BySUSAN HATTIS ROLEF

MAY 11, 2024 14:00

In Israel, left-wing and liberal voices that oppose - either fully or in part - Jewish settlements in areas captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, or amid recent conflicts in Gaza and southern Lebanon, often face charges from the Right of abandoning Zionism, or even worse, embracing anti-Zionism.

Such backlash occasionally targets statements from liberal or leftist leaders. Take, for instance, Yair Golan's 2016 remarks as deputy chief of staff during a Holocaust Remembrance Day event: 'What alarms me most about Holocaust memories is spotting echoes of those dark European trends - especially in Germany 70, 80, or 90 years ago - right here in 2016.'

Golan faced intense criticism back then, particularly from right-wing figures who branded him antisemitic and anti-Zionist among other labels.

Conversely, those pushing to strip rights from Israel's Arab population, expel Palestinian inhabitants from Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - whether by choice or force - west of the Jordan River, or undermine Israel's democracy are viewed by the Center-Left as racists and betrayers of Zionist ideals.

Just last Tuesday on 103FM radio, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of Religious Zionism called the inclusion of the Arab party Ra'am and its head Mansour Abbas in Naftali Bennett's 'Government of Change' in June 2021 a disaster surpassing even the October 7, 2023 events.

'October 7 was a terrible tactical setback,' he said. 'But deliberately handing Israel to its foes and the Islamic Movement was a thousand times graver - not mere failure, but malice.'

Democratic values should steer Israel's path

The opposition's response to Smotrich echoed the ferocity of attacks on Golan a decade earlier. Both men voiced sincere convictions: I agreed wholeheartedly with Golan and recoiled at Smotrich's words, yet neither remark reveals antisemitism or anti-Zionism. They simply highlight deep societal divides.

Notably, significant portions of Israel's haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community - particularly Ashkenazi groups - openly reject Zionism and the secular state on principle.

In his latest book, Israel: What Went Wrong, Holocaust and genocide scholar Prof. Omer Bartov from Brown University argues Israel must shed its Zionist identity to evade becoming a violent outcast, though practical implications remain vague.

These diverse positions reveal no unified view of Zionism or Zionist identity. At its core, Zionism is the contemporary Jewish national movement asserting Zion as the people's homeland. Founded in 1897, it addressed Jews dispersed globally after 3,000 years of exile from the Holy Land.

World War II saw nearly one-third of the global Jewish population (about 16.7 million total) murdered by Nazi Germany. Postwar, Zionism's strongest case - swaying UN votes for a Jewish state - was that such a haven in 1939-1945 could have saved most of the six million victims.

Today, roughly 7.2 million of 15.7 million Jews worldwide reside in Israel, Judea, and Samaria, forming over 73% of citizens there. De-Zionizing the state raises unclear consequences. I contend the state's Zionist character impacts Jewish fate less than its leaders' wisdom.

Like any national movement dominating a state, Zionism transcends specific ideologies, though its dominant strains have evolved from liberal-social democratic roots to right-wing emphases. Whether the current Right-religious tilt persists post-election remains uncertain.

Across ideological changes, Zionism has upheld the state as homeland for all Jews - religious or secular, insular or global.

Under the Law of Return granting citizenship to Jews, the definition covers those born to Jewish parents or converts to Judaism.

Zionist Jews differ from non- or anti-Zionists by advocating Jewish immigration to Israel or its support; others may back aliyah for religious, not national, motives.

From its inception and Israel's founding, both were presumed democratic, including fair treatment of minorities like Palestinians.

Most Zionist and Israeli parties have championed democratic governance to varying degrees.

These principles need not mandate liberal democracy (balancing majority rule and rights) but could lean illiberal, prioritizing majoritarianism.

Israel grapples with constitutional turmoil and a stalled multi-front war thrust upon it, where Prime Minister Netanyahu has failed to convert battlefield wins into political advances.

Zionism isn't the culprit here; it's a distraction. The core issue is Netanyahu's fixation on personal political endurance over tackling these crises.

Israel requires prudent leadership dedicated to solutions and bridging divides for Jews and all citizens alike.

The author has produced journalistic and scholarly works, plus books, on international affairs, Zionism, Israeli politics, and parliamentary systems. She served at the Knesset Library and Research Center from 1994 to 2010.