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Zionism, for me, is a complicated subject. Growing up, I
thought I was a Zionist. My family was Zionist. My parents were always going to
ZOA bond dinners. Morris A. Paul, my dad’s uncle, was president of the local
ZOA chapter, and also served this organization at the national level. I
devoured books about Israel, ate, slept and dreamed Israel, and ultimately made
Aliyah at the tender age of 18.
For me, however, Zionism was not the Zionism of Ben Gurion
or Jabotinsky. My Zionism was unconnected to any political ideology, but rather
a Zionism of the heart. Israel was where I wanted to be, come hell or high water.
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| My very Zionist uncle, Morris A. Paul |
The word “Zionism” in and of itself, is a political
ideology. You don’t find it in the bible. What you do find in the bible is 152
mentions of Tzion or “Zion.”
As a woman with a strong streak of rebellion who had embraced
orthodoxy after growing up in the Conservative Movement, I took pride in
telling people, “I am not a Zionist.” Looking back, I am embarrassed to admit
what I now know: I enjoyed the shock value of this declaration, for
everyone knew from my blogs and social media activism that I fought for Israel
with both words and deeds. It made no sense to anyone I knew. “Of course you’re
a Zionist!” they insisted.
“Nope,” said I, pigheaded and proud.
The State of Israel was to me, only a convenience that allowed
Jewish people to live in the land and to properly carry out the commandments
without kowtowing to a foreign entity. I thought, and still think that the
Israeli system of government is stupid. Despite my patronizing view of Israeli
politics, I voted in Israeli elections, choosing the candidates most likely to support
the study of Torah. Until today, I find much Israeli legislation to be
antithetical to the spirit of Judaism and Torah law (one recent example, the
caving in of Ayelet Shakked regarding the entrance of non-Jewish Ukrainian
refugees, which might lead to intermarriage and other dangerous phenomena).
Then too, the Jewish State is not synonymous with the Land of Israel, which
comprises a much larger landmass, and should, in my opinion, be governed by
God-fearing, commandment-following rulers.
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| Map of the Holy Land (1795) |
With the passage of time, accumulation of years, and hopefully a bit of acquired wisdom, my views on Zionism began to change. I came to see that in fact, I am a Zionist, if not in the political sense. I believe that Jews have the right to self-determination in all of their indigenous territory, what Jabotinsky and the Likud call “Greater Israel.” This understanding of Zionism is not inconsonant with Orthodox Judaism. At the same time, you will never see a Jew in a black suit and hat declaring themselves to be Zionists.
My children span the spectrum of Jewish religious belief,
yet all of them have strong, right-wing views on the right of every Jew to live
in all parts of the land. This too, tells me that in truth, I am a Zionist,
perhaps more than I should be. Politics are what
we talk about at our Sabbath table and also from day to day.
Over Sukkot, my eldest invited us to her Sukkah to share a
meal and have some family time. As we were leaving, my grandson, the first of
my grandchildren, walked us out to the car. He noticed my gold necklace, a
silhouette of the State of Israel, and asked about it. I said, “Oops. I better
hide that. I wouldn’t want to give you a bad reputation by being seen with
Zionists.”
“Why?” asked my grandson. “What’s wrong with being a
Zionist?”
“Well,” said I, “Zionists think the Jews need a state that belongs just to them. They believe we have the right to our own
government. For me, it also means that every Jew can live in Eretz Yisroel, wherever they want.”
“If that’s what it means to be a Zionist,” declared my black-hatted
grandson, “Then I too am a Zionist!”
‘Nuff said.
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