Zionism vs Judaism: Difference and Comparison

The terms Zionism and Judaism are two different perspectives set by people.

Their meaning, ideology, emergence, etc., are different from each other, where one is about the movement against racism, and the other is about the religious faith.

There are many believers in both communities, and they fought for their rights. Also, both movements took place in different periods.

Key Takeaways

1. Zionism is a political movement advocating for the establishment and support of a Jewish homeland in Israel, while Judaism is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of the Torah.
2. Judaism encompasses a variety of religious practices, beliefs, and traditions, whereas Zionism focuses on the political goal of creating and maintaining a Jewish state.
3. Not all Jews support or identify with Zionism, and some non-Jews may also endorse the movement.

Zionism vs Judaism

The difference between Zionism and Judaism is that Zionism refers to the national movement that was held to re-establish and for the identity growth of the Jews as the main community in Israel. On the other hand, Judaism refers to faith in God. According to the Jewish people, their sole belief was that they had only a particular God named Yahmed. Also, we can make out that all the believers of Zionism are Jewish people, but on the other hand, all Jewish people do not have faith in Zionism.

Zionism is the re-establishment and growth of an ideology or the national movement for the rights of the Jews in Israel.

For the first time, Zionism was introduced in the year 1897. The name of the founder of Zionism is Theodor Herzl.

Also, according to some sources, it is said that all the believers of Zionism are the majority of the Jewish people. Zionism is the movement against racism and its philosophical ideologies.

On the other hand, Judaism was a religious movement that took place in Israel. The Jewish people believed that there was only one sole creator of the universe, and the name of God was Yahmed.

Judaism is considered the world’s tenth-largest populated religion. Judaism took place around 500 BCE and was founded by Abraham. It is also said that Judaism is all about spirituality.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Zionism	Judaism
Definition	Zionism refers to the national movement that was held in Israel for the absolute purpose of the Jewish identity.	Judaism refers to the religious movement that took place in Israel.
The emergence of the terms	The term ‘Zionism’ has been derived from the Hebrew term “Zion”, referring to Jerusalem.	The term ‘Judaism’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘ludaismus’, meaning side with or imitate the Judeans.
Introduction Year	Zionism was introduced in the year 1897.	Judaism was introduced around 500 BCE.
Founder	The name of the founder of ‘Zionism’ is Theodor Herzl.	The name of the founder of ‘Judaism’ is Abraham.
Ideology	The ideology of Zionism is about racism.	The ideology of Judaism is about spirituality.
Aim/Belief	The main aim of Zionism is that they wanted to re-establish the Jewish community as the main community.	The main aim of Judaism is that they believed only one God as their supreme God, named Yahmed.
Believer of the Community	All Jewish people are not considered as the Believe of Zionism.	All Zionists are not believers of Judaism.

What is Zionism?

Zionism refers to the movement where the people fought for the rights of the Jews and to re-establish them as one of the main communities in Israel. It is the identification settlement of the Jewish people.

For the first time, it was introduced by none other than the founder, Theodor Herzl, in the year 1897.

The term ‘Zionism’ has been derived from the Hebrew term “Zion”, referring to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the capital city of Israel.

Before the movement of Zionism, the Jewish people had to face a lot of racism in Israel.

This movement was initiated by Theodor Herzl for the upliftment and to get equal participation of Jewish people, like the other communities in Israel.

The main aim of Zionism is that they wanted to re-establish the Jewish community as the main community. Initially, this movement was only launched to get equal political rights for the Jewish people, but gradually, it expanded into a great movement.

In Vienna, the first official centre of the Zionism movement was held. There, Mr. Herzl issued an official weekly that was known as Die Welt  (“The World”).

The Zionist congresses used to meet every year till the year 1901.

But, after 1901, the meetings started to have every alternate two years.  Also, All Jewish people are not considered to Believe in Zionism.

What is Judaism?

Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it ranks 10th position in the list. Judaism is a religious community that believes only in one supreme power, that is God.

Also, according to them, there is one and only God who has created the whole universe, and the people are its disciples, and they have named God Yahmed.

Judaism, for the first time, was introduced more than 4,000 years ago.

It has been estimated that there are approximately 14-15 million followers of Judaism.

There is a long story behind the foundation of Judaism. It is said that God appeared near a Hebrew man whose name is Abrahman.

The other Jewish people also believed in Abraham and thought he was the message of God, and hence, Judaism was founded. Abraham is considered the founder of Judaism.

The term ‘Judaism’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘ludaismus’, meaning side with or imitate the Judeans.

The main beliefs of Judaism include that God does exist, there is only one sole Supreme power, God, there is no physical body of God, God is Transcendent, and the Jews should only believe and worship only one God.

The main ideology of Judaism is about spirituality. The believers of Judaism organized this movement to spread their religion to different people.

There are various believers of Judaism all over the world. Also, all Zionists are not believers in Judaism.

Main Differences Between Zionism and Judaism

1. Zionism refers to the national movement that was held in Israel for the absolute purpose of the Jewish identity.
2. On the other hand, Judaism refers to the religious movement that took place in Israel.
3. The term ‘Zionism’ has been derived from the Hebrew term “Zion”, referring to Jerusalem.
4. On the other hand, the term ‘Judaism’ has been derived from the Latin word ‘ludaismus’, meaning side with or imitate the Judeans.
5. Zionism was introduced in the year 1897. On the other hand, Judaism was introduced around 500 BCE.
6. The name of the founder of ‘Zionism’ is Theodor Herzl.
7. On the other hand, the name of the founder of ‘Judaism’ is Abraham.
8. The ideology of Zionism is about racism. On the other hand, the ideology of Judaism is about spirituality.
9. The main aim of Zionism is that they wanted to re-establish the Jewish community as the main community. On the other hand, the main aim of Judaism is that they believed only one God as their supreme God, named Yahmed.
10. All Jewish people are not considered to belief in Zionism. On the other hand, all Zionists are not believers in Judaism.

References

1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iTFo1rpzSCwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=zionism+vs+judaism&ots=bFBJfN72cY&sig=6zreafx_dP0rI0g477cBuE6V0Vc
2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LOJcDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=zionism+vs+judaism&ots=H29hnUXBvZ&sig=Izto_sJlLBjtY7GJ9AGiuCpeTio

Last Updated : 08 September, 2023