Zionism and the Palestinian Conflict

Centuries of persecution in Europe culminated in widespread antisemitism, pogroms, and legal discrimination.

For many Jews, assimilation proved impossible. Zionism emerged as a secular political

movement focused on survival, rather than purely religious belief. The goal was not

conquest, but safety through sovereignty. However, for Palestinian

Arabs, Zionism appeared as a foreign nationalist movement backed by European power,

threatening their political future on land they had long inhabited. This fundamental

clash of perceptions—return versus invasion—became central to the conflict. Even early Zionist leaders debated

possible locations for a Jewish homeland, highlighting that Zionism was initially pragmatic rather