EARLY ZIONIST THOUGHT:

A study in the prehistorj of the State of Isrrel.

Guenter 3trothotte

Dr. theol., Er1aayl;en University, 1355

A TKESIS SUSLTImED IIJ PARTIAL E'ULFIL12:TlTT OF

IIIISTER OF ARTS

in the Department

of

History M am c : Guenter S-l-rot:>otto ABSTRACT

The emergence of the State of Israel in 1948 nas a result of the mrk of Jenn, nho late in the nineteenth oentury begm to call thenselves

'Zionistsw. The object of the thesis here presented is to investigate the rati'onale of the forerunners, as well as of the founders =d the early

adherents of the Zionist novernent nainly up to 1914. Of special concern - II Lt

- This is cocipered rrith notives springin;: fron the ?hr6pectn.._.- -- natio- Jenisli religion. -Use considered is the influence ~h?.chthe rise of ~odern anti-3emitisn had upon Zionist thought. The developaent of Zionisn is seen

against the different back.~oundsof Jewish life in ;-?estern and Eastern

Europe. The paTer sunmarizes the yrinciple argments over these issues.

Zionis~! is shorn to be a .Jewish natiwel rloveaent of self-liberation, f -7 /patterned after sinilar movements in Europe at that tine. Jens were urcecl , 1 to consider the-.lselves across t3e international borders as one people, and I no longer just as adhetents of a defiain rexigion. They nelie to f~custheir I? attention on one country, which was to become their nationel hone and xhere if they could eventually live a no& national life es one peo?le, like zll 1 i i other nations. Anti-Semitic outbursts vere a decisive factor in the devel- L - -..- - - - op2ents of Zionist thought. They he& to be considered, honever, as the imedizte rather than the main cause. .- -.pry#== * Ol~inionsof the religious leaders mere divided. 7'ost Refom Jews

rejected Zionist aspirations out of considerztions of yrinciple. They sew

them as a danger for emmc5pation and essi lilztion. The first to sug:r;ezt Zionist thou& rrere Orthodox .Teus. In their mitines the influence of

conte~orary%ro?ea nationalis? is clearly discernible. They nere forced to reinteqret some religious prknciples, mousing the'opposition of many of their co1lez;ues. Fobody was opposed to the founding of agriculture9 4 (iii) 4 settleaents for Jews in Palestine.) The Talirnrd eonsidered it even a meri- torious act for a Jew to live in the Holy Land. Jewish agricultural settle-

nents could perhaps even hasten the coming of the Yessiah, But nany Rzbbis

feared that the Torah could not be pro~erlyobserved in these settle~.ients.

It nas also believed that man mas not permi-tted to interfere in the affcirs 3 liof the Al,?ightg. Self-help as suggested by the Zioaists ms considered to ube precisely this. The ingathering of the exiled fro3 the four corners of the earth mas to be ecconplished by God's Yessiah. !?any nere opposed the founding of a -state. Xost of the leaders, who vere able to found a Zionist orsarizatio-n vere

secular-minded and nere e-lberrassed by religious arguments. Yley mted a

lend for their poor tmd suffering brethren, not the Eoly Land. They mted to found a 3odern state, not.the kingdon of Cod. The majority of religiously-) L/-- minded Jews stayed amy or were even outrightly opposed to Zioaisn. There

was, horrever, a minority of observmt Jews within the movement. They

advocated the observmce of religious preceyts and the building up of a

Jewish national honelznd on the basis of the Torah. -7

The official position of ti.e leadership of the Zionist novenent xith 1 kf

regard to religion mas one of neutrality. The discussion of religious C.! i " questions ms not >emitted at Zionist Conmesses. This was, ho;,ever, not

elnays ~ossible. The most troublesome issue becme the attempt of some

Zionists to further'the develop~e-ntof secular .Jewish culture. This m.s

seen by others as an infringement on religious ~rerop~tives.Thenever the

"cultural Question" cane up for discussion, religious issues rrere also

debated. Yhen it mas decided actively to supyo& cultural nork, !la=rly of She religious fzction / broke amy from the orgmization and founded their om novenent, There mre also thox, who tried to overcole the dirferences between (id religion and nationalism, As an exmp1e for such attempts some of the thoughts of Ibrtin 13uber are summvized. Table of Contents.

Introduction \ Chapter I: Judaism Prior to ModeraZionism

Chapter 11: Precursors of Zionism \ Cher 111: Beginnings of Wonism in Russia Chapter IV: Nationalism and Religion in the Debates of the Lovers of Zion t I Chapter V: Nationalism and Religion in the First \ Zionist Debates in Central and Western

t Chapter The Pirst Zionist Congress and . : the Religious Issues.

Chapter VI1:- The Debates 6ncerning Religion and National Jewish Culture in the Zionist Movement Between 1897 and 199.

Chapter VIII: The Debates Concerming Relimn and National Jedsh Culture at the Zionist - Congress in 1911 and the Consequenws. Conclusion

Selected Bibliography Introduction

The emergence of the State of Israel in 1948 was a result of the work of ~ews,who late in the nineteenth century began to call themselves wZionists". The object of the following paper is to investigate the rationale of the founders of the movement and the debates concerning its objects among the early adherents. It is a well known fact that C------jJ U-ad U-ad Jewish nattwJewish , qligion, Of special concern in this paper will be the question, to what extent the early Zionists and their precursors were influenced by the ideals and ideas of European nationalism of the nineteenth century. This will be compared with the motives originating from the Jewish religion. Of special interest will be the question, how the impetds coming from these basically different sources merged in the thought- mrld of some outstanding Zionists. It will also be investigated to rhaf extent the ideas emerging from the two different sourma caused oonflicts in the ranks of the early adherents of the movement, and 1 set the the stage for a Kulturkampf, A third factor needs to be taken I into account, the rise of modern anti-Semitism in ~rope,f.tself a I@ product of the nationalism of that periodO2 The extent to which Zion- ( ism was a Jewish reaction and counte~measureto this phenomenon will &so be discussed, The paper will mainly be confined to the period prior to 1914, The Mrst World War brought about many changes for the Zionist movement, especially as a result of the Balfuur Declaration, Nevertheless, some of the basic positions derived at in the debates prior to World War I remained Axndamentsl and still are so *day in some respects, especially in the field of education in Israel, The outlines of the debates con- wrning nationalism and religion in the Zionist movement are not only a contribution to the pre-history of the Jewish Stzte. Nationalismhas become a world-wide phenomenon, It has even been called a modern religion. Jews were no strangers to such suggestions. mere were people among them, nho wanted the Jewish religion to be replaced by Zionism, as will be shown, Nany of the problems of nationalism and religion, which the Zionist thinkers thought through, are also of interest to those, whose national and religious background is different. It should be of special concern to those, who have partially the same background, namely Christians, and in another way Muslims. A study of Zionist thought is a study of a part of our own Zeitgeist, Many of the questions raised exist in one form or the other in many places and demand answers. The paper had by necessity to be limited in some way. Not dealt rfth are three closely related questions, which certainly would deserve filler treatment, than the scope of the topic was thought of to permit.

The first of these are the ideas Christians had concerning the return of Jews to the Holy Land and their influence upon the development of Zionism. It can be shown that Christian groups had more religious reasons for a mwe of Jews to Palestine than most Zionists had. kt they started from different presuppositions, which should be explained in more detail. The second area not dealt with are national Jewish movements other than Zionist. These were omitted because they were not aa directly influential upon the founding of the State of Israel as Zionism was, The third question not dealt with are the BrabZionist relations. This question was mentioned occasionally and had caused some minor problems in the period dealt with in this paper. It waa not fore- seen by the early Zionists, however, that it could ever become a major problem. It indeed did not become such, until the Arabs developed nation- al movements of their own many years later. A comparison between the different stages in the development of the Jewish and Arab national move- ments, which to-day are pitched again& ea& other, would be an intrigu- ing topio, but it would be a new thesis in itself and more extensive than the one here presented. Chapter I

Judaism Prior to Jlodern Zionism. In 70 A.D. the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroye5 and the 1 ancient Jewish state ceased to exist. E'rom then until the twentieth century, 4 the history of the .Jemish people and that of their ancient homeland were separate. The land changed hands several times and nas ruled by various 4 nations, Tine Jews themselves were scattered as minorities in different countries, Nowhere did they rule over a country of their om. They con-

sidered this an unnatural situation and referred to their existence as "in exileN, "in the Diaspora", or, using a Hebrew word, Yn the Golastl, There were always Jews, who managed to visit -the Holy Land, some even to settle there for sone length of time. But the vast majority lived outside this land. In t'ae dispersion they -aged to retain their identity through their religion. The Bible and - after its completion -the Talnud were read and studied, and synagogues were established, wherever Jews lived. Otheri-rise there were no bonds connecting all of world-Jewry, !There mere no organi-

zational ties spanning all countries, nor waz~ there a religious centre. Jems

adopted many different languages for everyday use, Hebrew was elevated to become the Holy Tongue, the language of worship exclusively. \1.- It was religion &so, which wove an insoparable bond between the people and their ancient home, The memory of the Holy Land, of Zion and.Jeruszlen, where God hrtd once acted with t!~e people of Israel in miraculous nqs, vas kept alive in liturgy, prLyer, and religious cemonies in Jewish hones.

The Jems continued to love that land, xdxich, they believed, God ilir1scl2 hd

given then as an everlasting properby. They had lost it, many felt, because of their sins. The hope also TICS cherished that one day they would be zble to return home, Nany generations of pious Jews found consolation in the Biblical prophecies which forecast that the Lord God hinself would -5- on the last day gather all his people from the four corners of the earth

and restore them in his favour. Such redemption, as it was called, wrs to be accomplished by a IJessiah, whom the Blmighty would send. Many 1A different concepts existed of this figure.? Several times throughout the

centuries there were men, who poclaimed themselves rWessiahH, announced

that the prophesized "end of daysrr had come, gakhered people in order to lead them back to Palestine, ad called on all other Jews'to prepare-for

the move towards Zion. Such false l.lessiahs, as Jacob Frank, Solomon lolcho,

Dad%Reubeni and Sabbatai Zevi attracted much attention. Invariably such efforts ended in disaster and the memory of the failures made many Jews

catxfious. In Europe Jews were generally considered as outsiders by the majority

of the people, in whose midst they lived. Persecutions on religious

grounds were frequent. The Jewish religion was, however, the only non- Christian faith, which nas able to survive in the Christian countries.

/-- This tnas accomplished under incredibly hrtrd sacrifices. Often Jews mere driven out of the countries where they were born and forced to wander from

land to land. In the EUddle Agestmcentres of Jewish life developed:

Spain and Germany. Jews adopted the respective languages of these countries and retained then with but few changes, when they wandered 30 other laads. Henoe there were two main streams of European Jewry: the Sephardim, who

spoke a Spanish dialect, called Spaniolic, and the Ashkenazim, who spoke a Mnd of Germanic dialect, which becme known as nYiddishr8,often referred

to also as the "Jargonn. Ikny of the Sephardic Jews wandered to !Tuslim C countries after their expulsion from Spain in the fifteenth century, others

to the Metherlands and to England. kny of the Ashkenazic Jews moved to Poland in the late Middle Ages. Special legislation existed in many

countries, which severely restricted the rights of Jem. They were barred -6- from many professions, and had for many oenturies to live in speciaJ. quarters of the oities, the so-called ghettos. The development of mercantilism, capitalism and rationalism had sone beneficial effects on Jewish life in Western Europe in the eighteenth century. The differences betneen Jews and their Christian neighbours diminished slowly. Some privileged Jewish families were enandipated in different countries. The enlightenment began to influence also Jemish thinking. i __I______- ...--,---* --.- Outstanding; among its adherents oras liIoses ESendelssohn, who was born in Dessau, Germany in 1729 and lived most of his life in Berlin. He tried to defend Judaism as a rationalistic, humane theology. lYis arguments and his personality inpressed among many others Gotthold Lessing, who portrayed flendelssohn in his play wlTathan the Visew. ~EendelssobnTsmain inpact mas on his own people. He tried to awaken seuular interests among the3 and to - -- - -A- introduce them to German culture. One of his most famous works was a translation of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, into German. This st&m- lated the Jews in Germany into acquiring a reading knowledge of that language.

A fundamental change for the approximately four hundred thousad Jews in Vestern Europe came as a consequence of the French revolution. The American Revolution had already given equal rights to the few thousand Jews living in North America. In 1789 the bench lJational Assembly adopted a Consti- Mian pref'acedIgf.dhDeclaration of the Rights of I!!. In it the equalffy 7 of all men was proclaimed, The rights of all men, regardless of their stafio --l___.-_l_-- i-.L ---- I----I^YI -.-.- -..- or birthyl.---.-.*L.- to parti-te directly or indirectly in the affairs of government, ....--- -_--_I_____ I' were 3egalized. Lengthy discussions and argmmts took place, whether or '-I -- not these principles sl-ould be applied to the ap:roxinately forty thousand

Jews livwg in Trance, Finally they mere given fill rights of French citizenship in 1791. Vherever the Bench armies marolled during the follo* ing years, Jews were also emanoipated and the ghetto walls torn down by French soldiers. Complaints against Jews caused Napoleon in 1806 to call a mxmber of Jewish Notables to Paris to answer certain questions, They asserted anong

other things that the Jews considered France the country to which they owed

loyalty and which they were willing to defend, The next year Rapoleon had a Sanhedrin called, an institution which had not existed since the days of

the ancient Jewish state. He wanted it to be a new Suprene Court for world- Jewry charged with the task to transform into official Jewish law the decisions which the Jewish Notables had reached in 1806. The members of the Sanhedrin affimed that there was no hindrance, religious or other, for

Jews to be loyal to that state, which had emancipated them. They gave specificzllythe assurance that rabbinical jurisdiction in civil and judicial

Ftters was a matter of the pest. The Jews were no longer a nation within

the nation. They had given up their corporative status and the traditionsl hope for a return to Palestine. Judaism was only a religion from now on, a I denomination, similar to other confessions, which cbexisted within the ktate. Jews were to be Frenchmen of Xoseic (or Israelite) persuasion. The wider implications of Jemish civilization in its ethnic and cultural aspects

were rejected. These decisions set the tone for Jewish life in most of Western Ehmpe and Worth America for over a century to cone.

After the Napoleonic Biars new difficulties arose, At t"le Congress of

Vienna it was decided, that the rights which were granted to Jews by the states represented, mere to be retained. Since in most cases not the states,

but the occupation armies had emancipated the Jews, they lost many of their

rights in this settlement. This setback resulted in a fight for Jewish

emancipation during the following decades in many countries. Not until

about 1870~ALl-and equal rights b-a&&- of aea-. These external developments hcd their repercussions in Jewish life and

thinking in general, and in the religious field in particular. Soon after the Napoleonic Wars some Jews in Germany felt that the worship in the synw gogues was outdated and needed to be reformed, Leading among the reformers were men like Israel Jacobsohn, David Friedlaender and Samuel Holdheim, The guiding principle in all their efforts was rationalism, They did not only intend to change the outward forms of Jewish worship, like the introduction of organs and choir singing, It had to be dignified, simple and decorous,

They wanted also to discard Sabbath observance, the rite of circuncision and Hebrew prayers. German mas to be introduced as the language for semons and1 prayers, Above all, the content of the prayer-book had to be altered. ,Any mention of Zion and of loyalty to tne Holy Lmd had to be eradicated, The I4 Jews tried to prove in this may their loyalty to the state, which had eman- I cipated them, References to a fhture return to Palestine could have been J interpreted as a claim to Jewish nationhood and the expectation of political independence, Such misunderstanding had to be avoided, A house of Jemish worship was now to be called *templen, a name, which had up to that tine been reserved for t3e destroyed sanctuary in Jerusalem, These suggestions led to a reform movement, which spread particularly throughout Iforthem

~ermany, Several congregakions were founded along the new principles ..- A new strong impetus for the reform of the Jewish religion came from the romantic movement and the emphasis upon historical studies in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was felt that the validity of any insti- tution or idea had to be measured by its origin and history. Jews nere also influenced by this general trend in Yeskern Europe and began to study the history of their own people in a scientific way, Outstanding among these historians mere Leopold Zunz, Voritz Steinschneider and later on Heinrich

Graetz, Their studies shoved among other things that religious practices had evolved at certain later times which had not originally been connected with the Jemish religion, Since there had always been adjustments and changes -9- in Judaisn, new reforms seemed justified. Some Jemish leaders, among nhom , Abraham Geiger rvas outstanding, proposed changes in JenisE.1 worship on these - - grounds, Contrary to the earlier rationalists, these refomers'had a oertain

respect for tradition and mere therefore more moderate in their approach.

In the middle of the nineteenth century a series of rabbinical conferences

were held in Gemany, in order -to clarify questions of fneology znd ritual.

It proved not only impozsible to arrive at a uniforn solution, At the

Frankflurt Synod of 1845 a split occurred betrreen %he radical and the nore oonsemative reformers, The le~derof the moderate group was Zechariah

Frankel, who became the founder of Conservative Judaisn in Europe, Since that time Judaisn was divided into three groups: the orthodox Jews, nho 3

followed the unbroken tradition; the reforn Jews, mainly influenced by rationdisn; and t2e conservative =?em, with a romantic-historical approach. 1 Both the refon! and the conservative movements spread to otl:er countries, notable North America, wlhere they developed further. 'Praditional, orthodox

Judaisn continued to exist particularly in Russia and in many parts of the

Habsburg Enpire, where the majority of the world's Jem lived. Hand in hand

with this religious split of Judaism in Bestern Europe and North America went an abandoning, in large measure, of the trzditional concern for religious values, Like their Christian neighbours, many ?em mere influenced by materialisi? and secularisn, which began to triuinph over religion. Chapter 11

Precursors Of Zionism, Another important development took plaoe in the first half of the nineteenth century ,in Europe, and that was the rise of nationalism, 1.bve- mats of national self-liberation among minority groups flourished in many countries. The study of national historic traditions became important.

Inspired by such efforts, some Jemierh historians began to einphasize the natimal character of Judaisn, Heinrich------Graetz, for exc?nple, claimed that the history of world-Jewry was even after the loss of statehood not only a history of a religion, a kind of churckhistory, but in the fir& place a history of a people. Some Jews went a step further, They cornpared the '1i situation of their om people with other oppressed minorities mid be- to -__- ----..-% ------dream about a netional rebirth, The ideal became a life as a free people in -.z one's om land. It was suggested that the Jews should become like the other nations and found their om state again, IEury events of the encient past beome importcult in these considerations, for exanple the return of Jews to Palestine after the Babylonian captivity, the rise of the ITaccabees, the loss of statehood in 70 A.D. and the nar of liberation under Bar Kochba in

132-135 A.D. It mas discussed at great length, which patterns history provided for use in the present. Palestine was co~sideredas a logical place for a now national Jewish centre. The immense difficulties with which a Jemish resettlenezt mould be confronted in this neglected and barren country mere realized by maay Jedsh natio-nalists, Therefore other lmds 7 also cane into consideration as places of Jewish settle:?ent. History and the natural Jewish feeling spoke for Palestine as the locztion of 'a netional rebirth, kny religious reasons spoke st such nationalistic aspira- I tions with regard to the Holy Land. This night seer_?at first sight surpris- ing, since the religious history had been so olosely connected with that -11-

country, !he oonviction that this land belonged to Israel and the hope of

a return were for muh a long time an important .part of tbe Jewish religious faith, It w~s,homver, precisely this part of the JewisF- faith, which had

been sacrificed in the reform movement, in the radical as well as in the

moderate forms. It was special nationhood which had been denied by the Paris Sanhedrin in 1807, The religious reformers wanted to a~plythis principle in their efforts. Jems in zany countries mere still fighting to

reverse the deoisions of the Congress of Vienna and attempted to gain equal

~-2~h-k~as citizens. At such a tine a oall for national independence in

Palestine would have adverse effects on their struggle for emancipation. ki Nationalistic aspirations xere therefore not only unpopular mong nost Jews 5 I in Yestern Europe, but rrere considered by the najority of them as sonething 8 L like high-treason. The orthodox Jems moreover, had an additional reason \ L for resisting attempts at a national rebirth of the Jewish people. It would require self-help, for tiley felt it mas appropriate to wait for the actions of the Almighty, who would only on the last day act hinself on

behalf of Israel, -4sI-g*_rrriL.I-g*_rrriL 10% as the-.-..-- E'Ieg~.f~~m_eLth,e,e,eJeys~r_e_e~o~..

perm9 -pf the---/ earth. It was the kingdon of God, rrhich mas to be established in the Holy Land, not a state like the other states. The scene mas thus set for a conflict betneen nation-

alistic w-d religious ideas,

A contributing factor to such a co&lict was the fa&, that a fern

thousad Jens lived in Palestine-in the first half of the ninetee-tn cen-bury

for religious reasons. Some considered it their relidous duty end to be a

meritorious act, to devote their lives to a studg of the law of God in the

Holy Lmd, Others went there, when they were old, so that they mould die

in that land, nhere the resurrection from the deal mould begin, and -&.ere

God 170ul.d some time in the f'uture establish his kingdom. 1,Iost of these pious Jews lived in utmost poverty. They either refised to work for their

livelihood, or nere unable to do so. They rather depeaded on @fis from

their co-religipnists in other parts of the world. Tiiis system of charity

was called t1Chalul.Jt,7311, It will be shown that the ideals of these relidous- minder7 people living in Palestine did not coincide with the aspirations of

those Jews, rrho were inspired by European nationalism, The first suggestions in modern times, that the Jews return to - u~ \Ac, -I Palestine- wnfmm aman? their om people, but from outsiders. Napoleon did so during his Egyptian ~an~sign.~Christian groups in Britain

developed plans for such projects.2 The f'iCst Jews in modern times t o propose a resettlenent of Palestine mere two Rabbis, nanely Jehuda Ben Salomo Chai Alkalai and Zebi Hirssh Kalis,cher. It will be shorn how they

attemptee to harmonize nationalistic aspirations ~6thtile Jewish faith. The

Rabbis tried to dispel the treditional religious objections to a national

rebirth. On the contrary did they show that there were conpelling reasons

for a colonization of Palestine. These precursors of the later Zionist

movement met with fierce opposition fron their colleagues in all cwps, end found but few friends. They were not influential in their om tine and their writings mere soon forgotten. The novenent, which began in 1881 7 felt no indebtedness to them. Nor was it influenced by the writings of

-1Zoses Hess, who hadless soncern for the Jewish religion and was compelled

I by purely secular considerations to suggest similar plans. A conparison of

these proto-Zionists vith their later counterparts is instructive, since

their rationale nas very sinilar and they anticipated many developments,

which actually took place later on. It cm be shorn that not the ideas

thenselves nere decisive to get a movement of Jews towards Palestine going, but that outside events had to trigger it.- The contem~orariesof these proto-Zionists had not experienced such outbursts of anti-Semitism as those, which were to happen two generations later. It appears that this mas the

msin reason, why the call of these proto-Zionists fell on dezf ears.

Rabbi Yehuda -4lkalai was born in Smajewo, Serbia, in 1792 and moved

to Semlin in 1826. He was a Sephardic Jew and his first mitings nere in

Spaniolic, d5le he mote in Hebrew later ona3 For a while he studied in

Jerusalem, cane under the influence of Cabbalists and became interested in

the problems of messianism. Under the impression of the rising nationalism

in the Bdlka.1 countries he came to the conviction that also a Jewish national Renaissance nas possible, In his writings Jewish messianisn and national- 7 istic ideas merged, but hs had to break with the religious tradition, He i told his fellow Jews that they should not be discouraged by the fact that some of the essentials for a national rebirth mere aiming, namely a conmon land and a COiLT0n language. These problem could be solved, 3e felt that I religious reasons compelled t!e Jews to return to the Iloly Land, It rnrs a I fulfillment of a divine commandment, Alkalai claimed that Israel as a J people could properly be called Isrcel only in the land of Israel. This

meant that only there the Divine Presence of the Almighty could be felt and

only if at least 22,000 Jews had returned to Zion. Alkalai mas convinced

that evenkally a collective return of all Israel, as foretold by the

prophets, muld come about. %en this happened it mould be a airaculous .favour of the Almighty, However, the pious Rabbi ref'used to expect my

mpernaturrtl event in this connection. One can detect here the influeme of European rationalis?, This was one of the reasons, why Alkalai vas greeted

with silence by his colleagues, as well as by those Orthodox masses in

Eastern krope, whoa he warted to help. It was a silence "which betokened the desire to ignore a potentially dangerous aberration fron the true faithf1, as Arthur Hertzbore; ri&ly ob~crved.~Alkalai expected that the rede:?ption wuld cone slowly and by degrees and had to be& with efforts by the Jews -14- themselves. This corrt;roAicted the traditional belief that the lbssiah muld acconplish the ingathering of the exiles suddenly and all at once. The Jew themselves would first of all have to prepare the land, which ms waste and desolate at that time, build houses, dig wells, plant vines and olive trees.

MBny Jems wuld have to remain in the dispersion for a tine, in order to help the first settlers in Palestine, who muld be fron among the poor.

Alkalai realized that the language problen mas a Mher difficulty. Jews no longer could speak the sa?e language and mould not understand each other, if gathered by the -9lmigh-by into their land. Such a divided OOLIL?UI~... ity could not succeed. Also in this connection he resented the belief in a supernatural miracle. Nobody should expect that God mould send an angel to teach the Jeastheseventy la,nguages of aankind. Rather, ezforts muld have to be made to naintain and strengthen the holy tongue, Hebrex. A further necessity wcs tl?at the Jews organize themselves and choose leaders, an international asser~blyof elders. &on such a fully authorized assembly the l.lessiah, son of Joseph, vould come. The elders would have to be men of high calibre, so that the people of the Lord wuld cease to be like sheep witnout a shepherd. The elders would have to take special care, that those comnandments be observed, nhich applie6 in particular in the Holy Land. As an example he quoted the stipulation that the soil be fallon every sevel~th year. The blessings, vhich caae from tle land depended on the fait*'lfulness, with which the Jews mould adhere to such laws.

A firther step to be taken yas the forming of a company, which should be incorporated like an insurance coxpany or a railway coxpany. One of its tasks mould be to appeal to the Sultan to return Palestine to the Jews for

an annual. rent. Alkalai wcs convinced that the Su1-k mould not object, since he knew that the Jews were loyal subjects. He nas sure that once the name of Israel mas applied to the land again, all Jems would support the company with all means at their disposal, He expected the beginning of the venture to be nodest, but its Frrture to be great, In response to Alkalai*s call a few small circles of friends mere

orgenised, all of which nere shorblived. time was apparently not ripe

f& a realization of such ideas. Ehrents had to shake the souls of nen.)

Tppo generations later other people proposed similas plans, which finally

succeeded in producing the necessary response among Jews, though not even

then was the goal a~con~lished.~In the meaatime many more things had to happen, The strongest opposition to Nkalai's plars case from the Chalukkah mendicants on religiom grounds. The Rabbi wanted to do something, nkich

the Almighty had reserved for himelf, they clximed, Alkalai died in 1878

with his dream unfulfilled. Eodern scholcrs~ipmade his writings public.

His contemporaries did not pay nuch attention to the;?. Religious consdera-tions, though not of the traditional type, nere

still predominant in a book by the Rabbi of Thorn, Germany, Zebf Hirsch 6 Relischer, nith the title "Seeking Zionn, achappeare7 in 1862. In his

book he presented a plan for the colonization of ?alestine, for which

purpose an organization had been founded in 1860 in Frankfurt a.O., Gemmy, and of which he was a menber. Kalischer describeci how he understood the b hope for the future redmtion of Israel, which was fine belief in the even-

'tual ingathering of the exiles into the Xoly Land, Likqdaihe rejected

the conventional view nf sudden miracle by the Alnj:&ty through t>e sending , First of all,

he expected, Jewish philanthropists muld have to give their support and

other nations muld have to consent to the return of sone Jewstothe Eoly

Land, He ms sure that all promises nade by the ?rophets muld eventually be fulfilled, but the return mould co-ie about in natural vans, ~frzdually

n and by slow degrees. He was convinced that Jem would have toeoncern -16- thenselves with the condition of Mount Zion and of the entire Holy Land, and should not leave it up to God to do something about it, as most pious I Jews did at that time. Kalischer searched the Jewish religious tradition 1 and collected many nproofsn which supported his view that every Israelite was to consider it his llreligiouesacred dutyn7 to do something about the redexption of Zion. They should start with prayers for.the restoration of

Jerusalem and the former glory of Zion. Then they &ould support generously those pious. Jews, who were already there and who passed their days by studying Torah, but lived in utter poverty. The best neans to do BO, he proposed, wuld be to persuade Jews to involve themselves in agriculture in ?alesthe. This, in turn, would increase the Jewish population in the land. Even then, support by the colonization organization muld be needed for some tine. All efforts wokd have to be directed towards an Israelite national purpose, namely, the slow enibncipation of the territory of Palestine.

The .Tews should nrake roon for the goals of Jewish national history, which had been so splendidly yictured by a11 the prophets of Israel with the colours of heavenly truth. It is interesting to note, how Kdischer nixed the old religious concepts - prophets, heavenly truth - mith the contenpor ary ideals - national history, emancipation, national purpose and territory.

