religious anti-Zionism

{{Short description|Opposition to the State of Israel within religious contexts}}

File:Neturei karta.jpg, an anti-Zionist Jewish group]]

While anti-Zionism usually utilizes ethnic and political arguments against the existence or policies of the state of Israel, anti-Zionism has also been expressed within religious contexts which have, at times, colluded and collided with the ethnopolitical arguments over Israel's legitimacy. Outside of the liberal and socialist fields of anti-Zionist currents, the religious (and often ethnoreligious) arguments tend to predominate as the driving ideological power within the incumbent movements and organizations, and usually target the Israeli state's relationship with Judaism.

Within Judaism

From the beginning of the Zionist movement, there were many traditional religious Jews who opposed it due to their opposition to nationalism (Jewish or otherwise) which they regarded as a secular ideology, and because of an inherent suspicion of change. Much of the thought generated by traditional religious anti-Zionism is focused on the Three Oaths, a portion of the Talmud which forbids waging war to establish a Jewish state. Key traditionalist opponents of Zionism included Israel Meir Kagan (Lithuania), Chaim Soloveitchik (Brisk), Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (Chabad), Isaac Breuer, Hillel Zeitlin, Aaron Shmuel Tamares, Elazar Shapiro (Muncatz), and Joel Teitelbaum, all waged ideological religious, as well as political, battles with Zionism each in their own way.Shaul Magid, “In Search of a Critical Voice in the Jewish Diaspora: Homelessness and Home in Edward Said and Shalom Noah Barzofsky’s Netivot Shalom,” Jewish Social Studies n.s. 12, no. 3 (Spring/Summer 2006), p.196

Today, the main Jewish theological opposition to Zionism stems from the Satmar Hasidim, which has more than 150,000 adherents worldwide. Even more strongly opposed to Zionism is the small Haredi Jewish organization known as Neturei Karta,[http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226024643/http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/|date=February 26, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nkusa.org/ |title=Neturei Karta - Orthodox Jews United Against Zionism |publisher=Nkusa.org |access-date=2015-09-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211111351/http://www.nkusa.org/ |archive-date=2006-12-11 }} which has less than 5,000 members, almost all of whom live in Israel. According to The Guardian, "[e]ven among Charedi, or ultra-Orthodox circles, the Neturei Karta are regarded as a wild fringe".[https://www.theguardian.com/religion/Story/0,2763,846993,00.html In a state over Israel] by Simon Rocker (The Guardian) November 25, 2002

In Christianity

Throughout Christianity, various denominations have held that there is a Christian theological basis for Zionism, although some groups do adhere to a position of Christian Zionism. In the United States, the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical body of various Christian denominations, in November 2007 approved a resolution for further study which stated that the "theological stance of Christian Zionism adversely affects:

justice and peace in the Middle East, delaying the day when Israelis and Palestinians can live within secure borders

relationships with Middle Eastern Christians (see the Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism)

relationships with Jews, since Jews are seen as mere pawns in an eschatological scheme

relationships with Muslims, since it treats the rights of Muslims as subordinate to the rights of Jews

interfaith dialogue, since it views the world in starkly dichotomous terms"{{Cite web |date=2013-11-04 |title=Response to Christian Zionism |url=http://www.ncccusa.org/NCCpolicies/christianzionism.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104064154/http://www.ncccusa.org/NCCpolicies/christianzionism.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-11-04 |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=National Council of Churches USA}}

