Editing Zionism (section)

===National self-determination===
{{See also|Nationalism|Rise of nationalism in Europe|Self-determination}}
Fundamental to Zionism is the belief that Jews constitute a nation, and have a moral and historic right and need for [[national self-determination|self-determination]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].{{efn|"The basic assumption regarding the right of Jews to Palestine—a right that required no proof—was a fundamental component of all Zionist programs. In contrast with other prospective areas for Jewish settlement, such as Argentina or East Africa, it was generally believed that no one could deny the right of the Jews to their ancestral land. Even Ahad Ha-Am, the eternal skeptic, commented that this was 'a land to which our historical right is beyond doubt and has no need for farfetched proofs.' Others, such as Lilienblum, did not even think it necessary to dwell on this matter."{{sfn|Shapira|1992|p=41}}}} This belief developed out of the experiences of European Jewry, which the early Zionists believed demonstrated the danger inherent to their status as a minority. In contrast to the Zionist notion of nationhood, the Judaic sense of being a nation was rooted in religious beliefs of unique chosenness and divine providence, rather than in ethnicity. Specifically, prayers emphasized distinctiveness from other nations where a connection to [[Eretz Israel]] and the anticipation of restoration were based on messianic beliefs and religious practices, not modern nationalist conceptions.{{sfn|Rabkin|2006|loc=A New Identity}}{{sfn|Shimoni|1995|p=53}}