El sionismo apareció en Europa central y oriental a finales del siglo XIX. Su fundador en tanto que movimiento organizado fue el periodista austrohúngaro de origen judíoTheodor Herzl como respuesta a la ola antisemita que recorrió Europa en esos años, uno de cuyos exponentes fue el affaire Dreyfus.[5] El movimiento tuvo como objetivo fomentar la emigración judía a Palestina y alcanzó su objetivo principal con la fundación del Estado de Israel en 1948.
↑Dieckhoff, Alain (2019). «Qu'est-ce que l'antisionisme?». Les Collections de L’Histoire(en francés) (83): 81. «El término sionismo nació en los años 1880 para designar el movimiento nacional judío aparecido en Europa central y oriental, cuyo objetivo era dar un hogar nacional al pueblo judío. Es a la vez un movimiento político y una ideología cuyo objetivo era crear un Estado».
↑http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657475/Zionism# "An international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel." ("Zionism," Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary). See also "Zionism", Encyclopedia Britannica, which describes it as a "Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisra'el, “the Land of Israel”)," and The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, which defines it as "A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to growing anti-Semitism and sought to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the support and development of the state of Israel."
"Political Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, emerged in the 19th century within the context of the liberal nationalism then sweeping through Europe." (Neuberger, Binyamin. Zionism - an Introduction, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, August 20, 2001, accessed August 17, 2006).
"Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, brought about the establishment of the State of Israel, and views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people for its continuity and future." (What is Zionism (The Jerusalem Program)Archivado el 22 de enero de 2009 en Wayback Machine., Hadassah, accessed August 17, 2006.