Zionism

Zionism

Myths About Zionism

Zionism, like many other political movements has many myths attributed to its cause. The importance in recognizing the myths concerning Zionism lies in the fact that because these myths have existed throughout the history of the movement, they have been a cause for misfortune in the lives of many people. As noted by John Rose in his introduction to The Myths of Zionism, "if a group of people experience injustice and oppression as a result of a myth, a falsehood, surely it hardly matters to them whether the falsehood was, or was not, deliberately deceptive in its origin." According to Rose, Zionism is held together by a series of "false notions that undermine its claims on the Jewish religion and Jewish history, its rationale as a response to Europe's anti-Semitism, and above all its justification for its aggressive and very dangerous political posturing in the land of Palestine." The folklore surrounding Zionism has had many negative impacts on its community. Ironically, some of the greatest myths about Zionism were created by one of the movements greatest leaders, David Ben-Gurion.

Ancient Israel

One of the greatest myths about Zionism originated from Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Ben-Gurion warned British authorities in 1970 that "the Bible is our Mandate." By this, he referred to a story in the Old Testament where an ancient Jewish kingdom of Israel was referred to as 'Ancient Israel' that happened to coincide with the borders of Palestine. In turn, this ideology became the "notorious visionary geographical concept of Zionism, Eretz Israel, the land of Israel." One of the fundamental problems with this vision of 'Ancient Israel', is that Ben-Gurion did not even believe in this myth himself. All that mattered to him was that many Jews did believe in this story. As John Rose depicts the situation in relation to this myth:

Zionists are great archaeologists. It is a national obsession and for over 100 years they have been excavating in Palestine in search of 'Ancient Israel'. On many occasions, false and over-excited announcements of its discovery have been proclaimed, only to collapse in the face of intense scientific scrutiny. Then, in the 1990s, the realization began to dawn that it just might not be there.

The Holocaust Driven Jewish State

Another myth about Zionism, is that its existence is based solely as a result of the Holocaust. After all, Israel's Declaration of Independence (1948) states that:

The Nazi Holocaust, which engulfed millions of Jews in Europe, proved anew the urgency of the re-establishment of the Jewish state, which would solve the problem of Jewish homelessness by opening the gates to all Jews and lifting the Jewish people to equality in the family of nations

However, one must not forget that the Jews were not the only targets of the Holocaust. Among the victims of the Holocaust, were also a myriad of other nationalities that were targeted, along with homosexuals, and disabled people. Lawrence Langer, a Holocaust scholar, has provided substantial insight on how Zionists should reconsider their own views for the Holocaust as a catalyst for their political movement. As Langer derives from his studies, we live in an age of atrocity where at times, the goal of life appears to be the death of others. Furthermore, if this 'life-for-death' principle is in fact a prevalent feature of our age, then Zionism along with Zionists have to reassess if it is accurate to use the Holocaust as rudimentary to their movement. The reasoning behind this is the fact that the Zionist enterprise has been based, at least in part, on saving Jewish lives at the expense, if necessary, of dead Palestinians. The myth in the point of view of the Holocaust as a main cause in driving the creation of the Jewish state is that it promotes a theory of oppression leading to more oppression. Zionism however is not about oppression because the movement is about hopes and dreams rather than destruction. A Holocaust survivor, Leon Wieseltier, warns us that the collective memory of oppression can instill:

an isolating sense of...apartness. It transforms experiences into traditions...Because it abolishes time and dissolves place, collective memory...leaves the individual and the group too sceptical about change; does not ready them for discontinuity...Don't be fooled, it teaches, there is only repetition...In the memory of oppression, oppression outlives itself. The scar does the work of the wound...Injustice retains the power to distort long after it has ceased to be real. It is a posthumous victory for the oppressors, when pain becomes a tradition.

See Also

• Israel
• Theodor Herzl

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Almog, S., Jehuda Reinharz, and Anita Shapira. Zionism and Religion. The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry series, 30. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1998. ISBN 0585307202 ISBN 9780585307206
• Berkowitz, Michael. Nationalism, Zionism and Ethnic Mobilization of the Jews in 1900 and Beyond. IJS studies in Judaica, v. 2. Leiden: Brill, 2004. ISBN 9004131841 ISBN 9789004131842
• Dowty, Alan. The Jewish State: A Century Later, Updated With a New Preface. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1998. [The Jewish State: A Century Later, Updated With a New Preface] Retrieved June 7, 2007.
• Journal of Israeli History: V. 24, No. 1 March 2005. Routledge, 2005. ISSN 1353-1042
• Rose, John. The Myths of Zionism. London: Pluto Press, 2004. ISBN 0745320562 ISBN 9780745320564 ISBN 0745320554 ISBN 9780745320557
• Shapiro, Yonathan. Leadership of the American Zionist Organization, 1897-1930. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971. ISBN 025200132X ISBN 9780252001321
• Sofer, Sasson, and Dorothea Shefer-Vanson. Zionism and the Foundations of Israeli Diplomacy. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0521630126 ISBN 9780521630122
• Stoessinger, John George. Why Nations Go to War. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. ISBN 9780495097075 ISBN 0495097071

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