Zionism alone sustained biblical justifications because of a real cultural tie to the land

Evidence

Religious metaphors and texts have been used in justificatory colonial discourses in many settler-colonial and colonial projects. Settler-colonial societies, to varying extents, invoked the Hebrew Bible in their projects, including in Northern America (Goldman 2004; Prior 1997; McSloy 1996), South Africa, and Northern Ireland (see Akenson 1992). But what sets Zionism aside as fundamentally different, indeed distinct, in terms of blending religious claims into the project, is that unlike other settler-colonial projects, the Jewish people have a cultural (with a strong religious component) and historical connection to Palestine. While other settler-colonial projects with different historical circumstances and political trajectories dropped the biblical claims and sought alternative sources of legitimacy, Zionists leaned in further and deeper on biblical justifications. The cultural connection to the land was crucial in this regard. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 489

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts settler-colonial projects that dropped biblical claims vs. Zionism leaning in — parallels the rhetoric-vs-reality thread in the reader’s Base Nation and French civilizing-mission work on legitimating ideology. — connects to: Zionism made the Bible a national rather than religious text — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 327; Secular Zionism reinterpreted theology rather than departing from it; Zionism’s core rationales were Judaized colonial doctrines — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 976 (+1 more)
• QUESTION: When other settler-colonial projects ‘dropped’ their claims — was this a deliberate abandonment or a shift to new legitimators once the land was secured? Bearish for when threat/symbol loses utility.

Broader Connections

• Zionism made the Bible a national rather than religious text #expands (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 327
• Secular Zionism reinterpreted theology rather than departing from it #corroborates (0.80)
• Zionism’s core rationales were Judaized colonial doctrines #contradicts (0.80) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 976