FAQ for /r/Israel
The purpose of this FAQ is twofold. One is to educate the average person about Israel, Zionism, Judaism and the Palestinian Conflict and two to explain how reddiquette applies to /r/Israel.
Topics:
What is Zionism?
Most anyone who can tell you in a sentence or less what the uncontested definition of Zionism is, is probably lying. At its root, Zionism means a nationalistic view of Judaism, unless it doesn't. There are several commonly accepted definitions of it, which we will try to iterate here.
1. Zionism is the belief that Jews should have a land of their own. This is probably the most common definition. It was the ideology that Herzl, the father of Zionism, created. In a sense, this type of Zionism defines the Jewish people as a shared nationality and culture (religion hotly discouraged). Under this view, Antisemitism exists because Jews are always foreigners in whatever land they are settled in. Having a land of their own would mean that Jews can live in this land as Jews, and the Diaspora can immigrate and live freely. It is to be noted that the land could have been anywhere, not necessarily in Israel.
2. Zionism is the idea that Jews have a shared nationality. This form overlaps in many ways with the first, and is perhaps a subset of it, with a few differences. This Zionist ideology, seeks to unite Jews under a banner of nationalism, but having a Jewish State is not necessary.
3. Zionism is the belief that the establishment of the State of Israel heralds the coming of the Messiah. Commonly known as Religious Zionism. Religious Zionists believe that the fact that there currently exists a Jewish State for the first time in thousands of years, must mean that the Messiah is coming close.
What Zionism is not
1. A supremacist ideology. There is nothing in any Zionist thought that dictates that Jews are superior.
2. A religious ideology. While there are many Jews and Christians who integrated Zionism into religion in the years following 1948, at its heart Zionism is, and has always been, an outgrowth of Atheist Judaism.
3. Full unquestioning support for the State of Israel. While there are doubtless many Zionists (and many non-Zionists) that have this view, criticism of the State of Israel has always been a favorite pastime of Israelis.
Moving or Traveling to Israel?
Two posts with redditor tips
2. http://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/crftw/visiting_israel_for_two_weeks_recommendations_for/
A post on a longer term move
1. http://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/j5doa/moving_from_the_us_to_israel_for_a_year_any_tips/