Wikipedia’s redefinition of Zionism draws severe rebuke: ‘History is being rewritten’

Despite Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger’s warnings that the online encyclopedia has become a bastion of bias and “leftist propaganda,” millions continue to rely on it as their primary source of information on a wide array of topics.

One of the most recent issues highlighting the danger of Wikipedia’s impact on public opinion came when the group changed its definition of Zionism in mid-June. Though only now drawing public attention, the revisions are receiving severe backlash on social media, with users warning that “history is being rewritten.”

While much of the condemnation focuses on changes made between 2023 and 2024, venturing further back to Wikipedia’s page in 2004 shows just how far the editors have gone in redefining Zionism.

“Zionism is a political movement among Jews holding that the Jewish people constitute a nation and are entitled to a national homeland,” the 2004 page stated. “The word ‘Zionist’ derives from the word ‘Zion,’ being one of the names of Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible. To diaspora Jews, Zion has been a symbol of the Holy Land and of their return to it, as promised by God in Biblical prophecies.”

Though still far from perfect in its definition, the page in 2004 acknowledged the Jewish history in the land, the desire of Jews to return since the Roman Empire’s destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the antisemitism faced globally by diaspora Jews, and that there has always remained, to varying degrees, a Jewish presence in the land.

Slowly rewritten over time, the latest revisions made in June now insist that Zionism is an “ethno-cultural nationalist movement” rooted in the desire to “create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible.”

“The common ideology among mainstream Zionist factions is support for territorial concentration and a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine, through colonization,” the revision further states.

As Tel Aviv Institute senior fellow Hen Mazzig noted, “The new Wikipedia entry on Zionism isn’t just inaccurate, it’s downright antisemitic,” pointing to its section calling into question the genetic authenticity of European Jews.

“It asserts that the origin of Ashkenazi Jews is ‘highly debated and enigmatic,’ echoing Khazar theory, the dangerous lie that Ashkenazi Jews are converts and not descendants of the Jews exiled from the Land of Israel,” Mazzig stressed. “This theory is often weaponized to call Israelis ‘colonizers’ and thus dehumanize us. In fact, Jewish history of repeated exile and migration from Israel to Europe is incredibly well-documented, as are genetic studies linking our people to the Middle East. Any balanced article discussing Jewish genetics and Israel would mention that. Wikipedia has become a hate site.”

While the page in 2023 asserted that “Critics of Zionism view it as a colonialist, racist, or exceptionalist ideology or movement (through settler colonialism),” the revision now adds that even “Proponents of Zionism do not necessarily reject the characterization…” In other words, supporters of Zionism are apparently in agreement that their views are rooted in conquering, ethnically cleansing, and exploiting Palestinians.

Antisemitism expert Olivier Melnick would undoubtedly beg to differ, highlighting recently the vast scriptural evidence “validating the claims of Zionism.”

“From the biblical record, starting in Genesis, it can easily be argued that God Himself was the first Zionist,” Melnick underscored. “It hasn’t changed and never will. Those who fight or reject Zionism are fighting and/or rejecting God. Incidentally, He doesn’t want anybody to perish, and He certainly has the same love and compassion for both Jews and Arabs and so should we. Being a Zionist doesn’t mean that one is a racist or a colonizer.”

Wikipedia also recently voted to rename its page “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza” to “Gaza genocide.” The editors argued that the claims of so-called “genocide” in Gaza are a “settled fact.”

One of the “experts” cited by the editors was United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has faced strong condemnation by Israel, the United States, Germany, France, and others for her long history of repeating antisemitic tropes—including her distortion of the holocaust and recent comparison of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

Policy analyst Aviva Winton, in an opinion piece for the Jerusalem Post, stated that the move by Wikipedia “should, by any reasonable measure, hammer a final nail into the coffin of its credibility as a reliable source of information about Israel and Jews.”

Winton further warned that anti-semitic lies are “being magnified greatly by the activist takeover of Wikipedia.”

Artificial intelligence tools have also been programmed to rely on Wikipedia as a primary source of information. That information is then given to users, Winton warned, making it “yet another means by which billions of people are being fed inaccurate research and dangerously skewed narratives about Jews, Jewish history, antisemitism, Israel, and Zionism.”

British author and political commentator Douglas Murray recently underscored that anti-Zionism has seemingly branded itself as the only “acceptable form of antisemitism.”

“The interesting thing about antisemitism is the Jews can never win because, historically, they’ve been hated for being rich and for being poor,” he stated. “They’ve been hated for integrating and for not integrating. They were hated for being stateless; now, they’re hated for having a state… Zionism is simply the right of the Jews to self-determination in their historic homeland—that’s all.”

Amir Tsarfati, Founder and President of Behold Israel, details that “the Zionist vision [was] grounded in God’s Biblical promises.”

“The Zionist movement initiated the realization of the long-awaited dream of reestablishing a Jewish Homeland in the land of Israel. It is clear to us, now more than ever, that the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was the fulfillment of God’s promise to gather His people back to Zion,” Tsarfati stated. “This miracle was described in Ezekiel 36:24, [where God said] ‘I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.’”

“However, opponents of the Biblical vision of the Jewish return have often used the term ‘the Zionist entity’ to deny the rights and historical connection of the Jewish people to the land,” he explained. “This narrative portrays Zionism as an illegitimate Colonial project.”

“Despite this hostility, it’s important to recognize that Israel’s modern rebirth is intertwined with the Zionist vision grounded in God’s Biblical promises,” Tsarfati continued. “Believing in Israel’s right to the land means embracing Zionism, a movement that is not just political but spiritual. If you stand with God’s biblical promises for Israel, congratulations, you are a Zionist.”

“Remember,” he implored, “Zionism isn’t just a good thing; it’s a God thing.”