1.) I'm not Jewish either, was raised Baptist, turned atheist, and never even knew anyone Jewish till I was 26. So I have no dog in this fight, other than the feeling that the people who hate Jews and the people who hate American capitalists are the same people.
2.) A lot of people distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, and I always wonder: why is it that demanding a home for Palestinians is "social justice" and demanding a home for Jews (far more endangered and persecuted historically) is "Zionism"? I still don't understand that. No one calls Native Americans nasty names for wanting their reservations, why differentiate with this "Zionist" tag?
3.) From what I hear, the Jews and the Arabs did NOT "get along" for thousands of years before 1947. Any Jewish (excuse me, "Zionist") site on the web lists the terrorist attacks launched against Jews starting in about 1922. And my readings of the Koran and my readings of the various websites convince me that Jews were allowed to live in Muslim theocracies only as "dhimmies" who were considered lesser people, did not have full rights as citizens, and had to pay extra taxes. In other words, they got treated like crap and as long as they put up with it, they lived in "peace". This is the same sort of "peace" blacks had in 1930s Alabama. Keep your head down, boy, and say "yassuh" and "nossuh" and you can live in "peace." And oh, by the way, when Hitler starts slaughtering all your relatives, the Mufti of Jerusalem (Arafat's uncle, from what I gather) will go to the SS and ask them to drop a few bombs on his Jewish problem too.
As far as the Zionist label, I'm under the impression that it's one that Jews have adopted for themselves, and rather than being some sort of disparaging label, it's essentially a rallying cry for Jewish nationalism. I don't view it either positively or negatively. It just is. Again, I always welcome informed viewpoints that correct any incorrect perceptions that I may have.