Zionism: Origins, goals and influence

The ideology that aims to redefine history and borders

It is well understood that inciting hate against, and criticism of, Judaism as a religion as well as the Jewish people solely for being Jewish is a form of blatant act of racism and anti-Semitism and is to be unequivocally rejected and combated.

But when it comes to criticising and questioning Zionism and the state of Israel, similar treatment is being enforced.

Moreover, discussions seem to become misleading when there are intentional efforts to conflate Zionism with Judaism.

This could be because a large proportion of advocates of Zionism are Jewish. Or due to the fact that the state of Israel proclaims itself to be a Jewish state.

And so, when it comes to supporting the Palestinian struggle for justice and standing up against the Israeli aggression and genocide, it may seem difficult to direct that criticism to the right place because much of the Zionist rhetoric is claimed to be embedded in biblical narratives. How accurate is that claim?

Some argue religion is being misused to promote the Zionist ideology.

It is, therefore becoming increasingly challenging to advocate for the Palestinian cause in the face of being constantly accused of anti-Semitism.

Many questions come to mind when addressing the discourse on Palestine/Israel, including:

What is “Zionism”? Where did the term originate from? How does it relate to Judaism?
What is Christian Zionism? How much influence does it have on the proliferation of the Zionist ideology?
Is there a clear rational connection between the Zionist ideology and biblical narratives?
Why did Zionism gain so much support in its early stages? What are the main drivers of the Zionist ideology right now?
Is criticism of Israel, as a Jewish state, anti-Semitic given the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?
How did Palestinians factor in the Zionist rhetoric?
Is Zionism compatible with any proposed resolution to the current struggle for justice and liberation in Palestine?

To answer these questions and more, this event hosts Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer, a retired Christ Church Vicar and a member of Jewish Network for Palestine.

Stephen is the Bishop’s Chaplain to the Right Reverend Riah Abu El Assal, the retired Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem. He was ordained in 1983 and served as a curate in “St Leonard’s on Sea”, Sussex till1986. He was appointed Curate-in-Charge, then Rector of “St John’s, Stoke”, Guildford in Surrey (1986-1997) and vicar of “Virginia Water” from 1997 where he served for 20 years until his early retirement in 2017. Stephen is the founder and director of “Peacemaker Trust”, the chair of “Convivencia Alliance”, a cross-faith, international initiative for a just peace in the Middle East, in particular in Palestine. Stephen is also the chair of “ICAHD” UK, which is an Israeli peace and human rights organization originally established to oppose Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territory.

Stephen's PhD thesis examined the historical roots, theological basis and political consequences of Christian Zionism in Britain and the USA from 1820.

In 2004, he co-authored the statement Challenging Christian Zionism endorsed at the 5th International Sabeel Conference in Jerusalem.

He is the author of three books, “In the Footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles” in 2004; “Christian Zionism: Roadmap to Armageddon” also in 2004; and “Zion’s Christian Soldiers: The Bible, Israel and the Church” in 2007. His books have been translated into Arabic, Farsi, Korean and Spanish. He also writes occasionally for various journals and magazines.

Join us in this exciting discussion to explore how to navigate solidarity for Palestine while equipped with the right understanding of Zionism, its history, goals and influence.

This event is hosted by Palestine Justice Movement Sydney and Free Palestine Melbourne, in collaboration with Australian Friends of Palestine Association, Friends of Palestine Western Australia, Palestine Action Group Canberra, Tasmanian Palestine Advocacy Network, Justice for Palestine Magan-djin, Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa, Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network, Friends of Sabeel Australia, and Perth Mums for Palestine.

The webinar will be broadcasted nation-wide and will be recorded and published on the hosting organisations' online platforms for future views.

The recording will also be made available on this Palestinian podcast.

Donations will be used to support Gazan refugee families in Sydney.

The recording will also be sent out to registrants afterwards.