Zionism: The Colonial Ideology That Unites the West

Israel's expansionist aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean as a colonial structure is often analyzed according to geopolitical and theopolitical contexts. Since the concept of legitimization does not have a meaningful counterpart in our context, it is more meaningful to express the negative consequences of this reductionist approach with the concept of blindness. In terms of morality and legality, the counterpart of legitimacy in the West is very different from ours. In order to explain the strong support given to Israel in Western societies rather than among Western elites, we need to look at events from another place.

Apart from the geopolitical and theopolitical models valid in our country regarding Israel's expansionist aggression, the settler colonialism paradigm is accepted almost all over the world. Unfortunately, even after October 7, 2023, meaningless reactions are rising in our country against the basic concepts of this paradigm. Whereas geopolitical and theopolitical competition and aims reinforce the understanding that wars are waged on a legitimate, moral, and legal ground. The genocidal Netanyahu and other Zionists dwelling on Israel's morality is not an ordinary perversion. Against these, new ideas that will cope with colonial ideologies need to be developed.

Explaining the relationship of the US, UK, France, and Germany with Israel through theopolitical justifications is meaningless for the inhabitants of lands subjected to colonial expansionism. In fact, the strongest countries of the colonial expansionism era had set aside religious terms in the 19th century and adopted non-religious colonial ideologies. The concept of civilizing is very important in this respect. Civilizing was an idea and was important in terms of the legitimizing function that is much used in our context but on whose meaning we cannot agree. Edward Said used the following sentences from Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness in many places: "… the conquest of the world, because it means taking lands from those whose complexions are slightly different from ours or whose noses are slightly flatter, is not a pleasant thing when thought about too much. But the Idea redeems the drawbacks. Not an emotional dream, but the idea behind the conquest, an idea to be created, to be bowed before, and for which sacrifices are to be made…" (Edward Said, The Palestine Question, Pınar Publications). In the 19th century, civilizing meant exactly the idea mentioned in this quotation. This idea was not used in a religious context. We can reveal with new knowledge and ideas what aims this idea overlapped with and which steps taken for the sake of these aims it made "legitimate." There are very great differences between the legitimacy, morality, and legality we know and the function of the idea of civilizing.

After 1990, with the collapse of the bipolar world order, religious discourse was adopted again. Thus, they effectively participated in Israel's expansionist colonialism in Palestinian lands. In fact, a new colonial and imperial process had begun, but this time, ideologically, the concepts of religion and civilization rose distinctly. This was a new ideological framework. This new ideology is also the reason they easily had the equation of Islam and terror adopted. The concept of legitimization in our context is not suitable for revealing the aims this new ideology overlaps with. It is almost impossible to express with the concept of legitimization the new ideas for which they fight and risk death; this was a new ideology. Moreover, this new ideology was bringing Western societies together and casting them once more in a new melting pot.

In the West, the name of the new ideology is Zionism. Here we need to state loudly that Zionism was born in England in the 19th century and first spread among Protestant Christians. Zionism was adopted by Jews after finding strong supporters among Protestants and Anglo-Saxons. There may be those who understand this as the cleansing of Jews from Europe, but personally I think this too is a problematic belief. Jews were the most suitable people for this new ideology; that is why they were chosen. Zionism later also spread among Catholics. Today, the fastest-spreading ideology in Latin America is Zionism. This new ideology also had a function of unifying Western societies.

It is also a fact that after October 7, 2023, Western societies have been questioning Zionism. The objection of the crowds filling the squares in European capitals should be evaluated within the framework of this questioning. Zionism is being questioned all over the world as a colonial ideology. But it is also understood that the intellectual conflicts shaking the world are not even reflected in our most important institutions. Unfortunately, old habits continue.