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Jehovah’s Witnesses and Zionism
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Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians who base their beliefs on the Holy Bible. While some religions teach that the gathering of Jews in Palestine is related to Bible prophecy, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not hold this view. They do not believe that such political events are specifically foretold in the Bible.1 In fact, the Bible does not promote any one human government or exalt one ethnic group or people over another.2 The Watchtower, the official magazine of Jehovah’s Witnesses, has unequivocally stated: “There [is] no Scriptural support for political Zionism.”3
Zionism has been described as a “Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine.”4 Its roots are both religious and political. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not advocate Zionism as a religious doctrine, and they are completely neutral toward political Zionism.
The organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses is entirely religious and does not advocate any political arrangement, which would include Zionism. The political neutrality of Jehovah’s Witnesses has been well documented, and in some lands the Witnesses have suffered severe persecution rather than compromise that neutrality.
A core tenet of the religious beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, regardless of where they live, is obedience to the laws of secular governments. They do not agitate against governmental authorities or participate in armed conflict.
1 Vindication, Vol. 2: 1932, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. In 1952, Jehovah’s Witnesses published the following statement: “Nothing in the modern return of the Jews to Palestine and the setting up of the Israeli republic corresponds with Bible prophecies concerning the restoration of Jehovah’s name-people to his favor and organization.”—“Let God Be True,” p. 217 (1952 Edition), published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.
3 The Watchtower, March 1, 1958, pp. 135-6.
4 Encyclopædia Britannica 2003 Ultimate Reference Suite CD-ROM Network Version, “Zionism.”