Israel, the Jews and Zionism.

by Katherine Frisk:
In a recent article, “Judaism is not Zionism” Ariadna Theokopoulos expounds on how “Progressive Jews” and “Torah Jews,” do not associate themselves with Zionism. They blame the ethnic cleansing and the apartheid system in Israel on Herzl and “They ooze Maimonides quotes. Ah, but they do not represent “true Judaism,” we are told now.”
Being a “Jew”and following “Judaism,”is only relevant to the tribe of Judah:

 a tribe that was held in captivity in Babylon;

a tribe that regards the Babylonian Talmud equal to and on a par with the Torah;

a tribe the celebrates Purim, the Jewish holocaust of their enemies;

a tribe that built the Temple in Jerusalem

and a tribe that believes in the return of a bloodline descendant of David, from the tribe of Judah, the Messiah who will rule the world.

To date there is no archaeological evidence of the first Temple ever having been built and many of the Old Testament texts ascribed to David and Solomon are translations of older Egyptian texts and adapted to Jewish history.
What many scholars ignore completely is that the term “Jew”and “Judaism”does not represent Israel. Israel as it originated in the Biblical texts incorporates all twelve tribes descended from Jacob/Israel. Ephraim, the son of Joseph and the grandson of Jacob was blessed as the first born and therefore it is his bloodline that carries the weight of being the representative of “Israel,”not the tribe of Judah.
A true believer in the Convent and the Ten Commandments due to the first Commandment, did not support a monarchy under any single bloodline and did not support a hegemonic political structure under any specific tribe. This would been seen as idolatry. Israel broke this Covenant with God, and therefore no longer has or is entitled to a country of their own. They have been scattered to the four corners of the earth. Steve Jones says “In the Blood, God, Genes and Destiny,“almost 75% of the world’s population today, can trace their genetic structure to these 12 tribes.
What Israel stood for is a federal structure where the highest authorities were the Judges, the holders of the Law, with representatives from all twelve tribes including women, (Deborah was one of the first Judges of Israel) a Judicial body of the people, for the people and by the people, in a united Republic.
This republic fell apart when the people demanded a king and turned their backs on their God. Their actions also resulted in Israel being spilt apart into the Kingdom of Israel, called Ephraim in the north and the Kingdom of Judea in the south. The animosity between these two groups is mentioned in Isaiah 11: 13, where the prophet mourns the split and looks forward to the day when they would be reconciled.

“The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.“

This split played a major political role in the first century A.D. where the Essenes, the Teachers of Righteousness rebelled against the Temple, the Levitical High Priesthood and the Herodian Monarchy. They were massacred in 36A.D. at Mount Gerizim by Pontius Pilate with the complicity of Caiaphas and King Antipas. Theudas was beheaded and James and John Zebedee were crucified in 46 A.D. for defying the established order and leading their followers across the River Jordan to re-establish Israel as Joshua had done in the past. James the Righteous, the brother of Jesus,  was thrown from the top of the Temple in Jerusalem in 62 A.D. for defying the High Temple priests for the same reasons.
Today the descendants of Israel are the Samaritans in Nabulus, Orthodox Christians and the Muslims across the Middle East. Israel is the southern African tribe of the Lemba. Israel is also 75% of the world’s population.
Some Jews today might claim that “Judaism is not Zionism,” but the history of Israel; the split in the kingdom; the rise of the tribe of Judah after the Babylonian exile; the Talmud; and the building of the Temple are all the historical foundation from which Zionism, Jewish hegemony, the belief in the return of a Messiah of the House of David; the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the justification of the holocaust of the Palestinians rooted in the celebration of Purim originate.
If “progressive Jews” and “Torah Jews” wish to dissociate themselves from Zionism, then a return to Israel, a return to the Covenant, a return to the vows made at Mount Gerizim and a return to a Judiciary comprised of the people, for the people and by the people from all the descendants of Israel , being Jews, Samaritans, Orthodox Christians and Muslims would be the most logical path to follow.  Whether you believe in “God”or not. Whether you are religious or not. This is an equitable, fair and balanced structure based on the rule of law, a Constitution and Bill of Rights, not on the rule  of Oligarchs, a priesthood or a militarized police state. Theoretically speaking, it would be a return of the kingdom and a return of the Messiah Yeshua/Joshua. If not in person, then certainly in spirit.

Further Reading : 

Damascus, the Anti-Christ and Armageddon

Purim – Esther as Concubine and the Acolyte of Ishtar 

Shemitah: A Christian Perspective On The Seven Year Cycle

An argument against Zionism: The Bloodline of the Messiah.