Conversation

A small rant about how words mean things, apropos of current discourse:

"Zionism" means simply "Jewish nationalism." The idea, unthinkable for centuries, that Jews are a people, like any other, like the French, the Irish, the Sri Lankans, equal in dignity and the right to self-governance.

Zionism does NOT mean hatred of non-Jews, any more than "Black lives matter" means, other lives don't. It doesn't imply approval of all policies of the state of Israel or all warfare conducted by that country. Most of all, it does not mean some kind of imperialist aspiration. Israel, a country of 10 million people with no natural resources to speak of, is not trying to build an empire. You can tell that by how, despite military superiority, it has not attempted to conquer its neighbours. Not even after said neighbours tried to destroy it repeatedly.

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