There’s been some divisive disinformation about Zionism on news and social media these days. I’d like to offer some historical perspectives with the hope they provide more light than heat.

Modern Zionism is a national movement like others that arose in Europe during the 19th century, among Greeks, Poles, Serbs and other peoples. The key idea of Zionism is that Jews constitute a nation, with both individual human rights and a national right to self-determination. Nothing in this Zionist idea implies that Jews are superior to other peoples. Nor does this idea deny human rights for individual Palestinians and their right to national self-determination.

There have been many varieties of Zionism since the 19th century. Some Zionists laid claim to the entire land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and denied Palestinians’ right to nationhood. Almost every national movement has extremist hard-liners as well as moderates willing to compromise. Zionism is no exception.

Many other Zionists held more moderate views and were willing to settle for less. In 1947 when the U.N. approved the partition of Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state, the plan was embraced by the Zionist leadership under David Ben-Gurion and celebrated by the Jews of Palestine. But the Arabs of Palestine, followed by the Arab states of Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq, attacked the newly proclaimed State of Israel in the first Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949). Over 600,000 Arabs of Palestine fled and lost their homes. Some 160,000 Arabs remained in what became the State of Israel. The Palestinian refugee problem began in this war, called the “War of Independence” by Israelis and the “Nakba,” or the “Catastrophe,” by Arabs. Over 850,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries and Iran after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Many went to Israel.

The 1949 armistice borders endured until 1967 when Israel was again attacked by Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Israel prevailed in the Six-Day War and occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River and part of Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip.

The Camp David accords then led to a separate peace between Israel and Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994). The status of Palestinian refugees was left unresolved. During the Oslo Peace process of the 1990s and afterwards, the two-state solution proposal recognizing Palestinian nationhood enjoyed widespread support among Israelis.

None of this may impress people who argue that Jews have no rights between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, “from the river to the sea.” This is not a persuasive argument, given that the Jews originated in that land, had a continuous presence in it, and have sustained a deep cultural and spiritual connection to it for over 3,000 years.

Even if we set aside all historical arguments as irrelevant, and even if we view the Zionist purpose as unjustified, the fact remains that as of 2024, there are more than 7 million Jews living between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Most of them were born in Israel and have no other home. They clearly constitute a nation.

There are also over 2 million Palestinian Arabs living between “the river and the sea,” and many more refugees and their descendants living elsewhere. Denying their national aspirations will only lead to further conflict. A peaceful solution can be secured only by recognizing that both Jews and Palestinians deserve to live with dignity and security in their own states.

The current Netanyahu government coalition rejects a two-state solution. It is moving toward annexation of the West Bank and Gaza. Its policy runs contrary to international law and defies warnings from the U.S., the European Union and some of Israel’s own security experts. Nonetheless, the Netanyahu government has been proceeding with the “stealth annexation” by legal and administrative changes, by expanding settlements, and by allowing settler and soldier violence. These Netanyahu government actions and inactions have undone a substantial part of the goodwill Israel had the day after the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Palestinians need a better alternative to Hamas or other Jihadist groups. What’s really needed is more than a two-state solution. It’s a 24-state solution including a regional approach to security, a commitment to rebuilding Gaza, and a revitalization of the Palestinian Authority. It’s a guarantee of peace, supported by Israel, its regional neighbors and the United States.

What can we do now here in the U.S.? We can tell our representatives that aid to Israel should not be a blank check, but should be subject to the same oversight, accountability and restrictions we apply to all countries.

The Biden Administration can do more to ensure the Netanyahu government honors its obligations to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Gaza. It can do much more to pressure the Netanyahu government for a crackdown on settler violence and a cessation of settlement expansion.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not end until an independent Palestinian state exists peacefully next to Israel. This bold and optimistic vision of peaceful coexistence may seem remote now, but it’s better than the current seemingly endless violence. A secure, peaceful and prosperous future for both Israel and a Palestine state is a prospect that should attract widespread support.

David Rosenberg

Middlebury