Colindale London on Daniel Gordis' Saving Israel
Colindale London reviews Daniel Gordis' Saving Israel.'Only when Judaism returns as the centerpiece of the Jewish state can Zionists articulate the purpose of Israel.'Up to that last sentence, I agreed with him. Zionism is not a 'brutal, political movement.' (Political yes, brutal no). But Zionism without Judaism is like a body without a soul. Too many of Israel's early leaders believed that they could abandon Judaism and subsist on 'Israeliness.' They were wrong - horribly wrong. We are paying for their mistakes to this day.
Why has it taken so long for anyone to recognize the obvious? Israel is a secular state, virtually no one goes to a synagogue other than the ultra orthodox. So how on earth can Israelis and AIPAC claim that Zionism equals Judaism? It's a complete nonsense, always was and always will be. Judaism is an ancient, beautiful religion as practised by my family for many generations.
Zionism is a brutal, political movement.
As I understand Gordis' argument, it's that the only way that Israel will survive is for us to return to our Jewish identity. Unfortunately, many Israelis are so hostile to their Jewish identity today that it will take a miracle for them to return.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:34 PM
2 Comments:
The original idea of Zionism was to create a new Israeli Man. Just like with Communism, it proved to be a mirage. Israel cannot be like every other country in the world and correcting the mistake of Israel's founders is going to take a generation to fix.
This is a delicate issue.
Christian supporters of Israel might take umbrage at the 'souless' reference. Most believe they are really in the trenches with Jews and Israelis.
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