While Zionism has achieved a great deal, it has also fallen short of its original goals: People often confuse the focus on Zionism’s shortfalls as criticism of Zionism or even antisemitism but that’s an erroneous take.
Pointing out areas of required improvement isn’t being unfairly critical, it’s a demonstration of care and concern. Zionists do not need to be embarrassed about these shortfalls; Zionists must identify them and address them. It’s only by correcting Zionism’s shortfalls that it can begin to improve.
Zionism originally encouraged a geographic shift of the Jewish people from the four corners of the world to the Jewish people’s historic homeland, Israel. Zionism aimed to inspire a change in the Jewish people’s language, culture and calendar from their gentile neighbors’ culture to a modern, renewed Jewish society. Zionism was thought to be a uniting force that would heal the divisions plaguing Judaism.
While the divisions among secular and religious Jews or even among religious Jews looked insurmountable, Zionism’s ideal of the Jewish people coming together was thought to be the remedy for Jewish disunion.
Religious Jews saw Zionism as the movement that would begin the steps to the ultimate redemption, heralding a messianic era. With all the Jews gathered from the four corners of the world to the Jewish people’s historic homeland, how could the Messiah not arrive?
As the Zionist movement took off, objections to Zionism began to be heard throughout the Jewish world. From the different communities and groups of Jews Zionism began to be demonized.
Jews were worried that the Jewish focus on establishing their own state in their own land would call into question each Jew’s loyalty to their current nation.
The dual loyalty charges would increase antisemitism throughout each nation Jews currently made their home. Other Jews saw that Zionism represented a sort of alternative approach to Jewish peoplehood. This new alternative approach was disturbing and broke the traditional understanding of what made the Jewish people.
Religious Jews had their own objections to Zionism
They understood that the Torah was the defining character of Judaism. Zionism, especially as a movement, came to erase or replace Torah as the defining character of Judaism. Religious Jews, especially the Ultra-Orthodox communities saw Zionism as a threat to traditional Torah-based Judaism and opposed it.
Other more mystical Jews saw Zionism as trying to preempt a messianic era. In their understanding, only observance of the Torah could bring the Messiah. Trying to shortcut the system and bring the Messiah early by encouraging the exiles to gather in Eretz Yisrael and create our own state was bound to have disastrous effects.
IT’S BEEN 150 years since the modern political Zionist movement began and the question of whether Zionism has achieved its goals is still relevant and a frequent conversation among Zionists. While many Jews have moved to Israel, almost half of world Jewry isn’t considering it.
The aliyah rates, while shockingly high at times like the influx of Jews from Arab lands, Russia and Ethiopia, have been disappointingly low in countries that are hospitable to Jews. Israeli culture hasn’t taken off as such a strong force that it’s replaced the culture and language of Jews throughout the world.
Contrary to Zionism’s goal of uniting global Jewry, an argument can be made that Zionism has exacerbated divisions among the Jewish people.
The religious and secular divides
The religious and secular divides among Jews both in and out of Israel have gotten wider, louder and more pronounced. Arguments between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews over the policies of the Kotel, conversions and marriage have also become intensified over the past three or four decades.
The question of who qualifies as a Jew has brought people to strong arguments and disunity. The conflict between Jews and Arabs, and the growing disparities between the two communities have become a symbol of Israeli dysfunction.
Although debatable, it can be argued that Zionism has increased antisemitism, not lowered it. While a teshuva movement began in earnest, religious Jews are still greatly disappointed by the amount of secularism in modern Israeli society.
Moving forward, Zionists must take steps to address its shortfalls and improve its accomplishments. The repeated elections have created an ecosystem that forces elected leaders to view issues in a shortsighted manner; Zionist and Israeli leaders must look past the next election and address fundamental points and issues. Zionism won’t address the issues that truly determine its long-term success.
Israel must begin to reach out to the Diaspora in a new way. Israel must fundamentally change its relationship with Diaspora Jewry. Instead of Israel looking to the Diaspora for support, it needs to offer Diaspora Jewish communities support and become the giver, not the taker. Israeli society must look to heal divisions, not exasperate them.
Instead of standing on principle, always looking to preserve old customs for fear of change undermining the fabric of Zionism, Israel must put peace among the Jewish people first and foremost. The Israeli separation or lack of separation between church and state must be redefined.
A priority of the Ministry of Religious Services must be to make halachic Judaism attractive, not burdensome, especially in non-observant Judaism.
Zionism is a spectacular movement that has fundamentally changed the Jewish world. It has proven itself eternally relevant. From Abraham’s journey to Israel to Ben-Gurion’s declaration of Israel’s independence and everything in between and afterward, Zionism has become a force for good, improving Israel and the Jewish people.
As Israel heads to its 100th year – it’ll be here sooner than we imagine – it must take the steps to address its shortfalls and achieve the few objectives it has yet to accomplish.
The writer is a senior educator at numerous educational institutions. He is the author of three books and teaches Torah, Zionism and Israeli studies around the world.