“UNDERSTANDING ZIONISM”

Class 2 -Breaking the Iron Wall: How Have Palestinian Revolutionaries Understood Zionism?

In 1923, Ze’ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Jabotinsky)—genocidal forefather of the ruling Likud party and founder of the Betar Zionist Youth Movement—wrote that the Palestinian people would continue to resist the Zionist colonial project until “not a single breach is visible in the iron wall.” The continued resistance against the iron wall of  Zionist military, political, and ideological power, proves that breaches remain. Palestinian revolutionaries have long viewed the study of Zionism as necessary for widening these breaches and defeating Zionism, the project that usurps their land.  In this session, we will study the works of two such revolutionaries, Ghassan Kanafani and Walid Daqqa, to understand the following questions: how did Zionism marshall tremendous amounts of support despite openly stating its racist and genocidal intentions in Palestine? Under what historical conditions did Zionist propaganda emerge, and how does it function?  What strategies does Zionism use to undermine Palestinian resistance? Why is it important for the Palestine movement to continue to study Zionism?  Through studying the answers of Palestinian revolutionaries on these questions, we will develop an analysis on Zionism capable of guiding political action against it.