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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.715541
Anti-Zionism Is Indeed a Form of Anti-Semitism
(Ha'aretz) Andres Spokoiny - Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people. It holds that Jews, like any other people, have the right to national self-determination. Denying that right to Jews, and only to Jews, can't be called anything other than anti-Semitism. Anti-Zionism isn't directed at any other national movement but that of the Jews. Most anti-Zionists wholeheartedly embrace other national movements, or at least fail to condemn the existence of any nation state other than Israel. Most notably, anti-Zionists often champion Palestinian national aspirations, but the stark double standard seems to escape them. Zionism restored freedom and dignity to a people oppressed for two millennia. Zionism is profoundly liberal and democratic. It was rooted in Jewish humanistic principles and in progressive ideas of 19th century national democrats like the Italian Giuseppe Massini, who understood that true democracy and freedom can only take place in the context of a sovereign national state. The Zionist movement's creation of the modern State of Israel was, and is, a triumph for human rights. The writer is President and CEO of the Jewish Funders Network