The acts of genocide and forced displacement carried out by Benjamin Netanyahu's government against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, or the forced displacement of Lebanese residents from the south to the north of the Litani River, are a new episode in the series of "the goals of the Zionist movement," which have been ongoing since before 1897 with the convening of the first conference of the movement in the Swiss city of Basel.

Netanyahu’s statements, as well as those of Gallant, Smotrich, and other "Israeli" officials regarding a "New Middle East" did not come out of nowhere, but are rather a renewal of the Zionist dream of controlling the region and imposing hegemony, aiming to erase Gaza and the West Bank from the map. This was echoed by the Prime Minister of the occupying power in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 28, and he also presented, at the beginning of September, a map of “Israel” that did not include the cities of the occupied West Bank.

What is happening in Gaza and southern Lebanon is a repetition of the scenario that occurred in 1948 with the establishment of "Israel" in the Middle East, altering the map of the entire region. This compels us to state that the Zionist project is burgeoning and becoming more aggressive over time; it prompts us to discuss the Zionist movement and its various forms or methodologies that meet the aspirations of all Zionists, especially since Netanyahu's maps reveal the current government's intentions toward Gaza and Lebanon.

 Political Zionism

The approach or current of political Zionism emerged at the first Zionist Congress in 1897, aiming to establish a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine through international public and legal resolutions; that is, providing a legal and international cover while attempting to lay down initial steps to receive governmental grants from the prevailing powers that control the region. This policy was adopted by Theodor Herzl himself, who turned the "Jewish question" into a global policy aimed at creating realities in Palestine that would compel international approval for the establishment of a national homeland (state) for Jews in Palestine.

 Practical Zionism

This current saw an urgent practical need for Jewish immigration to Palestine (Aliyah) and settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories, even without obtaining a legal charter on the ground. This approach was embraced by Moshe Leib Lilienblum and Leon Pinsker. The practical outcome of this current was the emergence of the group "Lovers of Zion," who sought to settle in Palestine through infiltration and to establish their presence through slow and persistent work. The proponents of this approach acted as intermediaries between the Jewish community and the ruling power, operating within a Zionist framework in its colonial settlement sense.

 Labor Zionism (Socialist)

This approach is based on ideological differences that do not necessarily pertain to the Zionist thought itself; it also encompasses a comprehensive worldview held by members of these various groups regarding the character of the future Jewish state, advocating for the connection of achieving the Zionist project through a socialist system in occupied Palestine. Labor Zionism sought to establish an agricultural society based not on a specific bourgeois community but on moral equality, which contradicts the ideas of practical and political Zionism. Notable leaders of this current include Nahman Syrkin, Ber Borochov, Chaim Orlozorov, and Pearl Katznelsan.

 Corrective Zionism

This approach emerged within the Zionist organization in 1923 and played a role in the attempt to establish a Jewish state on both sides of the Jordan River, demanding that the Zionist state be the declared goal of the Zionist movement. It successfully convened several conferences, during which various political issues were discussed with the aim of correcting, amending, or reviewing Zionist policy.

The corrective Zionist movement is associated with the personality of Vladimir Jabotinsky, who is considered a symbol of extremist Zionism, especially since he called for dealing with the Zionist issue with more decisiveness and the establishment of a Zionist state by force. He advocated for emptying Europe of Jews and, in the shortest time possible, forcibly relocating as many of them as possible through establishing a Jewish majority in Palestine and militarily training Jewish youth.

This movement formed in Eastern Europe and then spread to other Jewish communities, creating the largest opposing trend to labor Zionism for political and ideological reasons; thus, it was referred to as "maximum Zionism" because it emphasizes the need to use force, violence, and terrorism in appropriating Palestinian lands, while following a policy of imposing facts on the ground, even through force. More precisely, the followers of this movement are supporters of the idea of a "Greater Israel."

 Revolutionary Zionism

The ideas of Revolutionary Zionism are based on revolutionary struggle to gather Jews from the Diaspora and revive the Hebrew language as a spoken vernacular that unites all Jews, as well as to re-establish a Jewish kingdom in "Eretz Yisrael." In the 1940s, many adherents of this approach engaged in guerrilla warfare against Britain in an attempt to end the British mandate over Palestine and pave the way for Jewish political independence.

After the establishment of the Zionist entity in 1948, prominent figures of this stream claimed that the creation of the occupying state was never a goal of Revolutionary Zionism but rather a practical tool to be used in achieving the goal of Zionism, which is the establishment of the "Kingdom of Israel." Notable leaders of this movement include Abraham Stern, Israel Eldad, and Yuri Tsvi Greenberg.

 Religious Zionism

Religious Zionism believes that Jewish identity and the establishment of the state of "Israel" are a religious duty derived from the Torah. This contrasts with some within the non-secular Jewish community who believe that redemption for the land of "Israel" will occur only after the arrival of the Messiah, who will achieve this aspiration, and that human efforts to reclaim the land will bring the Messiah.

The slogan of the followers of this movement is that the land of "Israel" belongs to the people of "Israel" according to the Torah, at a time when they are commonly referred to as "national religious" or "settlers." It can be argued that they are supporters of a "Greater Israel." Among the most important leaders of this movement are Abraham Isaac Kook and Yitzhak Yaakov Reines.

 Cultural Zionism

Cultural Zionism believes that the national revival of the Jewish people is achieved through the establishment of a cultural center in the land of "Israel" and an educational center for Jews in the Diaspora, considering them a bastion against the threat of assimilation that endangers the existence of the Jewish people.

This form of Zionism is synonymous with the term "spiritual Zionism," where its followers believe that the Zionist project must have an ethnic, cultural, and spiritual dimension and express the spirit of the Jewish nation (its ethnicity).

In conclusion, while discussing other Zionist movements is extensive, "Zionism" is a conciliatory colonial movement that does not pay much attention to ideological content, as much as it absorbs various political and religious currents, as long as they serve the Zionist project and the "Jewish people." We often see many divisions and differences within the same "Israeli" party, and these fractures were not just a phenomenon, but rather a nature among Zionists aiming to circumvent the required goals to achieve Zionist aspirations.

It can be said that "Israel" is witnessing the collapse of leftist trends, in contrast to a steady rise in rightist trends, alongside an extensive expansion of the Palestinian resistance base within the occupied territories.