= Catholic Church =

The Catholic Church rejects a theological basis for Zionism{{Cite web |title=Vatican-Israel Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/vatican-israel-relations |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en |quote=Overall, the Vatican’s relationship with Israel is based on international law, not theology...}}{{Cite web |last=SJ |first=David Neuhaus |date=2020-10-27 |title=People of Israel, Land of Israel, State of Israel |url=https://www.laciviltacattolica.com/people-of-israel-land-of-israel-state-of-israel/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA |language=en-US |quote=... despite the diplomatic recognition of Israel, Jewish spokespeople have continued to lament the Church’s continued reluctance to affirm the theological significance of the Jewish claim to the land and the existence of the State of Israel.}}{{Cite web |title=Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church {{!}} EWTN |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/notes-on-the-correct-way-to-present-the-jews-and-judaism-in-preaching-and-catechesis-in-the-roman--catholic-church-2480 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network |language=en |quote=Christians are invited to understand this religious attachment [of the Jews to the Land of Israel] which finds its roots in Biblical tradition, without however making their own any particular religious interpretation of this relationship... the existence of the State of Israel and its political options should be envisaged not in a perspective which is in itself religious, but in their reference to the common principles of international law.}} and has historically opposed it.{{cite web |date=26 January 1904 |title=THEODOR HERZL: Audience with Pope Pius X (1904) |url=https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/primary-texts-from-the-history-of-the-relationship/herzl1904 |publisher=Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations}} Retrieved on 20 March 2018.{{cite web |title=The Vatican, American Catholics and the Struggle for Palestine, 1917-1958: A Study of Cold War Roman Catholic Transnationalism |url=https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1501&=&context=etd&=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252F |publisher=Western University}} Retrieved on 20 March 2018. The Vatican has nonetheless had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1993 (as a result of the Oslo Accords).{{Cite web |title=Vatican-Israel Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/vatican-israel-relations |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Tharoor |first=Ishaan |date=2021-12-01 |title=What the Vatican's recognition of the state of Palestine means |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/05/13/what-the-vaticans-recognition-of-the-state-of-palestine-means/ |access-date=2024-02-13 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |quote=The Vatican formally recognized only Israel in 1993, after the signing of the Oslo Accords.}} It has also had diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine since 2015.{{Cite web |title=Israeli response to Vatican recognition of PA as a state 26 Jun 2015 |url=https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2015/Pages/Israeli-response-to-Vatican-recognition-of-PA-as-a-state-26-Jun-2015.aspx |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=mfa.gov.il}} Many Catholics are themselves divided over political support of Israel.{{Cite journal |last=Ciani |first=Adriano |date=2011-12-12 |title=The Vatican, American Catholics and the Struggle for Palestine, 1917-1958: A Study of Cold War Roman Catholic Transnationalism |url=https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/348/ |journal=Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository |quote=The near-monolithic American Church of the pre-Conciliar period had, by the late 1960s, given way to a plurality of views on a number of questions relevant to the Vatican and the international Roman Catholic Church, including, as Drinan‟s work reveals, on Israel and Zionism.}}{{Cite web |title=Israel and the World of Catholicism(s) |url=https://jcpa.org/article/israel-and-the-world-of-catholicisms/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=SJ |first=David Neuhaus |date=2020-10-27 |title=People of Israel, Land of Israel, State of Israel |url=https://www.laciviltacattolica.com/people-of-israel-land-of-israel-state-of-israel/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=LA CIVILTÀ CATTOLICA |language=en-US |quote=... a debate has been raging about the position of the Catholic Church regarding a state that defines itself as Jewish and sees itself in continuity with ancient Israel in the biblical scriptures...}}{{Cite web |last=Alper |first=Becka A. |date=2022-05-26 |title=Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and Palestinians |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/05/26/modest-warming-in-u-s-views-on-israel-and-palestinians/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}} In the 20th and 21st centuries, certain Catholic theologians such as André Villeneuve, Gary Anderson and Gavin D'Costa, have written in support of Christian Zionism;{{cite web |last1=Villeneuve |first1=André |title=Why Israel Matters: The Biblical Roots of Catholic Zionism |url=https://www.hprweb.com/2024/07/why-israel-matters-the-biblical-roots-of-catholic-zionism/ |publisher=Homiletic & Pastoral Review |access-date=16 November 2024 |date=26 July 2024|quote=Biblical support for Israel does not contradict or undermine the Catholic faith in any way, but is wholly in continuity with God’s revelation. Respected Catholic theologians have recently made compelling cases for Catholic Zionism. Gary Anderson believes that the Jewish return to Zion, though also a call to responsibility and justice, is “part of God’s providential design and eternal promise to His people Israel,” even despite the uncertainty that surrounds the future of the current State of Israel. Gavin D’Costa, likewise, in his article “Catholic Zionism,” argues that “the existence of the Jewish State is a sign of God’s fidelity to his people,” even if this does not require endorsing a particular form of government for the Jewish state.}}{{cite web |last1=D’Costa |first1=Gavin |title=Catholic Zionism |url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/01/catholic-zionism |publisher=First Things |access-date=16 November 2024 |language=en |date=1 January 2020}} other theologians, such as Matthew A. Tsakanikas, have written against it.{{cite web |last1=Tsakanikas |first1=Matthew A. |title=Against Catholic Zionism |url=https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/against-catholic-zionism |publisher=Crisis Magazine |access-date=21 November 2024 |date=6 August 2024}}

