Neo-Zionism and Jewish National Ideals

From the Preface of "National Ideals in the Old Testament" (1920), Henry Joel Cadbury writes,

"DIFFERENT theories have held the field with regard to the controlling factor in the destiny of nations. In the older study of history, especially of the sacred history contained in the Bible, God was regarded as the supernatural cause of every national disaster or development. Secular history has long been studied as the history of governments, with emphasis upon the military relations between states. Battles were the decisive events and 'big battalions' were the accompaniments or the expressions of Providence. More recently the economic interpretation of history has come to the foreground, and the fate of nations has been said to depend on natural resources, commerce, and the appetitive and competitive motives which material needs stimulate.

"Against these extreme views, whether superhuman or purely material, the influence of national ideals deserves emphasis. There is a collective human idealism of which neither economic determinism nor supernatural Providence is wholly independent. The folk songs, the war cries, the moral standards, and all the influences of civilization and religion have often determined a nation's history quite apart from the working of military and economic factors. Ideals as well as expectation of profit have guided the course of events and animated national conduct. Providence has found expression through patriot and prophet, and through the developing experience of nations, no less than by miracle and military intervention. History must be interpreted spiritually as well as materially, naturally as well as supernaturally.

"The correct interpretation of history is more than an academic question. It affects directly the conduct of individuals and society. The forces which seem to men effective in the past are the very forces on which they will pin their faith for the future. If we accept the apocalyptic interpretation of history as the inexorable working of a Divine plan, we shall merely await in passive reliance the unaided intervention of God to create the consummation of his will. All human endeavor will seem useless to hasten or to hinder his purpose. If on the other hand we accept the economic, the military, or the political interpretation of the past, we shall use our effort to secure economic, military, or political readjustment in the future. These are indeed the varied hopes of many men to-day -- premillenarianism, socialism, militarism, democracy are some of the names for them. But if we believe spiritual forces and ideals are the real determinants of human life and progress, then our interest and our effort will be directed toward the creation of a new public conscience, of a spirit of brotherhood, and of all the higher qualities of personal and social life. We shall interpret the movements of our time not as the unwinding of a divine machine nor as the conflict of states and systems, but as a conflict of ideals."

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

The left, centrist, and right leanings are persuasions along the one and same political spectrum. There is an element of truth in each position, the difference between them being a degree of emphasis; but, the larger truth remains that they all adhere to the same core political system.

I propose an alternative method of government; something new, and something old.

Preserve the political system, along with its spectrum of diversity, debate, and compromise. But add to it that element of religion that, although mimicked, is nonetheless lacking in the current system of secular ethics in government. This missing element is religious oversight with a "religious veto power".

To what do we attribute government failings? Are these failings an inevitable failure stemming from inherent defects in the governmental system? No! They are always a breach of the basic principles found in the age-old Ten Commandments; principles such as prohibit theft, lying, adultery, and non-defensive violence.

Such a rule of government would require the exercise of a supreme moral agent, an individual and/or a council, acting above the fray of politics. They would have to possess the moral stamina and individualism to act from principle in opposition to and instead of the customary practice of respecting self-interested persons. They would have constantly to ask themselves and others, Is this right or is this wrong? Is this the higher good?

They would need to guide laws and policies toward universal justice.

They would have to act judiciously and swiftly with the arm of civil strength to quell challenges to the social good from any and all sources, including private and corporate interests.

What would occasion the public demand for a new, popular, protectionist government? A complete economic meltdown. Escalating conditions of multi-national conflict signaling a world war. People would have to lose faith in the traditional theories that Henry Joel Cadbury claims to be the controlling factors in the destiny of nations.

Whereas Cadbury acknowledges Providence and the military and economic factors, he solicits something more; the something he calls "national ideals"; for guidance in the correct administration of our public affairs.

NATIONAL IDEALS

"Ideals" are what we value as a people. To a large extent, a nation's conflicts with other nations; i.e., a nation at war; cannot be resolved until a people agree on their collective identity and goals. Jesus Himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe that the process of confirming our collective identity is less the outcome of public debate than a it is the byproduct of a rigorous soul-searching, repentance, and humility.

ZIONISM

This is true for we Americans in our War on Terror as much as it is true for Jews in their fragile modern experiment in political Zionism. The outcome of Zionism depends on the resolution of conflicts in the Jewish community between Jew and Jew over their collective identity and goals. The Jewish Day of Atonement is a yearly reminder of the need for soul-searching, repentance, and humility.

Zionism is a relatively modern phenomenon. It is a philosophy with religious and secular counterparts; hence, there is political Zionism and there is religious Zionism.

