Your understanding reflects a common misconception based on a Zionist myth that it's purely a 19th-century European invention - otherwise, it would be harder to force a narrative that it's a "colonialist endeavor." This is a flawed assumption because colonialism assumes a state has resources, was stolen, not purchased, and there is a satellite state. It fails to account for the historical context and the initial legal acquisitions of land. It overlooks the fact that Jews were returning to their ancestral land, rebuilding a presence that had never fully disappeared despite centuries of persecution and displacement. - Maybe a fuller thread for another time. In reality, Jewish self-determination in the Holy Land trace back centuries across diverse Jewish communities in the Middle East and beyond. To say Zionism began in Europe ignores the significant contributions of key figures like R. Yoseph Qaro (1488-1575), Doña Gracia Mendes (1510-1569), Ḥakham Dr. Yehuḏa Bibas (1789-1852), Moses Montefiore (1784-1885), Ḥakham Yehuḏa Alqalai (1798-1878), Ḥakham Ben Ṣiyon Uziel (1880-1953), Abigail Lindo (1803-1848), Ḥakham Moshe Yisraʾel Ḥazan (1808-1862), Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), Albert Antébi (1873-1919), and Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951), among many others! Many of these figures predate Theodor Herzl (1860-1904). Forms of Jewish self-determination in the Holy Land were never a "singular" idea; they were varied movements - many flavors of the same idea and concept at its purest form - the right for Jews to return and establish sovereignty in their historic homeland. It also ignores the close contacts and connections through literature and letters being sent around the world. Jews always had a network and exchanged ideas; nothing was in a vacuum. The communities, while dispersed, were connected. This is reflected in our daily aspiration , 🤲🏽the ʿAmiḏa (I'll post a link below). Even after the destruction of the Temple and the move of the Sanhedrin (the Judean Supreme Court) from Yerushalayim to Yaḇné, then to Galilee, and finally to Tiberias, the Jewish world raised funds to help rebuild Jewish communities in the region and maintain their presence in the land. Efforts like Ḥaluḳḳa, with figures like Ḥama bar Adda (3rd century) traveling between Babylon and Israel, delivering decisions and messages, and soliciting relief, expanded as the political climate changed, allowing for more migration to the land. I definitely give Herzl credit for organizing the first Zionist Congress and galvanizing a movement. However, to regard him as the sole architect is an oversimplification. Many "proto-Zionists" like Ḥakham Yehuda Bibas and Moses Montefiore were already actively working towards this goal. It's said that it was Ḥakham Alqalai, who inspired Herzl's grandfather and who lived and studied in Jerusalem, emphasizing the deep-rooted and diverse origins of these ideas. To truly understand Jewish self-determination in the Holy Land, one must acknowledge its varied ideas and efforts, each contributing to the collective goal of establishing a Jewish homeland. Herzl's role was crucial in bringing these efforts into a cohesive political movement, but he built on the foundation laid by many before him. 📚 For primer reading, I recommend: - "Modern Sephardic Thought: Religious Humanism and Zionism" by José Faur - "Early Zionist Ideals Among Sephardim in the Nineteenth Century" by José Faur Let's actually study the history of Jews who lived in the region for generations and their interactions with Jews globally on the issue. You’ve repeated the oversimplified narrative we tell children—that Zionism starts with Herzl—because you haven’t taken the time to read the books or study the history. If you did, you would be familiar with the contributions of the people I mentioned.