This rule is weirdly incongruous with the others, given the anodyne dictionary definition of “Zionism”. Does it serve rather as a kind of ideological litmus test to exclude certain viewpoints - and indeed certain people - from this community? How is that defensible?
I’m a European who believes in tolerance. Having just noticed this egregiously discriminatory statement of values, I’m now thinking that I will not feel at home in this community.
PS: I see without surprise that this is not going to generate worthwhile debate. As a liberal (not Jewish and I generally vote green), I did see the health warning about “left-anarchism” (whatever, there’s overlap). I was pretty pleased to discover this community. But I don’t think I can continue contributing when there’s literally a rule condoning ethnic discrimination. That’s something that fascists do. It’s certainly not the European spirit. Bye.
For a serious answer I suppose you’d need to read several books about the history of Israel and its relationship with Europe, the semiotic position of the term Zionism in contemporary political discourse, and methodologies for dealing with problematic topics in online communities.
But in short I’d say that the more evil is done in the name of Zionism, the more the name itself becomes perceived as synonymous with it, and there’s a lot of that going on these days.
IMO a better serious answer would be for the community not to have a rule that appears to be a discriminatory dog-whistle, or (in this most good-faith possible interpretation) weirdly obsessional. This community is for discussing Europe, not West Asia.
IMO you’re either playing dumb or just simply out of touch with what’s been going on. I think it’s clear without saying the original meaning and intention of the word Zionism is accepted here but it’s most recently used as an excuse or a reason to commit genocide and wage war indiscriminately.