POLITICAL ZIONISM

Racial prejudice is one of the deepest-deated forms of human discrimination. For nearly 2,000 years, the Jews dispersed throughout the world following their expulsion from Palestine in the second century of the Common Era, faced an uncommon form of racial discrimination known as anti-Semitism. The father of the modern political Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl, envisioned a Jewish State as a haven for Jews cursed by anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism is a collective term for the innumerable ways in which Jews have encountered discrimination or prejudice or hostility because they are Jews. It is not Jews who assimilate that bear the brunt of anti-Semitism. Only the Jews who strive to retain their separateness and the tradition of their forebears; of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses; only these know anti-Semitism.

Herzl witnessed anti-Semitism in the Dreyfus Affair, concluding that there is a fundamental incompatibility between Jews and Gentiles. He thought anti-Semitism was inevitable for as long as Jews were deprived of a homeland.

Unfortunately Herzl's premise for the founding of a Jewish State bore its own inherent demise. His vision was developed as a REACTION to racism; yet he advocated on behalf of a state built upon racial ethnicity, a racist state.

Herzl did not live long enough to realize the fruition of his labor; yet in 1948 Israel was reborn in the traditional homeland of the Jews, after nearly 2,000 years of Jewish exile.

Since its advent in 1948, Israel has never adopted a formal constitution. This unfortunate absence of a national document to serve as a guarantor of civil rights is one reason for the arguably second-class status of non-Jews. Critics blame the lack of a constitution on irreconcilable difference between secular, political Zionists and religious Zionists.

RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah state that the Jews would begin the process of returning to their ancestral homeland while they were in a spiritual condition of unbelief. Thus God turns the stony heart into a heart of flesh. See Jeremiah 32:37-41; 33:7-9; Ezekiel 11:16-20; 20:42-44; 36:24-28; 37:12-14; 39:25-29. The messiah comes after the Jews begin returning. He leads Israel into a national revival of belief and the full realization of its biblical national and spiritual glory.

Religious and secular Zionists are not necessarily working in tandem; their visions of a Jewish state are not the same. They in fact can and do work at odds. For example, religious Zionists want all business activity to cease during the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.

THIRD-PARTY ZIONISM

There are proponents of Zionism who are not Jews. Most of these are Christian Zionists, who have vowed to assist Jewish settlement of Israel. Christian Zionists regard the Restoration of the Jews as a precursor of the desirable Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

When pondering Zionism, ask yourself why so much time and so many resources are devoted by the power players of the world to the issue of settling Jews in Palestine. After all, Jews are relatively small in number and Palestine is likewise a small area of territory.

The issue of the Restoration of the Jews is deeper than oil-based economics. It even predates the discovery of oil in the Middle East. Western, non-Jewish sympathizers would not support Jews while agitating Arabs if the issue were as straightforward as oil in the Middle East.

By recognizing the divide between secular and religious Zionists, as well as the meddling of third-party advocates, I propose the need for a new view of Zionism that unites all concerned parties. We shall call this --

NEO-ZIONISM

Neo-Zionism is not anarchy; it is not a clean break from the past, as though this were possible without destroying civilization. It is a continuity of history and a fulfillment in the best of all that precedes it.

Neo-Zionism is a system of comprehensive national ideals stemming from a re-examination of the roots of Judaism. This by its nature requires biblical literacy because is the Bible is the sacred and profane history of Israel and the Middle East.

Neo-Zionism appeals to a time much older than Herzl. "Zion" is the root of Zionism. Zion is a biblical reference to Jerusalem, the Temple, the Land, and the People.

In addition to all its other merits, the Bible is a Jewish land title to Israel. The Bible is respected by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

I will not in this article attempt to delineate the ideals of Neo-Zionism. I wish to set the debate and encourage the people to search within themselves and their distant past to discover their values; i.e., that for which they stand.

CONCLUSION

In "The War and the Coming Peace: The Moral Issue" (1918), Morris Jastrow wrote, "THERE are two ways of looking at the great conflict. We may have regard to the issues that lie at the surface, or we may endeavor to probe to the deeper significance of the war for there is always an undercurrent to surface events. On the surface, wars reveal race antagonisms, religious dissensions, political ambitions, or economic rivalries as the more immediate causes, but a closer analysis will generally show an undercurrent that will enable us to reach a better understanding of the real issues involved. At all events, a consideration of the present war's deeper significance will set forth the issue in a clearer light."

In the pursuit of peace, Jews will have to look to their roots to rediscover the best aspects of their heritage, which undoubtedly is summed in the moral law of love and duty to God and man.

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