Since
the advent of "modern Zionism" the political-social "ism"
has been the subject of a very deep internal tension. With the creation of the State of Israel, the
military victories and acquisition of territory, the tension deepened. The current "threat of peace," has
created a crisis of dissonance that cannot be ignored. At its root it is an identity crisis: What is Zionism? What is its purpose, its reason d'êtres?
This
is why so many, speaking in the name of "Zionism," voice such
disparate and contrary positions. Even
many individuals are found to sometimes speak in "two voices," as many
individuals, particularly those involved in politics have affinities for
aspects of both models.
On
the one hand, according to the Herzelian model of Zionism, it has already
fulfilled its purpose and has therefore become irrelevant. This is the phenomena of the so-called
"Post-Zionism." Herzelian
Zionism came into existence to answer the eternal and troubling "Jewish
Question." This wasn't only a
question for Jews, as the world had for centuries struggled with the same
question: What to do with the Jews?
While many of the "solutions" proffered to this question were
quite horrendous, Herzl, in his monumental effort, did not radically stray from
the basic parameters and constraints of the "problem." The Jews, as a social religious national
group, stood apart from the rest of civilization, unable or refusing to
integrate with the rest of the world. As
a result, according to the model, Jews were subject to persecution. The establishment of a modern "normal"
state for the Jews was intended to facilitate the Jewish nation's integration
into the family of nations, while at the same time provide a haven, and refuge
from persecution.
Yet,
there is another voice, an older, deeper voice of Zionism that resonates, and
has always resonated in the hearts of even the most cynical and pragmatic
Jew. This is the voice of Redemptive
Zionism. Within this paradigm of
Zionism, the State of Israel is but a step in the continually unfolding process
of redemption, a redemption that is defined through the unification of the
people of Israel with the
God of Israel in the Land
of Israel. It is a process of Zionism that culminates in
the fulfillment of Israel's role
as a light, a teacher and example, a leader to the rest of the world, and is
symbolized through the building of the Temple on
Mount Moriah.
When
there are voices decrying that Jews cannot live under "foreign rule"
(because it's not safe), or that they should refuse the Spanish citizenship
(because we "can't trust the goyim), these are echoes of the Herzelian
Zionism. A Redemptive Zionist would not
ask how Jews could live under foreign rule, but rather, how could the Land of Israel be under foreign rule? And further, how can the Jewish State be run
by foreign rules?
Redemptive
Zionists are not threatened by a government trying to make amends for its
past. They are not "afraid of the
goyim," but rather recognize their mission to redeem the other nations
from their spiritual and moral slumber.
For
Redemptive Zionists, the State of Israel is not "compensation," for
the crimes of humanity have perpetrated against the nation of Israel. It doesn't see Israel as victims. Rather, it sees the ingathering of the nation
of Israel to the Land of Israel as the fulfillment of an eternal
promise by Gd. Redemption Zionists see
it as incumbent to remain loyal to that promise and to help enable its complete
fulfillment.
Herzelian
Zionism, particularly in the early years, siphoned the strong natural
inclination of Redemptive Zionism that is implanted in every Jewish soul. But the goals of Herzelian Zionism are a false
destiny, and are therefore doomed to fail.
The miracle of Israel
can not be truncated by the pragmatism.
Any attempt to do so will only set back the entire enterprise.
It
is time for the Redemptive Zionists to stop listening to the echoes of
Herzl. There is no Jewish problem to
solve, only a Jewish promise to fulfill.
B"H - What you call "Redemptive Zionism" is only a Kookist, modern day, false messianism: No Golden Calf can become Moshe.
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