Addressing a Judaism & Democracy event at Bar Ilan University last week, Bayit Yehudi party leader Education Minister Naftali Bennett shared his vision and understanding of classic and current Zionism, as well as the significance of Theodore Herzl’s actions, which he feels account for our survival today.
“We are now in the largest area since the time of King David. We had a lot of confidence at the end of the period of the Second Beis HaMikdash which enabled posterity and pluralism. Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel permitted characterizing this period as a tremendous breakthrough.
“We entered a period of galus, a period of surviving. When one touches a turtle, he pulls in his legs and remains frozen. The survival of Am Yisrael through many a galus, with many threats surrounding us, was more or less a miracle. Nothing remains of the Greeks of the past or from those Egyptians and each and every one of us would be able to survive linguistically if launched back 2,000 but during survival mode, with a few brief exceptions accompanied by assimilation. This is how we endured 1,800 years until the beginning of the enlightenment period. Those who sought to be educated for the most part did not return to remain as Jews. Mendelson’s children have converted to Christianity. We would not have survived if not for the fact we received a large gift that religious Orthodoxy would not have allowed, and that is Zionism”.
“The involvement of the non-religious during that period of history was like an electric shock (defibrillation) for a dying patient, can result in the return to Zion. This would not have occurred in Orthodox Judaism. When you are arguing about the length of one’s sleeves, the required energy for such bold moves is lacking, although it relies on tefilos which we recite three times daily, returning to Yerushalayim (‘ולירושלים עירך ברחמים תשוב’).
“The first generation of Zionism was the Jewish connection with secular boldness. We then moved into a more practical stage of the establishment of the state and we have arrived to today. In essence, the first Zionism of Herzl was a survival Zionism. The Herzl Zionism proclaimed the State of Israel is the shelter of the Jewish People. After all, it was born on the foundation of the Dreyfus trial and Herzl’s understanding, that without our own country we would cease to exist.
“But today, after 130 years since that period is the ‘רזון דטרה’ (raison d’etre) of Zionism still survival? I opine if this is the essence of our existence we will not be here for long. This is not a sufficient tachlis [for existence] and will not last the long run. Therefore, if Zionism rests on classic Zionism we don’t have a long life span for if all I require is to survive, there are more successful places [other than the State of Israel].
“However, we are in an amazing period in which we must all leave our comfort zone. When I say everyone, I see three forces which need to integrate; the force that expresses religious dimension, the force that expresses national dimension and the force that expresses the universal dimension for at the end, the goal of Zionism is tikun olam.
“If one removes one dimension, one is left with two dimensions which are distorted. Take the religious and national and remove the universal dimension, and we will have another Duma murder. The religious need to understand that we went from ancient times and needn’t fear any longer and no one is going to assimilate for we are not in Lithuania”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Mr Bennett, “pluralism” is not a good thing (those sects are not allowed by the Torah). Also it was the most religious who first came to Israel, and they didn’t call themselves “zionists”. Mr Bennett do not even try to satirize religious Jews for you are laughing at the Torah itself! Mr Bennett, a whole lot of people are “assimilated in the brain”, so do not praise dimensions outside of a life of Torah and mitzvos. You know surely by now that the answers are the attacks and the knives and the rockets and the bullets, has v sholom. Judaism and democracy do not mix, just look into the Torah.
Appikorsus
Your headline is wrong. Bennett isn’t “allaying” fears of assimilation. He’s one of the primary people who are causing it!
what kept the yidden in goulous IS ONLY THE TORAH….
Bennet is a fool. Let him look around the world, not from his perspective of Zionism where it was the Orthodox that had the power in Israel, not the Reform, that helped Zionism sustain itself.
All over the world, it was the Reformers who have almost destroyed the Jewish nation. It is only because of the Orthodox, the Chareidim that Jews, as a nation, are retaining there identity and only the Chareidim are growing in chutz l’aretz.
And the reason Israel is surviving is because of the Jewish identity the frum people give to Israelis. Most young leftist Jews, and non-Jews calling themselves Jews, despise Israel, they support the Fakestinians, the Muslim Arabs in their “struggle” AGAINST Jews! It is only the older Reformers who are interested in Israel and are attempting to destroy the Jewish nation in Israel as they have done worldwide, unfortunately with a lot of success.
I understand the semi-religious and non-religious in Israel don’t grasp the threat to the Jewish nation, but where are the frum Jews, where are the protesting Chareidim, now that these reshaim want to defile the Kosel?! They need to stand up for kovod shomayim, not only when it comes to drafting their kids to the immoral Israeli army, they also need to stand up now as well when Yiddishkeit is threatened!