One of the major conc3rns of Kalischer vras a religious question, namely, whether or not it >vas permissible according to the Talmudic laws to reintroduce tl-e sacrificial cult on the mountain, where tbe temple lad once ntood, even prior to the messianic era. He cane, after lengthy discus- sions, to t-:e conclusion that this not only could be done, but sl~ouldbe done in order to hasten the ultimte xessianic redemption.

filhile such religious considerations were very inportant far him, he did not lose sight of the contemporary political scene. The tine was opportune for all attempts at the coloniz~tionof Jews in Ealestine, Yost -.. -17- of the constitutional states of Europe had enancipated the Jews and there were sone brot'ners in the faith, who had even reached high positions. These would surely influence the powerful masters of Europe to grant protection a;nd security to those Israelite colonists, nho would venture to settle in Palestine. In his swmnary he listed as the first reason for his plans tlle principle of nationdim. Other people, like,the Italians, Hungmias, ad Poles, stood up for their national purpose. They szcri- ficed with the greatest joy their possessions and lives for the preservation or the re-establislment of their nationality. Therefore the Jens should not put their hmds into their laps, but skould regain their national property, the most holy inheritance of their ancestors, namely the xost glorious and holiest of lands. They sllould not remin silent anymore, when other people pointed to Pdestine as their proper fatherlmd. That would be a denial of their nationality, upon whioh they were, 5th good rezson, so proud. The Jews were, however, spiritless and shoulc! be ashzned'of themselves. ,911 the other peoples had striven only for the sake of their own honor, how much nore should %hey exert themselves. They had an additional reason for struggle. Their duty was not only to labor for the &uy nf their ancestors, but for the glprr of God, who ohose Zion.

Prior to publication Kaliscner had shown his propozals to sone friends.

their ob,;ections to his plan of colonization ms t'le possible hostility of Arab neighbours towcards' the nen Jewish settlers. The insecurity of property in Palestine was being emphasized: the "Arab hordestt8 would rob the Jewish Tamers o-ftheir crops. Kalischer refuted this criticism by assuring t'lat robberies bg Arabs could not occur. As the rnain reason for * t.is c1a.j.m 3e referred to the fact that the present Pasha loved justice very much and severely puni;;he2 every robbery and theft, of vhich >is sub'ects became victims.. The Rabbi nas eventually successful in getting a group of people to buy land for the purpose of Jemisi: colonization on the outskirts of .Taffa

in 1866. I-Ie also was able to persuade the "Alliance Israelite Universellen,

an organization founded in 1860 for the international defense of Jewish rights, to found an agricultural school in.J$;ffa in 1870, the naiie of which

was Yli3meh Israeln (The Hope of Isrzel) .. Kalischer died, without having

seen his dream coxe true, in 1874. /-- Ebtirely different motives moved Hoses Hess-'to propose similar plans. h The ttCoimmis-t Rabbi", as he was dubbed, mas born in 1812 in Bonn, Gernany

and had received z, thorough Jewish religious education as a boy. He beczne

estranged, honever, frorn both his family, as well as tl-e faith of his

foref+ihers. For a long ti-e he was preoccupied with philosophic and socialistic thoughts. In the forties of the nineteenth century he becane a

friend of Hcrl Lrmx and Friedrich Engels. By the time brx published. his

Communist Eanifesto, however, they had pzrted, and lkrx named md attacked Hess in this famous pa3~'-3hlet.~ IIeos becane involved in the 1848 revolution,

and had to flee his native country, znd lived for many years in Frmce. He

wrote about politicd and philosophical questions, and in 1862 he published

a book, nhich dealt among other things with the Zemish question. It oras

written in Geman and had the title: Roae and Jerusdem. The Last Question

-.lo In it he admitted that he had been estranged frog his

people for nany years, and it had been an anti-Jemis outburst vliich made him think about his nation. Tlis-vas f o happen nany more tines in the later history of Zionisn, tl:at Jews rediscovered their nationality in reaction to I1 outbursts. T'Iost Jews, honever, did not get very disturbed

since this incidellt took plcce in the Near East, and seened to be an isolated - case. It was the Damascus Affair of 1840, the false accusation that soxe Jews had murdered a monk, in order to use his blood for ritual purposes. Suah "blood-libels" had been frequent occurrences in the Kddle Ages, but were thought to be outdated in the nineteenth century. Hess reported thct this event had made him aware for the first tine in his socialist activities that he belonged to an unfortunate, slandered, despised and dispersed people.

At thzt tine he had already intended to express his Jewish patriotic senti- ment, but the greater pain, nhic5 the suffering of the European proletariat had evoked in him, had made him remin silent, !!%en, nore than twenty years later, a thought, which he had believed mas forever buried in his heart, was revived in him anew, naely the thought of his nationality. IIe felt that this was inseparably connected with the ancestral heritage and the nenorie I of K:le Holy Land aid the Eternal City. These locations i-rere important, beczuse they were, what he called, the birthplace of the belief in the divine unity of life, as me11 as the hope in the fbture brotherhood of men. Vnile looking at the regenerzbion of ot'ner nations, Hess becaue con- vinced that the Jewish people also muld experience a national Renaissance, . that is, a political yebirth, md would eventually found a Jenish state. It was his opinion thzt the springtime of the historical peoples began in 1789 c with the French revolution. Sinc~surrectionof nations had becone a natural phenonenon, and he referred to Greece and Rome, Poland a.?.?d

Hungary, as examples. There nas also, so Hess asserted, a movement of west among other subjected people and these wuld eventually rise against their oppressors. Among the nations .believed t:, be dead, but ~hichevent- ually would struggle for their national rights, vas Israel. This people 1 had coon,and had united I both inseparably with the 1:enories of its ancestral land. hTo modern people, I struggling for its own fomer fatherland, could deny the right of the I Jewish people to their fomer land, without at the sane tine undermining theJ justice of its own strivings. -20-

It was the political situation vrhieh damanded, in the opinion of Hess, the establishment of ,Tewish oolonies at the Suez Canal and on the banks of the ,Tordm. This mould only be the beginning of the restoration of the Jewish state, which, he was sure, mould become a reality, Yhat mas necessary, was to keep alive the hope of the political rebirth of the Jewish people and to reawaken it, rrherever it slumbered. Precisely this was a major difficulty, as Hess clearly realized. The main problem of the Jewish national movement was not of a religious nature- It centered rather around the question, how 1 the patriotic sentineilt in the hearts of the progressive Jews could be awakened, and how the Jewish massea could be liberated by means of this patriotism from a spirit-deadening formalism. Hess took issue on the one -1 hand with the refom Jew$, who denied t5e national character of the Jewish religion. He protested as vigorously =inst the orthodox, who -?ere in his eyes dogmatic fanatics, :md seemedunable to develop the Jewish historical religion along modern lines, They sought shelter under, &zt he termed, the wings of ignorance, and thus avoided a struggle with the deductions of science and criticism. Hess made it clear which side in this struggle he himself favoured, Yhat was necessary, he felt, mas t3e revival of the holy, patriotic spirit of the -Tenish prophets and sages. From this muld arise a new kind of religious reform. The Jews would zgain becone partici- pants of the holy spirit, which was in his opinion, the .Te-dsh genius. It alone had the right to develop and fom the Jewish law sccording to tke needs of the -people. men the third exile muld finzlly hwe co-:e to an end, the restoration of the Jewish state mould find the Jezs ready for it. .Hess did not, however,. dare to make any definite predictions, how this new religious refom would look. He had been esked whether or not the bloody sacrificial cult of the m:cient Israelites, which had been performed in the Jerusc~lemtemple, would be restored. Kalischer had had no doubt -21-

that this would take place. The only question for hia was, whether or not this was penissible, even before the Messiah was to corn. Hess, on the

other hand, did not think that this cult was an inseparable p& of either

Jewish nationality, or of the historical religion of the Jews. Any rigid-

ity of religious norms mould disappear, when the no17 extinct nctional life

came into existence ogain. The holy spirit, the creative genius of the people, out of ~hichJewish life and teeching arose, hzd deserted Israel,

when its children began to feel cshaned of their nationality, But this spirit would again animate the people, when they zrould awaken to a nen life. It-muld create nemthings, of which he and his contemporaries hed

not even a conception. No one could foretell what forn or shape the newborn

life =d syirit of the regenerzted nation muld assume. As regmds t'le religious cult, especially the Tewish cult, it would certainly be different from the present as well as from the ancient fom. - One did not have to agree with Heinrich Heine and other enlightened

Jews, so Ress believe?, that t2le Jewish religion wcs more a n is fortune than a religion. He was sure that t:ie rigid crust of orthodox Jewry mould melt,

when the spark of -Tevrish patriotism, now smoldering under it, was kindled

into a sacred fire. This would herald the coning of 17h2.t he temed the spring and the resurrection of the Jevish nation to a nev life. A feature, n'nich mrzs to reoccur quite frequently can be noted here 1 alrezdy. IIess freely used religious terninology when refe~~ingtosecular 1 matters. For exzmple, t' e slHoly Spirit" nas no longer the spiri-i; of CQ~,

but the "Jewish gcmius"; "Jewish patriotisn" had to be turned into a "sacred

fire", which mas no longer in the temple. *Resurrectionn ms no loilger a

"resurrection fro3 the dezdI1, but the "regeneration of the nationw, A further examplefor such secularization of religious language nzs the reference to the "nessianic age". For Kalischer this was in the fbture, at 4 the end of days, ushered in by the Al~ighty. He had gone to great lengths

to show t5at nan mas pemitted to prepare the beginning of the coning of that ace. For Hess the messianic era rras that one, in which the Jemish-

Ecpressions like the time of tile "resurrection of the decdn, or Vhe coming of the Lord", or of the "New tTerusalem't had only a symbolic neaning, The messianic era mas actually the present age, which had begun, so Hess felt, -75 with the teachings of the man who was his greet master, namely Spinoza,

!&e messianic age had finally come into historical existence mith the French revolution.

It is an open question, whether or not Hess realized, how radically

he was changing the meaning of the religious terminology, which he used. Whether he realized it or not, apparently it did not matter much to hi::., because he expected radical changes in the Jewish religion anyhow, l?or

?- were religious differences inside Judaisn ixportant for Hess. He was con-

vinced that all Jews who still possessed a Jewish heart would support the

national cause, If Jewish nationalfim became a life movexent, it would obtain a political regeneration, aad this mld unite Jews whatever their

religious outlook. :men Hess becme itcquainted with Kalischerls book

Seeking Zion, m'-ich appeared in 1862, +ile he was writing his om, he

exclaimer1 with entlmsiasa: *Vas I not right, when I praised the practical

sense of our people to you and zsserfed that pious Jem will join hands with the enlightened on the comon ground of .'enish ~~ationalism?"~~Though Hess

had in many respects views which differed from *ose of Kalischer, he weed xith rewd to the practical proposals. He felt $cat the organization of

the society proposed by the pious patriot muld becone a reality; so mould

its ultiniste goal, the settling of the Eoly Land with Jewish colonists under

the protection of the Western civilized nations. -23- IIess- found one of the ,justifications for Jewish nationalism in the \ race questim. Ke believed that racial antipathy was the czuse of antagon- F is^ towards Tecrs, frob?which neither refom of the -Ted& religion nor coil- version to Christia.~itycould liberate them, Hess claiaed that the Cernan hated the Jevish relidon less than the race; he objected less to the 7ens1

peculiar beliefs ti~mto tkir peculiar noses. .Te:~isl?_noses could not be

reforned, md the black, vavy hair of the .Tens vould got chznge through

conversion into blond, nor could its curves be straightened out by constant combing. The author believed that the -Ternis11 race vas one of the ~ri-?cry

races of --ankind, vhich had retained i-bs integrity, in spite of tile coxtinual

&m-~eof its climtic emiroment. The Jevish type had conserved its

purity through the centuries. Hess was convinced thst even in cases of intercarriage the Jenish t~yperexained ~redo~inant.T'ne Jenish race I possessed especially the zbility. to accli.-mtize itself nore than other races.

Jevs had played an important :xrt in universal history aqd .::ere destine; to

for a still g-eater one in the future, he predicted.

./it11 re~ardto the lanipage question, Tess seeged to farour Iebren

over any other -t;o:.se, and :le had mrds of paise for the Iiebre;: ?enaLss~.nce.

Ee nas deeply r~ovedk: Yirebrev yrayers, because of their convlection nith

patriotisr2:

The most touc:ling poht about these Hebrew payers is that they

are really PSI expession of the collective Jedsii syirit; the;^ do A not for t& individual, but for the entire Zevis4.l race. pious Jew is all a .Te~ishpatriot The 'nenV .Tea, $10 denies the existence of the .?ewis:i nationality, is not only a deserted in the relidous sense, but 's also a traitor to his peo?le, his and even to his fmily. 15

It nas:h line nith his views on the messianic age that Iless did not

expect thst all Jens mld return to Palestine. fSe had historical reasons

for this assuq.ption- At the ti7.e of the return fro:- the Babylonian exile not all the Jews settled in Palestine, The ma'ority remained in the lands of exile, where there had been Jewish settlenents since the dispersion of

Israel and ,:ud&. In the sa Ie ma~rone should not look fornard to a larger concdtzYkion of Jews at the future restoration.

Hess called on his fellow-?ens to reclaim either by co:-.pensation or by other nems the czncient fatherland from 12lr:rey, which had devzstated it, Providence had prolonged the existence of the Jewish nation for the holiest of missions, nauely the rebuilding of the gates of Jerusalem and the resettlement of the bdcs of the 7ordan. This, he felt, would have 7:dder repercussions. A great calling; wzs reserved for the Jews. They would become a living channel of comunication between three continents. They would be the bearers of civilization to the primitive people of Asia, 2nd the teachers of the European sciences, to which their race had contributed I so mch. Hess desired, however, that not only science s3ould be taughJ6. Jl The Jews would become the moral stay of the Etzst. They had mitten the book of books, md should now becone tiqe educators of the wild Arabian hordes and the African peoples. nle ancient miadon of the East, the revelations of the Zend, the Vedas, as vell as the more n-odern Koran and the Gospels should be grouped around the Jewish Bible. Hess became almost poetic, when he encouraged his nation: brch fomardt At the s5ght of your rejuvenation, our hearts mill beat fast, and our armies mill stand by you, ready to help. ..?larch fornard, ye sons of the P'artyrsf The harvest of experience vhich you have accmu- lated in your long exile, will help to bring' again. to Israel tile splendourl/ K' of Davidic days and remite thaf part of history of which the monoliths of Se~drznisare the only witness, 3

Hess anticipated with almost prophetic insight many of the develop- nents, nhich eventually took place. He foresaw problems, nhich arose by necessity, but he also shared sone of the illusions of those, who finally were successful in getting Jews to move to Palestine. Hess died in 1875. -2!+ Jt was not his call, wizich set the Jewish nation marching. His pleading went unheard. Not until the Zionist nwement was well established nas tribute given to this forerunner, nore so than to Alkalai or Kalischer. His purely secular approach mas more to t2e liking of most later Zionists,

though they were perhaps even more critical of the Jewish religion than he

was. Chapter TI1

Beginnings of Zionism in Russia.

The year 1881 17as one of the major turninppoints in .Ter.ri:;h history,

both with regzrd to external developments of world-Jewry, ss vrell as the

Jewish self-consciousness. Frtss-movenents began then, which eventually moved the centre of gravity of world-Jemy from Russia to the .'lest. It

has been estimated, that about one -1;hird of the .Tens living in Xrone dux-

ing the generation preceding the First Vorld Yzr, left the continent for overseas.' ( A mall, but continuous novament back t owards Palestine beg= in 1881, which led to the establishuent of Jewish agricultural settlenents in that land with the support of friends in nany countries, but especially in Russia. I All this was acco:-:panied by en lintellectuq fement, during I I which eventually the very idea of "Judaismn was redefined. Before dealing with the specific events of that decisive year, it seems appropriate to consider the general situation of Zews in Russia at

Around 1880---. noreD than---- half-the- .Terns in the world, approximately %- - 3 five million, -lived inside the borders of the Russian &pire) "* Tiey were, -..- - . - -- - -m....-,---" - -- - .- however, i10t evenly destributed in the Empire of the Czar. Yost of then ---.-- , were concentrated and confined to tke so-cclled Vale of Settlenent", 4 I - .,__U1_._.."I- -.------^ - -( - il-- - - __ _ - - -

which was approximately equsl in size to the former I3ngdol-3. of Pol~~d, L, f& regions that is, wEch had becor~eRussian possessions during the pertitions

of Poland (1772; 1792; 1795) arid during and imediately after the Fapoleonic wars. .'ens had not been permitted to settle in the older Russim state. r' r' Hardly anphere did tle Jews forri a majority of the population, not even in7 the toms md cities of the "Pale"; they mere rather a minority of twenty I per cent or less.) In 1865 Czar Alexmder II had elloned a specific group I r -. of ,Tern, nmely, university grzduates, skilled artisans and large-scde

erchts, to settle in other parts of the bpire. Some Jews hzd becoze -27-

quite wealthy in Russia, and as in other countries their success attracted

I attention and caused the envy of ??any people, mat was frequently over- \

t looked, was the fact, that quite a fen Jews eked out a precarious existence in the Pale of Settlement. They were concentrated in certain professions,

i in which there was a sharp co-:petition. What r.ade their living conditions

hard, wzs the custo:::. of early narriage, quite Treyuently between ages of

14 to 16. They usually had nany children. Consequently their nmber hcreesed rapidly during the nineteenth century, frorz an estimeted one

million around the turn of the century, to about five ?illion in the

eighties. Another handicap was the kind of education -.any young bssiaa Jew got in the old-fashioned Jewish school systen, where Talnudic studies

doninate.-. everytking else. !Mle this had a beneficial influence in the P in I' redn of ethics and even of hygiene, (the children did not learn nuch the line of what to-day would be considered practical horrle4ge3 Meverthe- less there were hardly any illiterate people among the Jews, as there mere among their Polish and Russian neighbours. In spite of the deficiencies

in their education the Jews had many advantages over their still poorer

The Seas in Russia formed closely knit comunities, which had little contsctI with the surrounding world. The rost influential aspect of Jenish life =s religion. I The synagogue as not only a religious centre, but a social and cultural one as ne1l.l Since religion encouraged charity, the Jems had established an inposing welfare systea, which cared for Tellon-Jews I in all kinds of need. he everyday language of the Jevs in Russir, was A Yiddish, md alnost all the :?en hem zt least so3ie I-Iebren, vhich enabled

them to read the Bible and the ~almd.l In the eighteenth century a kind of

religious revival had taken place. The adherents to this movement were called "IIasidinN (the pious ones) . Among them personal devotion, emotional revivalist prayers, faith healing, joy and ecstatic flights of the soul

were emphasized. Bitter controversies had taken place between them and the orthodox, nho stressed ritual, strict adherence to .the 1an and Talmdic studies. By the second half of the nineteenth century the two groups had

found a nodus vivendi* A new enemy, to which both were equally opposed, -. had arisen by that time,I namely a form of enlightenment, called~~askalah.~~d Vestern idem had made their inroads into the JePris3 cornunities even in

Russia and changed the outlook of tens of thousands of people. The belief

the eventuel victory of reason kkr superstition and intolerance, [the faith in the equality'of men, liberty and brotherhood, the progress of I humanity, end similar concepts became current. Secular interests were ?. 1 awakened, and the inportance of przctical hovledge nas stressed. A professional stratification of Jews mzs advocated. 'Phey should beco.le 1' productive, rather than merely rely on petty trade and middle-nen positions. Changes in the education of the young riere proposed and often yut into

practice. The Y?as!;ilim", as the follo~ersof the oovenent were called,

were convinced th2t they suggested a way of life which mould eventually solve most of the political, economic, and cultural problem of Russian

One feature of the Haskalah taken over Trom ectrly nineteenth century , "Jestern Emopean thinking mas the idea of nationalisn. Such =en as Solonon Rappoport, an Krochqal and Peretz Smolenskin stuZied Jemish L history adphilosonhy . in a scholarly fashion and called for a Jedsh nction- a1 revival. FIomard Sachar mote about nationalism as a Europe-nide

phenonenon and its influence upon Jews:

For if one t&th merges from modern history it is that Jei-rish nationalism mas not merely a reaction to anti-Semitism - any nore, indeed, than Genan nationalism was merely s reaction to invasion. The history of modern Jewish nationalism begins with th basic fact of a cohesive ethnic group, living as a separate n8tion in Eastern, but not in Vestern Europe, a "nation within a netion" the czars called it, apparently unassimilable, clinging tenaciously t o ancie? fbllmays, costume, diet, langucge, as vell as to a cormon religion. -- -.-- Closely connected nith this nationalism mas the attenpt of sone enlightened Jews, to revive I!ebrem as a rnodern language and the national i I I i tongue of the .Tens. This movene-.t mas often referred to as the Hebrem ienaissance. Its goal was to use the encient language for the dissem'na- tion of secular, cultural values, and a remarkable nodern Iiebrem literature

was created in this may. This revival, however, mas considered by mmy of

the religious-minded people as a profanation of the Holy tongue, and they tried to stop the spread of this new literature. They vere ar"raid thzt

this new novemmt ;;.auld leed people away fro? the ancestral faith. Devel-

o-ornents in Russia seemed to prove then right. Anong the pectical things,

which, cccording to the Ibskilin should be studied, were also other languages, especially, of course, Russian. ??any young Jew learned this official language of the state and found it useful for advancenent. They

also tried, however, to analgaaate with the environment and nere soon nore or less lost for the Jewish co-munities. .It therefore appearez to nany of,I- the religious leaders, as if the Hebrew Renaissace nere but a transitional

stage and the first step towards eventual assinilation, or the exact contrary of what had been intended.

Since such a great percentage of the world's Jevs livec? in Russia et

that the, any action taken with regard to J&S in this country mas of

great significaace ?or Jemy as a rrilole. The events of the year 1881 I-iere thus to have consequences vhich were felt at once throughout the rmrld,

and were to have further effects later. In ??arch Czar Alexznder I1 (1855- 1881) mas assassinzted in St. 'etersburg. That brought to an end a period

of reforms in the Eh:oire, from which the Jeps had benefitted, particularly -30- in the earlier years of Alexander's reign, Yoreover, Jews mere held responsible for his death, since a Jewess had been aa accomplice of the i sassi ins. The press suggested, and mors mere spread mong the illite* ate mzsses of Russians, thzt the Fews had played a leading part in the

plot. Six neeks later anti-Je~ish-ew------riits beg- to sweep acr~99 nf --I.___ ._ _ those-savhich the majority of the Jews lived, w!lich were of a

severity and zagnitude as had not been experienced since the days of the r EYddle Ages in other parts of the world. Such "po.grorsM, broke out in --r seve for aln ears, As a consequence tens of ! hozelzsand houses were looted, spa- -, 3 gogueE ruined, almost a hundred Jews were killed and thousands nounded,

A mass flight across the borders began, Particularly upsetting for the Jews was the fact, that not only the 1 illiterate masses had participated, but many of the intelligentsia had either - supported the rioters, or had done nothing to prevent them fro2 murder and I destruction. Definite plans nust have been behind the outbreaks, so it ms believed, because it was apparent that the pattern loas everyr7here the same,

with people having been brought to the scenes of the tmlts in-iediately . before they started, and who disappeared inmediately ~fte~rds.Frequently the police hrd stood by idly for one or tno days rrhile the looting, pill*

ing md mrdering ;rent on. In many czses the rioting masses mere not dispersed until troops arrived on the scene.. Though it could never be proved, many ,T.ems rtsmuzled t'nat the government i7as behind the outbursts; in

any case very li%tle had been done by the authorities to orever-t thex.

Those rioters, m::o finally were arrested and convicted., got relr:.%ively

light sentences, As if to add insult to in,iu-~~entuall~the-- blae ..,._^---. for I- 1 t he disorders was ls+d LQQXI. ~~ELAw-thenselves 4 Sorne conths after the w------* first outbreaks of violence the official ex-plma-tion ?7as that the outbursts -31-

were reaction to what mas termed, the economic domination and exploit*

tion of the Russians by the Jews. This caused the promulgation of new

le&slation in 1882, nmed after the month, during n':ich it nas issued, the

"&y-Lam". Though these nere su?posed to be only tem?orary neasures, they Iremained in effect until 1917. Through these decrees the freedon of nove

& of .Tms even "thin the Vale of Settlenent" ms limited; firther restrictions concerning the rights of zettlernent mere introduced; a

@ems clausus i~ schools and universities was introduced, which prevented

many young Jens from getting the kind of education they desired. Ihidreds

of students fron then on attended in Central and 7ester-n

I Europe, a fact which nas to have great significance later on for the Zionist rnovezent. Although the pogrom and the ?Iay-Lam caused physical and nzterisll

damge to a great nay, if not alnost all, .;ems, living in Russia, the

psychologi.ca1 iqact i7as even greater, Jexs lost rll confidence.." -*.. in __ ..-- Ru4s~-gm~men-b. and - - ___-_--people. ---- Kany had cherishd the hope that the Russian Iautocracy muld be turned into a constitutional monarchy and had been con-

vinced that the Russian state ~rouldeventually grant the Jevs fill equality

and re!love the residence restrictions md all the other oppressive dis- abilities. Such faith was norr shattered. krdest_- hit yere the enlli.$$ened /?nes, who had believed in reasoli and progress. ?by of those, who had tried I5 to analgaate ~iththe rest of the population became again evaze of their

origin md found their -.yay back to their om ~eople,

The miseries md the hopelessness cau~edtens of thousands of .Tens to

leave the country, rqost of the3 going to the Unite11 States of Anerica,

which =s destined eventually to Secone t?!e moat i:?portant country for

morld-Jewry, but . ihere in 1880 Less than 230,000 Jews lived. Others yrent to

South hericn ad South Africa. A few, horrever, cmsidere3 Palestine ss the pal of their nanderings. IIn 1880 there were approxi&tely 24 ,000 .Teis F in this part of the Otfomern Empire Most of them -re Chalukkah mendicants, 1 This welfare system already played 'a role in the considerations of Rabbi

Kalischer, and had been fateful for Rabbi Alkalai, as mentioned above. glms reasons alone made these people live in the Holy Land,/ It was di ent with those Jews, who considered an emigration to Palestine in 1881 i They were determined not to rely on charity, but to work with their own hands I ' and to live off the produce of the land. Some 7,000 Russian Jews departed I for Palestine in 1882 and more during the following years, This first

wave of immigration was later to be called the "first Aliyah It was / _I the first immigration of Jews to Palestine in modern times for other

\ than exclusively religious reasons. The settlers founded some agricultural

settlements like Rosh Pinah, Zichron Yalakov and Petah Tikvah. These be& I" re extremely hard. The soil was barren and neglected for centuries, sick- hesses like Malaria were to strike hard at the pioneers, Poor crops made I /life tough in that land, which once flowed with milk and honey, Among those, I i j who went f o Palestine in 1882, were some fourteen young men, mostly unive2c j sity students, who had been influenced not only by national ideas, but also by Marxist thought. !hey called themselves n~iluhw.9 These young pioneers were backed up by an orgmhtion of friends in Russia, Pmo in 1882 already numbered abd five thousand. It was their intention to found a co- \ operative, They rejecfed violently my form of pettr trade, which to then waa the tragic fate of Jewry in Russia, They did not, however, have sny

experience in agriculture or any lmowledge of the country, except what they

had learned about it in the Bible and Talmud, It was reported, for

example, that they had taken seed from the Ukraine along and had hoped to

grow the same' kind of wheat in Palestine. They settled near Jaffa, In spite of their enthusiasm and determination to sacrifice, their attempts failed badly, Not only the Biluim, but practically all immigrants of 1882 were soon to get into serious difficulties. Nevertheless was this

this nodest beginning, about which Rabbi Alkalai had alrerdy dreaned, for which Rabbi Kalischer had worked, and of which t!oses Hesshadbeen convinced that it mould cone about. One of the first :!en to put into words the thinking of the first

aliya3 generation, nas "retz Snolenskin (1842-1885), one of those scholars, who had stressed before 1881 the national character of .rudeism. Re had - I written around 1875: "1s the name Israel based on religion, law, ob:ervanc~, or custon? This nme exists because of national sentiment. "lo He asserted l that the Jews were not like other people, because they nere .a spiritual

nation, The foundation of its national identity was never the soil of its

land, but the Torah. Though the form of its unity ms different from thzt of other nations, ,Jews nere nevertheless a people. They mere good citizens

in the lands in which they lived and fulfilled their obligztions like all

the other nationals. Jemi~ationa.li~~?vvth

Palestine, !Phe land, in which the Jerrs dwelled vas their country. They once had had a land of their om, but it

was not the tie that united them anpore. Their Torah vas their native laad, which made them a people, a nation only\ in the spiritual sense. In

the normal business of life they were like all other nen. In 1880 Eliezer Ben Yehudah (1858-1923), the fanous lexicograyher of

modern Hebrew, had attacked Smolenskin in a letter, published in a Hebrew

journal, precisely on this point. l1 Ben-Yehudeh stated t?at the hearts of men nere not noved by reason, but by enotion. The Jews may argue all day

and cry aloud t:,zt they were a people, even though they mere bereft 02 a homeland. ,411 this mould be fu-bile a?d meaningless. One could, hozrever, - appeal to people's feelings and address oneself to tke hearts of the .Jerrs, I saying: The lai~dof your fathers is waiting for you. Go, and colonize if, -34- and by beconing its nasters, you shall again be a people like all others,

Such words muld be listened to attentively. The l~unanheart was tender, and mould easily be conquered by suoh an emotion, even the heart of a Haskil, an enlightened one. It is important the stress, what made, in

Ben-Yehudahts opinion, a return of Jemto Palestine imperative: Itland of our fathers", "hearts of tile ltenotionw, "me shall -in be a people like all othersn. He made it quite clear, that the enotions vere not of a religious character, but a national one. The nation had to be revived, otherwise even the revival of the Hebren lainpage mas of no avail, Only by returning to their fatherland could the Jews achieve a lasting salvation. 1; Short of such a solution they were lost, lost forever. The Jerpisi~religion would, no doubt, be able to endure even in alien lands; it mould adjust its forns to the spirit of the place a:id age, adits destiny muld parallel that of all religions. The nation, honever, could not live except on its i own soil. Only t'nere could it revive and bear nagnificent fruit, as in days of old. 1 The pogrom of 1881 seemed to have convinced Szolenskin finally that

Ben-Yehudah nas right, because thereafter he himself called on his fellom Jews to return to "Eretz Jisroel" (%he lit?:d of Israel), although he did no longer live at tlat time in Russia, but in Vienna. l2 i1e realized t'iet zany Jems had to leave countries, in wX.ch they mere hated. If the nave of emigration were to be directed to one place, it could only be Palestine.

