Theodore Herzl- 150th Birthday of the Zionist Leader Responsible for the Founding of the Modern Nation of Israel

This 150th anniversary of Theodore Herzl's birth is cause for celebration. As a people, we have come along way towards accomplishing the Zionist ideal. Just reflect for a moment on the successes the modern day nation of Israel has enjoyed in its infancy. We've all heard of American exceptionalism...In many ways, Israeli exceptionalism is even more unique. Over the past century, millions of Jews from Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, Iraq, Europe, South Africa and the Western Hemisphere have returned to the land of our ancestors after centuries of absence. Individual liberty in Israel is nearly unparalleled. And Israel's ability to strike a balance between economic liberty and caring for others has resulted in a strong economy without losing it's soul to pure materialism. Where else in the Mideast do women, minority ethnic populations, and distinct religious groups have so much protection by the State? Nowhere else...

As stunning as our achievements have been...as much freedom has been granted to all Israeli citizens... an array of opposition to Zionism confronts us today. Disconcertingly, this opposition is coming from alarming places...and from people who have no excuse to be blinded by ignorance.

Can any of us forget how media portrayed the Gaza flotilla incident this summer? Although blocking the flotilla was clearly permitted under UN resolutions and international law, although there is a history of arms smuggling through the ports, although Israel offered to allow the aid into the country subject to search, mainstream media sided with the wrongdoers before and after the debacle onboard the ships.

Unfortunately, even in this country-- in mainstream media-- those with an anti-Zionist bias draft the headlines which shape public opinion. How many of us remember the anchor of CNN's Mideast Affairs director- Octavia Nasr- who recently said this about one of the leaders of Hezbollah-- "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah...One of Hezbollah's giants I respect alot."

Of course, we all know that CNN fired this senior editor. However, we should all be asking serious questions. How did Octavia's biases affect the stories covered and the manner in which they were covered? Was CNN aware of her sympathies towards terrorist leaders prior to this event? If CNN were aware, why did she remain responsible for the Mideast reporting department? What does this say about the values at this leading news organization? Just as we would expect a member of the KKK to provided a perverted perspective on race relations, we can conjecture that Octavia did the same on issues regarding Israel. She was on the record as sympathizing with a terrorist.

This anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist bias is far more pervasive than we wish to admit. Think of another CNN anchor-- Rick Sanchez-- who was fired this last week for some interesting remarks to the effect that Jewish people are not an oppressed minority and in fact control much of this country...He came dangerously close to expressing belief in the Protocols of the elders of Zion...He too was fired-- but only after such bigotry was made public. We must remember that far more damage is done by opinion shapers who disguise their biased bigotry underneath a sheen of intellectualism.

Then-- we had the case of Helen Thomas-- the most senior of all White House press correspondents. In the words of Helen Thomas to the Jews "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine". Lest we think she was referring merely to the settlements- or territories-- she clarified her statement- "Remember these people are occupied and its there land..not Germany's or Poland's" They should go "home" to Poland and Germany and America and everywhere else."

Are we so naive to think that this is the first time the views of these leaders of journalism ever expressed such sentiments to their colleagues" Are we so naive enough to presume that this bias has not contaminated the reporting at our news organizations? Are we so naive to believe that this reporting has not brainwashed an millions of people against Zionism?

We must become alert to the subtle way in which Zionism is being slandered. World leaders and the media figures cloud the debate and shift public opinion by changing the definitions of words and promoting the fraud of moral equivalency. For instance, Palestinian leaders talk about recognition of Israel, yet when pressed insist such recognition will not be of Israel as a Jewish state. The UN-- and even our country-- discuss the Palestinian refugee problem as if it were analogous to other similar crises. Yet, this crises is one caused by and perpetuated by the very countries using the crises as an excuse not to make peace with Israel. And most importantly, it's the engagement by many leaders-- and even some within our own Jewish community-- to insist that Zionism is responsible for the strife in the Mideast.

We must especially be cognizant of those who claim to be on our side while undermining the Zionist ideal. A "Jewish advocacy" group which we're all familiar with-- J Street-- promotes positions criticizing the Israeli government, Israeli security precautions, and legitimate Israeli settlement construction. We should have all been wary of a Jewish lobbying organization channeling its energy against Israeli policy at a time when Islamic radicalism threatens to annihilate our security in the West and the existence of the state of Israel. In starting recent revelations, it turns out that the co-founder of J-Street, Daniel Levy, believes that Israel's creation was "an act that was wrong" and that there's "no reason for a Palestinian should think there was justice" in Israel's founding.

If we are to "Reclaim Zionism" as the American Zionist Mission seeks to do-- we must discuss these issues with our associates, write letters to editors, and lobby our representatives. We have tremendous power to undo the damage by disseminating objective information through personal blogs, facebook, twitter, emails, and conversations. Providing information to others has never been so easy! We must reclaim Zionism from the historical revisionists and the opinionated--and often ignorant-- commentators who have such control over the public perception.

We have much to be proud of..much to celebrate..and much work left to do!