Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 12)
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- Democratic Palestine : 37 (ص 12)
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HHI
The Concept of Return
in Zionist Ideology
This essay was written by Dr. Faisal Daraj, in connection with the new mass immigration of Soviet Jews to
occupied Palestine.
Since the revelation of the danger of the immigration of
Soviet Jews to Palestine, the reactionin the Arab world has been
one of fear in the face of an unexpected surprise. But the fact of
the matter is that this new onslaught is far from being a surprise,
because the concept of immigration to Palestine is a basic
theoretical and practical component of Zionist ideology, if not
the most decisive one. This situation illustrates the distinction
between the alertness and consistency of the Zionist position on
the one hand, and the naivete and brittleness of the Arab posi-
tion on the other - a distinction that 1s worthy of contemplation.
The concept of immigration in the Zionist ideology takes on
different forms. It appears as a reflection of religious conscious-
ness, loyalty to Jewish history, and the way to the liberation and
salvation of the Jewish people. It begins with the myth of the
«Promised Land» - the only place where the Jews willever be lib-
erated from their worldly troubles. The «Promised Land» is
God’s gift to the Jews, and if God gives such a gift, it must be
cherished, or his wrath will be evoked. Thus, yearning for the
«Promised Land» serves two purposes: belonging to a special
homeland and fulfilling God’s will. Inversely, separation from
the «Promised Land» is God’s punishment in as much as it
means depriving «the chosen people» of the «Promised Land».
Hence, the myth of the Jew who has lost his soul because of
detachment from the homeland. Accordingly, the restoration
of his soul requires repatriation to the lost land. In this view, the
return of the Jews to the «Promised Land» is a basic condition
for their material and religious existence.
In the Zionist frame of reference, the history of the Jewsis the
history of their misery because of detachment from the home-
land and longing forit. Thus, they are not worthy of affiliation to
their history unless they experience misery and longing simul-
taneously, making «Next year in Jerusalem» a perpetual cause
and justification for their existence. Thus, being Jewish means
constantly returning to this spiritual and ideological experience
and its relationship to the original root-the «Promised Land.» In
Zionist ideology, the existential experience of the Jews is deter-
mined by two components: alienation and diaspora. Alienation
is viewed as diminuation, and diaspora as deprivation and the
continuous quest for the lost paradise. This leads to the conclu-
sion that Jews can only realize the conditions for their Jewish-
ness through their belief in the necessity of return, and working
towards its achievement. This doctrinaire theological con-
sciousness necessitates specific educational and cultural princi-
ples to produce a Jewish consciousness which is in harmony with
10
its source as well as its destiny. Deviation from this innate
spiritual experience is viewed as an act of heresy which erodes
the Jews’ uniqueness. This theological consciousness glorifies
isolation and warns against assimilation.
Zionist ideology takes its point of departure in religious roots
which quickly dissipate and become shrouded in different
cloaks; religious consciousness is transformed into religious
ideology which, in turn, is subordinated toa dominant ideology,
Zionism, which conceals politics behind religion, and militarism
behind piety. Zionism, as a contrived ideology, is constantly
alternating between the secular and the religious. The slogan of
«Greater Israel» 1s a political slogan which fulfills the ambitions
of the Zionist movement. However, justifying and substantiat-
ing this slogan requires the evocation of Jewish religion and cul-
ture, whereby realizing one’s Jewishness is to be attained
through land annexation. Annexation satisfies both the fun-
damentalists and those who reject religion and resort instead to
a fraudulent interpretation of history and culture. Hence, both
the Zionist «left» and right advocate immigration and settle-
ment, ignoring the rights of the Palestinian people.
By interlocking the Jews’ liberation with their repatriation to
their lost holy land, Zionism made immigration into a perpetual
enterprise. It also led Israel to refuse to define its geographical
borders. Israel does not abide by a geographic gauge, but by the
spiritual energy of the Jews in the diaspora, since coming to the
«Promised Land» is considered the divine right of every Jew
everywhere. Concurrently, there is the idea that the «Promised
Land» will not assume its true dimension untilit embraces all the
Jews of the world. Ben Gurion made this point emphatically
when he described Israel as part of the Middle East only in a
geographical sense. This accentuates the Zionist strategy which
is constantly being adapted in proportion to the number of Jews
that can be incorporated in the «land of their ancestors.» The
geographic factor has no value, because it changes as political
and demographic realities change. Ben Gurion’s statement is in
line with the classical Zionist doctrine which gave birth to the
slogan of «reclaiming the homeland» which is awaiting its «lost
people.» This slogan spawned two basic laws in Israel: The first
is the Law of Return which aims at bringing to Israel all the Jews
of the diaspora; the second is the Law of Government Education
for making «the Jewish culture flourish in the motherland.» The
relationship between these two laws is clear: Jews must be incul-
cated with an education which satisfies the needs of the Zionist
movement. Israel does not address only those Jews in Israel, but
Democratic Palestine, February 1990 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 37
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