'Phis land had considerable advantages for Jews over other countries. Those, who cherished the neriory of their ancestors wocld gladly go, if they could be assured th~ttl~ey could ndce a living. Like ?.loses I-Iess before 'li~$?j~1,

Smolenslrin did not expect th.t all ,Tern would go, but only t'.ose, who were destitute or persecuted, muld look for a place to which to emisate. He was addressing himself to the sensible people &-.long the Jews, to those, rrho -35 felt for their brethren and were willing to nake sacrifices on the altar of love for their people. Such persons would listen, understand, act and suc- ceed. IThey should be told that there mas no other land that would lovingly accept the exiles save the Land of Israel, and that only there could they find truth and lasting peace. IAgain one has to note the re1ie;ious terns used for secular matters: "sacrifices on the altar of love", ntruthn, "lasting peace". Suolenskin also made it quite clear, t'lat there were no 1 I religious reasons behind his suggestions. On the contrzry, he hew, thzt the refom .Tews mould be opposed to his project, those people, who, in his opinion, hated Zion and -Terusalem.'I He also found it useless to argue nith the orthodox, who expected a niraculous redemption.( Those people should be told that there mas no intention to attempt to force the arrival of the

IFessiah, nor to establish the kingdon of God in Palestine at that tine. All thatwas SOUQ~~,was to provide bread in a land, in v3ch there nes hope, that those, who laboured on it, would find rest. Chapter IV Nationalism and Religion in the Debates of the Lovers of Zion. In September of 1882 an anonymous pamphlet appeared under the title

Auto-Enmci~ztion: An Appeel to !Iis People, mitten in German, which became 1 a sensation anong Russian Jem almost over night, It was no exagseration,

when the editor of an Ihglish translation said in 1945, that this panphlet "opened a new ern in the history of t3e Jewish people; it is undoubtedly one of the greatest documents that has ever been mitten on the Jewish question.^^ Theodor Herd was to &it later, that he never imuld have written his om book The Jewish State, which mas to beco-ne so significant,

if he had lmown Auto-Enulcipetion.

The author of this panphlet was soon identified as Dr. Leo Pinsker, a

physician from Odessa. He was one of the liaslrilin, W'IO hcd been assimilated +toa large degree, and who advocated the use of the Russian lanmage by Jews - and the spread of secular culture among them. He did not laon nuch IIebren

and i.a all likelihood wits not aware of whzt Snolenskin and Ben-l'ehudzh had

mitten in a Hebrew journal just prior to the publication of Xs booklet, although the general principleB of the Hebren nationalists -,-rere comon knowledge Russian Jews by that tim. Pinsker mas sixty years of aGe,

when the ~~ogromsof 1881 started, which shook the foundations of his liberal

.world-view and his belief in the progress of humanity. It wzs this shock ! also, which czused the irimediate fttvorable response a-long many Russian

His book nas hardly melcomed by Jews mywhere else. Pinsker proposed a solution to nhzt he called the lrJesrj_shQuestion",

The essence of t5is burning problen mas the fact t' at the Jens for:.!ed in the

midst of the nations aillone; nhon they reside:!, il distiactive elexent, ~Jhich

could never be assi:dated or readily digested. Legal exincipation mas the crowning achieve-lent of the nineteenth century, but thzt did not rilean socialI -37- enancipation. Jews mere still in an exceptional social position and they mld remain isolated,lbecause they -re aliens to the nations in which they lived4 It ws necessary to find means of adjusting the relations of this exclusive elemert with the other nations, He ns sure that he pro~osedthe _ I) only possible solution for this problem, ctnd he was coiifident that his plan would solve this age-old question forever. Such o f.y.nel solution would be accomplished, when the relations of the Jems vith t'-e other nations were I 4 regulated and securetl byfinternational law and by treaties, and the Jevish ? nation more treated as The future of the Jews mould remain insecure ad precarious so long, az their position 17as not radically ~-~nged. fPhis could not be accomplished by the civil emancipation of Jens in one state or the other, but only by the auto-enancipztion of the Jewish people as a nation; that is, by an cct o notional self-help, / 4 - IThey had to found a colonial colnuni-ty rr'aich one day wuld becoae their inalienable hone, their fatherland.

This =s t'e first clear expression of what later on beczrne a generally held assumption of the Zionists. It was the conviction tht the nineteenth century attenpt at assimilation of Jens had failed, and tl~tit bad fziled. by necessity, I.?em could never be amalga~atedwith the surrounding peoples. They had to be recogiized internationally as a separate nation and be treated accordingly. !?he other nations muld do this only if the'.Temish people had a land of their own, a fatherland.[ a&. . Before they could get such a land, 'lponever; they mould have to beco:?e t \. conscious of their nationality. i It was an open question in the second half of t::e nineteent'n cel~tury,whether or not the Je-rs coastituted a nation at that tine. ihile Tress, Saolenskcn adother Jevish writers had asserted this, Ihinsker felt that the Jems lacked most of the attributes rrhich mere characteristic of a nation. Anong these he listed: a comon l;u?gm,ge; comon custo )s; a comon land, tirhiah mould serve aa a rallying point and a

centre of grzvity; a government of t:leir om; national independence; and

accredited repres$ntetives. IEe even denied that the Jewish people had a distinctive national character, national coil:ciousness adnztional self- respect t The ot:-er nations did not have to deal with a .Temish nation, but always with Jens c?s individuals. !l%ings had not alvays been t3at nay in

Pinskerfs opinion. Like all lzter Zionists he saw as a unit the centuries

of Jewish Dispersion since the loss of the anciezt Jewish state. This time of exile had to cweto an end. Eighteen hundred years earlier the Jewish people had been a living 7 nation, but then they had lost their state md their independence. Eever- I theless, they had not Seen totally destroyed at that time, but continued to

exist t3erezfter as a spiritual nation. The national consciousness existed w throughout these centuries only in a latent st~teof aartyrdon. Pinsker stated that the Jems lived in disgrace mit3ou-t a single atteiipt to ccst it1 off. He nas to be corrected later on this point. Reroic attenpts of self- liberation had been made, but they had invariably failed. After the loss of their fatherland, the Jewish people appeared to the other nations as one of the dead walking among the living, having a gh~stlike

apparition. This was something scaroely paralleled in history and could / / therefore not fail to 12ake a strenge, peculiar ixpression. Since the fear hh5 of ghosts was sonetling inborn, the fee* of the Jewish ghost had been handed 0

down and mas even strengthened throughout the centuries. It led to a pre-

judice and tosther with bther forces, especially superstition, paved the

may for Judeopho'uia, feu of the Jem, a fori~of denonopathy, with the dis- tinction that the .Temisl~ghost ~nsnot disembodied like other ghosts, but was I a being of flesh afid blood. The physicizn spoke out of Pinsker, hen he

presented his diagnosis: "Judeophobia is a psychic aberration. As a psychic -- aberration it is hereditary, and as a disease trms:litted for two thousznd years it is incurableew3 He mfi on to show that ,the prejudice against the Jewish race rested upon all kinds of ~thropologicaland social ~rinciples, innate and ineradicable. (The other nations muld forever reject the Jews by)1 reason of an eternal,natural antagonism. He reasoned that the *'ems should give up fighting -inst anti-Senitism, just as one would give up contending against other inherited predispositions. \ Polenics of this kind nere a waste of time and energy. Against superstition wen gods fight in vain. I - There was only one solution for the problem, the Jems had to becorle a \

\ nation again and live in their own land. !They had to find a ho;?e; if not a country of their om. They s:muld seek their honour md (note the use of the religious tern) alvation by restoring a nztional bond of unity. Pinslcer t I made practical proposals for the organization of Jeq, which nere not very /$I4 differwit froa what eveatually becaie a reality under Theodor Herzl. t/" nucleus was already there, he felt, in the form of societies, which pronoted resettlement of J.~-.E&These had to be trmsfomed, and had to convoke a I 41 national coiigress, or at least a kind of directorate nhich would have to supply a place of uni'q. Such an institute, muld hcve to be representative of the national interest and be cor:prised of leaders of the people. The first task of such a national institute would be to discover any:.71;ere in the world a territory adapted,to the purpose, as far as possible con-binuous in extent and of unifona character. Like Kalischer and Ress before hin, Pinslter felt that the time was opportune, since other nations had wn their indeuend- ence, and he referred to the Serbicns and Romanians. The-task for .the Jews J =s nore dif2icd.t than for other nations, however, f~rt::!ese had hzd the advarkge of living on their om soil and speddng one lmguage. All the more determin~tiona..d readinessforsacrifice was needed on the part of the 40-

As far as the Internal situation of Jewry was concerned, the tine ms also opportune. Pinsker asserted that the Jews had been strongly influenced I I by the genercl trends of European thought. The great ideas of the eighteenthl I-- century certainly had left a trace. Jews felt not o~lyas Je~s,but as men. I ' As such they were sl;nxious .to be a nation like the others. Pinsker was

apparently not aware, when he mote this,. that this topic had a pre-?istory with religious connotations. I The ques-tion, whether or not Israel could' or should ever becoxe like all' the other nations rrzs to beco-le one of the central points of discussion betveen the seculzr nationalists- and the reli- . gious-ninded people. Pinsker felt tllat a 'nationel rebirth could be accon- i I' I plished through self-help. Cnly %-en would otker people help as well, Such

self-liberation would even produce automatically an additional beneficid

effect, Pinslcer indicated this by closing his pamphlet ~5ththe C-eran

proverb, prhich rrzs to be quoted by later Zionists quite frequently: "Yelp I, , / yourselves, and God dl1 help you!w4 Not all religious. aGhoPities mere to(/ ? be in agreez~entwith the author.

Pinsker realized that -the Jews had an unshalreable faith. He Tas sure that they would take with them the most sacred possessions, Rhich they had

saved from the shipwreck of their fomer fatherland, namely the God-idea an

the Bible. This was to hi3 apparently the essence of the Jemish religion. -Relifus ideas aere detectable in his argument, althouch in a some~hat dihte? fon. He asserted, for exanple, that the Jews were the chosen peo~le. Thiskd for him, honever, only a negztive meaning; they were "tke people

chosen for universal hatred. "5 There is not!~ingin Pinskert s book about such ideas as wblessing'l or ncovenmtn connected with the tern llchosennessn.

He aduitted to :his sorroa that the Jens .mre a stiff-necked people, This hrtd for him nothing to do with €heir relations tomrds God, but it referred to the 6 "national resolution^, which could so easily be destroyed by conservative opposition. Like Hess before him, Pinsker used an fllustration reainiscent of the Bible, nhen he lamented that the Jews mre a flock scattered over the

whole face of the earth, without a shepherd to protect them and t;at3er then together, The3 prayed only for a littlepbe anywhere to lay their !veery hezds to rest.

Even religious history mas reinterpreted. The flight fron Xgy-pt under

Koses had been for T)inslrer an orderly cieparture in unity and serried ranlcs.

One looks in vain for such a reference in the Bible. Pinsker regrettecl

that in his own days the Jews nere not only without a IIosea as their leader,

but were even "without a proxise of land, which we are to conquer by our

own might.n7 Tbis quotation is one of the aost iilportant expressions of PinsBerls rather n2gative attitude towards the Biblical trzdition. /I 3y implication he denied that any of tile promises of a land were valid in his

own days, for ex,mple the promise to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12. \I He also implied thaf the conquering of the Holy Land after the flight fron I_-- / 1 Egypt was not, as'$he Bible asserted, by the night and under the guidance of ,--- -- God, but by the pe=;l~.le:s om dght. Religious people could not fail to /Z/ " -- _ IV notice such differences adto react accordingly.

. . their om mvyewconsiderzbions, The Jews

should not dream of restoring \ncient Judea. They should not attach then- selves to the place, where theirbolitical life was once violently interrupted and destroyed. he goal of their present endeavours should not be the Yoly Lmd, but a land of their om.1 Perhaps the Holy Lmd wuld become a .Jewish

possession qain, and that would certainly be desirable. Practiczl consider+

tions, however, were decisive in this re-pect. First of 211 it h~dto be

determine< which country was aczessible and suitable to offer a secure and

unquestioned-to all those Jens, who had to leave their present homes. Pinsker was at the time of the publication of Auto-~mcipztionwhat nas

later to be termed a wTerritorialistll. The Jewish hone did not necessarily have to be Palestine. For exauple, it could very well have been a smcll I territory in ITorth Anerica, or any Pashalik in Asiatic Turkey. me only

condition rras that it was an area sufficient to allow the eventual settle-

ment of several million people. wd;.bd3 .

Pinslrer considered certain religious ideasns ha&l for tl:e national

Renaissance. The .Tenshadto abandon the delusive idea that they were f'ulfilling a providential mission by their dispersion, a nission in which II nobody believed anyway. This was a reference to a nineteenth century refom

Jewish claim, based on Isaiah 49, which did not belong to t'ce traditional

concepts of the previous centuries of Jevish thought.

Inevitably the Temish belief in the I.?ess-'ah cae up in Pins1erts considerations, as it had done in those of the proto-Zionis 81s. T'nis nas to him the beliefin the intervention of a higker power, which was to bring about the political resurrection of the Jerris: nation. \ This idea, as -;ell as the assumption that a punishment inflicted by God had to be born pefiently,

had czused the Jens to abandon every care for national liberty, for unity

and independence. These religious concerns had caused then to forget their

fatherlead and this nes a disgrace to a people, &ich once had its Ilaccabees.

These religious freedoa figliters of the second cen-bury B.C. mere to be

proclained, as examples to be followed, nore often by later Zionists. kinn*Ms I u Pinsker felt Wiat things we^^ a1toget::er diQZermt efter the 1881 -,4---, . - L .. 1 +-pogrons. These ou%bursts of anti-Sernitisn had amakened the national conscious- I Iness of the Russian Jews andhzd produced an irresistible movement to~rrrds I ( Palestine, which ms sonething other than fatalistic subaission to a punish- I men% by Go& IAll t>$s did not :lean that the Jevs.M renounced .?uclaisa and A their faith, but only th+t they revolted a,gainsf undeserved ill-treatment.\ Nevertheless, not prayers were required by the situation. Since the other nationalities had recently been allowed to regain their independence, fne

Jews should, beco~~inglike one of them, not sit a moment longer with folded hands, They should rat'ner devote all the renaining noral force to re-estab-

lishing themselves as a living nation, so thzt they would eventually assme

a nore di~ifieil.role in mrld affairs. . If Pinsker's analysis of the situation ms righ*, and there seem to be I no reason to doubt it, the beginning of the nodern "Back to Palestine" I movernent ms a re-zw&ening of national-- feelings a.nQng cTe~ishmasses in ------_I__- I Russia czused 'by severe anti-Semitic outbursts. 1,lctny aspects of it nere --. I \I contrary to saxe features of the traditional religious attitude. 'Plough

.cI / this start mas not outrightly anti-religious, the ~~ovementmas in my case not c~usedby any religious inpulse. Secular -considerations nere to becone

decisive in the later Zionist movenent as vell, as will be shorn, It ia no

- surprise then that more tradition-bound religious people rejected such aspirations.

This, however, was not true for all of them, One of the fen Ihbbis,

whose heart nas touched by Pinsker's appeal, vas Rabbi-- Ruelph of kael, Re lived near the Russian border, and had first-hand e&qeriencenith Jerrish

refugees. Ruelph stated that he mas unable to endorse Auto-?bancipation .without qualification, and therefore he wrote a book of his own about the

same topic.8 like Pinsker he was one of the ossinilated Jews md hzd

believeLthat their eventiual full emancipation vas inevitable, if only they

would fulfill their duties as loyal citizens of the states, ,in which they

lived. This belief 1f2s shattered for both yen through the events- of 1831

in Russia. This alone, however, hzd not been enough to chaage the Rabbits

outlook, It 1-13,srather Pinsker's book which had made an.iner~dicable. impression upon hin and had redirected his thoughts znd aspirations. Xuelph -44-

eclmomledged his indebtedness by admitting that 113.5 own booklet was inspired by that of Tinsker, and that it was perhaps only a translation of "ins!:erVs words into his om. Tlhile he disagreed 16th him in many res~ects,these differences had been caused by personal factors adlocel conditions; the

Russian physicim hzd by necessity to evaluate things in a different i72~ froil that of the Geman Rabbi. Iiqith his book becme one of the 1 fathers of those religious-2inded Jem, who felt that their religious con- I victions should not prevent then from supporting the goals of a seculer Jewish-nz;tion~L novement, md v3o finally founded a religious faction dthin I the Zionist novement. One can see in Ruelphts book th2t such pzrticipation - I required both qeinter-?retation of t r2ditional religious concepts, es !ell

as a refornulation of the ne-bional goals.\ The points of as~eenentbet-.-reen the two nen nere considerable. Bo-kh

saw the cause of the c~.rtumj-old hatred of the Jevs mainly in the fcct the-t they were a people ~-nthouf a land. ( They were confident tiat tllis problen could be solved by a reunion of t?ie Jevs in zl1 the world, by giving then a

country and by the founding of a new Jewish state. The netionzl self-coa- sciousness and pride had to be reawakened and tho national honour re-estab-

lished. Ruelph agreed that t??e tine mas opportune Tor the reghing of a

nationzd hone, because ot3er people had united md hzd mn independence. 'Like otl?ers, tie Jedsh netion should again begin its o:m indepezdent life

in freedox. Only then muld the Zens be treated as ea-d the relations could be secured adregulate:: by international. treaties. Ihelph even agreed ~5thPinsker, that contrary to the trndition~lreligious belief,

this could be accomnlizhed only by self-he1p.l If the ,fenir;h people would help thennelves, they could be sure of the help of Cad as -;ell. The SaWii

condemned also passivity in the face of unjust attacks and favoured self- L defence, although he seexed not to object, if that nere eccor;lpaniedby prayers. -45- Ruelph agreed with 3nsker that legal emancipation ms not full emcip*

tion, a.?d that the mere fect that certain people had to be "emancipated" ad

msde equzl before the law, ms a shme. mle Dinsker had conplzined bit-

terly about the lzck of "social" ernmcipxbion, Xuelyh felt tyat t!~e laws

were nnde inefi'ectunl b:~their nhich.did not let f'ull equality

becoae a reality.

mle Pinsker had asserted that Jews forned an ele~zentth2.t could not be

assinilzte,', Ruelph stressed that t5ey did not ~ra-ilt to be co:~pletely

assinilated, and aith good rezson. There vas not only z contrast bet::een

Zsrad and all the other nations, but EL con%rrdiction, and this could not

be overcone b;y progress in cul-tu.re, education, hu-;laity or faith, For

Ruelph the Jextsh people nere not only the people hated by ot?_lers,but a

universal peo?le, the >-eoi?le of God, .13ut.&did not hzve to say anything

about t!le wchosemessl'. It.-7as to remain a problem ?or Zionists, how the

chosenness of %he .Ternis21 people, md their atten;?t to initate other nations

could be squared.

Ruelph disagreed -nith Pinslrer in other vays, too. I-ie doub-k' thzt

,Tudeophobiz, fear of the ,Term, vss a najor force, or even existed zt all,

let alone that it nzs an instinctive, inherited evil. It vas not fear of

ghosts, $rich c2used hatred of the Zews, but only ethnblogical principles.

-Prejudices against the .Tam were not inborn, but proclucts of eciucation, Ftuelph felt that an organization for the re-estab1islr:en-t of the Jerrish1 state did not hve to be created. It existed already in the fom of the

"Alliance Israelite Universelle" with headquarters in ~arls.~The:? it hcd

been founcied some t'lrirty years earlier, consciouoly or unconsciously the

beginning of Israel's liberetion and sillvation had been nscle. Ee called on

all Jem, orthodox or reformed; even on non-Jevs, to support t3e Allimce,

bcczuse this orgmia~tion72s bound to solve one of the major mrld k problems. Ruelph asserte:: firtheraore against Pinslter that the had to fulfill a lilission aiiong tho nations, and he was .in favour of it. The

Israelites were the ~mbassadorsof the kingdom of God on earth. As =bas- sadors they were the representatives of the holy person, t'e monarch hinself,

adas such they mere holy and haune ther?.selves. God had sent they2 emong

the nations to f'uflher by their good exmple the brotherhood of nankind, love, good order, truth and righteousness. Ruelph emyhasized, ho-:ever, ,I+ that tile national aspirations of the Jews did not have to suffer beczuse of

this religious czlling. On the contrary, t'nese aspirxtions got their full

justification only through this mission. TheJews had had more influence upon the course of mrld Pistory adthe cultural developne-zt of nankind

than any other nctiondity. Since the youngest and least inportant of

these nations ;;sere e;rmted the right to establish national unit3r md to gain independence, nobody could deny the Jewish nation the righ-t to re-estab-

lish their stzte and fat3erland. The problex of lanwzge did not norrjr Ruelph, as it seexed to bot:ler"- Pinsker. bIebrev,) tile langwge of the f~ithers,was not altogether dead. The

Jews had preservei the Bible tlnd had always called u~ontheir God in that

lan,wage. R~rther..ore,it had been revived by Russian .?em during t'ne nine-

teenth century as a living language, and was in use for business and every-

day affairs, as aell es for literature and even for the press. The Russian

Jews had xade salvation possible in this nay, belph asserted; which meant, - that they had xde an importcult contribution to the nc-kional Rensissmce. Bebrew alone could bemge the national language in t: e nem ielaish stzte. @dt5- t Ruelph disagreed ~ithPinskcr in the evaluation of thhexish belief in 1 1 the !:essiah, and qrai-ei; it because of its genuine nation21 content,tslt11ou& 11 he realized tlx~tile was the only one to see it that vay. !i%io faith had ., I ( been a source of strength for ,Tens tilrou@out the ages. Their Tecrish- -47- national patriotism and consciousness had found an adequate expression in . this belief, Ruelph ssw a danger for the nation precisely in the fact that

only a tiny minority still believed and hoped for the coming of the 7?essia,h,

He regretted the la& of lmoxledge of the Bible and the Tahud and a generel

weakening of relig5ous faith aaong his co-religionists,

Vhile Pinsker seemed. to have been sorry that tl!e Jems lacked a nea

Moses, Ruelph felt thzt no such lezder was required, becmse the old "oses

was and remined the spiritual lsader. Xhat ms needed indeed mas a

"Jehoschuahu, a helper sent by God, and it appears thzt Ruelph projected

some aspects of t3e !lessiah belief into this figure, althouch he avoided

the tern in this comection. For the Geullh, the salvation, t3e Jeschuah,

the help of God n2,s necessary, and this nould coxe with the self-help. It

is prob~~blethzt it is this aspect, self-help, which trnditionally did not

belong to the ??essid~expectations, nlSch made Ruelph avoid the term lzessiahfOtllemise he connected prophecies with what he hoped nould take place, which trzditionally were understood to be Tbssianic. He asserted

that eventually the savior for Zion would appear, as the prophet Isaiah

had foreseen, the man in whon the spirit of God would rest, the spirit of

wisdox and understanding, the s3iri-t of counsel and night, the spirit of

knonledge md tlze fear of God, This hope, he reasoned, should not hinder

the Jems fro2 acting at once. The actions required at the nonext did not

have in the first place a religious motivatian.~ To be sure, there was

religious aspect to it. By their nationalistic efforts the Jens could pzve

the way for the coming of the scviour. Delay of their efforts ~ouldeven 4

hinder his work and coxing. This argunei~t later picked up agzil by

religiously ninded Zionists, It seemed, honever, so vague aduninportmt

to nost of the later Zionists that they onitted it. This =s especially so,

since Rabbi Ruelph himself took a stand against the traditional religious attitude. Ee urged his co-religionists not to wait for the beginning of

\ the salvation, that is for the coming of tPe saviour. men they could act i theilselves, it would be a crime against the nation, as ?re11 as against the 1 saviour, if tioy would resign and condemn their people to further servitude.]

The nasl of counsel ad of might would not cone to a people, 1410 mld be without counsel a;;d night and who did not know how to help itself. It mas not he, who was supposed to awaken the nation, but the nation mould awaken him. He was to be only primus inter nares, who mould be the incarnation of the genius of the people and of its aspirations, Not a noneirt longer should the Jews wait for his coming because the task at had was so urgent. This

I, work, which mas required, was not of a religious but of a secular nature, L and in this respect Ruelph and Pinslter -eed. The Jews:needed a fatherland, I a genuine home for the whole nation, in order that they rlight gain recop nition among the other nations, and destroy the hatred of the Jems once and for all. The most inportant disagree:nent between Ruelph and Pinsker was with regard to the problem of which land should be the new fatherland of tlse reawakened Jewish nation; that is, where the Jewish state could be re-estab- lished,[ It was no question for Ruelph th2t this could only be Palestine. !(

Every other location vould mean only a new exile, A Jewish colony or even a state in America or Australia mould be considered a curicsit$ by the other nations. Only the original home of the fathers muld reestablish the national honour. This land had been taken from them by force. They had been driven away and were scattered across the face of the earth. Only in the oritgal f~therlandcould the Jems defend themselves, if need be, with the sword. It T~Sabsolutely necessary that they connected the thread of history at tinat point, where it had at one time been cut off. The Holy Land alone could in reality and truth become their country again. It wzs the -49-

property of the Jews for +.TO reasons, The first was a religious one, which Ruelih nentioned in passing, but on wMch he did not! elaborate. He asserted

that the lmd belonged to the Jews-by divine right, It had been promised to

their forefathers as an eternal inheritance. The country was t3eirs also

by human right, Their forefathers had t&en it with the sword and it still belonged to the Jewish people according to the right of the conqueror.

Ruelph mas, of course, aware, that the l=2d had been conquered by others in

the r?eantine. He did not ;ration the Arabs at all, but only the Ottoman

Turks, Since the land was under their sovereignty, the Jenshadto reconquer it, but tliis time not with the sword, but with weGpons of culture and civil- izetion,\/by i~xnigation- and Ccolonization] - -.2 (An additional leans could be used,I which actudly vas to be tried later on by Zionists, though unsuccessfully,

The lmd was ruled by the governxeilt of Istanbul, the ttPortew, and rzith a

play of words he esserted that mith a golden key all ndoorsm could be

opened. The governuent of the 'Purkish Enpire needed money an_d nas anxious

to get .a good deal. But ðer she mated to or not, even if she should

perish in the process, she had to be forced to let the Jews take their om

land back. >7hich forns, mays and aeans were usei, was irrelevmt. lnpor=) \ tan* was, that the original hone, the land of the fathers mas recovered x:d / \ the Jewish state re-established. Reac'hing this goal vao, he felt, neither 'unjust nor mfair.

