Zionology
Encyclopedia
Soviet Anti-Zionism was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union
during the course of the Cold War
, and intensified after the 1967 Six Day War. It was officially sponsored by the Department of propaganda of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
and by the KGB
. It alleged that Zionism
was a form of racism
and sometimes argued that Zionists were similar to Nazis
. The Soviet Union was officially opposed to racism of any kind, and therefore Zionologists stated that they were not anti-Semitic
or racist themselves.
. In line with the official Soviet anti-Israel
and anti-Western
policies (which were the result of the Cold War), they frequently recycled older anti-Semitic libels while attempting to place them in a Marxist-Leninist
context.
Zionism
, the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to Zion
and their self-determination
there, was misrepresented by Zionologists because Israel had allied itself with the United States
in the Cold War. In his 1969 book Beware! Zionism, leading Zionologist Yuri Ivanov defined it as the "ideology of loosely linked organizations and political practice of Jewish bourgeoisie
, fused with monopolistic spheres in the USA. Zionism sets off militant chauvinism
and anti-Communism
."
Soviet leaders insisted that Zionology was not anti-Semitic. As proof, they pointed to the fact that several notable Zionologists were ethnic Jews who were supposed to represent an expert opinion. Many - including some within the Soviet Union itself - argued that Zionology exhibited anti-Semitic themes. For example, In November 1975, the leading Soviet historian and academic M. Korostovtsev wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Central Committee, Mikhail Suslov
, regarding the book The Encroaching Counter Revolution by Vladimir Begun
: "...it perceptibly stirs up anti-Semitism
under the flag of anti-Zionism
."
Some Zionology books, "exposing" Zionism
and Judaism
, were included in the mandatory reading list for military and police personnel, students, teachers and Communist Party members and were mass published.
The third edition of the thirty-volume Great Soviet Encyclopedia
(Большая Советская энциклопедия, БСЭ), published in 1969-1978, qualifies Zionism as racism and makes the following assertions:
In his book A History of the Jews in the Modern World, Howard Sachar
describes the atmosphere of the Soviet "anti-Zionist" campaign in the wake of the Six-Day War
:
Paul Johnson and other historians argue that November 10, 1975 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 that labelled "Zionism" as "racism
" was orchestrated by the USSR. It was rescinded by the Resolution 4686 in December 1991.
Another recurring Zionology theme was the allegation of secret ties between the Nazis and the Zionist leadership. The thesis of 1982 doctoral dissertation of Mahmoud Abbas
, a co-founder of Fatah
and one of the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization
who earned his Ph.D. in history at the Oriental College in Moscow
, was "The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement".
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the course of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and intensified after the 1967 Six Day War. It was officially sponsored by the Department of propaganda of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
and by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. It alleged that Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
was a form of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and sometimes argued that Zionists were similar to Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. The Soviet Union was officially opposed to racism of any kind, and therefore Zionologists stated that they were not anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
or racist themselves.
Background
Zionology was presented as a socio-political science, but there is little if any evidence that the Zionologists ever complied with the scientific methodScientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
. In line with the official Soviet anti-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and anti-Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
policies (which were the result of the Cold War), they frequently recycled older anti-Semitic libels while attempting to place them in a Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
context.
Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
and their self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
there, was misrepresented by Zionologists because Israel had allied itself with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Cold War. In his 1969 book Beware! Zionism, leading Zionologist Yuri Ivanov defined it as the "ideology of loosely linked organizations and political practice of Jewish bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
, fused with monopolistic spheres in the USA. Zionism sets off militant chauvinism
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
and anti-Communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
."
Soviet leaders insisted that Zionology was not anti-Semitic. As proof, they pointed to the fact that several notable Zionologists were ethnic Jews who were supposed to represent an expert opinion. Many - including some within the Soviet Union itself - argued that Zionology exhibited anti-Semitic themes. For example, In November 1975, the leading Soviet historian and academic M. Korostovtsev wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Central Committee, Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1965, and as unofficial Chief Ideologue of the Party until his death in 1982. Suslov was responsible for party democracy and the separation of power...
, regarding the book The Encroaching Counter Revolution by Vladimir Begun
Vladimir Begun
Vladimir Begun was one of the leading Zionologists in the Soviet Union.One of his controversial books, The Encroaching Counter Revolution, caused protests worldwide. In November 1975, the leading Soviet historian, academic M...
: "...it perceptibly stirs up anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
under the flag of anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
."
Some Zionology books, "exposing" Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, were included in the mandatory reading list for military and police personnel, students, teachers and Communist Party members and were mass published.
The third edition of the thirty-volume Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian and in the world, issued by the Soviet state from 1926 to 1990, and again since 2002 .-Editions:There were three editions...
