and-the-dream-of-a-third-temple-516999

In 438 CE, Byzantine Empress Eudocia removed the ban against Jews praying at the temple mount. Jewish leaders in Galilee sent out a message for the diaspora to return, but Christians rioted & chased Jews back out of the city. http://www.jewishhistory.org.il/history.php?startyear=430&endyear=439

Samaritan insurrections broke out across Israel in the 5th & 6th centuries. During the revolt of 556 CE, Jews joined with their Samaritan kindred due to the brutal suppression they were also (still) facing at the time. https://books.google.com/books?id=r-9qJRP20MIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=578&f=false

~602-628 CE, Byzantine & Persia warred. Jews took their chance to regain independence, only to find the Persians were just as bad. When Heraclius reconquered Jerusalem, he broke his oath to keep the peace, & few Jews escaped the massacre. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3877-byzantine-expire

~638 CE, the Byzantines lost the Levant to the Arab Islamic Empire. At that time, the Jews of Palestine (Israel) may have numbered as high as between 300k & 400k. Unfortunately, the Jews remained 2nd-class citizens under the Muslims. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6155860-a-history-of-palestine-634-1099

After ~638 CE, various Arab Muslim rulers controlled Israel, where Jews existed as dhimmi & the building of synagogues was still banned. This continued until ~1099 CE when the 1st Crusades arrived with more repression. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_Jerusalem.html?id=-qQUCgAAQBAJ

After ~638 CE, the site of the Jewish temple mount was taken by the conquering Arab Muslims & starting ~685 CE, the Dome of the Rock shrine & Al-Aqsa mosque were built over the remains. The Christians used it previously as a garbage dump. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount

In 720 CE, before Umar II died, he banned Jews from worshipping on the Temple Mount, a reversal of the treaty from Umar I, when Jerusalem was first captured by the caliphate & Jews had been allowed to enter or worship in our holiest city. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Historical_Atlas_of_the_Jewish_People.html?id=SrMUAQAAIAAJ

Beginning ~717 CE, Jews experienced an ever-increasing level of oppressive dhimmitude at the hands of the Caliphate in Israel, from forced clothing for identification to ultimately forced conversion or banishment ~1009 CE. https://books.google.com/books?id=DPnCCgAAQBAJ&dq=717+CE,+jew,+israel&source=gbs_navlinks_s

~1099 CE, Jews were forced to fight with their Muslim rulers to fend off the 1st Crusade. Unfortunately, the Christians massacred Jews across Israel in their conquest - who had only recently begun to recover under dhimmitude. https://books.google.com/books?id=cT16EWF9I4cC&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false

After the Crusaders' slaughter of Jews across Israel in ~1099 CE, most of the survivors were murdered or sold into slavery. Jews were forbidden from living in Jerusalem & nearly every Jewish community in the region was decimated. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-crusades

~1187 CE Saladin reconquered Jerusalem. It surprisingly was the start of pre-modern Aliyah with his proclamation inviting Jews to return & resettle their homeland. The proclamation was reminiscent of Cyrus the Great's 1,600 years earlier. https://books.google.com/books?id=5sVtAAAAMAAJ

Notably, before Saladin, Jewish communities had already begun recovering throughout Israel after the 2nd Crusade outside of Jerusalem, ~1160 CE, particularly Ashkelon, Tiberias, Ramleh, Acre, & Caesarea. As always, the Jews survived. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-crusades

Beginning ~1211 CE, rabbis & other leaders made aliyah, including Nachmanides in 1267, to reestablish a strong Jewish presence of community in Israel. This was complicated briefly by Al-Mu'azzam Isa ~1219 & continued Crusader violence. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1454507?seq=1

~1286 CE through ~1341 was another period of Jewish attempts to return & resettle in Israel. Notably, this included many Kabbalists with vibrant, diverse communities emerging in Jerusalem & Hebron composed of tradespeople, merchants, etc. https://books.google.com/books?id=AIPvGLEivvYC&pglse

Beginning ~1428 CE there were curious attempts to hold Jews hostage for ransom when they attempted to emigrate from Europe to Israel. Still, a couple hundred families were able to make their way back through ~1495. https://archive.org/details/historyofjewishl0000zinb/page/24/mode/2up

~1517 CE, the conquest of Israel by the Ottomans signaled a turning point, with approx. 1,000 Jewish families living there in Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Gaza, Safed, & Galilean villages, comprised of returnees & those who never left. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ottoman-rule-1517-1917

Under Ottoman rule ~16th century, Jews in Israel experienced a chance to flourish, such as Safed where the study of Kabbalah expanded, the Shulkhan Arukh was compiled, a textile industry boomed, & the Jewish population increased to ~10,000. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ottoman-rule-1517-1917

