The first factor to have contributed to the weakening of Zionism within Israel is the fact that the Israel of today, more than 50 years since being reborn, is a wealthy, prosperous and strong nation, not only regionally, but in many areas globally. This prosperity and strength is, of course, due to the efforts inspired by Zionism. However, few of today's younger generation bother to follow the examples of their forefathers.

The younger generations of Israel have, to an extent, become content, comfortable, and perhaps even a little lazy in comparison with those Jewish pioneers that built Israel as a nation from the ground up. These attitudes of contentment, comfort, and even laziness are not compatible with Zionism, and as a result Zionism as a wholesale way of life has been rejected by many Israelis today.

Many Israelis today feel that Zionism as an ideology and way of life is no longer needed; that Zionism served its purpose in bringing about the reestablishment of the state and the initial building of the nation, and is now outdated and irrelevant to modern life in Israel. However, Zionism is an ideology that has no end, for it strives for the growth, prosperity, and security of Israel no matter what level of success she may reach. The rejection of Zionism by many in Israel today for the reason that Zionism is outdated is simply another excuse for shunning the Zionist lifestyle because of contentment and laziness.

The other major factor contributing to the weakening of Zionism within Israel today is a desire by most Israelis, particularly those of the left-wing persuasion, to simply "be like the rest of the world." These Israelis look at the fact that the Jewish people as a whole have been historically persecuted and looked down upon for being different from the nations of the world. They therefore desire to establish a completely secular state in Israel that will be accepted by the nations of the world as "one of the gang." Zionism hinders these desires as it is an ideology that focuses on the welfare of the Jewish state and desires to set Israel apart as a Jewish nation, in many ways separate from the nations of the world.

Zionism is, therefore, seen by these Israelis as an almost racist stance that gives the Jews of Israel a higher status than non-Jewish residents of Israel. This, of course, is not true, as Zionism has no desire to in any way alienate the non-Jewish residents of Israel, but to incorporate them into the building of the nation, all while maintaining Israel's Jewish identity.

In this second contributing factor, it is very clear that Zionism has biblical backing. Israel was established as a nation by God Almighty to be a separate, called out nation, a light to the nations of the world (Genesis 22:17, 18; Deuteronomy 26:18, 19).

Furthermore, these two primary factors in the weakening of Zionism have been made further possible by the fact that support for Zionism by world Jewry, primarily American Jewry, has drastically declined. During the early years of Zionism, the movement enjoyed substantial support from wealthy European Jews as well as the Jewish masses of America. Today, that support has severely declined, though there are still to be found many Diaspora Jews who cling to and support Zionism (i.e.: JINSA, ZOA).

These facts have led to a conflict within Israeli Jewish society between those who, for the above given reasons as well as others, reject Zionism and those who cling to Zionism as the only way to maintain and strengthen Israel. Israeli Zionists who put their ideology into action by establishing towns and cities in "disputed regions" of Israel (Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and the Golan Heights - Biblical heartlands of the Kingdom of Israel) are shunned by non-Zionist sectors of society and derogatorily referred to as "settlers." The list of disputes and conflicts between Zionist and non-Zionist Israelis could go on. Suffice it to say that an ideology that once bound Israel's Jews together as one has in many areas been allowed to tear those binds apart.