"Modern Hebrew" is a Zionist invention:
- It was created by Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman, a notorious Zionist and a founder of "Hebrewism", a notion that Hebrew should be the only language that Jews should use, not Aramaic or Yiddish. (As opposed to Yiddishism)
- It is mostly spoken by "Israelis"
- At the time of Hebrew revival, most Jews opposed using holy language for discussing everyday things and preferred Yiddish as a national language of Jewish people
But can a language by itself be Zionist? It is a Zionist invention, it is used by Zionists, but does speaking it make you a Zionist? Should Jews worldwide learn and use Yiddish and Aramaic as a national language instead of "Modern Hebrew"? I mean, "Modern Hebrew" is so artificial, it didn't have curse words at the beginning, so Zionists sweared at Yiddishists in Yiddish!
P.S. Apologies to many smart people here bothering you with my midnight thoughts
Modern Hebrew is essentially a Herzlian invention, with the grammar and other aspects modified to look more European, and according to Jewish tradition Hebrew is a sacred language that is no longer to be employed for casual purposes (otherwise it loses its specialty). The Herzlians threw this rule out the window, probably because it was the only language that all Jews had in common, and now it's become something that many Palestinians associate with their oppressors. It is especially infuriating for anticolonial Jews to see their literary language used as hate speech against the innocent.
Speaking Modern Hebrew does not make anyone a Herzlian, especially if you want to understand what the settlers are saying, but personally I would prefer that it be retired in favor of other Jewish languages and dialects. They could really use the attention. Hebrew should stay a ceremonial and literary language, more or less analogous to Latin.
@AYJANIBRAHIMOV@lemmygrad.ml is a good person to consult on this subject.