Revisionist Zionism was born as an ideology calling for the entire Mandate for Palestine, calling for Israeli sovereignty over "both banks of the Jordan." However, they eventually changed their position to "the whole land of Israel."[4] Nonetheless, the ideological forefather for Revisionist Zionism, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, called for equal rights for Arabs who would live in a potential Jewish state, albeit with hostility towards other Arab states, in his essay The Iron Wall.[5] For the most part, Revisionist Zionism initially lacked any clear ideology, with some variants calling for a bi-nationalliberal but nominally majority Jewish state, while other variants were outright fascist, sympathetic to Mussolini's Italy.[6]
During the Mandate period, the early foundations of conservatism were being built by political parties like Hatzohar and Agudat Yisrael, as well as by the paramilitary group Irgun. Hatzohar, which was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in 1923, called for the immediate establishment of the State of Israel "on both sides of the Jordan".[7][8] Jabotinsky himself was a supporter of Western-styleliberal conservatism and national liberalism, synthesizing them into his personal understanding of Revisionism.[9] In 1925, Jabotinsky founded Betar as the youth wing of the party. However, Betar would gain influence beyond the party, becoming a major Jewish youth group in its own right, surviving long after Hatzohar itself was dissolved. After Jabotinsky's death in 1940, Irgun leader Menachem Begin took over Hatzohar, using it effectively as the political arm of his organization.[10]
In Israel's early history as an independent state, Revisionist Zionism was not nearly as powerful of a political force as socialism and Labor Zionism. Herut, a party founded by former members of the Irgun, mostly remained as an opposition party throughout the 1940s through 1960s. It eventually formed a coalition, Gahal, with the Israeli Liberal Party, which would eventually become Likud in 1973.[11] Revisionist Zionism has historically been the ideology associated with the Likud party, especially under Begin's leadership.[12]
Agudat Yisrael, a religiously conservative and Hasidic party in Israel, takes a more pragmatic stance towards Israel. It does not associate any particular religious meaning, negative or positive, to the State of Israel,[13] and thus while not anti-Zionist, cannot be considered fully Zionist either. This position is referred to Da'at Torah (literally "the opinion of the Torah"), which sees the Torah as supreme above all political decisions, more so than any version of nationalism or anti-nationalism.[14]
There are also ultraconservative factions of Israeli society which are anti-Zionist. Neturei Karta is a Haredi anti-Zionist and ultraconservative group which split off from Agudat Yisrael due to its leniency towards Zionism.[18] However, Neturei Karta are seen as extreme by most Jews, including fellow Haredi anti-Zionists. A more mainstream Haredi anti-Zionist group would be the Satmar Hasidic dynasty. Nonetheless, the basis of both of these groups is the Three Oaths, which mandates divine punishment to any Jews attempting to rebuild a Jewish state or homeland. Both Satmar and Neturei Karta agree that the Holocaust was divine punishment from God for Zionism, something all other religious Jewish groups reject.[19]
"Neo-Zionism" is a term often used to refer to a more generic form of Israeli right-wing nationalism, combining aspects of both Religious and Revisionist Zionism. Most notably, Neo-Zionism is notable for its relations with other illiberal and right-wing populist movements globally, it's criticism of Labor Zionism specifically and pro-peace Zionists more broadly, especially those that promote a two-state solution to the conflict, support for a strong security policy based on American neoconservative ideas, and supports the goal of building a "Greater Israel" in the West Bank (which they call Judea and Samaria) and Gaza.[20] One of the most notable neo-Zionist groups is Im Tirtzu, which campaigns against left-wing, liberal, and post-Zionist academics in Israeli universities and colleges.[21] Many have also referred to Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership over Likud to be neo-Zionist in nature.[22]