~1534 CE Jacob Berab & local rabbis attempted to form a new Sanhedrin in Safed, but Ottoman rulers worried this would result in the first step of a restored Jewish state. So they forced Berab to flee & the plan was never carried out. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3023-berab-jacob-b-moses

~1563 CE Benveniste House member Joseph Nasi secured permission from Sultan Selim II to return Tiberias & 7 other nearby villages to Jews for a new city-state for Jewish people, including Marranos, free from persecution & oppression. https://books.google.com/books?id=-KgLAAAAIAAJ

~1576 CE, the Jews of Safed faced expulsion: 1,000 "prosperous" families were to be deported to Cyprus & 500 more next year. The order was rescinded when Ottoman authorities realized the financial gains of continued Jewish rental income. https://books.google.com/books?id=zMYoX859nV0C&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false

~1610 CE the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue in Jerusalem was completed, becoming the main synagogue for Sephardic Jews & where their chief rabbi was invested. The later adjacent study hall became the Synagogue of Elijah the Prophet. https://books.google.com/books?id=AMdHAQAAIAAJ

~1660 CE, following a power struggle in the Galilee, the towns of Safed & Tiberias were destroyed by the Druze & their Jewish residents were scattered. This was a pattern of wider oppression that shrank the Jewish population in Israel. http://www.uapress.ua.edu/product/978-0-8173-0572-7-The-Jews-in-Palestine-in-the-Eighteenth-Century,544.aspx?skuid=224

In ~1700 CE, about 500 to 1,000 Ashkenazi Jews returned to Jerusalem. They were forced to give Turkish authorities financial guarantees in the name of Jerusalem's Jewish community in exchange for permission to enter the Ottoman Empire. At the time ~200 Ashkenazi Jews & 1,000 Sephardi Jews lived in the city, most of them reliant on charity from the diaspora. The sudden influx of so many Ashkenazi returnees actually produced a crisis! The local community was unable to help so many people & suspected some of the new arrivals of being Sabbateans, who they viewed with hostility. The newcomers built the Hurva Synagogue & incurred debts doing so. In ~1720 CE, due to failure to repay the debts, Arab creditors broke into the synagogue, set it on fire, & took over the area. The Ottoman authorities held the returnees & the pre-existing Ashkenazi community collectively responsible & expelled all Ashkenazi Jews from Jerusalem. Indeed, the 17th century saw a steep decline in the Jewish population of Israel due to: 1. unstable security, situations, 2. natural catastrophes, 3. abandonment of urban areas. This turned Israel into a remote & desolate part of the Ottoman Empire. Their central government was feeble & corrupt, & the Jewish community was harassed by local rulers, janissaries, guilds, Bedouins, + bandits. The Jewish community was also caught between feuding local chieftains who extorted & oppressed the Jews. NB: the Jewish communities of the Galilee heavily depended on the changing fortunes of a banking family close to the ruling pashas in Acre. http://www.jewishmag.com/4MAG/ISRAEL/israel.htm and https://books.google.com/books?id=n_sj-6svy4EC&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q&f=false

~1742 CE, a group of Jewish immigrants from Morocco & Italy led by Moroccan Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar arrived & most stayed in Jerusalem. https://books.google.com/books?id=2kSovzudhFUC&pg=PA915#v=onepage&q&f=false

~1800 CE, due to oppression across the diaspora & in the Ottoman empire, including restrictions on emigration/immigration - not to mention Napoleon's siege of Acre in 1799 CE - there were only about 6,500 Jews left living in Israel. https://books.google.com/books?id=n_sj-6svy4EC&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q&f=false

~1834 CE, Jews in Jerusalem, Safed, & Hebron were massacred during the Peasant's Revolt. Their property was stolen, homes destroyed, synagogues & Torah's desecrated, communities were raped & murdered by a horrific pogrom across the region. They never received justice. https://books.google.com/books?id=TWBxUi5fVS0C&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false and http://en.hebron.org.il/history/676 and https://web.archive.org/web/20100825135858/http://www.israel-palestina.info/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=428

~1880 the Jewish population in Israel began to recover as numerous diaspora communities returned. Primarily concentrated around Jerusalem. Driven by global antisemitism, but supported by Jewish cooperatives to purchase land & build homes. https://books.google.com/books?id=8_weKmqZv0kC&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false