(Большая Советская энциклопедия, БСЭ), published in 1969-1978, qualifies Zionism as racism and makes the following assertions:
- "the main posits of modern Zionism are militant chauvinism, racism, anti-Communism and anti-Sovietism"
- "the anti-human reactionary essence of Zionism" is "overt and covert fight against freedom movements and against the USSR"
- "International Zionist Organization owns major financial funds, partly through Jewish monopolists and partly collected by Jewish mandatory charities", it also "influences or controls significant part of media agencies and outlets in the West"
- "serving as the front squad of colonialism and neo-colonialism, international Zionism actively participates in the fight against national liberation movements of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America"
- "A natural and objective assimilation process of Jews is growing around the world."
In his book A History of the Jews in the Modern World, Howard Sachar
Howard Sachar
Howard Morley Sachar is an American historian. He is Professor Emeritus of History and International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and the author of 16 books, as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals, on the subjects of Middle Eastern and Modern European...
describes the atmosphere of the Soviet "anti-Zionist" campaign in the wake of the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
:
"In late July 1967, Moscow launched an unprecedented propaganda campaign against Zionism as a "world threat." Defeat was attributed not to tiny Israel alone, but to an "all-powerful international force." ... In its flagrant vulgarity, the new propaganda assault soon achieved Nazi-era characteristics. The Soviet public was saturated with racist canards. Extracts from Trofim Kichko's notorious 1963 volume, Judaism Without Embellishment, were extensively republished in the Soviet media. Yuri Ivanov's Beware: Zionism, a book essentially replicated The Protocols of the Elders of ZionThe Protocols of the Elders of ZionThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
, was given nationwide coverage."
Paul Johnson and other historians argue that November 10, 1975 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 that labelled "Zionism" as "racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
" was orchestrated by the USSR. It was rescinded by the Resolution 4686 in December 1991.
Another recurring Zionology theme was the allegation of secret ties between the Nazis and the Zionist leadership. The thesis of 1982 doctoral dissertation of Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
, a co-founder of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
and one of the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
who earned his Ph.D. in history at the Oriental College in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, was "The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement".
See also
- Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet PublicAnti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet PublicOn March 29, 1983, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has approved the resolution 101/62ГС to "Support the proposition of the Department of Propaganda of the Central Committee and the KGB USSR about the creation of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the...
- History of the Jews in Russia and Soviet Union
- RefusenikRefusenikRefusenik originally referred to citizens of the former Soviet Union who were refused permission to emigrate.Refusenik or refusnik may also refer to:*An Israeli conscientious objector, see Refusal to serve in the Israeli military...
- Jackson-Vanik amendmentJackson-Vanik amendmentThe Jackson–Vanik amendment is a 1974 provision in United States federal law, intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies that restrict freedom of emigration and other human rights...
- Rootless cosmopolitanRootless cosmopolitanRootless cosmopolitan was a Soviet euphemism widely used during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the "exposure" of the alleged Doctors' plot...
- Doctors' plotDoctors' plotThe Doctors' plot was the most dramatic anti-Jewish episode in the Soviet Union during Joseph Stalin's regime, involving the "unmasking" of a group of prominent Moscow doctors, predominantly Jews, as conspiratorial assassins of Soviet leaders...
Sources
- http://www.ukar.org/kichko01.htm Judaism Without Embellishments by Trofim K. Kichko, published by the UkrainianUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Academy of Sciences, 1963
- Quote: "It is in the teachings of Judaism, in the Old Testament, and in the Talmud, that the Israeli militarists find inspiration for their inhuman deeds, racist theories, and expansionist designs..."
- A worldwide outcry forced the Communist Party's Ideological Commission to acknowledge in April 1964 that the book "might be interpreted in the spirit of antisemitism." But on January 20, 1968, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) Pravda Ukrainy gave notice that the Supreme Council of the CPU has awarded Kichko with a diploma of honor. His other book, Judaism and Zionism (1968), spoke of "chauvinistic idea of God chosenness of the Jewish people... and the idea of ruling over other people of the world"
- The Encroaching Counter Revolution by Vladimir Begun, MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, 1974
- The Encroaching Counter Revolution by Vladimir Begun, Minsk
- Alleges that the Torah is an "unsurpassed textbook of bloodthirstiness and hypocrisy, treachery, perfidy and vile licentiousness"
- Zionism in the service of Anti-Communism by V.V. Bolshakov
- Contains accusations of Zionists of having "served Hitler’s Fifth Column in order to establish Nazi German domination of the world."
- Beware! Zionism, by Yury Ivanov, Evgeniy Evseev, 1969.
- The text in Russian on a Russian ultra-nationalist website.
External links
- National Security Strategy: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1964-2001 (PDF) by Prof. Branislav L. Slantchev, (Dept. of Political Science, UC San Diego) March 15, 2005
- Israeli Studies on the Post-Soviet Space by Yury Korogodsky (Euro-Asian Jewish Congress) Few Words on Anti-Zionism by Yury Korogodsky Two Myths by Yury Korogodsky The Official Soviet Anti-Semitism in the Post-Stalin Period by Andreas Umland (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Vol. 7, 2002, Issue 2, Spring) (also at http://www.carnegie.ru/ru/print/62024-print.htm)