“Zionism” Versus “Judaism” in Palestinian Historiography *

In his study Arab Attitudes to Israel, the late Professor Yehoshafat Harkabi pointed out that Arab writers on the Palestine problem were inclined to use "Zionist" and "Jew" as synonyms. Although those terms were often used indiscriminately, Harkabi claimed that it was not a matter of confusing "Jew" and "Zionist" (and sometimes "Israeli") in the flow of speech or writing. The identification of Zionism and Judaism was, said Harkabi deliberate and intended to serve certain political goals. ¹ It was used by the Arabs throughout their struggle against the pre-1948 Jewish community in Palestine and, later, against the state ot Israel. Judaism, for example, was usually perceived as a religious collectivity and therefore enjoyed a certain legitimacy. Zionism, however, as a movement with national aspirations and with definite political goals was considered objectionable. ²