Ruelph agreed with Pinsker, when he expressed his firo conviction that

all obstacles could be overcone, If there would only be a united nztional

deterninztion. Tith the help of the modern nems of transportation, ez;ec-

idly the railway, rnany people could xove long distmces. %his could bring

about something, w1rlich Pinsker had not considered. The promise of

Scripture could be rulfilled really fast, namely, t11a.t God would gather his

people from the ends of the earth, and, if they fo~mdfavour in his eyes, -50-

he would give the^? their land baok. This is but one example, of how

secular and religious concepts intermingled and were harmonized'in the mind of t3e pious Rabbi, 1Xhat he actually asserted was this, that national determination and modern zeans of transportation were preconditions for the Mf illr~entof the Scriptures. 1 It mrs but a mall step for a les; religious- minded person to abandon the Scriptures and to concentrate on the national deteriiination and the xems of transportation. This was especially the case, since opposition to the whole scheme d'nxkional rebirth cane fron

[religious circlesdwhich did not reinterpret the religious trzdition in the nay Rabbi Ruelph did. t Pinsker was delighted, when he received Ruelph's book and felt that it

was an improveneflt over his om. He sent a letter to the Rabbi sad thanked

hin, that he had cured, where he had hurt, stressed, whzt he had forgotten, 10 and had covered with light and honour, what he himself had neglected. He did not want to ,argue with hin over the few points of disagreeuent, which

were to renain. Gradually pinslier was won over to the idea, that Palestine had to be the land, where the new Jedsh state WELSto be established?l Re felt, however, that his idea. of a Congress was better than Ruelph's trust in

the Alliance, m;lich mas outmoded and nould not support the national work. The religious issues, rrhich Ruelph had mentioned, led 6inslcer to clarify

his position in this regard. He nade it obvious, that he wrs by no means mti-religious,\but thzt he sinply considered questions of nationality nor-j I+ important thaa religious motives(, Like Hess before him, he favoured a religious refom, in mhich the principle of tolerance mould be a major

factor to prepare the road for a new development of the national affairs of

the Jem. !Phis could be acconplished by the Congress, proposed by hin, but

it had to be initiated by Rabbis like Ruelph. Pinsker felt that soaething

good muld cone out of such efforts: "Progress in our religion will also - - - represent the progress of our national idea, and vice-versa. ?le should

only stress: ~rogress."'~ He regretted that the Jewish people were scat- tered and divided with regard to the places where theylived, but also in their secular and even in their relidous views. There mas, honever, a solution 2or this problem: 1 "The national idea provides t!?e natural cement wit11 which to unite all these diverse elenents, f Religious ?a-tisandiip would bring ham to %he national unity and solidakity. Religious concerns were subjected to the national idea in that movenent, which chose Pinsker

as its leader. With alaost prophetic insight Noses Hess h2d foreseen tmenty i

yeas earlier that the national ideal mould becoxe all-enbracing.- -- t ^_I_/-- --I - I Another Russian Jew, who had become a Jewish nationalist under the

influence of the 1881 pogrons, and who was eventually to beoone a close

associate of Pinsker, wes Xoshe Leib -----Lilienblm (1843-1910), As early as 1882 he began to advocate vigorously the resettlement of Palestine by tTewish \'.~. ------people and considered questions of religious differences inside Judaism as _ _C_-__ _------.. - - - secondary. The only important problem for him was national rebirth, In -. - -- 1883 he proposed the "Renaissance of Israel in the land of its forefathers,

where the next- few generations nay attain, f o the fullest extent, a nomal nstional life."13 Lili~blumwas ranarkable because of his evaluation of

the currents of nineteenth century thinking in relation to the Jewish -' -

situation; ' ' - - . He was in favour of nationalim, which to

hin represented -- rogress, and he believed, t-hat it would ultimately do away aith var a3d muld direct hwanity, with all its nations, to the nay of true unity. The drive for national self-deternination, however, ms to his

regret also the very soil, on T~hichanti-Senitism flourished. This was like the thorn of a rose. It .was like the shadow of a light, namely, of the otherc~isefine contenporary civilization. Anti-Semitism made great strides and was to becoxe- a terribl Jewish people, as foresaw. There was only one remedy for the JewsT and that mas to nake use

of the good aspects of the present situation and to participate in the current strife for national self-determination on their om. Lilienblun -- , --_____ - - _ - .--.------

made it quite clear-easons .__-___-.----_I__. nade a return Palestine so urgent, but the precarioim situation of Jewry in Euro3e at _ ---_ _- that tine. He recognized that anti-Senitism in the nineteenth century aas /' ---- -.-"

, nuch more dxqerous than it had been in the LYddle Ages. To be sure, it

was the old bar bar is:^, only polished and given a new gloss; difference of

faith then, differeme of nationality in his time. During those earlier

centuries persecu-tiions had talcen place at a given tine and place, and the I Jews had had the chance to take refuge else&ere. If oppression began in

the country of EL refuge they nere usually able to return to their original

hone, because the inhabitants had begun to feel the absence of the Jerrs, who mere virtually the only merchants. In the nineteenth centurj other people /<'- were just as adel~tin all braaches of comerce, and, he felt, did no longer - * need t:ie Jens. Where were they to flee, if pressure mas ayplied? There --.-ill"----.--c-. was only one country, where they could feel cozqletely secure, avid that ms the land of Israel, the ancestral hone. Lilienblun vas confident that God

would give the Jems streagbh in their efforts to fwd rest there.

In the Yiddle Ages the Jexish religion had been cider attacl:, and the

.Jem held on to it with all their might. In the nineteenth century t' e

national identity mas under a$ta&. It wuld again becone their most yrized ~;ossessioi,t3ey mould shield it as their ancestors had defended their faith. The problen at hand was a matter of life and death. If the Jens muld not/-- solve it, they were doomed as.anation. In 1881 and during the folloming years a number of circles sprang up - " ------_ _- _ all over Russia, in which Jevs united with the resettle ent of Palestine as / - -- . ------. A"-- - their goal. They became known asthe "Lover of Zionw, using ~iebrewwords: nH~weweqbw. !Phe movernent as a whole was often referred to as nHibbat- . Zionn, Love of Zion. These groups collected money for the support of the _-L-

stuQ of Jewish history and colonisf;~. in Palestine and held courses for the __ - --- ___I . -. ------the Iiebren 1ant;uc;~e. Gymnastic and self-defence organizations nere founded

. -7 by them, w:hich mere called Ibccabee Clubs, in neQory of the second century

B.C. Jewish freedox fighters. In Foveriber 1884 a Palestine confermce took ' place in Kattonitz then belonging to Gernany, but situated near the 2u.ssie.n L_- and -4ustrian borders. Thirty-six delegates from all walks of 7et7ish life represented most of the "Lovers of Zionff at this gathering, At this occad on

Dr. Leo Pinsker iTas elected "resiclent ofan orbeastion, vhich -xas Lo f'ur- ther Jewish agricultural settlments in Palestine. It was to hwe its nzin - strength in Russia, but ms illegal there for a number of years. The organization did not get governuent recopition in Russia until 1889. Its official naie 17~sthen nComnittee for the support of Jewish ~icul-tural workers and artisans in Syria and Palestinew. Dr. Leo Pinsker was recognize as President, hesdquzr-ters nere inbdesse, Russia, and consequently it became hom~as t~e"Odessa C~mittee~.

!leanwhile the colonies in PalestiJe got into serious ~"inwcialdiffi- culties. The contributions, which the "Lovers of Zionwvrere able to send to

Palestine were so mall that they wuld not have been able to keep even those feir settle3ents alive, let alone support mrther imnigration~ Help came, however, fron a Jewish financier, Baron Edmond de ~othschild)03 Peris,

r' who was to spend large amounts of money for mSy" years:- Kees&$t tmste" advisors to Falestine to a&?inis-ker these hndc ma to help keep the Jerrish settleinents alive. He had large -.5ne cellars built in Ei&m Le-Zion, nost of vhich are still in use to-day. For naay years Rothschild bm&t t3e mine above the resale value in order to keep the production going. Rothschild never closed his ears to requests for aid from the settlers. His motives mere honorable; his netnods , nevertheless, tended to undernine the inftia;tive - of the settlemcsts. The ad:inistration of the f'unds, noreover, came under cttack for various reasons during the following years. 1,Iost of the later Zionists had only,contenpt for this kind of philanthropy. Difficulties :-iere caused in the 1880's by religious questions. 1 Tensions erose betaeen the recipients of the Chalukkah .?ad the settlers in the colonies. The fomcr accused the newcomers of leading ungodly lives l and constantly breaking the re1igi ous lam, FPhile the faners had conteapt I for people, 3110 only prayed and studied the law of God and eqected other I Jews to support then. Thenost iqorfrant issue, which vas to becorae an I almost perpetual 9oin-b of contention in the later Zionist novezent, as the observation of the Siblical comandiiat to keep the land fallow every

sevexth year, the so-called Sch2ittah. Ulralai had nen-tioned this point already and hed considered it to be extrenely inportant. Xlile the relig- giously nind.ed Jeas demanded strict observence, others felt that in view of the poverty and the xmy difficulties which beset the settlers mymy, this mas i-~possible. The question beczne a serious issue for the first time in

These differences had t'neir repercussions in the work of -the Lovers of Zion. [?ensions arose betncen the secularly minded dationalists, w3o were J in the majority, a;,d those feg Den, for idnon religion mas most irz-portmt. I The latter felt that they could neverAlheless support the movement, but I denmded to be heard on issues, which had reliaous i:nplications. It was 1 I apparently possible to reach conpronises in nany crses. CJ A nerr elenent nas introduce5. into the Bacli-to-Pzlestine nove::!ent by a deep and original %Pinker. bHis nme was A& er Ginzberg, but he becme alnost exclusively Inow by his >en-nme Ahad Ha-m ("One of the ~eople").~~ ------_I___ -... A first article by this author appeared in 1889 in a ~ebr&journal under -55- the title: lfTlle Tlrong VaYrt.l5 In 1894 a first collection of articles

was published under the title: "At the Parting of the !7ayarf,16 to be .- - follomd by other volmes later.$ The titles sccgeated that the Jewish

people had reached a ti-:e of crisis. It was to decide, nilere its future

lay and Ahad Ha-am proved for several decades to be both .a severe. critic

of wrong ways and a wide on what he thought vzs the right may. I:any men,

who were strongly influenced'by the thought of Ahad Ha-am, beca~elater important leaders of the Zionist movement.

]Ahad Ha-a?l was an ardent Jewish nationalist yrith a burning love for

the ancient Jewish homeland, but he was critical of the my in which the 1Et organization of the Lovers of Zion moved. ,In his first article he asserted 1 that he and otkers felt their Jerrish &i~naJ.i~yin their- hearts and' they derided mybody, who tried to argue out of existence sonething of nhich

they hrd "en intuitive conviction". l7JHe be1 onged to that goup of Jerrs , who '%ere still attached to their people by bonds which had not lost their

strength, had not yet zbandoned belief -in its right to exist as a single J 18 people.Ir The author believed in the possibility of a- national rebirth,---- that is in a revival, in which men were ins?ired vitha deeper attachment

to the national life and an ardc~tdedre for the national well-being. his apd bdeal was the devotion of the individual totl.e veil-being of the coxxmity. \J \ /- - This rebirth was closely connected with the ancient Jewish hoaeland. T:ie

heart of the Jewish people was the foundxtion on which that land could be

regenerated. " / -- (+a YU7" But Ahad libam was very critical of tho colonization in Palestine 2'.~ practiced by the Lovers of Zion. For one thing, t'ney had started too early I with their practical efzorts. batthey should have done first was fo create "the invincible faith and the indomitable will that are needed for a I great, constructive national effortqf. '7 They should have amused t he _I -56- necessary determination and should have obtained devoted adherats of the ideas. Therq should have nade ~nuousendeavours to train up Jews, who qoald have worked for their people. \ They should have striven gradually to extend the empire of their ideal in Jewry, until &i last they could hzve found genuine, wholehearted dewtees rrith all the qualities needed4 Ahad Hsram also criticized the first chaupions of the national ideal for having had

"a spice of indivictualisn in their nationalisnn.20 They had not been capable of planting a tree so that others.r5ght eat of its fruit, after they t>ensdves mere dead. Yost of the first emigrants to Palestine hzd "by no /" I means been preparertto subnit cheerfully to disconfort for the sake of the &I IIII If national Since the national building was founded on tile expect* I111 1. 1. tions of ~~rofitand self-interest, it had fallen into ruins. The Jewish I settlecents in Palestine were full of intrigues, quarrels and pettinens. I ii How that the ruins mere there, it was necessary to mend and inprove as far I as gossible. But the Lovers of Zion should not base their hope of ultimate success on tlris work. They should rather endeavour to give the idea stmng roots and to deepen its hold on the Jewish people, "not by force, but by the spirit". 22 pdIIrram continually stressed fhis spiritual aspect.( The ancestors of the Jewshdlearned from their pro~hetsItto despise physical strength, and to honor only the power of the s?iriten2' On acco~mtof t3s 7 enphasis Ahad ih-31's ap:mxc-il was later terned "spiritual Zionizn", as I o~posedto &at m2s considered to be siilply "practicd Zionismn, of which he - -- hs ~~'critical.In spite of the-reference to the prophets, the wrd "spirit" had not direct religious connotations. I7ha.t wzs meant, mas not the spirit of God, but like in the writings of Koses Iiesg the intdleqtual products -of the I genius of the Jewish people. The Lovers of Zion sent Ahad &+am to Palestine several tines during

the early nineties aid asked him to report about his inpressions. Xe did so in articles entitled "Truth fron "destinew. 24 In these he painted a gloony yicture of the situation of the Jevish settlenents, and nade practiczl

proposals for the irnprovemnt of the situation. Re also fomded m or=ni- zation by the name of Vons of Eosesq, a secret society in the -t;.le of a

lodge, in vhich the kind of devotees to the na-tional idea aere to be trcined,

who cou3.d bring the nztional idezl to realization. But Ahzd 3a-m becae xost in-i'luentizl rrith the ~ublic&ionofother articles, in mhich he further

explained his basic insi&ts. !'hat was needed xost of dl, in his opinion, I,

mas the creation of a spiritual centre in %lestine. It nas only natural I for Jews to initate the mltures of other countries. Such absorption in Ill 1111 itself nas no danger to be feared. Each Jenish co?mu,nity enriched its

the danger t,%t these differing mlhral environments muld produce such 17 a degree of diversity as to reduce Jens fro2 a sing1e natiorr to a n~mberof

separate tribes, as there had been in the beginning of the Jewish histor-.-..

A new catre in Palestiiie could veld t!?e scattered ,Tenis:? coxmnities

together, in spite of ti.e di~inte~atbgeffect of the different local

influences. The kind of centre Ahed IIz-un had in mind would i~poseitself

on every com:~unl.t;g in the diss:lorz 'vld muld serve the? es z "trmmiztin~

and wieing forcew,

Vith all these ideas AlzzdHa-cm touched on relighusquestions, 3Ian;r

religiously mineed. Sem even felt that he ,-t right into the centre of suc9

n concerns. His n~tionalis::brought him quite naturzCLly into conflict with

Reform Judzisn. \ Ahad EIa-m csserted that he could not agree nith those,

rrho felt thxt Jens had ceaseci to be a nation and rrere held to;ether onlg 26 by the bond of religion. Xe did, however, not consider the Refom nov nent a danger to be Teered. It was not, as even some of the reformers themselves thought, a long step towards complete assimilation. If the

Reforn Jem3ad agemine ciesire to be absorbed the foreign life, t3ere matid be no inoentive to adapt the inherited ?Tenish tradition to godern

requirenents. The atteqipts of the refor:!ers were precisely the proof thzt on the religious side the Jewish individuality was still alive. "It is a shrunken and one-sided individuality, but it is not dead. :%ether they thenselves adflit it, or not, they are in fczct trying to express' their Zexsh prsonzlity while they initate notdenish nodelstl. 27 Ahad Ea-an observed that scientific developr!ents had sMen the foundation of ever3 iaith. The

Jevish ft'rith had not escaped. Xevertheless, those Jevs, who hsd no spiri- tual guide left except that religion .rrkich was losing its hold on then, ?till felt that %ley could not give up their ,?udaism. Ahad Ila-an suggested ~hzt the chain ms, which held the reforners fest and did not allowQES tha~to be free. It =s "the instinctive national feeling which they have inherited, 28 which is imependent of' religious beliefs and practices".

The refomers mere in Ahad Ha-an's opinion wrong, bemuse trrey trrou*t tha% it yas possible to strip the practical observmce of tne Jemish reli- don retein only the kernel. They failed to see that it just the ancient cask with its ancient forn, which was noly, adno% the con-cenc.

Tie cesl: was filled with new *ne fron tine to time. Tile "content chmges ceaseresslg rti-21the progress of life and c~lture~.*~' The naturil instinct of %tAepeople did no-G rezct a@.,in~t that cmnge of CO~~UI~.&t 'it protested

-inst those, nho darec to lay hold on -bhe holy cask. "Ls?u& mo will at r- this zealous regmd for the cask; %he history of t5ose, who have treasured the mine will ~vehia pause. 11 30

Ailad Bc-am a130 charged tl1r?,2; tfr~refo~3ers atterqtea to purify [email protected], lii'e md gractice by the nethods of an outdated logical criticim, which applied t1.e neasurinerod of their om age to ancient ideas and custom.

They should instead enquire objectively into the circumstances of the emergence and the developments of these traditions. If the refomers mould- do that, they 77ould cone to the sane conclusions, which Ahad IIa-rn lmd reached: "Bible, Talnud and Shulhan bch are simply three different expressions of the genius of our people, each reflecting the circvnstmces and the requirenents of a different epoch in its history.t131 It was per fectly obvious to Ahad Ha-am thst there wcs no loncer any widespread 2enend for a iron code in the Jewish religion. Tne present generation could not have invented tho Shulhan Aruch. But this law code had a ponerful defence in the sentinent of reverence for the past. Ahad HE+= himself tho~ghtit to be possible that some day the need for a new approach to the Jexish religious tradition would be felt, The natural process of its evolution would then be understood. The aim mould then be to discover the source of the prescriptions of the Torah in the psycho lo,^ of the Jewish people, It would have to be shorn how and why the lam grev out of the people's inaterial conditions and mentality, or were &opted from the outside, under stress or need. Even when such insights mere to be made the besis of a new religious refom, the affection md respect for the genius of the Jewish people muld

be undinini;;hed, or nay even be enhanced, Something would be diEerent, , homver, after such a refom along Ahad Ha-an's ideals: "But we shell no longer feel corapelled to regard all the minutiae of our inherited trcidition as laws and precepts binding on us everywhere and for all tine, "32 This cyiticim of Reforn hdaisn implied that Ahad Ha-am was not in favour of all aspects of Orthodoxy either. (( He was particulerly concerned, when he felt w.,.tl~at "tie religious ideal had conquered- be national.. ~33 . 1. He laen that -be idea of Jewish n~.tionalisnin his omdays had found aclher I ents mainly among those Jews, whose reli$ous faith had weakened, and rrl~o e had no longer the patieme to wait for divine niracles. ( But this national- ism and the Jewish religion, rightly understood, hzd in his opinion besic- A ally the sane object, He stated that the Jewish people, sunk in poverty and degradation, had been sustained by faith and hope in the divine mercy

for many centuries. Something was different now, Qzodern Jewish nationaliim promised to bring down faith and hope from heaven. Both mere to be trans-

forned llinto living and active forces, making our land the goal of hope

and ?=people thijhanc:lor of This was in accordance with all the

lams and ordinances, all the blessings and curses of the Lav of lloses, which had "bu-t one unvarying object: I the well-being of the nation as a whole in the land of its inheritance.( The happiness of the individual is

not regarded.ft35 The individual was but one minute part of that living I body, pvhich mas the co:mity, the people of' Israel, throughout the genera-

tions. It was difficult to say definitely, whether or not at any period

the Je~rishpeople as a whole really entertained tne senti-~entof national

loyalty to a high degree, or r~hetherit mas only a noral ideal cherished by the most important section of the people. It mas clear, however, thzt only after the destruction of the first Jewish temple had Jews begun to be more concerned about the fate of the righteous individual, who perished

despite his righteousness. Hot until then could the wll-being of tne

community no longer inspire enthusiasm and idealism. It was discovered that

the individual wanted pleasure and happiness and denanded reward for his perrnnal righteousness. The national ideal had ceaseG to satisfy, ;~ut

continued €0 play a part in the political life of the people. But since on the political side there was a oontinuous decline, the religious life pen

correspondingly stronger. The individualist element prevailed nore and

nore over the nationalist eleaent and drove it ultimately fmrz its last ' stronghold, naaely the hope for a lture redenption. The n~tionhoped for a IJessianic Age in the distant future, which would give that, mhat the

present could not give. In its original. form this meant sinply the emanci- pation of Israel from servitude. Living men end wonen, however, were no longer satisfied with the abundance of good, which mas to cone to their nation in the latter end of days, when they would be desd and gone. There- fore religion began to satisfy the de:xmd of the individual ?or his private and personal share ~f the exgected general happiness. Less enphasis ms placed on the rede:lption of the nation than on the resurrection of the dead. To seek life in death ~s in Ahad Ha-amt s opinion a "spiritual disease",36 becsuse it led away fron stleiding for this world.

Ahad Ha-&I charged tLat religion had mithin a fen centuries completely

changed its om original national idea1.A Patriotisn was then no longer I 1 C pure, selfish devotion. The comon good was no longer the hiaest of all aims. On tne contrary, the s1.mxr1 bonum wz3 for each individual his personal well-being in tine or in eternity.1 The individual cared about the comon 1 good only in so far as he himself participated in it. ~ubseque~tevents, especizlly the destruction of the second temple, intensified inmeasurably the personal anxiety of every Jev. Interest concentrate? primarily in the life of the fmily and that of the congregation, in which the individual found satisfac-bion for his needs. The national life of the people as a whole practically ceased to matter to the individual. This hed created tbe / demon of egotisx, individual or congregational, which haunted all Jews and I+ .suppressed the rare nanifestations of nationid feeling. It was tothis I r- state of feeling tlx~t appeal had to Be mde in the present.

Ahad Hz-~ix launche: also other attacks on nhct he thought mere nisu?de?+ stood religious principles. Re charged that Jews were wit5 regard to tfieir

Torah "a people of the book" a slave of tlhe book. book hcd nearly tm thousand years ago cease2 to be a source of ever-new inspiration ,and

until uen hql becone wholly dependent on the kritten word and had becone inoapable of responding

people stagnatec, because heart and mind did not react directly and imed- iately to external events. Jm.had not always been a people of the book in this sense. I Both in the era of the prophets, as well as during the Second fSfenple period, the source of the law and the arbiter of the mitten nord 67" could still be foud in the heart. I If the spontaneity of thought and emotion brought Jews into conflict with the written vrord, they did not efface thenselves to its dictates, but they revolted against it, where it

no' longsr net their needs. Vie moral judge-lent of the people nas the

highest tribmal.

BI~then the Oral Lm, that is the inner lan, the law in the noral

sense, was reduced to writing md fossilized. Conscience had no longer any authority in its om right. The mitten word became the arbiter in every I human question. Conscience did not even have t'?e right to approve of whet _( the written word prescribed. The Haslalah miters of the previous genera-

tion, who hzd criticized the tyranny of the mitten word, had not got dom

to the root ccuse. They had put the blme primarily on the hcrd-heartechess

and hide-bound conservativisn of the Rabbis, who thou&t not3ng of sacri-

ficing the happiness of the individual on f:e altar of a meticulous leslisn. The Haskalah miters had a~pededto the noral sense of the cv:mon nan against

the harshnessofthe law. -But this mas a mistake. There was no difference

between the attitude of .the Rabbi and the ordinary man. He did not revolt

either against the rigour of the lan, if there mas a conflict betneen the

moral sense md the mitten i70rd. The natural play of heart a-d mind FPZS stifled. Logic, ex:?erience, cp:mon saxe admoral feeling ::?ere alike

powerless to lead nen into new paths ftOmrd a goal of their am choice. This.

general condition had put obstzcles in the way of the solution of my and

every one problem. Ahad Ha-am went on to ask what mas for him the parmount question, nsclely, whether or not there was any podsibility of curing this . lonps-tmding disease. He answered in the affirmative. Be was convinced that it was possible for the Jewish people to shake off its inertia, regain contact ~Lththe actualities of life and yet reoain the Jerrish people.! As proof for :!is assertion that t'nis was possible, he pointed to t':e fnct, that a native-born urge of this kind had cone into plcy recei~tlyin the for3 of the Love of Zion xovement, as he understood it. \ It neither excluded tne mitten :~ord,nor sought to nodify it artificially by addition or substract- ion. Love of Zionc stasds for a Judais::~nhich shall have as its focal point ti-e ideal ,, of our nation's unity, its renascence, and its free developzent t:?rough the expression of universal huxm values in the terms of its om distinctive spirit. t~hisis the conceptio~of 36udaim on vbich our education and our literature nust be based. 4L Ahad Ha-am reported that the Haska.lah movenent had tried to normlis;! I I the attitude to life of young Jews by introducing *ern to Europem culture I I through education and literature. It had brou&t ba~isrninto Jewish life, I1 but it had disturbed the JeY~ishcontinuity. Since it had cone into Jenish life from the outside, it had created an entirely new mould for its folloln- ers, It had not repaired the defects of the Jewish mould while preserving its essential chcracteristics. TSn~rbmas required now, mas a nen conpelling urge towards norrtalization springing up fror? Jerrish life itself. TLis hzd to fuse with the humanis1 of the Haskalrth, but had to prevent the latter from ovemhelning adobliterating the Jewish mould. The idezl of the national renaissance had to beco+:e an orgnic ele-,ent in the Jewish conscious- ness aid an independent dynamic force. The Jewish mould h~dto be freeC. from its shackles md had to re&&n contact rsith the broad stre&?of humn life, Ahsd Hean wzs particularly concerned that it should not like the I Haskalah have "to p,?jr for its freedo1.1 by the sacrifice of its individudity". 3 9 Ahad H-am felt thzt every generation had its mm needs cad its om . truths, It was right for the ancients to thinl:,and to act as they did in their tine. It was right for his oigeneration to think szd to zct as it

did in the different conditions of its om tine, This cre-ted necessarrily

a conflict between reverence for the past, the Jewish religious tradition, andcOrticisn of mh~tthe past had bequeathed. Such a battle was in fill

swine; in the Jemish cmp. In 1897, however, Ahad Hacm reported that the noise of battle had died dorm,'t "and for many years there hes been Little

oontroversy about our traditional laws and be1iefsk4O This was beczuse the nritional;. idec?.had captured most Jewish publicists. Ahad II+m observed thct this developnent hzd a rather peculiar effect. ( The national "idea, based as it is on reverence and affection for our national genius, les?ds omy of its adherents to consider themselves duty bound to pay honage - even if it is onlylipservice - to every hallowed tradition. 1141 1 During the years about wkich Ahad Ha-am reported in these statenents, a truce was observed betveen the religiously ninded and the secularly ninded

Lovers of Zion,

One of those, who was most influential in arranskg a conproinise ms

Rabbi Sanuel Xoh&le~er. He nas lize Rabbi Ru-elph among the pious supporters -.- I " of the Lovers of Zion. Fbhilewer served as Rabbi in Radon, Pol'md, until

1883, and in Biafystok until to the tine of his death in 1898. It was elso

the pogrom of 1881 vrhich hed convinced &I that the time had come for Jews to resettle Palestine, aild he was led into contact with nationd-ainded people. A great moment hed come for hin, when he had been able to help persuade Buon Rothschild to support the Jewish settlement in Palestine. lIohilener had a difficult stand in the Lovers of Zion nave-lent, He wzs attacked fro3 the outside, nmely by his orthodox colleagues, for cooperating mith what they considered to be avowed agnostics, who did not keep the -65- religious laws. On the other hand he felt that he had to urge his fellow

nationalists within the rzovenent not to offend the orthodox by overstepping

the comandments of the Torah. A long series of differences between bin

and the main office of the "Lovers of'Zionu in Odessa led in 1893 to the

decision to create a new centre to win ortl~odoxJews for the national cause.

This new orgmization, which chose Sabbi ,t!ohile;~er as its he?,d, was celled

?!i~rahi.~~It was to be the pattern for that faction within the later

Zionist move~ent,which was founded in 1301 mder the ozne nme by disciples

of I.lo4Lilewer. Rabbi !:ohile:~er becxle best known through a letter which be

sent to the first Zionist Congress, and in PI;Tick he suxxirized his thoughts

and experiences in the Hibbat Zion movement during the 1880ts ad early 1~190ts.~'I In thst letter he mde it clear, i he, an oiissrv~ntJew, could cooperate kith people, rrho did not observe the religious precepts. It rras

as if a fire h~dtaken hold of a home, iqerilin~hmm liTe as nell as property.. Under such circumstances everybody moulc? melcoae anybody else who 7 cane to his rescue, even though he were irreligious in his eyes. A great I fire, a feerl-1 conflagration, mzs rzging in the midst of Jemy, and they I mere all threatened. The religious Jews should glzdly take the hmds of I those of their brethren, who stretched then out in aid, even if they did not I" wee nith then in many respects. They s5ould all rrork in coqlete hammy 1 .and fraternity, and the covenant of brothers muld stand. These consider&- 1 \ i\ tions of 1:ohilewer proved both Hessl and Pinslrers' predictions right, namely ,

national idea mas capable of uniting different world-vions, " I religious md secular. \I I

the Chalul&ali, because thousends del~endedon this type of cherity. The

livelihood of these religious-minded Jews in Pslestine was in jeopardy rs

long as they did not have another source of income. I The Rabbi asserted moreover, that the resettl-enent of the Holy Land . was one of the fundanental commmdnents of the Torah, This then nas a truly religious reason for a flBaclr-to-Palestine" movemnt, one t~hichhed been inportat alrecdy in Rabbi KtXlischerts consideration, and 17hic'h mas to be cited later. Ebhilerrer made it quite clear, th:!,t settlement meant the purchase of land adthe building of houses, the planting of orchards ayrd the cultivation of the soil in Palestine. Noteworthy is that he did not mention the founding of a state.

IJohilemer fdt also, that the Torah which was the source of the life of the Jews, should be the foundation of their regermation in the land of their fathers. Finally he dealt wit11 the problen of the I.lessiah, that cruciaJ. issue with which the Jexish religion confron-ledthe&rrish-national movenent. lohilenerls s~~don this question indicated amin his middle-of- the-road position, w:hich soue;llt to bring about a cogpromise. The Rabbi opposed those people who had declared that the pronises of future bliss 2nd consolation made by the prophets were in the fom of symbols sod parzbles.

