"Zionism hadn't even been invented"
That right there is the problem. Maybe it was a bad mis-guided 'invention'.
But wait, I thought Zionism was a mandate from God or something. So did God invent it, or some Austrian racist who wanted to convince imperial powers to justify the colonization of lands formerly part of the Ottomon empire? Empires who were sold on the idea by scratching their anti-Semitic itch to have a place they could use as a dumping ground for all the 'unwanted' Jews in Europe.. at someone else's expense of course.
If the goal was safety and security of Jews, they picked the worst possible spot, trying to establish a state right in the middle of a hornet's nest that was always going to be hostile to it, especially considering that its existence/creation precipitated on the forceful expulsion of people already living on the land in order to maintain a demographic Jewish majority.
The International community - in hindsight - made a grave error and did Israel no favors supporting this misguided quest, and now it has to be constantly bailed out and propped up by it's only real backer: The USA.
I think you kind of missed the point here about Zionism being a phenomenon exploited to serve the aims of a greater Western/US imperialism and racial supremacy.
The number of Jews killed or displaced in biblical times or in the 1500s is irrelevant to the study of the very real imperial meddling and colonization ongoing now by the US-backed west and its proxies (like Israel).
Zionist fervor is but one tool that the US/West leverages in its quest to maintain a hegemony through client states like Israel that are all too eager to trade support for its brutal regime of oppression against Palestinians in exchange for being a tool of the US empire. Suharto, Batista, the Shah in Iran, and Pinochet all made similar 'deals'. All were abandoned and toppled when it was no longer conducive or in vogue for the US to back them any further.
The real tragedy in all of this, is Israel is perhaps the least safe place for Jews now compared to all of the other countries even Israelis are leaving for amidst the never-ending violence - the countries that Zionist ideologues like Herzl claimed could never be 'civilized' to coexist with Jews. I see from your profile, for example, that you are 'accused' of being Australian. Are there programs and genocide against Jews currently ongoing in Australia? My guess is no, considering it is where you choose to reside.
It will certainly be unsafe for Jews when the US empire decides that supporting Zionism or Israel is no longer useful to its interests and kicks it to the curb like it does all its other proxy states. Do you think the US will care much about manipulating the Middle East or having to back a client state there once its oil reserves are depleted within the next 30 years? Or, once it decides that a war with China over Taiwan is more important diversion of resources?
Have you ever wondered why the US empire had no interest in intervening in Rwanda, but an intense interest in shaping the Middle East and backing various factions there? Did Rwanda have much to offer in terms of what the US wanted. Does Israel now? Will Israel in 30 years?
Keep a close eye on what happens to Ukraine in the next year or two, and then tell me if the US empire 'stands' with its supposed 'allies', or sacrifices them to serve its larger interests.
Is the US 'standing' with Ukraine, or is it making it fight an American feud with Russia using Ukrainian blood, and risking Ukrainian civilian lives rather than American? Do you think there are any applicable lessons or parallels here between Israel and Iran?
I'm not sure Israel is in a good position to defend the borders it wishes to expand, especially without US support should that ever wane. It clearly struggled to defend its existing borders that were so easily penetrated on Oct. 7.
There are extremely valid reasons to criticize the military actions of Israel beyond merely sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. Israelis too are being set up massively for failure by the US empire, but many seem too busy fawning over Netenyahu and Smotrich promising to expand Jewish settlements to see that they might very well end up being the next Ukraine; forced to accept a far worse reality than Hamas could ever inflict when the US loses interest and walks away, taking its military toys with it.
At that point, Israel will have to sleep in the bed it has made at the behest and urging of the US - alone. Can it survive then?
