Understanding the gulf between Zionism and Judaism
Owing to the genocide taking place in Palestine there has been a rise in anti-jewish violence and antijewish sentiment, especially in Europe. For Jewish people this gives rise to a fear that they might once again face a Nazi Holocaust. Such a fear is always uppermost in the minds of Jewish people.
This persecution of Jews is misguided and is based on the misconception that Zionism is synonymous with Judaism and that Israel is a Jewish State rather than a secular Zionist State. These misconceptions have caused and continue to cause a dangerous confusion, especially dangerous for Jews. Most Jewish people throughout the world do not regard themselves as Zionists and many oppose the very existence of Israel. To explain the difference between Zionism and Judaism it is firstly important to understand that Judaism is an ancient religion founded several thousand years ago whilst Zionism is a nationalistic political ideology founded in the late 19th Century.
Jews who oppose the existence of Israel and condemn Zionism are often referred to as ultra-orthodox Jews as though they are in some way different from other Jews. All Jews follow the religion of Judaism and this is how we should define what it is to be Jewish. Moreover being Jewish does not mean that you belong to a specific race no more so than being Christian or Muslim does. Nor does it mean that you adhere to a political ideology. These are Zionist constructs.
Central to their opposition is the conviction that the return to the Holy Land (Palestine) must be a purely spiritual and divine act, unaided by human intervention or political manoeuvring and not brought about by the use of military power and violence. They draw upon interpretations of sacred texts, particularly using the Midrash, to support their stance, contending that any attempt to expedite their Messianic redemption through secular means is tantamount to rebellion against God’s will. Judaism teaches that the establishment of Israel by human agency represents an usurpation of divine authority and a violation of their religion.
The fervent opposition of Jews to the State of Israel is not merely a political stance but a theological imperative—a steadfast assertion of their faith in divine providence and an unwavering commitment to the destiny of the Jewish people as laid down in their religious texts.
Theodore Herzl is regarded as the founder of Israel and is revered in Israel as a Jew, but many forget or choose to forget that he did not believe in God or in Judaism. The State he sought to create would be a secular state based on the idea of Jewish “national” and “ethnic” identity and incorporating those features he found most attractive in 19th century Europe, particularly Germany.
His plan immediately brought opposition from Jews who rejected the idea of a separate Jewish nationalism and considered themselves full members of the societies in which they were born and lived. German Jews before the rise of Nazism and before the Zionist-nazi Pact of 1933 (the Haavara or Transfer Agreement) were especially proud of their German heritage.
The Jewish opposition to Zionism is possibly best demonstrated by Adolf Jellinek who was seen as the greatest Jewish preacher of his age and a standard bearer of Judaism from his position as rabbi at the Leopoldstadt Temple in Vienna in the 19th century. He deplored the creation of what he called a “small state like Serbia or Romania outside Europe which would most likely become the plaything of one Great Power against another and whose future would be very uncertain.”
This, however, was not the real basis for his opposition. He argued that it threatened the position of Jews in Western countries and that “almost all Jews in Europe” would vote against the scheme if they were given the opportunity. He stated: “We are at home in Europe and feel ourselves to be children of the lands in which we were born, raised, and educated, whose languages we speak and whose cultures constitute our intellectual substance. We are Germans, Frenchmen, Englishmen, Hungarians, Italians, etc. with every fibre of our being. We long ago ceased to be genuine full-blooded Semites in the sense of a Hebrew nationality that has long since been lost.”
Sadly his prophecy that Israel would become the plaything of Great Powers has proven to be true and is the root cause of the Palestinian conflict.
SADLY ADOLF JELLINEK’S PROPHECY THAT ISRAEL WOULD BECOME THE PLAYTHING OF GREAT POWERS HAS PROVEN TO BE TRUE AND IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PALESTINIAN CONFLICT.