According to these interpreters of the Bible the coning of the ?:essial~novld not end the dispersion, but nould establis!i the Kingdom OfHeaven for all mmkind, vhile Israel wuld continue to be in exile and nould serve as a light for the nations of the world. On the other hand, there were those, who had declared-that mtionalism mas contr~qto the belief in the !:essiah, and rej ected the JeKish-national navelent for this reason. .~/l.!oohilerrer himself felt that Jcmish nationdisn md the belief in the ?:essiah were not / exclusive of each other. 11Ie affi~:ed his hope and faith that the IIessiah I wuld co:.le and gather all the sccttered people of Israel. They rmuld even- tually all live as a nation, in the Azllest sense of the word, aid be in their om country. Then they nould no longer be the conteqt adnocker2r of the other people, but nould be respected. !?he honour of the Jemish people was closely bound up with their lari@,md their happiness depended upon the

rebuilding of Jerusalem in joy.

IJohilewer hoped that the Redee~erof Israel mould bring to pass the

saying of the prophet Zechariah, in which he hzd promised that Sod's people A4 would be brought fm n East and West and they would dwell in Jerusalen. This nemt that the work of the Jevish-national r~ovenentin Pclestine

sonething different frog the belief in the future mrk of the l:essia.h, vho

would gather in all of Israel in the Holy Land. One cul note here I:ohilerrerts concern, that the simSarity of goals could ccuse confision.? He ms afraid 1

; that the se&lar Jewish nationalists might abandon the beliefir; the Yessizh,

I md perhsps a11 other concerns for religion, nhile on the other hand the

, religious people mould reject the Jewish national movenent on religious grounds, I He himself felt Vnzt the adherence to both Jewish religion and Jewish nztional-isn ms possible. This viev, however, was not to be sliered by

many people, and mas to be the cause of continuous debates and countless con-

flicts. Chapter V Nationalisn and Religion in the Xrst Zionist Debatss in Central and Testern Europe.

4 :: The "Lovers of ZionN did not find many friends in Central or 7estern 1 Europe. Jewish nationali& m2s not a natural phenonenon there, zs it.hzd I \ , been in Russia. ??or wcs it thought possible that anti-Jerrish out3ursts like I the 1881 poppons in Russia could ever happen mywhere else. Pro-Palestine _] agitzbion nzs generally linited to Russi~s+Je:7ish student circles, pzrticu-

larly in Berlin and vierma.! Friends of Pzlesthe forned a Ikccabee Club in

London, which ms destined eventudly to beco--e eyl importmt platfor:: for

the first appearznces of Theodor Herzl. There were, though, z, fen indivi- duals whose thoughts went in the sae direction as those of Pinsker, and rrho

began to advocate shilar ideas. One of tnooe nen was kthias Acher, who

wrote under the pseudoiiyn Mathan Birnbaum. He founded a journal in Vienna, r_ under the title Autoedpation, a.nd published articles about the Jemish- netional question. Ee beca~einportznt because he coined the word "Zionisnw

in 1886 for that movemiit which sought a national rebirth of the Jewish

people in its om land as the only :2eans to solve the Jedsh question.1 He

was to regret later thzt he had chosen this tern and felt then tk.t the rrord

"Jelvish Renaissance", vhich he had not coined, mould hzve been nore ap3ro-

piate to su~arizehis ideasO2 &eiiltually he ms led to retur.: to religious

aspirations, sad to reject the Zionist zovernent on religious grounds, In the

1880's and 18W*r,howeve~, Ntrthan fffrnbam was a pure,sear1ar natiolrafisrt;, -'

who shoved clearly the influence of the ;ecularisn of Pinsker. Z!e enphttsized

that the Jens appezred as il nation, even where the ~Tedshreligion had

ceased nit11 its influence, because of a "unique ineradicable national past,

unique emotional feelings, tenperanent a-d ways of He felt thet the national force of Jewry mould be set Tree only at that moment, xhen it -69- would be able to begin a continuation of its history, that is when it mould recover its lanm- and its land.

In Cologne, another man rediscovered his nationality and bepa to publish a series of articles in the early lG9O's. He nzs e, lawyer by the nane of ??ax Bodenheiner. In his memoirs he recollected that the Zionist idea was the result of a sudden inspiration. IIe becz~efilled with a holy zeal to serve the cause of his people and he sag the futility of assimi- lation for the people as a mhole. Though he was pzzled about the origin of his new idem, he was sure thzt they did-not cone from a treditional source:

At any rate the change ITES &explicable to myself, especially since it had nothing to do with religion. Rather J remained a godless atheist Gig - if a nm can be so designated imo regards th idea of a personal God es the superstition of a primitive people. 8

He related how he had encountered anti-Semitic ideas and the may in which he reacted. For hin the root of the nisfortune of the Jerrish people was their homelessness, their dis-nerszl z-:oag the nations. The fomding of a Je~iahstate mould change all this, As early as 1889 he had arrived at an immediete cl~rity,as to where the country was, which mould serve es zn asylm for Jews. This could only be Pelestine, the old hoxe of the Jevish

people. Though he felt that religion and history both pointed in thrt /' - direction, it mzs not religious considerztions which moved hin to propose that this land ag&n beco3e the hor~eof the Jerxish people; r~ther: "the awakening of a national feeling seezed connected with this COUT-~~~~~.5

Bodenheiner rrcs soon to find out to his surprise that his ideas clzshed iritk the religious convictions of other people. hong tnose, who opposed him, mas the director of the Cologne TeachersT Seminary, Babbi Dr. Plato, rsho belonged to the strictly traditional orthodox school. IIe told Mdenheiner that under certain circmstc?ulces he i~ouldbe in favour of agricultural colonies in Palestine. He felt, however, that it mould be difficult for the settlers to keey the Schnittah and the laws of the Talnud, in which case he did not want to have anything to do with such colonies in Yalestine.

Rabbi Plato made it clear, t'nat he mas o~posedin princigle to a political solution of the Jedsh question by the establislnent of a Jeidsh stzte.

For the first tiille Sodenheimer heard the objection on religious ~ouildsto the efforts of the Jevish nationalis-is, which mas to be -.entione - nore often lzter. The recle~pti.oiiW.S iil the 'rr~adsof God and the Terns should do nothing to expedi-le it until the Kessiah cane. This did not deter Bodenheiner Tron pu'olishing In 1889abrochure entitled Thither the Russian .Tens?, 5i-1 dlich he developed practical. ~1x1sfor the resettlaent of Je~ishrefugees frog 1; 6 Eastern %rope in Syria and Palestine. A fen months later he celled Oil the

Zionists, in the m?.y in vrkich Karl !!am had called on the Proletarians some I decades earlier: llZionists of all countries, uni4du7 All Zionist societies throu@~outthe world should forrfl one great organization.

Bodenheiner proved to be a ty-pic~lnationalist in his atte:.l~t to rein- inferyet history. Iil his memoirs he recalled a meet&g of the Society for

Sewis3 Eistory in which the second century B.C. Yaccabean struggle mzs discussed. Yhile yost prticipmts held the traditional viea, that only 1 religious motives had been involved, Bodenheiner ilimself descrFbed it "as I a nztimal uprising for the liberation of the Jexish ~eoplefrom the :;no- \ 8 niny of alien rule."

Rodenheiner, like ::ost of t'ne other Zionists, pas i10t consciously emti- reliaous. IIe lcne-; that religion had been one aspect of Je;rish life in the pasf and he exnected thdi it vould renain so after the national re'oirfh of the Jsrish people in Palestine. lie reasoilecl that cer"uniil chanzes mulil tcke place then. A national a.rd political centre vas to be created "as the foundation for a ?oral, religious, and social revival of the .Temish peo~le."9 The problems, i7hich anti-Semitism presented, -re dealt nit$ by i7esternl / Jews also in other ways than by Zionis:~. ?:ost of t21en emphasized all the 11 more their loyalitg to their countries of residencq. Interesting is the I I title of an anonymous pmplilet , which =s ~vblishe.;.in Kuernberg, Gemmy,

ire dl1 not go to JerusaLcn, but we mill, if necesszry, rnerch against the enemies of Ge~nmytogether wit3 our Christisn brethren with God for Kaiser and fatherlmd. A paqhle-t dedicated in love to his Catholic and Frotestant brethren, by a Gerzan of llosaic religion 10 who returned to his beloved home dter a~uabsence of 38 years.

The author stressed that the constituJ~ionof the coun-l;ry the reliable pound on i;rhich the Jens in Gerrnany could depend. It was tlie sactuarj around nhich they should rally, and which they should defend in cooperation with the noble elenents mong the Geman nation. If they mould do that, anti-Se~itisnwould pose no grave danger for then. Regresenta-kive for the s~ecificarguiients against Zionis? rrzs another pmyhlet, rmi"utc in 1834 by Dr. S. Ldler under the title: dssinklatio~or

National Judaisn? 11

The author expessed his o~inionthat the Jens hzd cease2 to exist as a nation, when the temple hed been destroyed. Since then, the individual

Jew had the sane task, &ich the 7ewish st&e had had up to that tiae, naely

'to hasten the cozing of that era when God would be king over all the eu-kh; and to do so in tie nidst of non-believers, by his confession aad by his life. During pazt centuries the Jem had hoped for t'-e descendant of navid, who wuld bring then their freedox. Jerusalen rmuld t: en be rebcilt cs m everlasbing place for the worship 02 the one, true Cad. After such a long time, during which the Jews he?d waited pztiently 2nd had suffered persecu- tion, sone states had accepted them as equals. This ms of politiccl, as well as of religious significa~cefor the ,Tens: "They had gained Jerusclea, the freedom, in the land of slavery."12 They had ce-ased to lament in their-

prayers over the loss of the Holy Land, but they did not forget their

mission to proclaim, as priests sert by God, his diviine nezte everywhere

through their-confession. Ever since their emmipation they had been anxious to becg.!e loyal citizens of those states, which had given then t'neir freedon, sepzrate5. fmn their brethren only by their religion. The counter

movenent of anti-Semitisr: mould be of no avail. Bobody muld believe in all

seriousness t!-at the Jens mould again lose tl?eir rights and be placed under

special legislation as aliens, as it had been suggested in Gernany at the /, I tine. The Jews should servetltheir'l states with honest love. The honour \I and the greatness of the fatherland should give t'nem the highest degree of II happiness. Adler felt tbt such service could not be given by those fez ,I who had decided to join the national-Jewish novement, I~ichhad its origins

ifl Russia and had found adherents in Austria, In Gemany this nove:?ent

&kld never had fmd ecceptance, if it had not been for the devcstating Safluence of an-bi-.Senitism. Everyvhere, in ~chooland university, in

business, and even 'in the militery service, the young German Jens suffered

injuries and restrictions of all kinds. Fatherland and freedom nere pro- 7

tions, Therefore young Gerxm Jens began to seek their fztherleild md their d freedon in the Holy Land. They eqhasized -their om nc?.tionality in res>onse to'the hollon enthuoicsn of the Geman nationclists. They tried to revive %he old Jewish culture, became the Geman culture hed been wrongly over

enlphasize?. They clained t:,e superiority of tke old Jewish morality in response to the seaseless claim that the coralit: ofJudaism was inferior to

that of the Christians. All exa~gera-1;ionsand the one-sidedness of Get-ms was producing a echo anong Jews. :7hat worried Adler nost of all mas the

fact that the Jerrish nationalistic enthusiasts almost conpletely neglected

or even despised precisely that high idea, which had iilsnired md edifie?

their forefathers, namely their religion. *en though they eqhasized tl:e

study of Jerrish history md litere-h~remd of t'-e Hebren language, tl ey

considered these in the first place as nema for the firthering of their

national ideas, but not zs llsecrecl mitnesses s?nd monments of a.11 exalted

conl"essionn. l3 f~eresult of ell this oas the rather surprising spectccle

tht national Judaisr:. dealt in conformity with mti-Senitis 1 wit11 a Jenish

question, riich never existed and never would exist for the better md

reasonable people. Both claimed, thst assinilation of the Jens vas i-1~0s-

sible. fne Jew renzine: a Jew, so these people said, even if he was of the opinion, that he had becone a Ger::an, an &glishxan, a Frenchan, or a 1 rimThe reasor, for this phenonenon mas the common history of a fen I

thousad years, race, social position, and the sane ?ressure fron the out- side. Adler rejected this view by clakiing th2.t the llistory of the Jem i had been a history of a s.i;a-be only in its first gar%. Since the teaple had

been destroye-, tile ?Tews hcd been tied to each other oniy tlmough the

nsrrtyrdox, which they hcd to suffer for the sake of their religion, ad

through the developent of the exalted idea of God in different periods,

the highlights of nhich were coimec-Led ~6ththe nanes of Ihimonides md

IZendelssohn. Such a developaent of religious traditions could also be

found in the other corIzmunLties of faith. The political history of the

Y . Jewish Gemans was identical mith Gemm history, ever since they hed beco~e

Gemm citizens. They had not had any political histo~jfron the tixe of

;Terns helped their suffering and poor co-religionists in Xussic in the present, .just as the Protestants in Germany had helpef the ITugenots in

1685 and the Salzburgers in 1731. Jens ell over the norld mere delighted to hear that 5,000 of their brethren had found ct new ho-l~ein 24 settlenents in Palestine through the efforts of organizations and individuals. Adler did not ccre, r3ere the persecute' Jens nere resettled. If the leaders of the o overs of Zion) xovenent had, after careful considerction of all condi- tions, cone to the conclusion, thzt those people muld find a haypier and more comfortzble life in Palestine, than in any other country, ldler had no objection to the settlement in the Holy Lmd. He warned, hoi-rever, against what he considered a folly nenely, of trying to establish a new Jerrish state there. Nobody should atte7rp-k to make fighters out of those people, +a310 had just been liberate,; fro.? their misery, and who were to becone leborious farriers, who mould eat the fruits of the work of their hands. Such a utopia would bring only nen, and possibly, increased misery for themselves agd for their descendants. Those people, for nho~~not the Jewish faith, but the

Jewish nationality 17~sthe highest sod, nould dthout doubt abandon their I faith also, if their idea were to fail. 7 Lyle molt decisive impetus for the Ziori-t ovenent ome fro2 e book written in Gernan, by Dr. Theodor Herzl under the title tls~e Jewish Stz.tefr (Der .Tudenstaet). '9 The author was a journelist and playrrrite nith e Doctorts degree in law, :?::o lived in viennd5 From 1891 to 1895 he had been Paris correspondent for the leading Viennese newspaper "Meue'Freie T'res-ze.'

In this position it was his duty to cover mong others things the be@mings of the "Dreyfus Affair." Herzl mas deeply disturbed about the renction of the public, vhen the verdict was prono~mcoilmd the army officer ms degraded. There ms apparently joy and jubilation mong the on-lookers at the scene of humiliation of a soldier. ;'hen he enquired in unazenent, as to why the people seemed so herppy about the event, he ms told that this was because the accused ms a Jew. Herzl heard even shouts of "Death to the Jemsttl All this shattered hix comnpletely. Thy should all Jews die, 1 he asked hiniself, because one was supposedly a traitor? How could all I this happen in ?rmce, of all countries, xore thm a century after the declaration of the rights of men? It seened to Herzl, as if the edict of I the great revo1u"uo-n had been revoked at 'thct moment. Re was to declare 1 later on, th2.t he hcd becorie a Zionist at that stage of the Dreyfis Affair. ''

Under the impression of this anti-Senitic outburst Eerzl was to rezch

independently conclusions, which were very sirnilas to those ideas, nhich

Leo Pinslier had written down under the impact of the 1881 pogrons in Russia. I I '

I Herzl did not lmon Pinslcer's Autoenzncipa-kion, *en he wrote his om book

"The Jevisii State", a-d he ins to declare that he muld not hzve zitten

his pmphlet, if he h& horn that of his predecessor. ITor for tlmt latter

did he know any of the other contributions to the question, like those of

I..:oses Hess, Rzbbi Ruelph, ?.!ax Bodenheinerj Fathan Bimbavm, or others. Ye I

was amre, hornever, of t3e attenpts at colonization in Palestine and of

the existeilce of a Zionist novenent, both of which he did not rbgard too

highly. 44 Like liess md Pinsker before hin, Aerzl pro$oaed the restora%on of Ii the Jenish state. He stressed thct Ms schexe vas not a Utopia and he 72s 1' absolutely convinced tint this state wuld eveakally be crested. IIerzl

doubted, hovever, tli~the hinself or others, who inau,wateJ. the nen nove- nent towards this end, imuld live to see its glorious close. If egough

Jevs ~ouldcooperate, the plan could becoae a reality, and tbe accoqlish-

ment mould present no difficulties north.. - - mentioning.. Thg Jenish state muld open a bright prospect of freedom, happiness, and horrour to azbitious young

men. the Riddle Ages. It existed, wherever Jews lived in perceptible nunbers. Therover it did not exist, it mas carried by Jeas in the course of their wanderings. JT2,turally they moved to places, where t3ey nere not persecute?., but there tlleir presence produced persecution. The seed of anti-5enitis-1 mas thus carried even into highly civilizes.-. countries, Thcr&bm+h 1 whose- li~v-qzenly anti-Sexitic.- Herzl was convinced that old prejudices mere lying deep in the hearts of the people. The Jens could not hope for a change in the current of feeling.

The Jenish question mas no more a socizl than a religious one, although it coult! take these azd other forms. Fobody should confound -lode anti-Senitisn nith the religious persecution of Jens in fomer tines. Although it took a religious bias in soae cmmtries, it n8s mainly a result 'I of the emrmcipztion. FollorJing this generous action by the civilized nations, I the Jews had attexpte:! to assirnilete vit'n the people in whose midst they / lived, They honestly endewoured everywhere to xerge in the social life of the surrounding conmmities, while preserving t3e faith of their fathers. They mere, hornever, not >emitted to do so. In vain they were loyal p~triots. In countries, nhere they had liver' for cen-hries, they nere still crie' I down as strangers. Assil-~ilationves not only external confomity in dress, I habits, custom, e.nd laaguege, but also identity of feelins adn2nner.

That, hosever, could only be effectec! by intermarriage. !The need for nixed marriages vmld have izad to be felt by the majority, md no-Jews alike\ which ms not the case. I"ot even FIerzl himself desired such EJI end. The I Jesrish nation81 chcracter -.72.s too historically famous, and in spite or" every I degradation, too fine to a&.e its mlihilation desirable. The distinctive ( national it:^ of the Jews could not and vould not be destroyeL .- *- The Tevs I- .------might perhaps be able to merge entirely with the surrounding rcccs, if -77- these nere to leave then in peam for a period of two generations. But they would not leave them in peace, Toleration lasted alrrays only for a

IG' short period, and then hostility broke out again. I

ailie Pinsker before him, Herzl under the inpact of anti4enitisn had',

reached the conclusion that the Jems mere a people. hIheir enmies- - -- had xde I - then one. \The Jewish question ms &national one. [ It hed to be solved 'oy --. I ndking it ai. political to be discus::ed and set-tled by the nivili.ed nations of the world in oouncil3 The .Yews' should ask for sover -\I / eignty over a portion of the globe, large enough to satisfy the rig12tful \. requirenents of a nation, The novenent tonzrds -he organization of a ~emish' r

state muld have a very beneficial effect for all concernegl it muld stop

anti-Senitism at once end forever. [It was the conclusion of peace. The new state mould be neu-trd, and muld probably have no enenies.

Previous efforts to solve the Jenish question had failed. Herzl - \ criticized the foolishess of those Zionists who would hzve liked to revert I to old stages of civilization, The attempts to convert the .Te,-rs into ?ee6-/'

ants was a retrogade step. The peesant vas a tpe vhich was in course d

of extinction. ( The attmpts at colonization nade by benevole~~tnen -::ere Y- too 2etty. / ?To individucl could tras~orta nation fro:? one habitation to another, Only an idez could do t'nat, and the ides of a state had t:le requisite poner. One could learn, ho~iever, fron the ehfleriences md

of the philanthropists, nho nere the practical fore-runners of tile Je:nsh

state, This would assure that the idea could be carried out successfully, I if undertzken on s large scale. IIerzl re=ettecl, that these attea~tsat

colonization had done hara, too, By an ~.rti?icialinfiltration the Jem had not only carrie' anti-Semitism into con tries they wished to settle.

Far mrse wzs the circu~stancethzt uns~tisfactoryresults tended to czst -78- doubts about the feasibility of any such project on intelligent men. !Ierz1 1 felt that the Jews were strong enough to form a state, even a model state. ,w 'Pheirs would becoxe the promisei land indeed, aqong other things, became they mould introduce a 7-hour work day. f cHerzl went t:i great lengths in giving practiczl suggestions, as to how the pla ! could be acco~~plished.J It 'would be carried out by two ege2- cies: -I;P e Society of Jem and the Jenish Cor?lyany.\ The Society of Jens would do preparatory work in the domains of science and politics. It nould confer and deal nith governients in the na-?e of the .Je.;rsish people.

The Society would thus be aclcnorrledged as o stete-crezti~gpower. &long its tasks t~ouldbe to ecquire land, which had to be secured by intemEtional lam. The Jenish Conpiny vould be the liquidating agent of t:-.e business interests of deperting

It mld be a graduel, continuous flon, and would cover nany deczdes31e poorest would be the first to go. Only the desgera-te nade gsod conquerors.

A hundred, or even fifty years earlier Herzlls plan would hzve been nothing more thm a dre=. The teclmical achievements of his own age zade it ~os- sible that the sche?e could becone a reality. In one respect, however, it would be a resetition of history. Yerzl excleined: "The Fkccabeans vill . . tt 16 + - rise again! The Jexs would epin live as free nen on their o;m soil; mdr I die ?ewefully in their own ho:!~es. 'Phe mrld mould be freed by their liberty, enriched by their wealth, nagiified by their greatness. Yhatever they attempted to acconplish fo~theirown welfare, mould reactprrerf'ully and beneficially for the good of hu~anity.

An open question for Berzl was, mhere t5e land s::ould be, md he wcs -79- * as much a wTerritorialist" at the tine when he wrote "-3e- Jeyi-sh Sttate: a3

Pinsker was, vhen he mote Autoenulcipation. *or Zerzl t~.wterritories came under considerrtion, Palestine adArgentine. In both countries experinents of colonization had been mde, thou& on the mist*en principle of gradual infiltrations. hnligration was futile miless the Jens hzd the sovereign right over tile land, preferably under-tkprotectorate of the

European Fomers. Enorzous ~dvastai;'esmuld be offerec! to t'.e presell-t nasters of the lad. The ,Tevs would c'.ose that country, vhic!~was given to %::en admhzt was selected by

reasons a definite ?al&t:*ne on tile other hand; had the

advrtntege of being the ever-r?enorable historic home of the Jews. The very name would attract the Jerrish people with a fopce of narvellous pote~c~.If the Sultan would give this land to then, they would in return undertake to regulate the whole finances of Turkey. It was not religious reasons, which1 I moved Rerzl to propose this la-d as a possible hoae for the .Tenis'? people. 'I \ l?ot a kingdon of Cod was to be built there, but: i 1 Lf( We should there Porn a portion of a runpart of %ropg against '\sic, an outpost of civilization as opposed to bcrbarisn. I

Herzl never neCe a secret out of the fact thzt there really Tas no religious not ivation behind his plan. He to1d later Chief-Rzbbi Guedenann & ~iennaand ~hief;~eg~i!idle; of ~ondknthat he was not obeying any

religious iapulse in his project. This mas not to mean that he vzs anti-

religious. IIerzl rssured then: "Bue I certcinly hoaor the faith of ~!jr , 18 fathers, at lecst as much I would honor other fciths." \ The sane cttitude tomards the Jevish religion was exyressed in a Jewish Stste. Herzl nade it obvious that he realized the irqortaixe of his religion in the past. The ancient faith Imd kept %he Jens together and they recomized each other even in his om time only by their religion. Herzl mas firlilly convinced illat the religious leaders mould whole-heartedly support his idee. After all, he proposed the realization of the ancient drean: Kext year in Jeruszlera! The Rabbis vould be the first to cooperate for the realization of the national idea. Prayers nould be offered ~IIthe temples. These prayers mould contribute to the festive spirit before the departure and during the journey of the Jevs to their om stste. A cei~tre for the deep religious needs of the people would be created there. The temple would be seen fron a long distance. fierzl enphasized Lhe-t he did not want to hurt anyone's religious sensitivities by nords nhich night be wrongly interpreted, All this did not ;lean, Lomever, that anybody should be forced to adhere I to -certain religious precepts in the new state. There nould be religious I toleration, w::ic[l the Jews hzd learnes in &rope. Everykody could find I salvation in his om particulnr way, free and undisturbed in hisfai'th or - I disbelief. Herzl nelcoaed above %:d before all the imortzl band of Jexish_I freethinkers, ~110were continually zzaking nen conquests for humanity. 1To nore force nould 5e exercise? on my one than vas necessary for the preser- vation of the date and of order. J-ierzl excluded Jerrisl~religious cor_ce@s in tllis comection. T'ne -theories of a divine institution or of swerior

Tower vmuld not be the basis of the constitution of the state, but rzther the theory of rationality. The penzl code would have the same principles as in every other civilized nation, wI~ichmecult, of courze, that it would not be based unoil Bi-olical or Talxdic laws. hny theocratic t;ei?dencies coming -to the fore on the part of the religious leeders muld be prevented.

Yne clerg mould be conf;.ned to the teqles in the same -my, as the profes- sional amy would be kept within the confines of their barracks, Amy and priesthood mould receive honours as their valuable fbctions deserved. They mould, hovever, not be permitted to interfere with the administr2,tion of that state, which conferred distinction upon them. Otherwise they dd conjure up difficulties rithout and within.

Herzl wzs surprise2 ad angered, vken the Chief-Rabbi of Vie-ma attacked Zionism for religious reasons. Dr. !.I. Guede-ani~ published in 1897 a paqlfiet under the title(l~.?ational7'udcin [("Iktionel judenthudl) , in which he did not nention Herd by nz-ae. It was, ho~ever, quite obvious, tht he intended to refife his ideas and those of his friends. Guedeaam stated that [nstional Judais:~owed its existence to anti-~enitisn, bdins ---- less *ha? thirty years o1d.J~~had used to clain Geman, Frenc'l or , I

I Ehglish natioiidity, denending on where they lived, It was only when anti-Senitis:! adopted a national character, t:lat Jews rezcted by using the tern .Tuciaisn, which up to that tine hzd desiwated their religious conviction also for their nationality. Since Jews rrere no longer a nation, and did not possess their om territory, it was only nsstur~l,that those people, vho called t emselves national Jews, tried to reawdcen the Jerrish state. This was the goal of the so-called Zionist move- en*. I It had a purely religious I root, nanely &he veneration of the place,

alnost co-?pletely been overlooked: the Jewish religion. Guedenann felt C that its guidance should in a11 Jenish questions be considered first wd

should be decisive. The desirable im?rovenel~t of the external living condi-

tions nere bought at too high a price, if the Jemish religion vere falsi-

fied. To deal with Judaisrl in s?ccordmce with the needs of the hour, ms

unscientif'ic and it could happen that it ~ouldbe destroyed-in the :?recess, precisely mhile one manted to help-it. axe should talce only Close viems:'ifito consideration, which were in

harriony ~6ththe eternal truths of .Tudaisn and -the s~iritof its history.

This was iqortmt not only for the Jews. Their Holy Scriptures nere one of the foundetions uyon vhich the culture znd the norality of the &ole,

civilized norld ms built. Even if the climate of opinion of the age rrere

- hostile to the Jews, the traces of the religion of Israel, had not been

eradicated. -4 treatment of the idea of mtionzlity azd its neming nithin

the Jemish religion mould therefore be of interest to the generzl public.

Guedenam asserted the historiczl fact that the .Tevs, also ca!.le,l Isreel, had once been a nation. 3etmeen the tim when these people se2;tled 1 dorm in Palestbe until fo the time when the second temple 172s destroyed, I all tile features vere apprent, on which nationd consciousness rested: / k ui?ity with regard to fatherland, laamage, religion, lam, and custorls. ITo I! I! that extent Isrzel had been like the other nztions. Tn canother respect, however, there was a very basic difference. Yars were coiyiC.ered in Israel as wars of Cod. Yen foug'lt before him and for 'him. pictorie- .{ere God's I victories, rad not tilose of rien, even if these had t'ne steture of :'or,es, I Deborah or David. Not men were glorified in song and poen, but God was J always the true hero. It ms different s-:ong d1 other nations. There the huncl elenent ms enph-.sized to such a degree, that nar heroes rrere scme-

times elevated to Gods. To be sure, Greek md Rozan heroes recopized the

share, vhich the Godshad in their triu~nphs. This as, however, hzrdlg

co.;parable nit2i the kind of hmilitg md gratitude with &ich a ran like

David glorified the divine rule of t:-e world in a passage like sa1-1 18.