= Protestantism =

Many Protestant churches have rejected a religious basis for Zionism and condemned the ideology, despite a large number evangelicals constituting those who support it.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Factsheet: Christian Zionism |url=https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/factsheet-christian-zionism/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Religion Media Centre |language=en-GB}}

== Lutheranism ==

The Lutheran Churches have historically taught the doctrine of supersessionism, which holds that the Church is the New Israel.{{cite book |last1=Almen |first1=Lowell G. |last2=Madden |first2=Denis J. |title=Faithful Teaching: Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue XII |date=5 December 2023 |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=978-1-5064-9560-6 |language=en |quote=In light of the history of supersessionism found in Catholic and Lutheran writers}} This continues to be taught in Confessional Lutheran denominations, such as the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod,{{cite book |last1=Inbari |first1=Motti |last2=Bumin |first2=Kirill |title=Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century: American Evangelical Opinion on Israel |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-764930-5 |page=93 |language=en}} which have rejected a Christian theological basis for Zionism.{{cite web |last1=Lessing |first1=Reed |title=Whose Land Is It? |url=https://witness.lcms.org/2006/whose-land-is-it/ |publisher=The Lutheran Witness |access-date=21 November 2024 |date=1 November 2006}}

== Reformed ==

The Reformed (Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Reformed Anglican) tradition adheres to covenant theology and historically has taught that "Christ fulfills the expectations of Jewish covenant life and renews the people of God rooted in the Old Testament and Judaism" and that "Jesus is the new temple, the new Israel."{{cite web |last1=Burge |first1=Gary M. |title=Why I’m Not a Christian Zionist |url=https://www.thebanner.org/features/2019/12/why-i-m-not-a-christian-zionist |publisher=Banner |access-date=21 November 2024 |language=en |date=16 December 2019}}

The Reformed Church in America at its 2004 General Synod found "the ideology of Christian Zionism and the extreme form of dispensationalism that undergirds it to be a distortion of the biblical message noting the impediment it represents to achieving a just peace in Israel/Palestine."{{cite web |title=Position on Christian Zionism |url=https://www.rca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=3839 |access-date=1 November 2013 |publisher=Reformed Church in America}} As of September 2007, Reformed churches in the US that have criticized Christian Zionism include the Presbyterian Church (USA),{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Lazar |title=Presbyterian Church group: Zionism is the problem |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/presbyterian-church-group-zionism-is-the-problem/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}} and the United Church of Christ.{{cite web |title=Resources on the Middle East |url=https://www.globalministries.org/mee_resources_index |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130102113/https://www.globalministries.org/mee_resources_index |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |access-date=June 6, 2019 |publisher=Global Ministries: a common missional witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ}}

