From the Rabbis' Mouth– 'Zionism and Judaism are mirrored reflections of each other'

Can we really separate Judaism from Zionism?
Any which way you look at it, Judaism and Zionism cannot really be separated from one another. Zionism is not a misinterpretation of Judaism., it is rather the distilled essence of mainstream Judaism. When Karl Marx shredded Judaism to pieces in his On the Jewish Question, the term ‘Zionism’ wasn’t even in circulation. Marx considered Judaism, as representative of what he called the ‘practical Jew’, a parasitic predatory ideology that benefits capitalism in its decaying phase.
And regardless of what Judaic racial teachings drawn from Torah and Talmud might claim. Judaism is essentially doctrine and practice, not a race or nationality. Therefore, being born of Jewish parents is not the same being part of Judaism. It follows that the critique of Judaism does not imply hostility to some mythical “Jewish race”, since Judaism is neither race nor nationalism.
Moreover, it’s true that anyone, Jewish or not, who supports the right of “Israel” to exist, and who justifies the power of Jewish elites in his country or worldwide is essentially pro-Zionist. It’s also true that there would have been imperialism even if there were no Zionism, and that Zionism would not have thrived so well without imperialism. Yet all that does not affect the main point here which is that Zionism and Judaism cannot possibly be separated from one another.

The problem with labels is they are merely shells that contain assumptions. Once we understand the power of words, we will want to do more than avoid using them to diminish others. We will want to use them to encourage and inspire them. Yet, if we don’t remain vigilant, we can inadvertently slip into using labels.