Ze’ev Jabotinsky
Founder of Revisionist Zionism; ideological forefather of Likud
Founder of the maximalist Revisionist strand, who argued in his 1923 essay “The Iron Wall” that a Jewish state could only be achieved behind an overwhelming force that Arab opposition could not breach.
What happened
Responding to those who thought Zionist settlement could proceed by voluntary agreement with the Arabs of Palestine, Jabotinsky argued this was impossible: no people voluntarily accepts becoming a minority in its own land.
Zionist colonisation must either stop, or else proceed regardless of the native population… it can proceed and develop only under the protection of a power that is independent of the native population — behind an iron wall, which the native population cannot breach. (“The Iron Wall,” 1923)
Under each definition
He founded and led Revisionist Zionism.
He sought a Jewish-majority state, maximally.
He explicitly used the word “colonisation,” a primary exhibit for the critical reading.
Secular nationalist; his argument was strategic, not messianic.
The case that they're a Zionist
He founded and named a Zionist movement, sought a Jewish-majority state more maximally than most contemporaries, and — unusually — used the word “colonisation” himself, making him a primary exhibit for the settler-colonial reading.
The case against / their own view
The religious lens fails (he was a secular nationalist), and defenders (e.g. historian Avi Shlaim) note he framed the “iron wall” as a precondition for an eventual negotiated settlement with equal rights.
In their words
As long as the Arabs feel that there is the least hope of getting rid of us, they will refuse to give up this hope… because they are not a rabble, but a living people.
The verdicts above are how each definition would most likely classify this person — illustrative guidance, not official rulings. The lenses diverge most on the difference between a self-label and a substantive commitment, and between “Zionism” meaning a Jewish homeland versus a Jewish state. See the Definition tab for each definition’s full text. Inclusion is documentation, not a finding.