~1882 thru 1903 CE the First Aliyah occurred in response to pogroms & other antisemitic persecution. Most of the olim (immigrants, but actually refugees & returnees) came from Eastern Europe, with a smaller number from Yemen. This event was 1 of the major precursors to modern Zionism, with nearly 35,000 eventually arriving over the First Aliyah. Unfortunately, they encountered Turkish over-taxation & Arab opposition, & would not have survived without continued support from the diaspora. Notably, "Members of Hibbat Zion and Bilu, two early Zionist movements that were the mainstays of the First Aliyah, defined their goal as the political, national, and spiritual resurrection of the Jewish people in" Israel. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-aliyah-1882-1903

~1904 to 1914 CE the 2nd Aliyah occurred & approx. 40k Jews returned to Israel, leading to the development of the 1st kibbutz, Degania, the self-defense org, Ha-Shomer, & the neighborhood of Ahuzat Bayit, which grew into Tel Aviv. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-second-aliyah-1904-1914

~1919-1923 CE, the 3rd Aliyah occurred, which expanded the Jewish community in Israel to 90k. Most returnees were halutzim. Key developments included: the Histadrut, the founding of representative institutions for the yishuv, & the Haganah. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-third-aliyah-1919-1923

~1924 CE to 1929 the 4th Aliyah occurred with 82,000 Jewish returnees to Israel due primarily to antisemitism in Poland & immigration restrictions in the US. They purchased land & developed industries, particularly around Tel Aviv. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-fourth-aliyah-1924-1929

~1929 CE the Palestine Riots occurred. It was a massacre against Jews & the destruction of their property from Hebron & Safed to Jerusalem. The incident that sparked everything? Jews demanding the right to pray at the Western Wall. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/arab-riots-of-the-1920-s

~1929 to 1939 CE the 5th Aliyah occurred, though it was spurred by Jews fleeing Nazi Germany beginning in 1933. Nearly a quarter of a million Jews returned to Israel during this time, primarily from Germany & Eastern Europe. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-fifth-aliyah-1929-1939

~1936 to 1939 CE was the Great Palestinian revolt. It was against both British colonialism & Jewish independence. The result was hundreds dead, thousands wounded, & a tentative "peace" based on equal parts appeasement & postponement. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-1936-arab-riots

~1939 CE the White Paper was published, which severely restricted Jews from returning to Israel & even purchasing land. This was in response to the Arab revolt & Britain's desire to maintain its colonial stake in the Middle East. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1939/may/23/palestine#S5CV0347P0_19390523_HOC_302

~1942 CE, the Yishuv was concerned about the advance of German General Erwin Rommel towards the Suez Canal & there was fear that the Germans would conquer Palestine. This period was referred to as the "200 days of dread." https://www.amazon.com/Nazi-Palestine-Plans-Extermination-Jews/dp/1929631936

In 1947 CE there were ~630k Jews & ~1.2 mil Arabs (incl. Palestinians) in Israel & Palestine. A partition plan for a 2SS was proposed by the British government. This caused a civil war that was the prelude to a larger regional conflict. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-partition-plan

On 14 May 1948, the last day of the British Mandate, the leaders of the Jewish community, led by future prime minister David Ben-Gurion, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in ancestral Eretz-Israel, known as the State of Israel. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-declaration-of-the-establishment-of-the-state-of-israel

At this point, it has taken me a little over 1 year to tell an abbreviated #ZionistHistory, from the 13th Century BCE to 1948 CE. That's approximately 2,618 years. In that time, we've covered everything from the original Assyrian & Babylonian diasporas to the Old Yishuv of the British Mandate. Hopefully, this journey shows why Zionism is a fundamental & inherent part of the Jewish people. (#NotAll) Hopefully, it explains why Jews are not settlers or colonizers in our ancestral, historic homeland. Hopefully, it adds nuance & depth to the Israel-Palestine conflict we can learn from in order to bring about peace for both peoples.

***

Here are follow-ups on different #ZionistHistory topics:

"The unity of land, law, and literature created by the Hebrews has been one of the most potent historical metaphors ever devised, strong enough to maintain a sense of national identity among Jews for over two thousand years." http://www.centuryone.com/02352-1.html

The 1st aliyah in 538 BCE set a precedent for many of the issues that Jews continue to grapple with today - identity, assimilation, intermarriage, self-determination, building community, building the country, & existence as resistance. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ezra-nehemiah/

"...the war’s biggest losers were the Palestinians, who were prevented from establishing a state, forced to live under Israeli, Egyptian, or Jordanian rule, and, in the case of more than 700,000 refugees, unable to return to their homes." It's good that Israel & the Jews won, but the Palestinians never needed to lose either. Don't victim blame innocent civilians who know nothing but hardship. This isn't a zero-sum conflict & both sides committed atrocities in it. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/israels-war-of-independence/

