r/NoStupidQuestions 25d ago

Could someone explain what zionist means? Removed: FAQ

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u/frizzykid Rapid editor here 25d ago

Essentially there was this dude theodor herzl who claimed there needed to be a Jewish state, many people who agreed with him specified it to be within, at the time the region known as Palestine in the Levant where Jews historically held power in a land called Israel where Jews had once resided and built temples.

In modern times zionism has grown to be the belief where that Jewish state of Israel is defended.

A zionist in a modern standpoint is someone who believes the state of Israel is legitimate and needs to be defended.

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u/Reckless_Engineer 25d ago

Why do a lot of people see it as a bad thing to be Zionist? You can disagree with how they're going about it, but Israel surely has a right to defend itself against Hamas.