Debate: Zionism is the problem

Inspired by the outbursts and outrage that occurred by due to the  Durban II Conference -I decided to satisfy my curiosity and see what exactly the arguments were for claiming that being anti-zionist was being racist. I came across Judea Pearl's article and found in full of weaknesses- namely that it did not recognize the double standard's of the Israeli state and the plight of the Palestinians. Luckily I came across this Op-Ed piece by  Ben Ehrenreich which I think presented the fairer argument. Here is an excerpt:

It has been argued that Zionism is an anachronism, a leftover ideology from the era of 19th century romantic nationalisms wedged uncomfortably into 21st century geopolitics. But Zionism is not merely outdated. Even before 1948, one of its basic oversights was readily apparent: the presence of Palestinians in Palestine. That led some of the most prominent Jewish thinkers of the last century, many of them Zionists, to balk at the idea of Jewish statehood.

The Brit Shalom movement -- founded in 1925 and supported at various times by Martin Buber, Hannah Arendt and Gershom Scholem -- argued for a secular, binational state in Palestine in which Jews and Arabs would be accorded equal status. Their concerns were both moral and pragmatic. The establishment of a Jewish state, Buber feared, would mean "premeditated national suicide."

The fate Buber foresaw is upon us: a nation that has lived in a state of war for decades, a quarter-million Arab citizens with second-class status and more than 5 million Palestinians deprived of the most basic political and human rights. If two decades ago comparisons to the South African apartheid system felt like hyperbole, they now feel charitable. The white South African regime, for all its crimes, never attacked the Bantustans with anything like the destructive power Israel visited on Gaza in December and January, when nearly1,300 Palestinians were killed, one-third of them children.
 

Powerful stuff..  What do you think?

Click to read the Full Article

This article is a response to Judea Pearl's piece in defence of zionism