How 'Zionism' turned into a slur

Anyone born at least fifty years ago, has seen a dramatic change and evolution in everyday language. 

Driven by new cultures, social trends and technological effects, the words we speak are meant to evoke certain images, opinions and even emotions.

For the politically-motivated, that power means everything, because viewpoints can be highly influenced and even manipulated, all intended to further a particular narrative.

This explains why the Biblical term, “Zionist,” after thousands of years, has, suddenly, come to represent racism, oppression, privilege and prejudice.  

The word, itself, comes from Zion, a term synonymous with Jerusalem or the entire land of Israel. Vocabulary.com defines it as “representing an ideal, utopian society or place of spiritual refuge.” 

The fact that it is being used to label individuals as bad people, deserving of contempt and ostracization, already lets you know that its new association is a social construct, purposely invented to vilify a specific people and disenfranchise them in today’s society, so that being Jewish becomes a liability.

To emphasize that point, a fitting image was created, conjuring up an odious perception of people who represent the worst of mankind, simply by their need for a homeland where they can live authentically, without the fear of persecution or alienation.

Who would have thought that the same right, afforded to every other ethnicity, would be turned into a justification for condemnation and disparagement? What’s okay for Germans, Italians, Swiss, Greeks and the plethora of countries which exist in our world, is unacceptable when it comes to Jews.

Doesn’t that already tell you that there is so much more behind this modern-day, super-charged word? This is a concerted effort to single out the Jewish people, as well as their God-given homeland, to make them the most hated and objectionable of all creation.

With the help of evocative words, senses and emotions are accessed, stirring up the imaginings of a people who somehow are a threat to the rest of society.

By connecting them to the concept of racism, there is an immediate association with the ugliness of discrimination, unfair treatment, superiority and all of the other biases linked to a reviled system, used by evil characters.

The moment that label is slapped on, denying the defamation becomes harder and harder, especially when it is endlessly repeated. It’s almost like trying to rid yourself of the stench brought on by having been exposed to a skunk. But that’s the endgame. Smear an entire ethnicity, in order to present them as unworthy to inhabit the same airspace of all others.

However, if the word can be so twisted and deceptively redefined, it can also be retrieved and recrafted into its intended meaning. The word, “Zion” is first seen in 2 Samuel 5:7, where it speaks of the fortress of Zion, situated in the City of David. It is said to appear around 159 times, most frequently in the Psalms and the prophetic book of Isaiah.

Zionist is the name given to the people of the land, just as the French are termed after those who live in France. So why single out Jews, referring to them as that new-fangled hated term, “Zionists?”

Truth be known, the ancient Hebrew term, emanating from the Scriptures, suggests that it falls into the category of divinely-inspired revelation, supporting the belief that the Bible is the infallible Word of God which has stood the test of time, changing cultures and everything else that has been thrown at it.

All that means is that anyone who has a problem with the term Zionist, should take it up with the Almighty, since he authored the concept. When you look at it that way, it really comes down to a contention with God’s decision to create a people who would inhabit the homeland He gave them.

That places the controversy on a much higher plane, entering the realm of someone greater than us. Thinking that we know better than the Supreme Being, by whom all things were created, there are those who dare to reidentify what was meant to be a beloved term, turning it into a despised slur, all for the purpose of rejecting the place and people specifically chosen by God, Himself. That’s actually pretty scary!

But repositioning that term, back to its origin, is incumbent upon those who believe and support what God intended. Zion is mentioned as the place most loved by God, and the actual city where He resides.  

It stands as an everlasting symbol of hope, worship, deliverance and perfection, all the reasons why a world in great need of redemption would despise everything about it.  

In fact, Zion is the place where one comes to meet God, because the holiest item of all, the ark of God, was brought into the City of David (Zion) where true worship could take place before the Lord.  

Ironically, we see a picture of today, in that story, recorded in 2 Samuel 6, as King David joyfully entered Zion, wearing a linen ephod, dancing with all his might, accompanied by shouts and the sound of trumpets.  

What should have been viewed as an exuberant celebration was, instead, scorned and mocked by David’s wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul as she watched from her window.

In fact, we might be able to attribute the first hatred of Zion to her, as her heart despised her own husband for leaping and dancing before the Lord while bringing the ark to rest in its intended place.

Her visceral reaction to a holy and pure act of reverence and worship is no different from the way this term, “Zionist” has been hijacked, representing the evilest intentions and actions known to man.

After sacrificing before God, King David returns home only to be reviled by his angry and bitter wife, who scolds him for what she defines as displaying vulgar behavior. Here is what he replies, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the Lord.”

And that’s the whole reason why “Zionist” has become a slur. The thought of someone else being chosen by God, is the catalyst for hatred of Jews.  But as stated earlier, the contention is best addressed with God, because He’s the One who chose Zion!