What is Zionism? The Ancient Roots Explained | Part 1

In this first episode of my four-part series, we explore the question: What is Zionism? To understand this influential and often controversial idea, we must step back in time and examine its ancient foundations. For thousands of years, many Jews believed in a divine covenant linking them to the Land of Israel, a belief deeply rooted in biblical texts and Jewish tradition. After the Roman expulsion nearly 2,000 years ago, Jews lived as a diasporic people, scattered across the world yet connected to the idea of return. While many Jews waited patiently for the Messiah to lead them back, others eventually began to see this dream not as a distant hope but as a political project. Zionism transformed a spiritual longing into a movement, one that called for organization, settlement, and self-determination.