Israel was originally the Jewish homeland, (hence the Jewish names for most areas) and Zionism has existed since the diaspora when the Arabs began their ethnic cleansing and the Jews dispersed into Europe.

The anti semitism in Germany, Russia and Poland, etc lead to the holocaust and pogroms and millions of Jews fleeing back to their original homeland, which was exacerbated later by a second round of ethnic cleansing by the Arabs which boosted the Israeli population further.

By far the greatest racism has been demonstrated by the Arabs.

Some here should read some real history.
The Jews had been expelled to Babylon for a time but after the
fall of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire they returned to Jerusalem.
A long time later Rome invaded and some 30 years after the death of
Christ the Romans expelled the Jews.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire they returned again.
The next invaders on the scene were the Arabs about three hundred years
later. It was the Arab invasion and the usual Islamic offer of submit
or die that caused the Crusades to be mounted to free the Christians
and the Jews from Islamic oppression.

Sound familiar ?

In fact the whole of Mesopotamia suffered the oppression of the
Islamists. Where are the Assyrians these days ?
Where are the Phoneticians ?
The Jews seem to be the only ones who remained intact.

No, it is the Arabs that are the occupiers and now that Islam is
taking over Europe they are changing the European foreign policy.

Now do you understand Brexit ? Britain wants no part of Eurabia.

the leftist Jew haters are dumb enough to believe that if Israel was to be conquered by Isalm then they would not be next in line. Talk about blind ignorance.

Dear SM and Bazz,

The facts are different. Jews were never re-expelled from Israel after the Babylonian exile. Also, most of the Jews chose not to return from Babylon, even when they could: only a minority did. In fact, the Babylonian Talmud is considered of a higher-quality than the Jerusalem Talmud because most and the best Jewish scholars remained in the Babylon area.

Yes, the Romans expelled the Jews from Jerusalem, but not from the rest of the country.

Unlike the Assyrians (a few of them still exist, including in Australia: http://assyrianchurch.org.au/about-us/history) and the Phoneticians (who are they?), the Jews were considered "people of the book" and so they got away with just paying a tax (which was not that bad because it replaced conscription). They were never expelled and never dispersed into Europe, but eventually, one by one or family by family, most of them didn't want to continue paying the tax, so they converted to Islam. Some did not convert and remained in Israel all along, as Jews and some even fought the crusaders alongside the Muslims, while remaining Jews.

Genetic testing shows that many (though by no means all) of the current Arab inhabitants of Israel are ex-Jews who never left their land.

Most of the European Jews, or what remains of them, are descendants of converts to Judaism.

Where does it leave Zionism?

Zionism should fare better without silly and incorrect ethnic excuses and Israel's continued existence should not depend on false myths.
The Jews who settled Israel during the 20th century produced a place that is much more liveable, thriving, safer and just than it ever was before. The ex-Jews who already lived there were invited to join them, but instead chose to fight them and take many innocent lives, which forced the Zionists to change their plan and defend themselves. Israel should remain open as a great place for all those who wish to live in the Jewish way, but also for all those who live or used to live in the area and do not wish to destroy it.

Yuyutsu

Thank you for correcting SM and Bazz. Whilst your historical snapshot is questionable, it's light years ahead of SM and Bazz. Unfortunately your mini paragraph on 20th century Israel is pure Zionist propaganda.

“Genetic testing shows that many (though by no means all) of the current Arab inhabitants of Israel are ex-Jews who never left their land.”

That's pseudo-science Yuyutsu, akin to what the Nazis did. All that genetic testing proves is that you have a shared ancestral genetic history. There is no gene test for religion or nationality. If you know the myths of your ancestral region, you should know that multiple cultures influenced your culture and its development. Combining that sentence with your paragraph on 20th century Israel gives an impression of a cultural supremacist. That's what fascism is Yuyutsu. I've seen other posts of yours and I doubt very much that you are a fascist. Would you have us believe that every single inhabitant had an ancestor that practiced Judaism? Would you have us believe that the culture of Judea was superior to every culture that preceded it and every culture that came after it? Palestine has been a volatile region throughout human history. The Jewish diaspora had no more a claim to an ancestral right than an exiled Canaanite or an exiled Byzantine Christian. That land was a major route out of Africa for the earliest humans, it has ancestral roots for many of us. The Jews could have accepted a homeland, instead they stole a state. There is at least two sides to every story, lose your naivety and walk in the shoes of a Palestinian.

//In fact the whole of Mesopotamia suffered the oppression of the
Islamists. Where are the Assyrians these days ?
Where are the Phoneticians ?//

Conquered by the Macedonians, then subsequently by the Romans. I did not know Alexander the Great was an Islamist. Are you sure this wasn't an episode of Dr. Who or something, Bazz?