Zionism

For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation)

Jewish reaction to Zionism

Support for the Zionist movement was not initially a mainstream position in the world Jewish community, and it was actively opposed by many Jewish organizations. While traditional Jewish belief held that Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) was given to the ancient Israelites by God, and that therefore the right of the Jews to that land was permanent and inalienable, most Orthodox groups held that the Messiah must appear before Israel could return to Jewish control, and Reform Judaism (prior to the Holocaust) explicitly rejected Zionism. Still, return to the Land of Israel had remained a recurring theme among generations of diaspora Jews, particularly in Passover and Yom Kippur prayers which traditionally concluded with, "Next year in Jerusalem."

Related Topics:
Jew - Jewish belief - Eretz Yisrael - Israelite - God - Orthodox - Messiah - Reform Judaism - The Holocaust - Diaspora Jews - Passover - Yom Kippur

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To religious Jews, Aliyah, or emigration to Israel, has always been considered by rabbinic Judaism to be a praiseworthy and mandatory act for Jews according to halakha, and is included in many versions of the 613 commandments. From the Middle Ages and onwards a number of prominent Jews (e.g. Nahmanides) and groups (e.g. the students of the Vilna Gaon) emigrated to Israel. Despite this, many religious Jews were not enthusiastic about Zionism before the 1930s. The secular, socialist language used by many pioneer Zionists was contrary to the outlook of most religious Jewish communities, and many religious organisations opposed it, both on the grounds that it was a secular movement, and on the grounds that any attempt to re-establish Jewish rule in Israel by human agency was blasphemous, since (in their view) only the Messiah could accomplish this. There was, however, a small but vocal group of religious Jews that began to develop the concept of Religious Zionism in the 1920s and 1930s under such leaders as Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (the Chief Rabbi of Palestine) and his son Zevi Judah, and gained substantial following during the latter half of the 20th century. Only the desperate circumstances of the 1930s and 1940s converted most (though not all) of these communities to Zionism.

Related Topics:
Aliyah - Judaism - Halakha - 613 commandments - Middle Ages - Nahmanides - Vilna Gaon - 1930s - Human agency - Messiah - Religious Zionism - Abraham Isaac Kook

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Secular Jewish opinion was also ambivalent in its attitudes to Zionism. Many argued that Jews should join with other progressive forces in bringing about changes which would eradicate anti-Semitism and make it possible for Jews to live in safety in the various countries where they lived. Before the 1930s, many Jews believed that socialism offered a better strategy for improving the lot of European Jews. In the United States, most Jews embraced the liberalism of their adopted country. In the United States, for example, there were only 12,000 members of Zionist organizations in 1912, out of a Jewish population of 3 million. By 1940, however, there were 171,000 members of Zionist organizations, and by 1942, 80% of American Jews surveyed agreed that a homeland in Palestine was required. (Stork and Rose, 1974)

Related Topics:
Anti-Semitism - 1930s - Socialism - European Jews - United States - Liberalism

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The chain of events between 1881 and 1945, however, beginning with waves of anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia and the Russian-controlled areas of Poland, and culminating in the Holocaust, converted the great majority of surviving Jews to the belief that a Jewish homeland was an urgent necessity, particularly given the large population of disenfranchised Jewish refugees after World War II. Most also became convinced that Palestine was the only location that was both acceptable to all strands of Jewish thought and within the realms of practical possibility. This led to the great majority of Jews supporting the struggle between 1945 and 1948 to establish the State of Israel, though many did not condone violent tactics used by some Zionist groups.

Related Topics:
1881 - 1945 - Pogroms - Russia - The Russian-controlled areas of Poland - The Holocaust - World War II - 1948

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