In April 2013 the Church of Scotland published "The Inheritance of Abraham: A Report on the Promised Land", which rejects the idea of a special right of Jewish people to the Holy Land through analysis of scripture and Jewish theological claims. The report draws on the writings of anti-Zionist Jews and Christians.{{cite news |title=Church of Scotland: Jews Do Not Have a Right to the Land of Israel |last=Pfeffer |first=Anshel |author-link=Anshel Pfeffer |newspaper=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-05-03/ty-article/.premium/church-of-scotland-israel-isnt-the-jews/0000017f-e02f-d38f-a57f-e67f0a9d0000 |date=3 May 2013}} According to Ira Glunts, it was revised after Scottish Jews harshly criticized it, replacing input from Mark Braverman with material from Marc H. Ellis, both Jewish.{{Cite news |title=Church of Scotland's revised 'Promised Land' report has softer edges but thrust is unchanged |last=Glunts |first=Ira |website =Mondoweiss

|url = https://mondoweiss.net/2013/05/scotlands-promised-unchanged/ |date=18 May 2013}} The revision says that criticism of Israel's policies toward the Palestinians "should not be misunderstood as questioning the right of the State of Israel to exist"."[http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/church-of-scotland-thinks-twice-grants-israel-the-right-to-exist/2013/05/12/ Church of Scotland Thinks Twice, Grants Israel the Right to Exist]" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128122301/http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/church-of-scotland-thinks-twice-grants-israel-the-right-to-exist/2013/05/12/|date=28 November 2014}}, The Jewish Press, 12 May 2013.

In 2014, a controversy arose when the United States Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) published a study guide, Zionism Unsettled, quickly withdrawn from sale on its website, that asserted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was fueled by a "pathology inherent in Zionism".{{cite news |title=Presbyterians Reject Church Group's anti-Zionist Study Guide |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |newspaper=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2014-02-19/ty-article/presbyterians-reject-anti-zionist-guide/0000017f-ef6b-d8a1-a5ff-ffeb5ea60000 |date=19 February 2014}} Cary Nelson argued that the work and the Church's position were flawed, anti-Zionist, and antisemitic.{{Cite journal |title=The Presbyterian Church and Zionism Unsettled: Its Antecedents, and Its Antisemitic Legacy |last=Nelson |first=Cary |journal=Religions |publisher=MDPI |date=22 June 2019 |volume=10 |issue=396 |doi= 10.3390/rel10060396 |doi-access=free |pages=1–22,3–7}} In 2022, the same denomination's general assembly determined that Israel is an apartheid state.{{cite news |title=Presbyterian Church vote declaring Israel an apartheid state upsets Jewish groups |last=Prince-Gibson |first=Eetta |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/07/15/presbyterian-church-vote-declaring-israel-an-apartheid-state-upsets-jewish-groups/ |date=15 July 2022}}

==Anglicanism==

On 9 July 2012, the Anglican General Synod passed a motion affirming support for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).{{cite web |date=2012-07-13 |title=Support work for peace in divided region, Synod urged |url=http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/13-july/news/synod/israel-palestine |work=Church Times}} This was criticised by the Board of Deputies claiming the Synod 'has chosen to promote an inflammatory and partisan programme'.{{cite web |date=2012-07-12 |title=Board of Deputies statement on the Synod EAPPI vote |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/69714/board-deputies-statement-synod-eappi-vote |access-date=2014-08-02 |work=Jewish Chronicle}} The EAPPI was simultaneously criticized for its publication of a call for sit-ins at Israeli embassies, the hacking of government websites to promote its message, and support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.{{citation |last1=Quinn |first1=Ronan |title=40 ways to end the occupation |journal=Chain Reaction |issue=6 |pages=25 |year=2007 |url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/data/images/File/Chain_Reaction_6th_edition.pdf |last2=Botnen |first2=Trond}}

== Anabaptism ==

The Mennonite Central Committee has criticized Christian Zionism, noting in a 2005 publication that in some churches under Christian Zionist influence the "congregations 'adopt' illegal Israeli settlements, sending funds to bolster the defense of these armed colonies."{{cite journal |last=Weaver |first=Alain Epp |date=July–September 2005 |title=Introduction |url=https://mccintersections.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/pon_2005_07-09-vol-35-no-3-christian-zionism.pdf |journal=Peace Office Newsletter |publisher=Mennonite Central Committee |volume=35 |issue=3, Christian Zionism and Peace in the Holy Land |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321025527/http://mcc.org/peace/pon/PON_2005-03.pdf |archivedate=2006-03-21}}

In Islam

Muslims have made several arguments to oppose the state of Israel. Importantly, the vast majority of Palestinians (around 93%){{cite web |title=Are all Palestinians Muslim? |url=http://imeu.net/news/article0042.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142345/http://imeu.net/news/article0042.shtml |archive-date=13 April 2014 |access-date=16 April 2014 |work=Institute for Middle East Understanding}} follow Islam.