The term Zion 1st appears in reference to Mt. Zion ~10th Century BCE, as the City of David, which is now part of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The name expanded over time to encompass all of Israel by the time of the Roman Occupation. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/zion

While #Zionism has a central core meaning, there are several expressions (or "flavors") of it in practice: political, revisionist, labor, cultural, religious, practical, reform, & radical. There's actually even green Zionism! https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/zionism

For nearly all of Jewish history there has been our homeland & our diaspora. Simon Rawidowicz wrote a book, Bavel Verushalayim — Babylon & Jerusalem, that encapsulates the duality of this Jewish zeitgeist. Today, it's America & Israel. https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/dec0/dec04sheppard.pdf

Rather than have the same argument with people, I find that sharing FAQs are a better use of my time. When that argument is about Zionism, it's more of a FAM - frequently argued myths. Jewish Virtual Library has a handy one at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/myths-and-facts-israel-146-s-roots

Ironically, Soviet antisemitism framed as antizionism throughout the 2nd half of the 20th century CE actually spurred the necessity of Zionism. This culminated in the now revoked UNAGR 3379 absurdly claiming Zionism is racism. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-11262-3_2

The name for the State of Israel in Hebrew, Medinat Yisrael, is very similar to that of the ancient Yehud Medinata, an autonomous region managed by Jews under the Achaemenid Empire after the Babylonian diaspora was ended ~538 BCE. https://books.google.com/books?id=VK2fEzruIn0C&pg=PA85

You can find many different maps showing the change in borders & names crossing the ancestral & historic Jewish homeland at https://www.templeisaiah.net/resources/timelines-jewish-history-1000-bce-1925-ce. Consistently always was our yearning for the freedom of self-determination, whether under the Romans or British.

Precursors to modern Zionism emerged in tandem with the shift of antisemitism from a primarily religious bigotry to a racialized one as Jews found themselves increasingly unable to assimilate despite the advances of the Haskalah. https://archive.org/details/rootshateantisem00brus_487/page/n4/mode/2up

Ironically, the advent of modern Zionism in the 19th century was also a precursor to & partially a factor in the advent of the modern Palestinian identity also in the 19th century. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1997-05-01/palestinian-identity-construction-modern-national-consciousness

This week's #ZionistHistory is brought to by #Jewish #DnD: Reform Lawful Good Jewish Cleric just finished rabbinical school. Hasidic Neutral Good Jewish mystic trained in Kabbalah. Renewal Chaotic Good Jewish bard trained in niggunim. Reconstructionist Lawful Neutral Jewish ranger raised on a kibbutz. Haredi True Neutral Jewish monk trained in Krav Maga. Modox Chaotic Neutral Rogue trained by the Sicarii. Yeshivish Lawful Evil Jewish Artificer trained by Mossad. Masorti Neutral Evil Jewish Fighter trained in Jew-Jitsu. Antizionist Chaotic Evil Jewish Barbarian former IDF raised on social media. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/2010/03/03/dungeons-dragons-makes-you-a-better-jew/ and https://www.jewishboston.com/read/spiritual-direction-and-dungeons-dragons/ and https://www.jewishaz.com/community/dungeons-dragons-and-the-torah/article_ddbca6b2-e9e1-11e9-a7bf-5f91a479c799.html and https://www.wired.com/story/roleplaying-rabbi-community-building/ and https://www.enworld.org/threads/jewish-rpg-content.676952/

"It covers all of the main themes of the Jewish experience: the earliest prehistory and the background of the Bible, the movements of tribes, the geographical and political setting, the revolts and wars and religious developments." We see the growth and shaping of the Jewish faith within the turbulence of Middle Eastern history. Here are the Diaspora and the spread of Jews and Judaism not only into Europe but as far as China and India; the scholars and philosophers ... the medieval centuries and new diasporas; pogroms and Zionism and new homelands beyond the Atlantic; the disaster of the Holocaust and the founding of the state of Israel; and of course much more ... Beyond the strictly historical, the Atlas also deals with many fascinating and important aspects of Jewish culture - languages, literature, art, and music - to give a complete picture of a people through time." https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Historical_Atlas_of_the_Jewish_People.html?id=eFamQgAACAAJ

There's an inherent tension between traditional postcolonial theory & Zionism that inhibits meaningful discussions of how both the Palestinians & the Jewish Israelis were chained to the failures of a parade of imperial powers in the region. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537120701445331?journalCode=fisa20&

After the Assyrian destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ~722 BCE, the 10 Lost Tribes of Judaism's history have since had descendants found across the globe, from the Beta Israelites of Dan to the Bnei Menashe of Menasseh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

***

Take note and take care