Photo: Theodor Herzl and his book “AltNeuLand” which is how he described the Land of Israel, as an Old and a New Land.
740 words / 3 ½ minute read
This October 7th marks the 80th anniversary of the revolt in Auschwitz-Birkenau when brave Jewish prisoners started an explosion that destroyed one of the four crematoria.
This October 7th marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas brutal attack of Israel and in short order, a verbal, psychological, and in cases physical attack on Jews outside of Israel.
This year October 7th comes exactly between Judaism’s two holiest holidays – Rosh Hashana, the New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The days in between these two holidays is to be spent in reflection of one’s actions in the previous year, and in asking forgiveness and making amends to those we have wronged.
For many Jews, and for many Arabs, the last year has been one filled with the pain of loss coupled with anxiety for the future – even for the present. Trust and hope seem to be in exceedingly short supply. There are more questions than answers, and emotions seem to trump all.
From the revolt in Auschwitz and the countless acts of resistance and defiance by Jews throughout the Holocaust, the term “Never Again” came to mean that no longer would Jews be “led to the slaughter like lambs” (which is what my mother told me had happened). Zionism was a belief – well before the Holocaust – that Jews would have a place to call home where no one would throw them out, where they would be masters in their own home.
Zion is simply another name, to Jews, for Jerusalem. Theodor Herzl, in 1897 coined the term Zionist to mean someone who sees the Land of Israel as the original homeland of the Jewish people – this well before the State of Israel was established. Since the establishment of the State in 1948, Zionism has come to mean the belief that Israel is the original, present and (ideally) “eternal” homeland of the Jewish people, and Israel has welcomed Jews from every corner of the world who want to live there and add to the flavour of the country. So Zionists believe that Israel should be a state for Jews. Not even all Jews agree.
Judaism as a religion stands on three pillars: Torah or the laws which ideally govern the actions and day-to-day life of Jews; secondly, peoplehood or the sense that Jews descended from Abraham and Sarah through their son Isaac and thus have a connection to each other; and finally, the homeland of the Jewish people, Israel. Not all Jews hold the three pillars as equally important – some Jews observe the laws of the Torah but for various reasons do not feel the State of Israel is their homeland; some Jews feel a sense of connection to other Jews but less so a connection to the Torah and its laws, or to Israel; some Jews, notably in Israel, feel the country which they defend with their lives is their home and their connection to religious law and their connection to non-Israeli Jews varies. So Zionism may or may not be part of a Jewish person’s identity. Is “Zionism” as a belief or ideology then still relevant?
Martin was once accused of being a “Zionist”. The tone that came with the accusation wasn’t complimentary. What does it mean to be a Zionist and has it passed its sell-by date? Shay Szabo in The Times of Israel argues that “… it is time to reconsider the use of the term ‘Zionism’. Continuing to use the identity of Zionism not only makes it seem that our existence is negotiable but also invites the unnecessary debates about our mere right to exist – a right that is unequivocally established.” https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/stop-using-the-word-zionist/
Some people, and even politicians, say they are Zionists usually followed by “Israel has a right to exist, to defend itself.” To quote Lord Eric Pickles, the UK government’s Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues on this topic: “Does Belgium have a right to exist?” No one seems to question that.
The Holocaust didn’t happen out of the blue: hatred takes time to germinate once the seeds have been planted, and those seeds are words. Jews have been subjected to hateful words and actions throughout millennia. They will defend Israel, their ancient and present homeland, as Jews around the world hope and pray for a better year, when “Jacob shall again have peace and tranquility with none to make him afraid.”
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