Zionism fuses religious and national identity so completely they are indistinguishable.

Evidence

As a national ideology (vs. political attitude as in Christian Zionism), Zionism represents an extreme case of fusion between religion and nationalism. In order to understand the depth of this fusion, consider the total overlap between Jewish religion and Jewish nationalism: You are a Jew in nationality only if you are a Jew in religion and vice versa. Thus, for example, immigrants from the former Soviet Union who are not Jewish in religion (but were accepted as citizens by Israel based on the Law of Return because of their relationship in a particular way to a Jew as the law stipulates) are not Jewish by nationality. They are Israeli citizens like other non-Jewish citizens, such as the Palestinian citizens, but because they are not Jewish themselves in religious terms (and therefore in national terms), there is a price to pay. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 483

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s core question about sacralization making identity categories non-negotiable and closed to rational or civic reframing. — connects to: The religious core is inseparable from Zionism but separable from Israeli Jewish nationalism — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 564; Religion and nationalism are fused throughout secular Zionism, not only in religious nationalism. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 523; Secular Zionism deliberately fused itself with religious claims to build legitimacy. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 511 (+6 more)
• DEFINE: Extends the definitional contrast between civic/ethno-religious nationalism the reader is testing across cases.

Broader Connections

• Religion and nationalism are fused throughout secular Zionism, not only in religious nationalism. #corroborates (1.00) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 523
• The religious core is inseparable from Zionism but separable from Israeli Jewish nationalism #contradicts (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 564
• Secular Zionism deliberately fused itself with religious claims to build legitimacy. #expands (0.80) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 511
• Zionist secularization nationalized messianic myth rather than replacing it #expands (0.80) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 315
• Zionism made the Bible a national rather than religious text #corroborates (0.80) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 327
• Zionist secularism was a European cultural identity by definition #qualifies (0.75) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 663
• Zionism grew from Jewish religion, messianism, and persecution, not race. #qualifies (0.75) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1344
• Zionism countered the earlier invention of Judaism as a religion #complicates (0.75) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 748
• Zionism is colonial expansionism, not an expression of Judaism. #contradicts (0.70) — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 553