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2. What is Zionism?

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The Israeli Nation-State
This chapter is in the book The Israeli Nation-State
2What is Zionism?GADI TAUBJews have dreamed of returning to their ancient homeland during the whole period of exile; but Zionism as a political movement is a new thing, which goes beyond the traditional yearning for Zion. Individuals and groups have always immigrated to the Land of Israel, but Zionism went beyond that too, in its demand for political institutionalization of Jewish life in that land. Antisemitism existed throughout the ages, but Zionism sought a state for reasons above and beyond the need for a physical sanc-tuary for Jews. Zionism is a modern phenomenon, and its novelty is part of modernity itself: the promise that all human beings, including the Jews, will be free and sovereign over their own fate.This, indeed, is the cornerstone of Zionism: the right of Jews to be “masters of their own fate”—in David Ben-Gurion’s famous words—without having to give up their Jewish identity. Though it is true that under the name “Zionism” there are many ideas and different shades of ideology, one can nonetheless articulate with some clarity the common frame-work for mainstream political Zionism. Theodor Herzl’s and later David Ben-Gurion’s concepts of Zionism sought to put an end to the depen-dence of Jews for their rights, their safety, often their very existence, on the
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

2What is Zionism?GADI TAUBJews have dreamed of returning to their ancient homeland during the whole period of exile; but Zionism as a political movement is a new thing, which goes beyond the traditional yearning for Zion. Individuals and groups have always immigrated to the Land of Israel, but Zionism went beyond that too, in its demand for political institutionalization of Jewish life in that land. Antisemitism existed throughout the ages, but Zionism sought a state for reasons above and beyond the need for a physical sanc-tuary for Jews. Zionism is a modern phenomenon, and its novelty is part of modernity itself: the promise that all human beings, including the Jews, will be free and sovereign over their own fate.This, indeed, is the cornerstone of Zionism: the right of Jews to be “masters of their own fate”—in David Ben-Gurion’s famous words—without having to give up their Jewish identity. Though it is true that under the name “Zionism” there are many ideas and different shades of ideology, one can nonetheless articulate with some clarity the common frame-work for mainstream political Zionism. Theodor Herzl’s and later David Ben-Gurion’s concepts of Zionism sought to put an end to the depen-dence of Jews for their rights, their safety, often their very existence, on the
© 2019 Academic Studies Press, Boston, USA

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Contributors ix
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Introductory Remarks 1
  6. Part I. Revisiting the Basics
  7. 1. The State of Israel and National Identity 8
  8. 2. What is Zionism? 39
  9. Part II. Historical and Philosophical Contexts
  10. 3. Democratic First, Jewish Second: A Rationale 66
  11. 4. Cosmopolitanism versus Normative Difference: From Habermas to Levinas–Is Israel an Exception? 78
  12. 5. The Holocaust as the Zionist and Anti-Zionist Narrative of the State of Israel 106
  13. Part III. State and Nation
  14. 6. The Constitutional Significance of the Jewishness of Israel 118
  15. 7. Reflections on the Meaning and Justification of “Jewish” in the Expression “A Jewish and Democratic State” 135
  16. 8. Israel as a Nation-State in Supreme Court Rulings 164
  17. 9. A Jewish Majority as the Leading Criterion for Shaping Immigration Policy to Israel 191
  18. Part IV. State and Religions
  19. 10. Religion and State: A Critical Analysis of Meanings in Public Discourse 210
  20. 11. The Right to the Land: From Moral Justifications to Religious Justifications and Back Again 243
  21. 12. The Liberal/Multicultural Nature of the Religious Accommodations for the Palestinian-Arab Minority in Israel: A Curse or a Blessing? 265
  22. Part V. Society, Culture, and Demography
  23. 13. Is Israeli Society Disintegrating? Doomsday Prophecies and Facts on the Ground 292
  24. 14. The Palestinian Israelis’ Attempt to Challenge the Jewish State in Education: A Citizenship Act or a Radical Shift? 317
  25. 15. The Future of Nationhood in Israel 342
  26. Index 364
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781618113900-005

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Contributors ix
  4. Acknowledgments xiii
  5. Introductory Remarks 1
  6. Part I. Revisiting the Basics
  7. 1. The State of Israel and National Identity 8
  8. 2. What is Zionism? 39
  9. Part II. Historical and Philosophical Contexts
  10. 3. Democratic First, Jewish Second: A Rationale 66
  11. 4. Cosmopolitanism versus Normative Difference: From Habermas to Levinas–Is Israel an Exception? 78
  12. 5. The Holocaust as the Zionist and Anti-Zionist Narrative of the State of Israel 106
  13. Part III. State and Nation
  14. 6. The Constitutional Significance of the Jewishness of Israel 118
  15. 7. Reflections on the Meaning and Justification of “Jewish” in the Expression “A Jewish and Democratic State” 135
  16. 8. Israel as a Nation-State in Supreme Court Rulings 164
  17. 9. A Jewish Majority as the Leading Criterion for Shaping Immigration Policy to Israel 191
  18. Part IV. State and Religions
  19. 10. Religion and State: A Critical Analysis of Meanings in Public Discourse 210
  20. 11. The Right to the Land: From Moral Justifications to Religious Justifications and Back Again 243
  21. 12. The Liberal/Multicultural Nature of the Religious Accommodations for the Palestinian-Arab Minority in Israel: A Curse or a Blessing? 265
  22. Part V. Society, Culture, and Demography
  23. 13. Is Israeli Society Disintegrating? Doomsday Prophecies and Facts on the Ground 292
  24. 14. The Palestinian Israelis’ Attempt to Challenge the Jewish State in Education: A Citizenship Act or a Radical Shift? 317
  25. 15. The Future of Nationhood in Israel 342
  26. Index 364
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