[Salon] Judaism and Zionism: Separate and Distinct Ideas - Guest Post by Allan Brownfeld to The Jerusalem Report

From: Allan Brownfeld Date: Tue, Jun 4, 2024 Subject: Judaism and Zionism: Separate and Distinct Ideas To: The Jerusalem Report To the Editor, The Jerusalem Report In his article, “BDS Seeks To Disassociate Zionism from Judaism” (The Jerusalem Report, May 27, 2024), Robert Greenstein argues that those who maintain that Judaism and Zionism are separate and distinct are simply trying to avoid charges of “antisemitism.” In Greenstein’s view, “For most Jews…Zionism is central to our religious and cultural identity.” This idea may embody wishful thinking on the part of Mr.Greenstein. To argue that opposition to Zionism is “antisemitism” is to ignore the long tradition of Jewish opposition to Zionism, of which he appears to be unaware. His argument, then, is ahistoric in the extreme. Zionism was vigorously opposed by Jews who were both Orthodox and Reform. In 1929, Orthodox Rabbi Samuel Tamarat wrote that the very notion of a sovereign Jewish state as a spiritual center was “a contradiction to Judaism’s ultimate purpose.” He noted that Judaism at root is not some religious concentration which may be localized or situated in a single territory. Neither is Judaism a ‘nationality,’ in the sense of modern nationalism, fit to be woven into the three-foldedness of ‘homeland, army and heroic songs.’ No, Judaism is Torah, ethics and exaltation of spirit. If Judaism is truly Torah, then it cannot be reduced to the confines of any particular territory. For as Scripture said of Torah, ‘Its measure is greater than the earth.’” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., declared that, “Judaism is not a religion of space and does not worship the soil. So, too, the State of Israel is not the climax of Jewish history, but is a test of the integrity of the Jewish people and the competence of Israel.” Zionism tells us that Israel is the “homeland” of all Jews and that Jews living elsewhere are in “exile.” How many Jewish Americans does Mr. Greenstein think believe that they are in “exile?” Jews have been quite at home in America for 250 years. They live in a society where there is complete religious freedom and separation of church and state. This cannot be said of Israel, which is a theocracy. Non-Orthodox rabbis are forbidden by law to conduct marriages or perform funerals. Their conversions are not recognized. Non-Orthodox Jews have fewer rights in Israel than in any Western country. In 1897, the Central Conference of American Rabbis adopted a resolution disapproving of any attempt to establish a Jewish state. The resolution declared, “Zion was a precious possession of the past…but it is not our hope of the future. America is our Zion.” Before World War 11, Zionism was a small minority movement among Jews. It is now on its way of becoming such a minority again. The Holocaust, which killed six million Jews, was one of the horrors of history. The Palestinians had nothing to do with the Nazi slaughter of European Jews. Yet their country——not Prussia or Bavaria—-was taken from them and through the Zionist policy of ethnic cleansing——described in great detail by Israeli historians Benny Morris, Ilan Pape, Avi Shlaim and others——they became victims of an Israeli government which turned its back on Jewish moral and ethical values. The Palestinians, sadly, are the last victims of the Holocaust. Using the term “antisemitism” to describe criticism of Zionism, and Israel’s slaughter of civilians in Gaza, is simply a tactic to silence critics. Some of the most vocal critics, indeed, are Jewish. Aryeh Neier, whose Jewish family escaped Nazi Germany, a founder of Human Rights Watch and long-time leader of the American Civil Liberties Union, characterizes Israel’s assault on civilians and refusal to arrest West Bank settlers who stop and destroy trucks carrying food and medicine to starving Palestinians, as “genocide.” Mr. Greenstein and others who seek to silence criticism of Zionism are living in something of a dreamworld. Among Jewish Americans, Zionism is increasingly seen as a dangerous wrong turn,a retreat from Judaism’s moral and ethical tradition. Sincerely, Allan C.Brownfeld, Alexandria, Virginia, Editor of ISSUES, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism. (www.acjna.org.)