Is Mark Zuckerberg a Zionist?
Mark Zuckerberg – the jewish owner and public face of Facebook – has long been something of an enigma on the subject of Israel despite the occasional citation of him as a Zionist. (1) He is also periodically accused of being an anti-Zionist by the political right in Israel when he does something that they dislike. (2)
I thought it was time to have a look at the little evidence we have on this subject.
In the first instance, despite the venom directed at him the political right in Israel, he works closely with the Israeli government to help them censor information that they don’t want released into the public domain as well as suppressing some news stories that they don’t like. (3)
In the second, while he was attending Harvard – where he developed/stole (depending on who you believe) Facebook – he was an active member of jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, (4) which is ferociously pro-Zionist. (5)
In the third; Zuckerberg has explained at length that his jewishness informs his socio-political views. (6) This was aptly demonstrated when he recently chose to recite a Hebrew prayer at a Harvard graduation ceremony. (7)
All this suggests – although it does not prove – that Zuckerberg is a Zionist, but of the liberal rather than the ‘Israeli-till-I-die’ variety that is more popularly associated with the ideology. He joined an avowedly Zionist fraternity at Harvard – an odd decision if it either didn’t matter to him or he was opposed to Zionism – and he has publicly stated that his jewishness plays a major part in his decision-making (a major part of nearly every Zionist’s intellectual make-up), which all points towards Zuckerberg being a liberal Zionist but about which he deliberately remains is very quiet.
References
(1) For example: https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/27/%E2%80%98zionist%E2%80%99-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-summoned-to-appear-in-iranian-court/; http://www.jta.org/2009/07/01/news-opinion/the-telegraph/is-facebook-a-zionist-plot
(2) For example: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/685709/Facebook-Mark-Zuckerberg-Israel-Palestine-terrorists; http://www.newsweek.com/israel-minister-facebook-zuckerberg-blood-hands-over-teenager-settlement-477399; http://forward.com/fast-forward/375533/jewish-trump-appointeemark-zuckerberg-self-hating-jew/
(3) https://theintercept.com/2016/09/12/facebook-is-collaborating-with-the-israeli-government-to-determine-what-should-be-censored/
(4) http://gawker.com/5634124/facebook-ceos-secret-frat-name-has-been-revealed
(5) http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-and-off-campus-aepi-brothers-have-got-israels-back/; https://electronicintifada.net/content/frat-boys-who-slander-palestine-solidarity/14277
(6) http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Facebooks-Zuckerberg-I-want-to-add-my-voice-in-support-of-Muslims-436849; http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/mark-zuckerberg-an-american-jewish-tragedy-53783/; http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/20/the-face-of-facebook
(7) http://forward.com/fast-forward/373091/mark-zuckerberg-hebrew-prayer-harvard-graduation/