This attitude of the Israelites had its consequences in the definition

of the idea of a nation, All other &+ion,q vere created and were loter oil

destroyed t!-!roug"lr. Through fighting the national enthusias? ms kindle? and the masses vere united. It rms different in Israel, /!TO% .-:he smrd -7 createcl the national consciousness 'and unity there, but the covenmt Rith

L3e one, eternal God. The idess of t?:e nation md of God vere insenamble. I -_I__------J Israel beca-?e a people by beco-?ing the people of God. Therefore could tie _._ _------\ ------I---I--- national consciousness and nations1 feelings never beco e as -9redorninmt in - - - --.------__ _ Israel, as they had been among all other ~eoplein mtiquity or even in ------_--.1__------the present. The Israelites saw yecisely in the different idem vit3 regard ;,I 7

to nationnLis13 the basic differegce between thenselves and all ot'lers, who I

mere stmxwily called "the nationst1, It mas really not Israel, but its . - God;,vho mas confronted with the natFons 2nd therefore iiith their Sod&. Guede lam presente - several passage :, es-oecielly fm:l the 'snhs, es :?roof for this clain.20 The Israelite poets moke in the naie of God to the

nations. ?hq proclaimed to they tkt a11 ~W!PB norrer md greatness, :7hich

were tlle ?rid-e of the nations, would co- e t.j no-thing before hin. Therefo.-e

.- the of 1srael could ha&lly re:p.rd as very inportant suc'l differences

as birth and ancestry. These 7ere only weak lines of differentiation,

which disanpeered before file equalizbncl; power of dez-lh %crything %hat

divided peo~lerrw alao nothi~lg, if co::weil nith the one remining a~d indestructable fzct, that the eternal oxe ruled. Guedexmn did not deqy thct there nere differences between the nations. They hcd their posses- 11 sions a-.d their borders. Israel, horrever, =s not tie? to the possession,/ k&j- of its soil, or to a certain land. It ms itself the possession of God. 1'

There nevor rras a feeling or" su~erioritytonards the alien on the of the Isr,zelites. They alrrzya considered t enselves strslgers and sojourn-ers even in their om land; Their vision and their longing :;ere directed tomrds so-lething higher, eternal, and universzl. This ms the true ho :e of Israel. A kind of transcendental direction of its longings nas its peculiarity. Z !l!llerefore Israel felt called to beco;.:e the teacher of the nations, to bring selvation unto the ends of the earth. ( It ms rer:crktible that this c~llingwas proclaimed by t'ne second Isaiah, n3o nrophesiel nken Israel did not have a lend of its om. C .'udah had been extinguished as a nstion durin,- the Babylonian exiie, but it developed into TudLis3. ( The $4*. state bec~aea church, the nation becz~ea congregation, and .-udais- dis- / ---- _ _ __ covered its world mission. In this religious task, and not in aa enphzsis on the national character, rested the a?-ten nFsunderstood clai-2 of the chosemess of Israel. It ms cholen, becmse it did not cake for the very values, which nere the anbition pad pride of the other nctions: the state, its expmsion, and citizenship in it. G' Israel's hope was precisely thzt some tine in the fuCure a11 t5e nations mould <$ve up tl~eirprinitive, national pride. On t5e ruins 03 the nci.tioi~zl and ~oliticelanbitions mould one Cay be bu3lt the 3essirtilic kingdon.

Salvation did not co e Lhrouyh the excl-nsiveness of an innd~enational con- sciousness for any nctS.on, let alone for Israel. Guedenm intended to shon vit-. ell this th~tthe ~odernenphasis on everyV?ting "nstionelW172,s contredictory to the spirit of the Torah, of the prophets cnd of the Psalm.

It wzs therefore contrary to the may, which ms predestined for the people -85- of Isrml. They nere constantly warned in the Pentateuch not to ixitate 4 the other nations$ not to walk in theii? but rather to sepajrate frora then. This referred not only to religious a~det3ical ~.berretions, but above all to the en-phzsis on the nztionzl individuzlity and the develoy nent of an h2te nztioncl consciousness ,I Israel's task mas precisely to norit for an analgmation of the nations J The vmings against following in the paths of the other people hed 21 been necessary already in tmtiquity; ~ccordin~to its om statenent

Israel nas tenyted to establish kingship only for the reason, that it wanted to be like all the other nations. Kingshi!) ms the nature1 expres-

sion of th& nationd self-consciousness rrhich vas striving for earthly

power and greatness. It nas therefore never conducive for the higher

celling of Israel. The prophets opposed -?ore or less openly and corrected

constantly the institution of kingship.

Guedenann saw on the other hand, that na;-liond consciousness ms also a protection, vhen the independence and the religion of the Jenj.;h people nere endangered. It awoke during such times, or it mas kindled by the

leaders. One should reclize, honever, th~tthe national consciousness ms gradually tra ~sfomedinto a purely religious consciousness. In this w&ms during the Babylonian exile the fir=%I1Zionisn" created, which ms only in its outward apparznce ~olitical,but in its.'inner core of a reliaous nature. It led to the re-establislment of tl;e stste a. d of the

Guedenann had so-iething to szy in this connectioil also about t'_ose events , nhich Pinsker, Bodenheil :er, IIerzl , ?ad oti~erZionists had reloerrec! to, and had hope:.. would be repeated: the rising of the !?accabees in the second ceiitury B. C. T'ne Rabbi reported fizzt once rfiore rrere the :?enish national feelings arouse?, nlien the Syrian yoke hed to be shaken off and tlie religious convictions had to be protected against the influence of the

Greek Veltmschzuunq. Again did the national consciousness find its ade- quate expression in the establishnent of kingship, in this case the Easaon- aic. There was, however, at that tine already a widespread Diasyora. 7Mle Palestinian .Tudaisrt, clothed mith nrtional adpoliticcl independence, r?.oved towards destruction, the Diaspora adopted and firthered -the mission to mankind. The Disspora felt* national consciousness diszppear gradually and was connected with the notherland only through religious ties. Ynis had the effect of weakening the national consciousness even 02 the heathen people, in who:e nidst the Jews live:':. It had i?ever happened belore, that neople, who had ceased to be a nation and who were dt!~outtheir om terr5-- tory, continued to be a united co.rnunity of faith. This caused ot?er nations to think about the vanity of states, which mere built solely upon a national foundation. Guede~annfelt that the Jewish religion vas anti- national. It ?&:aged eve;i after the destruction of the Jewish state, to I. undernine the great Ro::an Enpire. i On the other hand this religion was also i capable of letting it dam on the world of antiquity thzt on the ruim of the national barriers--.-- a brotherhood of zan&id could =d mld be erected, -- _____I_.--.-

unitedhe fGth in the- -A invisible God. The r:eanc;, which the scattered-Jewish colonies used in this work, was the Greek Biblo.

Guedenann asserted that Jevisk nation~Jityuc! religion nere not 1 I_L_.._-_ ------_ _ _---- idgrbical. The .'enis3 Diesporz did not have a ne-i5ona.l ::eculiarity, It ---__ had exchanged it 16th a hizher point of view, irhich gave it e rrider horizon. 1

Contrary to the Zionists, Guedenann had a high regard for the Jens'in the 2 -, -. . , Diaspora. They nere-n~t_the by-product of the people of Isrrel, not its - --- _. _ __-_-_-_- I cut-off branches. They-_nerezah---s of the testanent of the -______------\-- - c - - I prop&&. !i!hey_were the pe~@&&@d, scattered end without fatherland. -- - -- _ _- A Only in this m.y were e viers of t'le heathen / - towards

But Guede: ann himself was cmvinced -that he was dealing with genuine md

orienal Jemish concepts. Ke went on to szy that the kingdo:? of God nes

the central. idea of the Jemish religion nith which cvcn Christianity

identified itself andwhich it had develo~edfurther. Israel had suffered

for that idea for eighteen hundred years, but had never @ven up the hope

that it would eventually be fulfilled. I

Guedeuanl? stzted thzt emphasis on nationality ms neither Christim nor Jewish. 'If -its of,Judais2, wosd try to becone a nation again,! '1 this nould mean suicide. The fhre mould be sacrificed for a dubious ---"------I ,Tudais1 wnthe contrwy the historical lission to work for present.-_-- I, the abandon~entof the individuality of the nations acd to strive for a - . - - - union of all nankind in one big family. I ------1n -the evaluation of the nineteenth century Jewish assiniletion

Cueden- differed also frog the Zionists. This was nothing nen. .Tens had

in many agos and in dicferent countries been able to asainilate to t::e

surrounding nations and to adjust then3elves ktbe conditions of t3e tines.

This did not raean, horrever, conplete abandonnent of their ~eculiarities.

During t e Iyiddle Ages they were-forced into isolation in the Ghetto. So:?e

Jems bew to get accus-tomed to isolation and liked it. But t':is under-

current of the history of the Jews did not stand beI"oye the judgement

throne of history. me highlights of the Diaspora vere comected mith tIre

great names of Pilo, Ilaimonides and Kendelssohn. dssimilation mas to be' -- 1 copdermed o to the extreme of abandoning Tudaisn and its - ---- I principles.-- Jews should continue to assinilzte, if they followed those 1 I great examples and nade the conbent of the teachi~gsof Judaism available I to a grezter public. Guedemenn felt tl~tthe national yews were not only

------I'- wrong in criticizing the recent attenpts at a~simil~tion.They tliem.~elves

were products of m ex-brea:ls!a of assimilation, because they introduced tl?e

national cha~lvi&s;3 of the present--- into Judaisn. If Israel had to heed to ._-_------_ ___ZC L any Biblical warning, it mas tLe oile not to initate the other nations. It- should do so particularly in this respect. Judaism would really get to sit

between tw cheirs anowthe people, in case it muld accosplish a national restoration. If mould have to worry about t:le protection of the resJ60red

independence nore thm ever before. How difficult it even for ~3017e~fil

states to survive, sho-wed their military budgets, vrhic'.: exhausted tlle

czpabilities of the people to pay taxes. A Judaism ~15thguns and bajon- ettes mould exchange the role of David for that of Goliath. To work for a ./ - national restorztion wa~fid:ean to reject t'iLe spirit of tke Jenis? relig50-n. -- -.------This wtild be true even in case the European powers would transfer a!d warcantee Palestine to the 2ews. They would then consider as fair the judge..!ent of those who considered the two thousand-years of Jewish Diaspora ---"-- -- - . ------as a sign of dlvine rejection. In reality it vras one of the aost glorious ------__I______I__ periods of the history of Judais:?. It skowed that Judaism mas indestruct--

ible. Jemry was nore than a nationa3 entity anrl iii-n;ms nnt lded.t-o a certain _ _ __ ------I

location.- - These insights should not prevei-h anybody fro2 supporting those, for whon lire was tgo difficult in their old home, a d dlo therefore had to migrate. One could only rrish aid hope that the Jewish colonies, abether

they vere in the Ijoly Lad, or sonewhere else, muld flouris'r_. It muld, ho;:ever, be wrong, and contradicted the spirit of .'udaisx and of its

history, if t:6s colonization mould be conbined with national aspiration^, -89-

md be considered 88 a Pulfillnent of Bibliczl prophesies. /?he f'uture ,

the prophets forecast, mas not a national rehabilitation, a national reefor- ation in Palestine nit': all the requirements of the independence of a a-bate, I

Jews longed to be in the Holy Land. So::e minted to be buried %>ere, The

veneration of Zion did not md xould not disappear fror? the hearts of .Tens.

Settle~lentin the 32Lmd mas a -leritorious md ~iousact, JustEied / - -- through history. But never had any authorize4 person issue; a czll to all --- Jews.- to recover their national indepezdence in a kind of bloodless crusade. This would alnzys have bee~considere as an interfereace dt:1 tlie sy.i&nce

. of God, in drose plans the Diaspora had a foreordained place.{ Zion was - - ,- considered by t'le Jews as tke s~pbolof their om future, mcl of t:mt of

all nanltind. This va2 the .?estning of t5e TePrish prayers for the re-tur:l to Zion, a :ieaning which was obvioudy all but national. The teachings of I I ,Judais-. and its history did not prevent the Jews frog fb.lf5lling their civic I/ i - duties in the countries in vhich they lived. This conviction nzs base? 0x1

Jereniah 29:7 f. The exiles should seek the welfare of the city, where the

Lord had sent %hex. Jews sllould be loyal citizens, and bemare thxt their

civic rights mere not taker fron the?. sur- ,Tudzisrl-_-__ mas strong enou-h- Q--_- to vive even the adverse conditions of the present. Suede :arm felt strongly I_ _- .11_2_.-- --_-_.

about vhat he thought TXLSthe clmcer posed by every national novement,

including Zionism:

Do not let mybody lc:~the cuckoovs ez,7; of the nationality into our nest, nothin: good -.rill be hc?tched ou-i;. Vhzt does Gri -p.rzer sty? 'From hurmity - throuch nationcdity - to bestriality'. 9 .Tens. sl~ouldbe xarned againat ~art:cipztion in such a develo~nent.

They had only one wideline, &,rd tlris t'-ey sbuld follovr: their faith.

Herzl responded vith zn article, in which he tried to ridicule Guede- mann md charged him with being inconsistent and contradicto?~.23 The

Chief-Rabbi had reoeived the nmuscript of The Jerrish State prior to publicatim md had found nothing to criticize. He hcd apparently changed his mind in the neantine.24 Guedea- was, :;.onever, not the first Chief-

Rabbi, n110 publicly took a stand against national-- -.--- Judaism. The Chief4eb'oi of London, Dr. Adler, hcd done so before, vhile mother ShieMabbi, Dr.

Gaster, ms in favour of Zionis-1. Eerzl could not understand, i7hy Ciuecie- - / - n&.m chime' on the one hand that the Je~7i.s'-religion .. should have nothing - /.-- ---.------to do with the political. conditi~ils,~don the other hmd had to be -\--+- consulted concerning the Jen5sh-national question, Reference was nade to I I ------."l_-- I( a receitly published pamphlet by a Jewish merc~iantin FEus-.ia. The miter I had pointed out that the colonization novenent had been founded by pious people fifty yeers earlier with the clear inteztio-i of eventually creatinz a state. The book Seeking Zion contained :lore tlxm a hundred favorable

evaluations by the peatest Xabbis. Thia proved Guedemani wrong in his tl claim th8-k there had never Seen an authorized persn &o had isxed a call to all .iems to regain t::leir national independence. Kevertheless, Zerzl felt, tkzt religion should not be decisive. This wuld :lean to leme it up to the ar,wents of t3.e theologians, who were too learned ever to cone to an -ee.?ent. Zioniim represented all sons of the tTearis:i nation, nhet'lerl &I.. free-thinkers or Orthodox. It wanted to lead to the Zion of the poor, the 11 young znd even the pious people. IIerzl could not understmd Cheder-mn1s statenent that .Terrs had been 7 a nrtion in mtiquity, but vere no longer one or should not men be one i4 the present. Serzl also rejected the idea of a .'emish -.:ission. Pe hzcl -f learned fro:2 the Chief-Zabbi kiuself that Judaisrl did not vat to make oonverts. T:1o::e, who cLaimed to be Jevish missionaries, mere all well off, -91- while Zionism wanted to help the poor. Yerzl fouvd most outrageous wh~.t

Guedmann had to say concerning prayers for Zion. Precisely when the general conditions of the times made the return to Zion a real possibility, did t::e

Chief-Rzbbi feel co.pelle2 to tell the people that the prayers to this end had only a symbolic :?caning. Guedemam had also clained t4at the true

Zionial could not be divorced fron the ~Ztuceof ndcind, as a nhole.This wasbe.

It mas in fact precisely w3at mas memt, vhen he, IIerzl hi1.~self,spoke zbout Zionis :, narnely the social reforns (seven-hour mrk day), the tolerace and the love to~ardsthe poorest among t;re rejected -people.

Shortly there after IIax ITordzu also felt colpelled to refute Dr.

Guedenmi's ~&-ilphletmith similar argu?.ento. 25 The author stated that

Guedenavln van-bed to fight against Zionism in the thee?-ogical arene. Tt " 7 " mould be childish to acce9-L this chdlen~e. I\?ordau declered e-phatica! ly: nZionisn has absolutely nothing to do with t';eology. It is not a religious movei;lent, but a political, econo 4c, moral (s5.ttengeschicht;1 tci) , md ' sociological one. '12f The fact that the name of the noverent rlede one recall

Biblice.1 events should not be misused to introduce argu-lents originating fro3 the Torah and tile IIishnah. The name Zion =s chosen not for reiigious reasons, but for historiccl ones. The emergency situation of the prese:?t tine and not the Torah and the 7'ishna.h had moved Jews to desi re the estab- lishnent of a new Zion-Empire. The name Zion had not create- 2nd did not justify the Zionist aspirations. It ha2 ratl?er zdded dynamic emotions throuch the -:enories w:~::ichit armkened. !Phis still mas inport2.nt func- tion, but "it is not a religious I"unctionw.27

Herzlls book ebout the .Jewish State stirred up many other debztes zmd caused very different reactions all over the world. By my of contrast to

Guedenaimls reply it is interesting to note tnat great enthusiasn was aroused anone the Jews in Sofia. The Chief-Rabbi of blgarie. is supposed 28 to have considered Herzl to be the ?:essiah. This was, however, a sup

gestion, which Herzl himelf as nell as his followers, ref'uted :ust as

ve?:emently, as they rejected attacks on religious grounds. "'ax Xordm.

mote in 1898 concerning the l.!essianic question:

The leaders of the Zionist moveient do not lay the blasphe:?ous clzin, to be the !lessiah or t~ be a snzll version of t5e :"fessia.?h. They feel they ar uncapable of 13eril'orning niracles md they do not ~romiseit either. 29

men 1Terzl was in tTerusalen that swe year, he-zvoided carefilly

every novenent, which could hzve been interpreted by over-eager, folloners I i as a 'Psaianic ~lnim.~~He did not nount a white horse, or a rhite ass,

H out of fear, that this could 5e interp'reted as a fulfillment of a Biblical

prophecy concerning t'le coning of the %ssiah. 31 On one occasion Eerzl v~s,

hoi~ever, compared 7it.1~oshua.~~ 1!ore often parallels nere dram bet~een hi?; and Foses, ?Then this;ms done ct one occasion by - of all people - Chief-kbbi Guede am, Herzl reacted, as he probably almys did in a czse

like this, in the follon!-ng way: "1 laughingly rejecteG the thought, md

I was completely sincere about it. ,133

Max Fordau nas ofteii called a new Jereniah, who proclaine' the 12-ent-

etions of his ;people. This com~arisonwas a~parentlythought to be quite

. a?pro7riate, 34 although it did not mean that llordai ves considered to be

a religious leader. He himself declare,. in 1900:

I have never claimed thd Zionisn isamztter of f'zit'? for ne. I hzvelf, ali-rays said exactly the contrary. I &ve aL7cys declared th;t the Zionist zoveinent is a national-Jenish one, vhich I can ,join, because I belong to tile .remi.sa: race, t'le Jewish peor,le. The .;ez6sh people , include p' us edherents of t.he re7-igious traditiai, as vell as free- 33 I thinkers, I He himself belonged to the latter group. Like myof:.er Jews of

Vestern %rope, he did not have the hope any nore, thzt the ?,?essiah mould

cone and mould exalt than to glory on a dzy of niracles. 36 I -93- Chapter VT.

The First Zionist Coxigress and the Religious Issues.

Theodor Eerzl had considered it to be his task to propose the founding

of the

done his duty, Against even his ow expectations he m.s to find himelf

mithin only one md a half years in the role of -5he leader of a world-rride

move~ent. Plms for a Zionist Congrezs mere discussed in earneat during

1896 md early in 1897. This rras to be that reprenentative assenbly of

world-.Temy, about which the forerunners of Zionism had dres~edaid vllich

Zerzl himself had proposed in his prog-rmmkic book. The final decision

to call such a Congress nzs rezcheci in Vienna by !lerzl and sone frievlds in

2:arch of 1897. The ~roposedlocation vas I,:unich. During the pre:erntions

within the next few months religious issues came to the fore and protests

against both the plcnned Congress, as me11 as the projected founding of a

Jewish state were issued, because they Trere supposedly in contradiction to .

the essence of the Tenish religion. This nade it necessary to change the

location of the Congress. IL also had an inpact on the st rate:^ of Yeczl

and :?is friends at the proceedings of that neeting and on their policies in

general for years to cone.

Neither the kbbi nor the Jewish congregation ("isrselitische Kultv-;ge-

meindew) in f?unich were officially inforxed about the plan to hold the

Zionist Congress in their city. They read about €he pro;jected "Zhich

Congressn in newspaper reports, which, were carried by tile press both in

the U.S.-4. as well as in Gemmy, The Board of the congregation thereu~on

studied the matter caref'ully, exchanged letters ~6thHerd uld finally

protested formaily azainst Yunich as meeting plzce. One reason for this

protest was the fear that the loyalty of ,?ems towards' their cow-try 0: :?irth

could be doubted and that the whole idea of national ,Tudaism wuld just add

I

B -94-

grist to the mills of the anti-Semites. In a newspeyer article mitten by a member of the .Towish cormunity ai~dpublished in June 1897 it was 3ointed 6- out that the idea of the founding of a Jewili state found follovers only in

countries, where Jews mere exposed to persecutions. C-eman, Jews, as nell cs

the greatest part of Jemy in general rejected those aim and considere'

the, as fancies, i+-ich originate:' frorl p,zthologicc?l conditions adwould

disappear as quiclkly as they had cone. It m-~sstate2 that the conpeyction

was not oprosed to the building up of agricultural centres in Palestine. However, the entire Jemis:: population of i!unic' , so the report said, ms of the opinion "that national Zionist alns are contrcdictory to the spirit 1 of .Tudaisn acd ru-t be rejected nith all deternination possiblew. Perzl

and his folloners thereupon changed the location. The Congress was findly

held in Bssel. Protests using similar arguiients mere to co2e not only Pron the:?unich .

congregzkion, but clso from Rabbiniczl assemblies, meeting in the mmer of

1897, both in Xortn hericc, as nell as in Gemany. On July 6, 1897 the

"Central Conference of Anericzn Rabbisn, representing Refom.Tudaisn zet in

I30ntre~a.l. In his opening address Presi.'ent Dr. I Y. Yise referreci to the

planneti Congress as nesslmic aild me wkich mould not concern =Jevs in ,berica,

if it xere not for the fact thzt the projects had been discussed e,t y,lblic

meetinss and in the press eve2 on this continent, Dr. i7ise left no doubt

4 wkere he himself stood, -;hen he descri'oeci the eetings of Zionists in heri-

a cz, st which delegates for the Congress vere elected, md the press reports

covering the events. The edvocztes of the political schexes

comromir;ed in the eyes of the l~ublicthe vrl-ole of hericcm .Tud,'-1s '. as the phantastic dupes of thoughtle~sUtopia, which is to us a fata norTna, a monentary inebriation of zorbid minds and a prosti- tution of Ls '.el's holy cause to a madmants dance of ur,sound politicians. 5- -95 By dubbing the movement "messianict8 Dr. Vise suggested that it ms bound to ! / failure like earlier attenpts led by a false ?.:essiah. 3 l The Committee dealing with Wise's annual message replied dutifully on 7 July 8, 1897 with a resolution totally disapproving of any attennt to est2.b- I lish a Jewish state. Such ideas were a misunderstanding of Isreel1s :-:ission, I which mas the pro-lotion a-.-.;.ongthe whole hman race of the.+ bro2.d ard uxiver sdistic religion which was first proclaimed by the JerPisl pro~hets. The resolution also expressed concern about the situ&.on of 7ems in countries II where they were still persecuted. The Zioi~ist.nrogxm confil-2ed the zmertion I of the enemies, that the .Tens were foreigners in the countries- in nhich they I were at hone, even though-they-were in fact'everywhere-nost loyel and pat- I riotic citizens. The resolution closed mi-th the following statenenta I d -:Ye affirm that the object of Judaisr-. is not political nor national, but spiritual,zrmd.addresses itself to the continuous gmntlr of peace, justice md love in the hmai race, to a messimic tine, when dl :-en will recoylllze that tlley form lone great bro ;herhood1 for the estab- lisbaent of God's kingdom on earth.

Here then was the ideal of what was thought to be the true nessimisl-: spelled out, which was very different fro2 the narrow nationalistic goals of the Zionists.

The sane topic came up at a neetine; in Ger::any, where the thinking of many Rsbbis was sinilsr to thzt of their cowterparts in Yorth &erice. The executj-ve of the association of Rabbis in Gerzmy ("bbbiner-Verbad in

Deutschlandn) representing 2eform Jews as ell es Orthodox, published on July 6, 1897 the follonin~aapeal in tl:e Gerxm press, which was to be reyrinted in ?any newspaners an3 qnoted in the Zionj.st literature:

Due to the fact thzb a Zionist Congress ms called a;;d its agenda published, such erroneous ideas about the teachin- of Judaisn and the pals of its cdherents were spread, that the executive of the asr,ociation of Fhbbis in Gemany feels co ;:elled to --ake the follorr- ing statexent. 1) The goals of the so-called Zionists, to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, contradict the aessia.xic pro-ises of of Judaism oontainefi in the Sible and in the later religious literc- ture, 2) .Tudais;~makes it an obligation for its cdherents, to serve the fatherlaad Lo which they belong with devotion, and to f'urtller tlle nationel interes-Ls with all their heart and with all their strength. 3) ITot in contrzdiction to these obligations are those efforts, ri3ich have as their goal the colonization ofpalestine by Jenish far-ers, bemuse they ere not relate$ to the fouzding of a Tevish stCte. 30th religion and the fatherlmd oblige us therefore in the sane my, to ask all t!~ose, who care for the nelfare of .?udaisn, to abstain fro2 the cbove mextione' Zionist as:,irations and especially to stay anay frog the Congres \7hi~11is still being prepred in s-ite of all w,rn- ings ag2inst it. 3'

The Gemm Zionis-is mere ready for a fight and refuted the appecl mith

a cow telcdeclaration dated hly 11, 1897,~ In this reply reference nes

made to Kalischer's book Seeking Zion, in which the author hzd shorm tlmt I I Zionisn not in contredistinction to tie messianic prozises of 'udzts-?.

fbreover, it ms stated, Zionism did not deal with the teethings of .Tudais- at all, but with the abnormal conditions under wkich the Jeorish people 2ad I I to live. IIerzl hhself mote oKLy a few dqs later an article in his om I \ paper Die :lelt arguing in a siniler He tried to use those Rabbis, nho _supported Zionis:~againrA his opponents. IIe dubbe?. the latter "'rotes"~ rRabbi311 and declared the;? to be ene::ies of the ?Jenish people. Their attitude

was in his eyes monstrous, Their declaration reste6. on a basic untru-Zr?. In the invitation to the Conness there mas no nention at all of the teachings

of Juds-s.. Ii" mongno-b~ons:aboutthese teachings nere really spre:,d, it

nust heve had different causes. The Congress muld take place in spite of the ahonitions of the Protes-%Rabbis, because the scattered people mere

-; longing for it wit'. their aspirations md hopes. Zionis:: vould lezd to p, wholesorle crisis w5tiiin Judaism. Tne differences of opinion which were

created -rould lead to a 'i,urge of the national character. It c2s cod %:?at 4, a distinction cov-ld norr be made beheen those Rabbis, rrho suffered xith their \,

poor brethren in faith when tlrese irere persecuted, and betneen t'cose ezploy- 1\ ees of the Synagm,wes, who worked @st the salvation of their own people, /,, In this kind of debate Herzl was at his li-Lerary best, and he hit

his op:.onents hcrd. The ter.2 " 'rotest-Rabbisg1 stuck. The fact, horrever,

E that Xerzl vas forced into such an arpnent, was a real blow for hin, beccuse t basically he 17~snot anti-religious. In his plans for the fomding of the k .Terris!i stz-be he had assigned a special role to the spiritual leeders of the L ! congregxtions, Onlg a gear znd a half earlier he h2d mittenr

Our Iiabbis, 03 who6-we especially call, :?illdevote their energies to the service of our idea md ail1 insnire their congreg?.tims by preaching it Zron the @pit ... The Rcbbis xi11 receive comunica- tions re@crl:r from both Society ad Coxpmy, and mill announce a;.d ex~lainthe~e la their congreg~~tions,Israel mill pray for us md for itself.

Adnow a nmber of these s2irituel leeders of Israel mrnecl their con-

gre~~ttionse@n3t Zionism and launched protests ag&:._n_stthe Con,-ress, ;7?-tc9

v2.s to take place only six aeeks later. Professor Schapira in a let+,er -to

Dr. Bodellheiyer ,+ve exyessioa to what Herzl a~~dhis friends orob~blyall.

felt concerning re1.i&ous arguments zt t'?e tine: "That ms all t 2.t ms missing! T'ne Conzress xi11 have to avoid religious yole~ics... 119 he -7 "onist leadershi? seems to have been resolved in any czse to obseive strict' i I neutral it:^ tornrds the Jewish religion. The progzl of the novenent should

- not be ba-qed 03 religious nrecepts, so as not to offend the free-thinkers, , 1 -or those adhering to a different brand of relig-ious tradition. On the other - had nere religious issues to be rmided, so as not to offend the religiously- -r?inded peo?le a-:on: the .-ens. fIerzl coxpnred the direction of the proceeding$

at the Congress to an "egp-dance amongst eggs w5ch are all in~~isible~.

bong the lteg~s",vi~ich vorried hi. nost of all, he entioned: "2. Zgg of

the Orthodox. 3. Sge; of the liodemists. 1110

CThe FidSionist Congress was f?naUy opened on Augu-di 27, 1877 ct Base1 with 204 delegates fron all parts of the world attending.S Eerzl recalled that in spite of ':is deternination to avoid religious questions, right at the start, before he had even take:] tile chair, Wllngs didil't click". The opening ad,;resa was given by Dr. Karl Lippe of Jassy, n:m aes presiding as senior chairxa?. l2 Yeral reprted in his Diaries:

It had been agreed t'at he mas to tal': for tea rkmtes et r.:or,t. In the great hubbub he had na-2 s~rbmittedh.s specch to --.e; arzd aoli, when :re i7as stxidin -: U? t !ere, he sl3oke nikhou-bsto~~~i:~~;for a lcl.-i=- hour 2ad nade one b'.~uxiar after aot:~er. I szt 11elov hi-! on the platforq next to ITordau, sent word uy to Lippe four tines, beg&m; hi3 to st07 and finally fljre~keninghim. The th'ng WES bes5nni.n; to verge on the ridiculous.