{{Cite Quran|22|39|end=40|style=ref}} gives permission for Muslims to fight those who "drove them from their homes", thus some Muslims believed jihad against Israel was justified due to the 1948 Palestinian expulsions.{{cite book|title=Misquoting Muhammad|page=124|author=Jonathan C. Brown|publisher=Oneworld publications}} Likewise Iranian Islamists also cited the expulsion of Palestinians in their opposition to Israel.{{cite web|title=What Drives Israel-Iran Hostility? How Might it be Resolved?|date=22 March 2023 |url=https://www.stimson.org/2023/what-drives-israel-iran-hostility-how-might-it-be-resolved/}} The founder of Hamas, Ahmad Yassin, said "we are not fighting Jews because they are Jews! We are fighting them because they assaulted us, they killed us, they took our land, our homes."{{cite news|title=Sheik Vows to Continue the Hamas Holy War Against Israel|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/23/world/sheik-vows-to-continue-the-hamas-holy-war-against-israel.html|work=New York Times|date=1997-10-23}} Yusuf al-Qaradawi cited the expulsion of Palestinians.{{cite book|title=Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi: Spiritual Mentor of Wasati Salafism|author=Sagi Polka|year=2019|page=173}} A fatwa from the European Council for Fatwa and Research condemned "Zionists who usurped Palestinian lands and forcibly expelled the Palestinians from their own homes."{{cite book|title=Routledge Handbook of Political Islam|page=247|year=2012|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}

After the Oslo Accords, there were debates on the agreement's legitimacy from an Islamic perspective. Abd al-Aziz Ibn Baz, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, supported the accords, while Yusuf al-Qaradawi opposed them.{{sfn|Modongal|2023|p=131}} Ibn-Baz argued Islam allowed for both definite and indefinite peace agreements; Muhammad had concluded permanent treaties with several Arab tribes.{{sfn|Modongal|2023|p=131}} However, indefinite treaties may only be made if there are in the community's interest, and may be broken when they harm the community's interest;{{sfn|Modongal|2023|p=131}} Ibn Baz urged Palestinians to cooperate with Accords to avoid bloodshed.{{sfn|Modongal|2023|p=131}} Both Ibn-Baz and Qaradawi agreed that according to {{Cite Quran|8|61|translator=y|style=ref}} Muslims should accept peace if the enemy offers it to them. But Qaradawi opined that Israeli actions did not show intention towards peace as Israel continued its occupation and expanded settlements.{{sfn|Modongal|2023|p=137}}

Palestinian Muslims and other Muslim groups, as well as the government of Iran (since the 1979 Islamic Revolution), insist that the State of Israel is illegitimate and refuse to refer to it as "Israel", instead using the locution "the Zionist entity" (see Iran–Israel relations). In an interview with Time Magazine in December 2006, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "Everyone knows that the Zionist regime is a tool in the hands of the United States and British governments".{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570714,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113144234/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570714,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 13, 2007 | magazine=Time | title=People Who Mattered: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | date=2006-12-16 | access-date=2010-05-22}}

Some Muslims view the existence of Israel as an intrusion into what sharia law defines as Dar al-Islam, a domain they believe should be ruled by Muslims, reflecting the historical conquest of the Palestine region in the name of Islam.{{Cite book |last1=Neusner |first1=Jacob |title=Comparing religions through law: Judaism and Islam |last2=Sonn |first2=Tamara |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-19486-0 |location=London; New York}}{{Cite book |last=Merkley |first=Paul Charles |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm48487645 |title=Christian attitudes towards the state of Israel |date=2001 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-2188-9 |location=Montreal; Ithaca |oclc=ocm48487645}}