A Rise in Sephardic Anti-Zionism?
Columnist Andrew Wagner, writing his vivid article for the Jerusalem Post, decried this week the advent of a new video. This new video, "Herzl", in the words of Mr. Wagner:
Shofar's CD is a professionally produced two-hour attack on secular Zionism that labels Herzl, Revisionist Zionist founder Ze'ev Jabotinsky, writer Joseph Haim Brenner, and prime minister David Ben-Gurion as anti-Semites who hated their own religious tradition.But Herzl is singled out as a Hitlerian figure. In the video, Israelis, apparently chosen at random in Ramat Aviv's Mall, are asked to read out loud excerpts from Herzl's diary in which he advocates "encouraging anti-Semites to destroy Jewish property." The people are then asked to guess who wrote the entry. One after another they reply, "Hitler."
If you have Internet Explorer, please click here to watch the video (click here for the direct link - WMV).
What Mr. Wagner's article leaves conspicuously omitted is that Herzl advocated not only the mass conversion of Jews to Christianity as a way of escaping anti-Semitism, but Herzl's vision of Israel -- as even related by the Jewish Virtual Library, consisted of a "socialist utopia...a new society that was to rise in the Land of Israel on a cooperative basis utilizing science and technology in the development of the Land." One source notes, Herzl's visions "were visions of a Jewish state to be populated by European Jewry".
Herzl, as the Wikipedia tells us, "envisioned a Jewish state that was devoid of most aspects of Jewish culture. He did not envision the Jewish inhabitants of the state being religious, or even speaking Hebrew."
Herzl did, however, speak of G-d in his plans for Israel, at least in passing:
By means of our state, we can educate our people for tasks which still lie beyond our horizon. For [G-d] would not have preserved our people for so long if we did not have another destiny in the history of mankind. (Herzl, Briefe und Tagebuecher, vol. 2, pp. 128- 129)
That same article says that Herzl wanted his children to have a "connection to Judaism" stronger than he, a claim I am led not to believe considering his son converted to Christianity. And while Herzl may have recanted, he still in his early years advocated mass conversion to Christianity as a way of dealing with anti-Semitism, and was thinking this way possibly as late as 1893.
David Ben-Gurion also had a vision of Israel involving secular "cultural identity", much of which leaves Mizrachi/Sephardi Jews sorely underrepresented in terms of goals and appropriation.
All of this is designed to bring out a point. One can not expect the adherents of Torah Judaism, simply by virtue of being in Israel, to get behind the teachings of a Herzl or a Jabotinsky.
Especially not when their ideals get trampled on, their schools get ripped off, and they are told to automatically feel this responsiblity to pay homage to people whose disciples subjugated their ancestors and rendered them second-class inhabitants of shanty towns. Zionism simply has not paid off for all Jews. MK Zevulun Orlev and (perhaps especially) Yuli Tamir need to check themselves when they say these edicts such as that "the CD was aimed at undermining the Zionist foundation of the state" and asking Tamir to "warn school principals."
The extent to which Israel bases its "foundation" on secular Zionism is the extent to which many religious people will continue to feel alienated by it.
R' Amnon Yitzhak is a ga'on, and I have no question in my mind that it is not on the Rav's agenda to bring about the demise of any group of people or entity. But, at least in the eyes of SHOFAR program directors, the point of view needed to be expressed that the "Jewish State" is Jewish largely despite the actions and visions of its pioneers.
R' Yitzhak is an advocate of kiruv and teshuvah, of secular people reaffirming their ties to the Jewish spiritual heritage and observance thereof. He is one of the pioneers of the chazara b'tshuvah (returning to G-d) movement in Israel, through which thousands of Israelis have discovered/rediscovered a connection to Torah. A far cry from the " haredi fire-and-brimstone preacher" Mr. Wagner portrays in his article, R' Amnon Yitzhak is doing a huge spiritual service to Israel.
Not that I agree with everything he says. But were this to be a rise in Sephardic anti-Zionism, one would understand. Sha"s is already becoming more non-Zionist (calling for cease fires in Lebanon, et al.), and friction between gedolei Yisra'el and secular Zionist nationalists has long been known.
History gives us the big picture, it is not Photoshop.
Comments
The Baba Sali was pretty anti-zionist, so this is not a new thing for Sepharadim, but for the most part, Sephardic non-Zionism does seem to be getting more prevalent than in the past.
Also, "Zionism" should be distinguished from "secular Zionist leaders". Whether Herzl should be praised or denounced is irrelevant to the principles of "Love of the Land and its people", which Sepharadim still uphold to.
Posted by: yaak | September 20, 2006 07:32 PM