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The controversial claim that '''Zionism is racism''' has recurred many times in [[United Nations]] debates and resolutions, especially since 1975 when the PLO was granted observer status at the UN where it vigorously protested the occupation of the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza]] by the State of [[Israel]]. It is part of an overall and consistent condemnation of Zionism by the Arab states and others opposed to the state of Israel in the UN.

Jewish conspiracy theories in Europe and the nations that would later constitute the [[Soviet Union]] had existed for many years, but became much more accepted by the public in many nations after [[World War I]], and even more so after the [[Bolshevik]] revolution in Russia. Through the publication of the infamous forgery, the [[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]], many people took it as a "proven" fact that Jews were secretly conspiring to rule the world. This anti-Jewish attitude took on a stronger form during the reign of [[Joseph Stalin]]. Stalin was initially supportive of Zionism; many early Zionists were socialists or communists, and many people in the Soviet Union believed that the [[State of Israel]] would be an ally. As time passed, Stalin realized that Israel would not become the communist nation he hoped it would become; he eventually became staunchly anti-Zionist, and thus made anti-Zionism the official doctrine of the Soviet Union.

By the 1950s the Soviet Union was funding the publication of many anti-Semitic [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]].  It funded the publication of thousands of tractates, articles, and books promoting the viewpoint that all Jews were part of a conspiracy to rule the world, and that Zionism was one of their tools for world conquest.  Early versions of this theory held that "the Jews" were merely tools of the Freemasons or some other group; after the [[Six-day War]] it became fashionable to hold that the Jews were really in charge, and that the Freemasons (or other groups) were merely tools of "international Jewry". In all post-1960 variants of these conspiracy theories, Soviet indoctrination held that Zionism was a tool used by the Jews for racist imperialism. Zionists were referred to as "running dogs" as American imperialists. It was only with the death of Stalin in 1953 that anti-Zionist propaganda went into a temporary eclipseattempts to say that [[Zionist]] or a belief in a [[Jewish]] [[ethnic]] homeland, is somehow equivalent to [[racism|race-based]] discrimination. The slogan's use, despite its oversimplification of the issues within the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]]     
has appeared in many venues, even in the [[United Nations]]. It has appeared in UN debates and resolutions since [[1975]] when the [[PLO]] was granted observer status at the UN--where it vigorously protested the occupation of the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza]] by the State of [[Israel]].  It is part of an overall and consistent condemnation of Zionism by the [[Arab]] states and others opposed to the state of Israel in the UN.

While many Jews decry the slogan's meaning as anti-Semitic, others say it is not, rather, a reflection of the stereotypes that Israel and its allies thed to maintain in their occupation and related actions in their defense.  To have a "Jewish state" proponents argue, is to mean that non-Jews are to be held in lesser esteem and discriminated against.  Jews often argue that this is not true--that Judaism is a cultural and ethnic distinction--not a racial one. Palestinian Arabs and other proponents counter that the distinction between race and religion and ethnicity are irrelevant--what matters is nature of the apartheid state, and human rights abuses that go along with it.  

As is quite common in political issues, slogans and rhetoric become oversimplified to the point where the meaning or substance of the message is lost.

In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel emerged victorious and the Soviet Union's proxy nations lost; as a response, the Soviet Union increased its anti-Zionist campaign. Soviet television stations, radio stations and newspapers ran hundreds of editorials and articles stating that "Zionism is racism"; these ideas were pushed in all Soviet client states, including many third world nations and Arab nations.

(contracted; show full)

[[Danial Moynihan]] said:

:"In logic, the State of Israel could be, or could become, many things, theoretically including many undesirable things. But it could not be and could not become racist unless it ceased to be Zionist." [http://www.yahoodi.com/peace/zisr.html]
==External link==
*[http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_un_zionism_racism.php Background on original resolution]

See: [[Ethiopian Jew]]s