Moral Benefits, Part 2

Jewish nationalism is a product of the nationalist current engulfing all of humanity; it is an echo, a reflection, and an imitation of a movement occurring in a broader theater. Various nations are awakening from an age-long sleep, and so Jews, too, have recalled that they were once a nation, and that they do not have their own territory. Thus, they aspire to acquire some corner or other. They dream about regaining Palestine, which is utopia; they think about Argentina, which is too distant. They forget that Judaism is not tied to the soil, that through the lips of their prophets it preached a mission extending far beyond the limited range of national existence; they are attempting to illustrate and quickly bring into existence their spiritual and indefinable belief in a Messiah. They lecture about Jewish unity, forgetting that Jews are divided into countless groups who often behave toward each other with utter hostility. They speak in the name of history while history actually demonstrates that Jews have existed for centuries only thanks to their dispersion; they cite statements from the prophets and the Talmud that support their aspirations, ignoring statements in the very same sources that say something entirely different; they argue that the Jewish people will not be saved on a path of messianic miracles, and at the same time they believe in the fulfillment of a plan for the artificial creation of a state, which, considering the thousands of obstacles, would be no less of a miracle. Further, to add weight to their efforts, they cite public opinion, the voice of the Jewish people, even though the Jewish people has empowered no one to speak in its name, and if it shows any kind of preference for the movement, its sympathy was elicited by tendentious rumors and agitations. A certain mood is created among the people with the help of appropriate methods, and then that mood is displayed as proof of the popularity of the given movement. Actually, it is only the cause of a certain party composed of dreamers and idealists who do not carefully consider their means and so . . . they are fishing in murky waters.

The dreamers have been greatly influenced by antisemitism; having lost hope in the possibility of complete emancipation, they seek out a foothold in fantastic plans. It is a psychologically explicable turn, but one should not be guided by impressions from temporary events. We should anticipate a lasting solution to the Jewish question from the victory of the idea of general tolerance; the messiah of equality before the law will come, although it will be long awaited. In the face of prejudices and harassment from antisemitic parties we are powerless and will remain powerless, even if we should succeed in gaining “our own corner” for a certain portion of our coreligionists. Supporters of this aspiration say that the possession of our own homeland will remove the curse of misery from us, that it will disarm our enemies, raise our significance in the eyes of the world. Who, after all, will vouch for us? Nothing impresses antisemitism; it is capable of forging a weapon against us from our virtues. Now it mocks us, pointing out the road to Palestine, but what if Palestine, or another country, should become ours in reality! Who knows what will be the fate of a handful of our people, resurgent and emancipated in its own land? Joining the ranks of independent political organisms, they will be exposed to the unstable fates of those organisms, and having lost the definite opportunities of a dispersed people, tireless in their spirituality, they will gain the dubious opportunities of an artificial political product. The system of dispersion was bad, yet, thanks to it, they existed for so many centuries, outlived so many nations. The old system has a history behind it; the new one has nothing yet behind it. They say that the old system gave [us] persecution and burning at the stake, but a new one may give other disasters, lost battles, and so forth.

We have briefly summarized what we ourselves have often written against Zionism in the course of numerous polemical battles, especially in columns in Hebrew newspapers (where this matter has been debated since the early eighties). It is possible to make even more statements for and against this matter, but that is not the task of our present treatise. Having enumerated all the arguments against Zionism, we assert, however, that Zionism has a right to exist as an element uniting the Jewish intelligentsia with the people, as an element counteracting the pathetic demoralization, the listlessness, the lack of initiative and escapism that are appearing in progressive [quand-même] circles. The question of founding another one, two, or three settlements in Palestine pales and fades away in the presence of the indisputable moral benefits for Judaism that must follow from the return of the eminent intelligentsia to it. What is certain for us is that what is utopian and exaggerated in Zionism must fail, but the root will remain, the invigorating juices will again begin to flow in the half-moribund Jewish organism. Further: if the anti-Zionist opposition had shown liveliness and mobility in its direction, we would perhaps have agreed to move past Zionism on our agenda. So, then—instead of utopia, real projects; instead of nationalistic ideas, a strong religious feeling; instead of that propaganda, a different idea, but one no less pulsing with life, energy, perseverance, no less attentive to the daily life of Judaism, no less capable of averting disintegration. Such an agenda should be the program of all progressive Jews. Had it been like that, it is possible that Zionism would not have arisen; at least it would not have engaged such broad spheres. In the present conditions, Zionism is a reaction against lazy Jewish liberalism. Setting aside for now the philanthropic matter of supporting Jewish settlers in Palestine, discarding what is fantastic and unrealizable in its various plans, Zionism remains a watchword uniting the Jewish intelligentsia with the people, a watchword of work, enlightenment, and improvement. If it should succeed in maintaining that connection for a long time, which is so necessary for lifting the Jewish masses from the darkness, then it will have its honorable page in the history of the Jews.