The openine s-oeech by Lip~emd %rxlts vote of dis~pprov~.lare simi- ficmt, bec&:;e they give ul indication of the issues at stake wit11 regard to the relation of Jomish nationalisn to the Jewish religion. Dr. Lippe was olze of those ferr religiously-ginded Jews, w:io felt -that not only sliou-ld his religious convictions not prevent him fron Zionist activif i es . he:i thougl he had to reject saxe traditional religious coicepts, similar to the nay such proto-Zionists as Alkalai ard Wscher had done, he felt -21.z.t +here vere also cmpelling religious reasons to eii:;qe in Zionist nor::.

Dr. Lipye orened his address by reportkg about his om role in t3e

Lovers of Zion -!ove.?ent, praised its ac:~ievements and then exnressed his joy over the big lea? fommd and the Frogress nade durins -the uast fen yezrs.

Thee references :-rere probably the first blunder in.%rzl's eyes. Re hir~selfhad bee,- extrenely criticel cnd contenptuous of t::e ?revious coloni- zation work14 md wanted to nake a fresh, clew start vith the Congres- and not have it considered as continuation of the Lovers of Zion ef2orts. Li~pe nent on to say that this nsse~bly rres the first of its kind aithia ei~hteen hundred gears of the third exj-le. The subject ,:latter to be discussed rrzs the return of the .Tenrs-'totheland of their fat:!ers, the Poly Lznd, -:rhich God had promised to Abrahan md to his de>cendants. It will be recalled thzt -99-

Herzl had wanted a land for the .Terns and the fow-ding of a state, even if it acs not in ~a1estine.l~Re had rejscte? "theories of a divine institu- tion, or of superior power, or of a contract, arid the patriarchal and -,atri- aonial theoriesf116 srith regard to the legal basis of the nen state, as ell as "theocratic tendencies". l7 Pinsker had stated evm more clearly tht

Jews In hfs o:m days sou;ht precinely not the tfHol:r Laidw, but just a lx-d 18 of their om. The fo1lomin:y ar,guxentction of Dr. Lippe in his opening address did prob~blynot meet Herxlls approval either. The speaker sa5d that the ,Jems:had vaited for salvation fron their dispersion through e. divine, supernatural -1iracle. "ressed by enenies frox all sides t:-ey had got tired of tb'li~mitlng and norr tried to gain their salvation in a natural my, just like their forefzt'lers had done when they were in Eeypt and later in Bzbylon.

After the exodus fro-: Egpt they Fought their way back iu a natural my.

The exiled people in Babylon returned after diplonatic negotiations and on the basis of En intemchional treaty. The pro9ket Zechariah had, to be sure, pronisei the. a suyernahrcl salvation by consolating the :. 'Tour king (the Yessiah) mill cone to you, huqble, rid'r,g on an ass. "19 But the forefathers of the Jews did n3t wait for the f'ulfill.:ent of this proyhecy, hut used t' e first opportunit~to return ho-e. Yne prophet Isaiah did not even hesitate to call the Persia? kilg, Cyrus, a, Yessiah. Liype askedthe delegates not to wait for the "essiah, the rider on the ass, either, but to return to the land of Israel axain on the basis on an intemztional treaty. The nodern reader of this speec3 ~aywonder, at whxb points Herd sent his notes up to

ILppe a,d where he felt the verye of the ridiculous had been reachei. Liype hi~elfwas probably unamare that he displeased Yerzl irith the content of his s~eech. Se seene:', ;w;.rever, to 'nave bee-? filly mare thzt he displeased religious traditionalists. Lippe nwely went on to declare that the pious people, who mere still waiting for t'ne ass-ridin*: king could re-lain in the -100-

dispersion and wait for his arrival. In reference to the Chalukkah mendi-

cents he stated, that if the ;>ious people permitted beggars, idlers and old

people to settle in L::e Xoly Lmd, they should also pernit the Zionists to

bring strong, young ;,eoole tllere, who through their mrk muld change the

land fmr~a desert into an Eden. Lippe left, horrever, the possibility ogen,

that the ?.:essiah vould co .:e after all, an apgarent co~lcessionto the gious

Jew. IIe said, that if the hu:lble king would in reality still cose, the

Zionis-i, morlrers mould give him a -?ore dignified rrelcone, than those Tchnorrer

("beG::.".rsv), that is the Chaluldca~rrecipients. Lippe zlso took a stmd on the question of the Jersish ::ission mong t5e nations. If this -.issio:? nas

really not yet f'ulfilled, then that, what still ms outstznding, could be

supplied fro-1 t e old .Jedsli hornehnd. This was probably another blunder

in Beral's eyes. -4% every occzsj-on he had derided *he idea of th& mission.

Lippe closed his address 5y quoting fro? Isaiah 2:3: "For out of Zion shzll

go forti the lam and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem", a aotto ~dlic!~,one

can be sure, mas far rezoved fron ?!erzlls rationsle. c Yne sneeches of Iierzl md others #re quite different in character, stresshg the nctron rather than religion. The r~otivationfor the Zionist

efforts ms yrovided by the suffering of the Jevs of the presext, rather t1m

by Biblical prophecies and reli~iousprinci?les. This suffering was so real

- and the plea for help so urgeilt, thct religious reasons against the novement could not deter tts leaders either. Zionisn mas to be a conscious break

wit', the idec, -thzt Judaism mcn a purely reli,qious concept. .Terns forned a /-

nation, nl~ereverthey lived, and -.7hrztever their religious convictions were.

If the religious notions of so-!e Jems nere in conflict nith this insi,$b, as

indeed they nere in many case's, itwas religion which had to be reformed and

its adherentz hzc? to recd,iust their stand, not the Zionists. L4 progren ms

adopted at the First Zionist Congress, which reminee- Vne basis for the Zionist efforts for s long time to co2e. This "Easel Platfor .", as it m,s

terned later on, stayed clear of all references to religious conce~ts. It

The ai.2 of Zionism is to create for 'ch6 .Jemish peo?le s ::~ublFclg, legally assured hor!e in ?destine. In order to attoin this object, the C~ilgressadopts the follodnz : .ems: 1. To pro::o-Lc the set-i;ie:zexl.t in -'alestine of ;Teaisil c~~icul'iuris-ts, handicrof-is me;^, industri~lis'~~,and proi"essi*;ilzl nen. 2. The centrclizetion of the e:gtire 'erris? people 'og nems of ::ener~.l institutions apeezbly to the Lam of the la,:d. 3. To strengthen ,ierLsh sentine:lts adnatioml' self-coi~ccious:?ess. 4. To ob$~int'le salction of Govemexts to cal-ry owt the objects oT Zioni sn.

Besides priil~i>~lpa'cers on tile stcte of morld-.Temy, esgecially trle

econoaic conditions, ques%ions 02 orp,nllaa-tion of the movenent filled :lost

of the hours of the First Zionist Congress. I% nas not possible, ho~ever,

coqletely to exclude questions touchiop; OR religious issue.;. :lo -0z-l

observers it eypeared thzt Ferzl hinself had referred to the probler.. '-~~c!l

speculation mcs c~usedb:r a vague >hose, nhkh he hed use:; in his lirst

address. He said: "Zionis- is the reJ;lurn ho .e ol .TudzFe?~,even befq-e t5e 21 return to the 1md of -l?!e .'em." This sentence ~7~svelcomei~ by the

religiou.sl~i-ninM 7e;rs, 'out noted ui-bh alrrn by seculzrly 7:iacled Zionists.

Znly those close to --3r:;l lnzn t3ct this statement did not yean a retur:: -lo

relicion or zn n.i;ternyt -to convert the Sioi~is-I;novecent into c religious

to fi:

Dr. Li!>>e1s statement in the openinc aciire .s, ''ohileuer f im.1: ns-erted t!,e belief in the T'essial.1 rind tried t~,show th-,t there was no conf?.ict betneen this concept md nztionalim. Suzge:3 tions nhicil !bbilerrer :--.ade zere &is-

thznldily hir~Tor his vor~;.~~hrin:; t::e last session of the Conpess c paper reaii ?.bout the 'Tebren 1anlj;uage and literature by 3zbbi Dr. T:ercus

an econo ?.c one. Zionisrz: ms also tile conseque::ce of a hn.;er for culturzl -----' achievements. These could he eccom~lishedonly mitllin the Eorrns of the .- / national s;>irit. Ju3t as the political rebirth of the --erris:? neople could co:e about only in Falestjne, SO tile s;~iritualrehirt'l could co e zbout only throu& a return to t'ie FIebren lmguep. The speaker called for ef2orts to teach nore Jens Ee'nren and to acquaint thela vith the IIebren litercture mitten during t e nii~eteenthcentury. The creetion of this literature llzd been ex expression of a, ho:"resichess of the .Terrish people an6 the exyxssion of a latent Zionis:~even prior to the feuding of the :ovenent. In the foll017.i~n:< Gebote qmstions concerning the rTctrsnl~-~~x,ge a:-d the poi;:ii:iiit:r 26 of foundiilg a Uiliversi-ty in Palestine nere disc~~ssed.

:It the very end of the Conpess f?erzl hi~ise1.fms lorced -i;o t&e a definite otaqd on a religious question. The Rzbbi of Zczel, 9r. Tolm, 73.0 nns not a ZionTst, but had attenclef the proceedings, ao a svest, hed r,sked

.-. he mcl. hi3 frienh hcd underest 'r~~te:;. 1s hope ;7c?s, that n~tionel.T~C.~is-7 would be but a trmsitionai staye tovrards religious 'udcisn. 3u-t he exyessei? the conccrn, 17iilick he and other 3rthodo:: Rabbis had. It rms the reesoll d~y he and his frienk lied bee; reluctzmt up to thnt tine to mp?ort the Zionist r~ovenent. !?he Orthodox hb3is s;l.oi-red reverence for evc~jthin~coimec-i;eC vith

Zion mre in syripcthy rrith colonization in Palestine. But they nere afraid that, if the nen ?take mere crerted, the holiness of the Szbbaths could be violate-. If a definite statement cxt.ld be made with resard to

does not intend to do anything that could injure the religious sentisects of / any group rrithin hdeism . 1t28 This assurence re 2ained the off iciel ~osition I of the Zionist or,~iza,tionfor a long tine to cor-ie. Hon difficult 3erzlvs position nas in this e$6*drulce on invisible ecgs can be seen Prom renarks by

Chaim J'eizaann, who felt th~tHerzl was too lenient tomrds the spiritual authorities of ,Tudaisn. 3eimann recalled:

Eerzl mas an orgxizer; he mas also an inspirinz personality; but he was not of the zeople, and did not grasx, the nature of the lorces which it harbored. Be hed excessive respect for the Jenish cler,~, borii not of intimacy but of distance. FIe sm sonething rather occult and nysterious in the Rabbis, while he laen tnem 2x6 evaluated then as individ-uull,ls, good, ba or indifferent. Eis leaning tomrds oleri- / . czlism distressed us,... 59 I

This charge of leanjng towards clericalis= was laid against the shne nan, who openly declare6 himelf to be a free-thinker, who mated to confine the Rabbis to their tenyles and not let then run the nerr state, who rejected theocratic tendencies, who feu:-ht rrith Chief-Rabbi Guedel;.ann and with the

Protest-Xabbis, and n:o was SO uneasy about the blunders of 3r. Lippe in his opening address. Herzl seemed t? have anticipte(i this type of diffi- culty, w3en he mote in his diary three dcys prior to the onening of tl:e

First Zionist Consess concer--in< his task: "It is one of t'le labors of

Hercules... It 30

The 3'ir::t Zionist Congress vas in spite of all difficulties zn unexpect- edly -~eztsuccess. It nor? ?erzl and his folloners .the respect of r:a::g dens, friend and foe ~lil;e.~lGonisn - 3eca-e a topic of discunsion and arp::ent throu~houtthe tTarrish mrld.bhe relation of Zionisn to %he Jenis;~ religion ,, remained an is:,ue, As far as most leading Zionists mere concerned it was J -104-

an enbarrassin~side-issue. For many pious Jews it remained the key question.

Oile such debate t~okplace in C-ernany, the land in which the Protest-IZcbbis

had voiced their opinion.

The next Zionist Con/,ress nes plarmed for the follol-hg year, 1093, to

take place et the szle location, Basel. A general neetlng of the association

of Gemm Rabbis was to t~heplace ~riorto this Second Zionist Conpeas.

On the agenda for the Rabbis ms t;:e topic "Zionis:~". In entici~etionof

these two eve~ts,the Rerlin c:)epter of the Zionist org~xizstionin G-_.r;l~.ng

publisl~edEL pa-i-!-,hlet, in which the queztion 173s discuszed, as to nhether or

not Zionis:: in contradiction to the Terrish religion.' 32

The author, Dr. 9. Salononsolm, quoted verbati-I both the nrotest declzr-

ation of the association of $eman Rabbis of the previous year, es nell as

the Zionist Base1 Platfor-1. Ee t',en aske', whether or not the Rzbbinic~l

criticis- could be applied to this Basel propan, rrhich had been adopted

after the declarction of the Ii~bbis. He referred to several lal~~ud?assages

in which the colonisetionof Palestine nas considered to be a holy duty. This

had, of course, been adxitted by the Rabbis. Tne only thing .'ens mere not

per-itteG. t-: do according: to the Talnud, was to enforce the founding of a

state with neapons. But even there an exceytion had been panted to Znr- Kochbe by Rabbi -Al:ib~. This, hovever, was not really the point to be con-- cerned zbout, sincemnot.../--~4-seed: bout_;: - stat3/--4- 13Ut//--- only 'd about the nublicly, legally assure?. protection of>?sh hoge. This .+.' \--/- - ..# 14.. .- 9" arwent shoviirs, how cleverly the Basel Platfor:? mas worded, elthou,yh it did

not comince n7my R~.bbis, as mtll be shorn.

Dr. :;alor?onsohn dealt dso 15th the objection that Jevs ;.rere not

perr~itte,'to do mything about their salvation, but had to nait patierrtly,

until the Lord himself wul-d call them fro.1 the ends of the earth. He

assured the pious people who used this argw~ent,that the Zionist endeavours -10% were not an interferenee with the ,~vementof God. He provided nany references to re! igious authorities, which anticipated that the sa1va.t:-on mould co -e in a natural may without accoh.pe.nying nlracles. Actions like those atte:~>tedb:r the Zionists were nrecise1:r the precxdition for the co-1- ing of the essi~~icera, Ee finally called on the Babbis to assume the leaders':i? position in the r?ove!lent. They 13ay re?ove nhatever =s mong, but they sliould not kill the bud of the good, which i7as nit::in Zionis-q. It had already tmo million adherents33 and nothing could stop its course my-

>/ /' more. It i~ouldbe the hardest blon for Judaism, if 2 chasm mere created betmeen the guardians of the faith and the people, through the unexylainable resistance of t'le leading Rabbis. Salo--.onsoh called on these to avoid such schisn by joining the Zionist r?ove-nent end thereby restoring the internal peace of Israel.

The genersl assembly of the association of Ger an Rabbis r?et in 1838 shortly after the publication of S&ononsohnts pamphlet. The executive defended its actions of the previous yenr b-~stating that modern Zionisn posed dmgers for Judais-1 inside and out. 34 In order to nake sure thzt the endeavours of the Zionists rrere not held asinst a1.l Jews, the executi-re had been forced to -publish the >rotest declzration of 1897. The ~atterhzd been ur2~nt,since tke Conyress was to be held saon. Therefore it hzd not been possible to have the xtter coae to a vote before an assenbly. The declara- tion had been ?roper and timely, which vas Troven by the feet the it m.s considered to 11e the classic::! expression of the ytriotis-? [sic7 of the

:'lest-Euro~em -Tevs . The assezbly agroved the actions of the executive nit5ou-t debate, not h0~7everwithout some di~sent.

In fact, not all German Rabbis were of the same opinion. In the sEle year, 1893, association of Orthodox Rabbis net in Franltfurt and adopted resolutions dealing with the stme subject,35 They stated that the theories of Zionisn did not contradict the religious teachings of Judaism and had nothing to do with the -.~essimicsalvation of the nation. The Gernan Ortho/ dox Rabbis could, horrcver, not follow leaders, who had different princigles with regard to religion. It seerzed therefore advisable to support the colonization of PaJestine, rrhich ms a. religious natter of ?rile ig~ortwce, through a prellel r~ovenent. The foundinc of a stote or other ~olitical institution was left co?pletely out of the pro7ra.n.

In Forth F~nericathe issue was zlso discussed further. Then, for exmple, the As~oci~tionof -9nerican Rabbis net amin in 1899, tmo pqers , were read condeming Zionisx in lanwage similar to thzt used in 1897, 3 6

But the reading of a paper under the title: The justification of Zionisnw was also pemittecl. 37

A handbook on Zionisr: 2ublishod in 1908 regorted the negotiations of the Gernan Rabbis in 1897 and 1898 and voiced the opinion, t!~at even in

Gernany the topic ~017ld find a fairer treatment, if it vere raised weein.

Thc disturbinc fact re:la.ined, :lo:~ever, thzt the protest declaration of 1897 had never been revoked. But the reader of the handbook was given the consol- ating assuralce: ttPortunzkely the declarations of the association of 2abbis are not be:i.ng codified, T5ey do not have the binding pover of the Schulch~~ -Aruch. ,138 Chapter VII

The Debates Concerning Religion and Fational Culture in the Zionist !'ovenent Between 1897 and 1909. Soon after the Pirst Zionist Con:~ess the debates concerning nations- ism and reli,$on were to take a different shape. A new contestant entered the field and the a.r&%~en-kswitched Lo the question, ho~a nay ---- Jewish -- national ctilixre wz_s tia,herelated to the .Teprish religion. The :3an vho started the ------1 "--- -__. . -. " "* . debate nas the old critic md friend of the Lovers of Zion in Xussia, _?had

Ha-em. Ye had attended the Pirst Zionist Congress, but reportei! aftem~rds that he sat solitary sloxg !?is friends "like a xourner at a ~eddin+feast.~~l

He ~ublisheda short note in a F'ebrem peper a fey: days after the conclusion of the Congess ada longer cdicle a few nonths later, nhich ms to be a comentary on the first one. Tn the latter he reported that he Telt "the heavy hand of despair beginning fa 1-27 hold onw2 hin. This was precisely, because he did not reject everything t'mt the Congress had accomplished.

He agreed with Herzl, ?ordm and the other leaders of the Zionist movenent P------__-_ - in that he -a120 _ ~tedthe strengthening of the Jemisll national conscious- -. - -- ness and the even-luel founding of a Jewish state in Palestine. This ~asto -- -_ c- be attained by natural rzeaas zmd not by t1.e expectation of a niraculou.; redaption. Jews were certainly not inferior to other people and had no reeson to efface the:aselves. Ahad Ha-am praised the Conpess for hzvilzg pro- clained aloud to all t':e nztions that the ZePrish people still lived and desired to live. Zionism was a pod a?d usef'ul thing for those Ylestern Jens, who had ahost forgotten Judais- md had no link, wit% t3eir people, "except a vague seiltirlent nh%ch they thenselves do not understand". T'''Zionist activi- ties lifted the? fro:. the xire of assimilation md ~tren~heredtheir t?ewish national consciousness. These pursuits cured the2 of their noral sickness, namely of the feeling of inferiority.

Ahad Wan disagreed, however, with the leaders of the Zionist movezent in many other respects. They were in his opinion too ir7.ndien-k and nzmted

too nuch. He llinself felt that the founding of a Temish state v.s but a --- -. . __ __ distant vision end mould t&e a long time. But even when thzt state ncre

eventually established, it would not end the ,aterial trouble of the .rema

Liberty to seek a livelihood ms not enouzh, a aerson h3.d to be cble to find

vhst he sought. Jevs TOLI~~be able to se-ktle in the nerr state only little

by little. The determining factor nould be t:le resources of the people

themselves and the degree of econor?;lc developnent reached by the country.

The natural increase of the Jewish population in the ~orldmould continue

and in spi-te of continual erl;.pation to Palestine the nuYber of thoye ren?'~ln-

ing outside would not diminish very i-mch. Ahd 5a-e;t also' felt. that t5e fh.r$ L- A', ing of a state would not necessarily solve the .Terrish problen. A politiczl '

ideal whic9 did not rest on the national culture mzs apt to seduce .Terrs iz'ro-: +-- loyalty to their! spiritual' greatness. There would be a tendency to find the L..--\ path of glory in the attaiiment of material ?over $ad political dominion,

Gwsss' ould not be merely a nation in the political sense, but a nztion

living according to its omn spirit. If the ain of Zionism vere reelly to --2 bring the ueople back to Judaism in this sense, then the Congress would not

hcve postponed questions of national culture to the last nonent. The nost

vital and essential questions mere those concerning lai2gmge and literature,

education and the dil"i%sing of Jewish lmorrled~e.

Ahad :la-=1 charged f'urthemore that the leaders of the Zionist movement

laen hardly mytXne about the ??astern form of the morol ~zoblenof

md that the Congress had paid li-ktle attention to it. The Easter!: for-: of

the morzl trouble was absolutely different from the Vestern:

~nthe ',':est it is the nroblein of the Jens, in the East it is the problem of Judaisn. The one nei~l~son t'le individu'd, the other on the nation. The one is felt by who !lave had a %ropean educz- tion, the otjier by Jews whose ehcation has been Jmish, The one is a product of anti-Semitism, andis dependent on anti-Semitism for its existence, the other is a nstura product of a real link with a culture of thousmds of yewo... 4

rot only Jews had come out of the Ghetto, Judzism had cone out of it

too. Por ,Terrs t3e exodus ms confined to certain countries u~dws due to

tolerztio. But ;Tudsisa had cone out or 172s coming out of its orm eccord

wherever it had come into contact with moderii culture. This contact over-

turned the defences of .Tudaisn frou within. .Tudais-I could no loncer live

isolated. The snirit of the Jewish people-was &riving far dsvel.op.:ent;, -- -_.__ It wanted to absorb eleuen-bs of the general culture a:ld make then a p.rt

of itself. But the conditions of the exile mere not suitable. Ahad Ea-311

then vent on to reiterate his deilmnd for a spiritual centre. 5 .kdeisn had

to return to its historical hoi?el~~din order to live there a life of ??alnnd

developnen-t. That rras needed was not in the first place z- indepe- dent

state, but the creztion of conditions fz~asableto the developnent of a

L- great national culture. There was to be a good-sized settlenent of Jeas - L- riorlcing nitho~rthindrznce in every branch of culture, ?roil a@-~:-ltEreand

handicrafts to science and literzture. This ,;.?wish settlece:;_t ms -to grow

graduelly. In course of tine it would become "the centre of the nation,

wherein its spirit nil1 find pure expression and develop in all its espects.Vb

Fron this centre the spirit of .Tudais:l. would breathe new life into the

coimunities of the Diaspora and preverve their unity. :7hen the national

culture ?ad attained that level it ~ouldproduce nen in Palestine $lo mld be able, "at a fwoura?)le opportunity, to establish a State which will be.

a Jewish State, and not merely e State of 3ensen7 &en when that was eccollr plished, the g~eaterpart of the people would remain scattered in strmge lands. !had En-am felt thZt it was better to face the bitterness of truth, than to have an illusion, which he hisself' certainly did not share: UTogather our scattered. ones from the four corners of the earthw (in the word of the I1rzyer Book) is inpossible. 'nly relicion, with its b~liefin a miraculous redemption, czn promise thct toll- smation,

Ahad Fa-am seemed to have been fully mare thct he c;laller,ge.l;. both t3e

leaders of the Zior~istnovenent, es nell as the religious leaders of thz

peo~le,e7pecielly t e religiously nincled Zionists, ~6%':his provocctive

ideas md plans. Since he was quite influential among !?any 2us~i~Zionists,

his criticisn was to have repercussions in the ne&iations at the mxt

Zionist Conpesces, even though Ahad Ha-m did not attenc! any one of the-?

for severs1 gears. I I Herzl and the other '7estern lenders had apyarently not yet taken :aote

of this nen chc.llenge, -$:en the 3econd Zionist Congress mzs opened on

August 28, 1898. For Yerzl the relipj-ous q~~estion73s still concineci to the

problem raised during the previous year. In his opening eddress he referred

once aein to the protests of I?abbis9 and suggested a nen solutio?~to the

issue. '-re pointed out nga5.n tkt it mas a curiosity to prcy for Zion md

to be against it at i;he sane tine. Zionisr;? could !lot be deyenclent upon t':e

present leaders of the congregations. A chznge had to co:le nbont, d1ics1

mould brine to an eiid -tne agitatioil of .Jewis:r conmega-Sons escins-i; Zion.

Election cz-.~paignshad to start, which would bring nen into 1eaders;:il)

positions, who mere favourably inclined towards the n,?.tional idea. be of

the next goals of the novemenk was the "conquering of the congregationstt,10

A foretaste of future troubles cme soon after t:le opening of the

Congress 17herr the narles of a cormittee for the study of .Tevis:l culture vz 11 1 presented. Deleget e I:acl~::~'yrkin >rotestcil again:;-: -5i1e fact tl-zt t'.e f

co:mittee existed alnost exclusively of Babbis, n':o !~::ci n specific opinion

concerning Jewish culture. If Jewish culture ncre lePb to the 3::b"is this ------would be dangerous. There rrere people within .Tern~ nho ---._I__ _ atheistic point of view and who were also of a different opinion as far as ----- / social questions were ooncerned.12 The nunber of Rabbis on the co- itte tee had to be linited to a r~inimniad people had to be elected, who nere atheists, or who were et leist liberally minded. I.:I re~ly,mot1?er s?ez.ler,

Dr. fTeuc~arlrclaimed that there mcs no such thing as a Eiabbinicol point of vien.13 Ye also pohted out tb.t the co::nittee h~dnot to deal with religious questions, but nith the l?ebrev literature. Thereafter the debate nas closed and the list of cormittee me-lbers a3 presented nsls adopted,

The q~mstionsconcerning culture were egzin left for the last sitting of the Congress. There nas, horrever, an i-?:~rovenent conpared with the previous year, in that this time three sgedzers dealt ~Lththe subject. 14

The first oile was again 9zbbi Dr. Ehrenpreis. IIe 2entioned that the nord culture had alcrned certab orthodox people in Russia. The culture about which he and his friends nere talking wa3 not of the kind, which ~ro~13.dco2e into conflict rxit:? one group within tJudf?ism. It nas ndtlier "of- a reli@ous nature, nor ?a-ti-religious, bu-t; e nztional one. ~15Ile sug~estecl --- -- .- --^. that the Conmess shov-ld become active in the field of educztion, The conquering of the -enish congregations, which Dr. FIerzl h~~dcienanded, rrns

EL goal far off. 32t could be done in the present ms the ~r~~izin~of

Jev5s'l educztion outsi2 :) the congre~~tions, vrhicI1 would su?plesent the nork done bj these. Tn t!le f5rs-k place the Yebren laiypage hzd to be t-u~5t,but/ also *Tenish history. \ 16 The ~econds?ed:er 7:s CXef-Rzbbi 3r. Gaster. Iie yointed out -F,lx.t a national regmerztion could not be lin' ted to -aterlel t'?incz. The values in the field of eclucxki.on, !t~lor-rledgead faith should not get lost. 3e

Yesterm attitude of the speaker beczme apparent, nhen he declared, tlrct -em could idextify with the culture of t'x nations a-:ong mhon they lived, %eq- thing that nzs meat, noble, and poi-rerful in a spiritual sense was aln.3 religious. Importvlt was only that the foreign qultures were aompletely assinilated and adjusted to the 7ewish spirit. Knowledge and faith shodd not be eradicated mongJews. On the contrary, Zionis-? should becoxe a school-house. Culture ad Zionisn should be identified. Cultural progress -7

Zioiis:? nere inse7arable. "othing of the acco~plishentsof the l~est --- -" - . _ _ ._* .-.--".- sliould be given up. This =s also true of the religious trsdition. ?e did not wish to i-?pose w9on the -2ovenen-t a religious character. Cut there should be nutual tolerance. Zionism should not do anything w3ich rrould injure the feeling of any one, who mas faithfull to the traditional lan. The movene-it worked not only for tlie economic and political regeneration of the

Jeds: peo>le, but also for a spiritual one. It was thereby on the grounds of r?odern culture tothe achievenents of which it adhered. A third speaker,

Dr. Leopold Kahn, sugzested the creation of a scholerlg Dictionary of the

Hebrew liugaage. 17

In the follorring debate, the contribution of Rabbi Seph frog Russia was especially renarka.b1e.l8 He presented a typical Eastern point of view Kith regard to the question of the relation betveen culture end religion. The

Sabbi pointed out that in spite of the great eloquence of 9r. Gaster t'le conflict betveen the tendeiicies of the Torah and those of ;rodern culture had had by no neans been ended. Yodern civilization did not tolernte the intro- duction of religious aspects into the national legislation. In the Bible there was on -;;he other hand a connection between religion and legislation in the lam concerning the Sabbath. The Torah also stressed a relig.ous aspect in the field of education. Dr. Gaster had pro::ised that Zionis- nould not do harx to the ToraA. Tn reality the Torah mas nore de;nmding. It identified itself nit11 Israel, tlxd is wi~hthe .'emish people, !?he Torah therefore demaaded that Zionis-I as a novorrleiit of the Jewish people had 2s its basis the Torah, which was the same as ~udds~.To hnrxonize -[;he Bible with -113- modern civlization was a gigantic task, to which the future would belong.

