It wasn't religion that started it, because Zionism was not an ideology by religious Jews, but a national project led by secular Jews, though it also has had consistent support from evangelical Christians. It is predominantly a European colonial project, like South Africa and Algeria. Also back in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, Zionist/Israeli intelligence and terrorist groups regularly terrorized Jews in regional countries, while blaming Arabs and antisemitism, in order to create enough push for Mizrahi Jews to come to Israel, mostly to serve as cheap labor. The elite in Israel has always been European Ashkenazim. |