But the conflict muld still cause ~uchwork and argulents. The Rabbi then expressed his om viev concerning the questions posed. In his opinion

Israel ms the peoyle of God, the people of the 2ible. fhc repmerztion of

Israel had to come about in the traditional and hallorred ways of the Tor&-.

It is interesting to note that Dr. ITordau, who ms then chair an of the

Congress, interrupted the speaker and renarked that he did not understand what he was talking about .19 Delegate I. Syrlcih' apparently understood better, but disayproved. lie stated that it could not be tolerated that t3e

Congress was nisused for what he czlled~tonanticisn."20 Also mother s?e&er,

Schach, felt t'nzt the zrgu~entsconcerning Orthodoiy aad liberal hdaisrr. mere not called for. Brery honest Zionist should keep his religion to himself ,-- 21 and leave the other person alone Feith his religion.

Finally the resolution as suggested by Dr. Gaster, nas adopted, nhich read as fo1lot.r~:

a' a' Zionisn does not only work for the eoo~omica;nd political, but also for the spi,,at-bof the Jenish people, a-rd finds ftself thereby on the ground of modern culture, to the achieve-.ents of vkich it strongly adheres. Zionisrr! will not do2~cythingthat is in contra- diction to the religious lams of Judaism.

It ms a?parently oC no concern to rzany delegates that the two parts of the resolution mere considered to be contradictory by many religiously-:,linded

Jews. The Congress decision cormitted Zionisn ultinateely to the furt3ermcs or" modern seculsr chture em021g .Tens. The differences betneen the tendencies \J" of nodern culture adthose of Orthodox Judaisx were to be a source of con- flict and hot disyutes for many years to come. For t3e tine bekg these nere, however, theoretical debates. Yo action to be taken for several geero to come.

mhile important decisions were reached as far as the building up of the Zionist or:;anization and the founding of a Jewish Bank mere concerned, little progress ms made with regard to the question of national culture for quite sorle tine. At the Third Zionist Con,~essin 1899 dissenting voicts mere again silenced ~ndoutwardly a c~mpomisems reached. At its be~ming

Herzl had apparently still not yet grasped the full i--plications of the storz that ms in the making. Re told the delesates that he had asked Cllief-

Rabbi Dr. Gaster, vhat the cultural question ms, nhich mcording to t::e infor:mtion he had received, was being discussed passionately in zany places.

If cultural question should -tean the relation of Zionis~or 3f the Congess to questions of the religious confessions it should not be discussed. The

Zionist movement rejected the mingling in the differeat forms of the confes- sions nhich were custo3ary mong Jews. It could not be the task of the Congress to conduct religious debates. The delegates mere thereby no less

Jewish than the Rabbis, who excluded the discussion of religious questions, when t3ey cWe together. It mould not s-I;ren&hen Zionisn, if differences of opinioq, rJhicll were so natural in this field, vere to be introduced into the novewnt. Every religious conviction was respected., but was no ~atterof concern. It ms not the common ground, on n3ic8 Zionists had to work. ?hey- 1 had rather come together as nationally minded Jews. Differences of opinion in tlle field of religion were not dangerous, when they cme at the righ-t % time. But their d5scussion at the moment would weaken the movement. 23 The lecderskip of the Zionist ~overnentseenell nevertheless to have felt that -:he culturzl question could be discussed at the Con,gress, if religious implications rJere excluded. It was this presupposition which eventually cane into the centre of -the debate. If the Torah =s considered to be nore de~~anding,then every cultural question rpas also a religious one. At the Twd - -_Congress the first paper on the problems of Jewish culture was presented by Dr. aster.*^ The speaker expressed again the opfnion that cultural . progress could be achievedwibut getting involved in religious probleme,

He pointed out that Zionisn had not only the task to or,mize the n%terial strengbh of the 7ewish nation, but also its spiritual strength. Orgcizc- tion and finances ere in his opinion seconlary nattersr The nain thing was the liberation of the spirit and the progress of Ilu-mnity. Bit a "Gztechisn for .~ude.isn~~*~muld not be vritteri. Rdigious questio~swould not be touched. All that he asked for was respect for the holy tecchin~s,but t3e religious problems muld not be thrown open for debate.

Ailother syeaker, I'artin B~ber,defined as one of the tasks ~f the xove- nent the internal a&-tation, nhich wes the f'urtherance of Jemish mrltv.re.

This consisted of the guarding of the comon netional goods, the cultivation of the national spirit, s$ldy of national history and the education of the people.26 Another peFer on the cultural question was read by Dr. L. Kahn.

He reported thzt this problen was the "child of sorrons" of the Congress. 27

Passions h2d run so high here as in no other field. Consideration had therefore been given to elininate the question froi:~the Congress agenda altopther, But the natter nas so inportcult that it nas zc-tually a question of life or death for Zionisn. Opposition had come from tl?e very pious, fro3/ the Qrthodox.. This nas not because they mere aminst culture as such. 31% they mere afraid that a special brand of culture ms furthered, such as "the so-called culture of the Fleskili:~, who considered it a peat nchievenent to ridicule tine-honoured customs md to injare the feelinm of those, who vere fnit3f'ul to the i or ah",^^ The speaker wanted to infon the Orthodox thzt their fears were unfounded. Culture was not identiccl with hostilit;. ton~rds religion or with lack of religion. Religion ms itself a large part of culture. The fact that humanity had reaohed a higher.leve1-of ~ord.i$y'vrasdue t in the first place to religion. But progress in the field of culture ms necessary and it was important that the Jewish spirit was 'taken into account, He hoped that a time would come, \?hen a specific 7ewish culture and Jewish

science mould come into being, which was the general sciences in a Jerrish-

national perspective. The sgeaker then proposed Ahad Ha-ants idea of o

spirituel centre, Only there such a genuine Jewish cultwe could flourish.

Xe reiterated that wh~tms necessary in the present was the study of Jevrish

litereture, of the holy language, and of Jewish history, -&ere the treasures

of the Jewish spirit nere stored.

In the following debate Rabbi Reines assured the delegates that the

Rzbbis mere no enenies of culture. They were delighted that the Zionist

noveaent brought not only help to suffering brethren, but had brought back

many 'ems, who had been considered lost. ITeverthelessthe Congress es such

should not deal nith the cultural question, because it mas open to so rimy

different interpretations. Bery Jen should work in his om city for the

furt21ercmce of the Hebrew language and the Jewish culture. But the Congress

should not do anything that could cause a division. -----l?o decision should be reached wit:~regard to the cul%ural question, which would cause dissension -- -. -- - - - _ -_ v - and disunion. 29 I--_ Another syeaker, xTahumSokolom, in turn, supported Dr. Gasterts view ad

rejected that of Rabbi Reines. He reiterated that Zionisn would not touch

the field or religion, but had nevertheless to do cul'sural 710rk.~' The whole

pro,-rm of cultural vork of Ziornisra contained in hls opinion nothing, that

mas unacceptable to the extrene Orthodox party. For him even the speecl~of

a Rab'oi ertd an Orthodox Talmud association mas Jewish culture,'just as a

society lor the furthermce of Efebren literature aid history. C"c~er speakers

aseed that cultural norl:, which mulcl leave religious questions alone could

not be obpctional~le.~~Only one decision was re~chedst this Third Zionist

Congress as far as the cultural question was concerned. It ms the adoption F- 1 of a resolution to subsicliae the publication of Rebrew school books for the general sciences to be used in Paleatine by those schools, which used Ilebrew as the nain language. 32

This rather mea,.;re result still nzs more of an acconplis'xent thrn the

Fourth Conmess meeting in London in l9OO could take to its credit.' At this asse.:lbly no decision ml1zI;soever ms reached as far as the cultural question was concerned. This nas not, beczuse the delegctes had lost irkerest 511 these nroblens, but on the contrary, because the issue had becone'too hot.

FJahum Solrolom reported that --any articles =id pamphlets hed been mitten and condemations and excommunications issued in comection nith this

The leadership of the mvement had to defend itself against the accustrtion that it had done nothing mith respect to cultural adreligious questions. The reason was that they had beccme too contr~versial.~~?he word culture itself mas so disputed, that it had been propose5 to re>lace it by "spiritual upliftingt1 (~istige~eburrz). 35

Regardless, however, which words were used, the problems replained, and the Fourth Zionist Congress helped to articulate the different posttiom.

The official speakers reiterztef. that cultural progress in .'udaisl vas celled for and would not in any nay injure religious feelings. Dr. aster^^ stated that ,Tern had cbbsorbed the results of the intellectual activities of all nankind. They learned from everybody, but had nade it their om and had put the stm-p of .T~dai~~~upon it. Jews my yet reach a nen synthesis of eJ.1 knowledge and poclaiml'a nen salvationn to na~~kind.~~In his opinion this ms no dvlger for the .Tewish religion and for its fcith. 38 The second official speaker, Nahm SO~~O~OV,also spoke in favour of what he temed c

"spiritual and moral developrent", 39 which was in h~~.ri>ony~ith Jerrish peculiarity, as well as with the hmanistic task of n&iiid in general.

Sokolon charged tht Zionist cultural activities had td be defendec:. aminst attacks from two sides. The nsupex-zealots of conserv~tivis:?~considered -118-

then to be a first stejp towards unbelief. At the same time did the pseudo:

progressives consider these aotivities to be a fanatical reaction. So!colom

himelf felt that Xionisx had to accept tile tasks of civilizztion of tbe

present. ?he nodern developxent of the .'e-xish people itself clso ':ad -to be

recognized. Jevrish culture, like my genuine culture, hnd to be hunanistic

as well as national. 41

Criticis1 asinst tho inclusion of the problem of culture into the

propan of the Zionist ?over.lent was again raised by Rzbbi Reines. Ye

re~ortedthat for thox Rabbis, rrho had renained in Iiussia the idea ms

sonething "terrible". 42 He himself felt that the culture1 question mas sone-

thing foreign for Zionisn. The only goal mas to get back to ?alestine.-

Those, who wanted to include the cultural question in the Zionist ?rogrx?

did not understand Zionisn, or if they understood it, acted tomrds it in a

negative way. kt the end of the Congress, his son, who was also a delegite,

moved that no cultural committee be elected. The motion was lost. 43

Another liabbi, Lmdau, charged thet the msses of the Jerrish peo?le

stayed away, if their religious feelings Tere injured, even if that nere

done in a subtle way. 'P'ne cultural question mas the red rag for thec. The

so-celled Vestern culture had done too much hcrx already. At the bottox of

their heart the peorle nere all Zionists, but they would not join a specific ?

~r~izatiou,if they becme suspicious. ?he lecdership of the movement

should never have ~ernittedth-t the cul-luyr?l question was raised.44

Delegzte Dr. Kaim felt that he suggested a conpronise betneen the

wcrrisg factions, rrl1e-c he proposed a resolution, which mas supposed to nake l it a duty for every Zionist to work for the spiritual uplifting of the Jevrish I , people in religious, moral end nationcl respects. In every country, nhere

Jens nere not adni%te?.to the general school system, s-pecial schools nere

to be established, in which the study of the TIebrem language, Jevish litera- i L i -119- ture and Jewish history were compulsory subjects. 45 Tine and again during this Congress, nore often than at any previous one, the assurance was reiterated that the discussion of cultural que--Lions was not intended to injjure religious feelinm. At one occasion Dr, Chsi:~

Reimam stre~sed,that the question of religion =s a private affair of every individual. Zionism did not deal mith personal affairs.46 The Jevis:l masses vere in his opinion not indifferent because of the cultural question, as Rabbi Landzu had sugger,ted, but because nothing tangible had as yet been accomplizhed by Zionism. But when Qeimann realized that all these assurances and the co3pronise proposal of Dr. Kahn was to no avail, he launched a counter-attack, Hisshort speech appears - at least in retrospect - I 1 to have been not o~lyi? highlight of the Fourth Zionist Congress, but a I I first c1irm.x in the debate concerning culture aqd religion as a nhole. 47 3e stZted the3 a confusion of lamgage had taken place. For two years the word cul-ture was zisused to mch azl extent, that it mas hard to establrish I its -eaning. This was a sl~=e for a .'ePrish Congress, which s?~ouldrepresent a synthesis of all Jewish forces. Iie could not see, why the cultural question should be eliminated frozz the Congress agenda, as it had been sug- gested. SOW Rabbis had claim3d that the masses of Jewish -people were repelle?. by the word culture. 'Phis rrzs a self-illusion. leiznann charged that the 'I

Rabbis therlselves hzd lost coiltact with a great part of the Jewish names.

Besider; t'l-is, j.t mas the:r therzselves, who had confused the ninds of many peo?le for several years \nth Yneir pmphlets. Long before the nord culture nas --entioned at s Zionist Cong~ess, the Rabbis had already started a cmxsede agahst Zionisn. !.!eizmnn could not see why they caye nom end nmted to express distruzt towards the representatives of the Jedsh s?irit, who mere talking about national Jenish education. Every year it hati been stated that the Congress muld not get involved in religious questions. This, horrever, mas not enough for the Rabbis. They wanted to win the field. He-asked these leaders, m:ly their congregations ment to min. The speaker chrged that they had done nothing for the i~prove~entof the life of their nerishes,

the fouxding of schools or for charit::. ?!ow, that the Zionists vere doing

these things, tl~eRabbis clai;.ed to hcve the confidence of the nasses aid that they were the lerders. Therefore ','/eimann demagded tht the Congress make no concessions to the 3ab3is. The adoption of the resolution of 9r.

Kahn mould be -2recisely this. Ele Izinself, leiznm, was violently opposed

to the inclusion of the worii "religiousff in the pro,ytm of the novenent.

This mould zut~ri~cti~~llgexclude a pest number of delegates fr0i.1 the I

I Congress. Yei~rnann?referred an open fi,yht over a _noor peace. The cultural .l)

question had to be and wuld becone the "nerve-centre" (~ebensnerv)'~of the ---+

Congress. If they could not enforce it this tine, t?len at a future Conzess,

muld the cultural question 'oecol-e its substmce. Culture had alxay3 been the substmce of life. Such things could never be excluded Trorl the Congress,

regardless of hon he and his friends ere intimidated. Fe askec. that this

Congress XLJT decide to start regular cultural activities in the differe.-t

countries, depending on the situations in these lmds. In every country a

co-~rzitteencs to be elected vhich hzcl the responsibility to re1~or-tto the

The inclusion of the word flreligiouswin the TcoZTcm of the sspiritusl ---,

ugli12ing .-f the 'eF;ich peonle bec?.ne for so.:e tine the centre of ar,mv?ent

7 in the folloning debcte. Xnce not even the representatives of the cultural i i i co:imitJ~ecwere able to coxe to =I agreeinen%, it m2s eesg Tor the ckiziman, i Dr. !:erzl, to close the debcte :ritiiout having to let my resolut:i.on cone to

a vote. Tile Congress proceedel: miti1 other business without rick ing up the

3eizrna.m recalled in his menoirs especially this Congress. It was in his -121-

opinion of kistoricel significaxce because of the establisirent of the

Jewish Fational Amd. But oti1erni:;e it had for hirn for various reasox "a

depressing efiect .1150 yevertheleso, so ne rmte, he vent bcck to Geneva -- which ~nsthen his hone, :lore than ever conmitted to Zionist nark. :'e

becm-e even the initiator and a leader in the open fi&t, rrXch he had

proposed 8-t t2e last Congress, vld nhich mcs to bred< out in emxest soon

thereafJkr.

In April 1301 an assenbly of the Zionist stucent orcziization mas held

at haich. . The key speaker mzs Chsiin Yleiznmn, who outlineima jnxzmrl for

the founding of z new Zionist orgxnization on the basis of the Ecsel 'let-

form. 51. IIe celled 02 the Zionist studen-ts md other tTerris!l youth, as -;ell

new orgwizztion 't~ouldturn its attention to -the gork of the present,

naiely on ct~lturalwork. F'ruitful mrk in the field 03 -Tewish culture could i-- .--_ . - .--,-- " not be excected fron the official Zionis?~,because it was forced out of ^ _ -__---,.&------. necessitzr to be setisfied nit11 8- g co::pro::i.se, in ?riier to ~lez~eover;,rbo< . . - ,"-----.------7- -+------The cultaral coxittee which hzd been est~blishe;by the Conpeszes , con- sisted of different oontr~dictoryelexents. Tfle clzsh of tkse elements

resul-ks. Ueizsm felt t3at he and his friends were not in the position to

. kee? z:my fro;? the co?xi-i;tee those fectors, rrhich ~revei~tedmy fruitful

work. -.?eizmni~did not sty it, but it =s quite clezr tht he referre2 to

the Crthodox Rabbis. He czllec- oiz his hearers to do the culJ~uralmrk %her::-

,/ selves. Culture had to be understood in the rriiest :ensee It Ilzd to e.3rcce

not only Zebre17 culture, 'out the principles of the genere1 IS'uro-.:em culture.

One had to use the tools of the .fironem sciences. Zionists like -".led F;l-23,

Eathan Bimbzvn, 3ernh3.rd Lazzre and others hcd stcyed avqr fro:? the Con~esses,

because it was igpocsible Zor them to cooperzte with what he cglled "the guardinns di' cn ei* formlisi', 52 who beecme vocal there. Another field of activity for the new organization was the settlement of Jewish refusees I. I in %lestine pad nork in the economic field. I I! I

The new organiz-ztion ncs fo~miledunder the na e llDenocretic PactionN,--c I I -- - - often referred to si7ply as the llFectionll, on the eve of the Fifth Zionist I

Congress in 9ece her 1901 at Basel. he Faction vas led by Chai:! '~eizxmn and Leo I-otzkin. A-long the other mer?bers nere Yartin Buber, Arthur Teinel, - I Davis Trietsch, 2. IT.Lilien and tTizchak Gruenbawn. 7einm reccll-ed in

his nenoirg thet he and his friends had recognized thzt the Congress had I i t cone to stay. Like Yerzl, they remrded it as the Jemsh state in the --&.ing.

It was vithin the Zionist arpaization thak :?is op~ositionltsougkt to stren@hen and deenei the spiritual significance of the novenelt, and t~ md;e the organizctio3 the reflection of the forces of nztionrl .Terny. 1,53

The front-lines mere quite clear at the outset of t::e FiTth Zionist

Con~ess. The leaderskip of the novenent again vanted to avoid miy decision, or even a f'ull discussion of the cultural question. ?hey took this stmd, not becmse of basic disagreenent with the members of Lhe Faction. Yerzl,

Z'ordau a~dthe o-ll~erYestern leaders had absorber; t;le general &%ropem cul- ture so thorougi~lga:~d nere so -:uch a pzrt of it, thct the v.ole matter was not only no proble':! for then personally. They learned even only eradually to understand that there existed an issue for ?any Zionists in the Tzst. But the lezders mere qui-te will- in^ to -postpone e. discussion of suu': questions for the sake of a ahon of national unity m~dfor the s&e of unity ri-thk? t3e novenent. The:: aerc qcite concerned about the impression uyn the outsicie world zrld nantec: to tv.m the Cons~essinto a "dem~nstr~tio-nt',as 7ei-z t:m had charged. 54 Tie situation ms different for youn: Sussian intellcctu+lo like 'eiz-:am a;:d his friends. !*ost of then had gone throuch the traditional religious education and had discovered modern .%ropean culture nore through chance than by design. They had had to struggle personally to shake off, what they felt were ill effects of their religious past, in order fully to become modern TI=?. For tiev the problem of culture yere very persoilal ones znd they -ted to force tile Congress publicly to take a stmd, even --/ if that cause:! a split in t'!e rmks of the novenent. Tile intern21 yroblen5 of Zionis-1 were more i:.:prta.nt for them -tkm the in?ression the Con:,ress 2 -4 made on t'e outside vorld.

Herzl stated at the Fifth Zionist Congress, that he could not under-

stand, why ,mybody could suqgest that the lezdership of the ?ovenent ncs against culture. For various ressons, including - adqittedly - 0;7port~mistic ones, relidous questions md dFfferences had been "respectfUlyU

(ehrf~rchtsvoll)~~excluded fron the Zionist Congresses. The scne ms i~ot true with rezard to cultural endeavours. Even t?e speeclzes at the Congresses vrero themselves an elezent of nodern culture. But Herzl had leerned during past years, %hat some delegates considered the Torah to be aore demm'ding.

For these t5e disc~wsion02 culture1 questions mas in fact a diccussion 02 religious problem, precisely w3at Xerzl wanted to avoid.

The fighting mood, which 7eizma.m and his grouy, mere in, becwe e+par- ent already at tire beginning of the Congress when the agenda was presented. 56

The me~bersof t%e Faction, kber and Feiwel, 'exaizded nore tii-!e azd e~rlier treztnent of the questions of tlle spiritual uplifting. They zleo wcnted the scheduled speech of i'm Nordeu on the spiritual, physical and econo-ic uplifting of the

A kind of prelude to t'!e major battle of this Con,gress was a rr)-arked difference of opinion, which beca.e apparent in the papers presentee by ?:2.x

Nordau aiqd I-artin Buber. Yordau spoke about the physical, spiritual =?d econon5.c uplifting of the Jelvis? people. F?e had mc31 to say uld to propose concerning the physical sad the ecor~o:ic aspects of his topic. But he shyed away fro- a treatnext of the spiritual aspects. For thet, he felt, there ma not as yet oney. Jews did not have the means to &oduce good Jerrish literature or to estcblish their own sc!~ools.~~Ruber wes to sl3ea.k on the

Jewish arts. Be stated -that T?ordzu hed spoken %bout the questions of the spiritual uplifting in such a way thzt he, Buber and his frieilds, nere deeply hurt. Yordau had re2used to discuss those questions, which concerned the 60 "wonderful budding of a new Jewish national culture." The Congress days mere the onl~rZion-days during tIze long Golus-year. The changes that vere takinz place with regard to culture should not only be dealt with on t-e conve:?tion floor, but everything should be done, to encourage the efforts.

This :-ewish Parliamentdid not 2ulfill its task, if it did not deal wit3 this resurrection; %hat -?em-t the .'ewish cultural activities. It vas as if the delegates would recognize on a hu-nm organisn only nerve..; admscles, bones and veins, but not the soul. 3uber rer.iinded Fordau, that he hinself hzd once mitten, that Jewish arts vere one of the best -ems of propaymla.

Zionism had not only to d-eal with the poor ,Temish prole-Lariat, but elso dth the well-to-do Jevs. -And it was especially these latter, who had thorou:hly to be re-educate'. in spirituzl and norsl respects, beforle they povided ncapable aixl rrorthy hum nateriel for ~aleatine".~~Re and his friends presented the means for this kind of education, which mould strengthen the -125 movejilent and lend ne;v strength to the natimal cause. One exmple of what they ' :.ad in mind, ms zhat he, Buber, was to report about, namely Jewish arts. 3e rre:~ton to give a lengthy report about .Tewisll creations in t!~e field of rmsic, yainting and poetry in the past zmd in the yresent. 3ber felt that .Tewish arts were a testi~myof the na-bion Tor its s-brefigth md its will-?over to live. Re claine ? that eve2 Zionists tl:exelves cmld be educzted by creations of Jenisb arts, for the folloning reason:

The deepest secrets will be revealed in then and Rill siine with t\e splendour of eternal life. '7e mill look at t'le-: a:;d nil1 recognize then. 7e will look at the and xi11 ve erate our saxturry. I expect6p a wonderfill dee~eninf;and intensifying of Zionis.7 t'7roug15 .-emis? arts. In this field, which could be exyanded endlessly, Zioais-Ls had great and inevitable duties. These conlisted of the collectton of historical art treasures of the .Tenis5 people, in the creation of nea art in 2ccord~:~ce mith t;.e national peculiarity, and in the aesthetic e4ucation of t!le nation.

Irahun Sokolon also was again one of t'ne official s-peakers. ye delivered tkis tirye a Faper on Terri~hhistory ad. science. First he presente, a tlorough a::d learned outline of Jewish intellec-ha1 endeavours in the past and in the prezent. Ye czlled on his fellow-Zionists, rn-.?o were the'lproclsim- ers of t-ie Benaissmce of the Jewish peoplett,63 to be the guardians of till

Jewish knorrledge. They, and not the hair-splitting exesetes, vrere able to understx-d nritlnry like that of the prophet Isaiah. Zimists mould write the best co: xentary about it, neaely "the co-mentary of realizztionn. 64 It was inportant to found associations, schoqls ad seninaries for the itissen- ination of sh knowledge. Different groups vithin Zionisn should consider it their duty to be active in this.respect. 65,

These s?ec?l:ers on cultural questions avoided any reference to contro- versial religious questions. TWCJspeakers, who -.daated proble~srelated to the Zionist organization as such, were not as cautious. Delegate Ussischkin reported that the organization of the Jewis: people had prior tothe nine- 66 teenth century a ''peculiar synagoml-religious characterw. The esse-xe, ho:.rever, did not coiisist ~f the form, 5u.t of the imler conscioua:~essof its necessity. 'Jhen the found,z'cions of the .Tenish ~r~izationbew 'GO be shaken in the nineteenth centmy, the exis-lience of the .'eds. people rrrs threate:;ecl. 3ut the ,Tewis?~peo~le again its ability tr, survive. T-Zs better elernei~tsunderstood, thzt the t'evish orbw~izalionhad to be retched, vhile its outmrd fori~hcd to cnanse. The speaker :ade it quite clear, 17h5?t he ms referring to, rr en ile state:?: "The reliaous-spacgoml orgadza-lion had to be replcced by a soc'al-nztional one. Zionisq preserts itself as e dootrine, wIiich characterizes such endeavours. n67 nilotTler delepte,

Scheinkin, exnressed hixself in a sirjilsr my. Zeferring to t:re rxl-';ural questions, he felt th~tthese should be discussed, since there WPS no 02;'ier organization, nhich -exbraced all of Jewry. Everyoile w'-s' ed tllat Zionis embraced his whole life. Beligion hzd codified li%euntil no7 for t'le fat,.ers and 2'oreTi'a-t 'ers. In the sa?e n"~y Ziorlsm should cod?-;-i all 0:" Ii?e fc\r t'le 68 present generation.

A 2rmatic scene took place at the last ni,yht sessio;: of the Con~ress.

Herzl had first of all c;-iven Jeiz wxi and Buber pernission to prenent resolu- tions concerning cultural questions ai~dto notivate then. I-le wl-o dlorred so :e other delegztes, includins tno Rabbis, to s:)ea.k on the su3 ject. -:e did so, beccuse he wmted to keep the rese.?blnnce of a balcn~e,~~th.t newt betveen the represe~tzti-~esof t:le Factioi a d iheir reli~3ousopponents.

This procedure resxlfed in a heated argwnentconcerning cul-:ure and religion.

were absolutely necessaq for t':e co3inuation of t;ie Tionis% orqa-lFzefion. 70

He pronised that he nould oontkiue wit11 the cultural debate, as far a.s tiqe permitted. I.!indful of 'EIerzlls parliamentary tactics concerx-i-ng tl-e sme question at the previous Conmess, the no-~bersof the Fzctio1.1 first insisted on the continuztion 02 t'le debate. They then reduced their dex ds by asking t:?czt at least their resolutions mere brou@ to a vote. Leo I'otzkFn wanted to have cieterninecl, $le-L;:ler or not Zionists dezlt ni-i;h cultural probleoz. If no vote weas td:eii, this rendned a biz question --erk,r.7 it hcd done at the four previous C~n~~~esses.71 Fierzl countere; t' at the Conpcss a~mdait self wzs ?roof t:.zt Ziu. :is:? dealt with culturzl quedions, but -t'-at suoh ::otters could not be rushed.72 Herzl the:: let the questian co e t, a vote, whether or not the elections would be next. 7heil the Conpess voted in favour of th2.s motion, an mnrecedented Bpectccle at a Zioi~istCon,pess took place. Several deleg-tes, the enbers of t:-le ?sctrion, left the roo:!.

The Congress ?roceede? rzitli the elections nit;lout -idle-1. After the retun of the ,mup so:re time later, "einel presenter1 t;.e Congress with a declarn- tion signed by 37 delegates protest in^ -inst the in ~hicht3e COE-~ess chairman Imd dealt ~.riththe resolutions of the culturd cormittee. 73 this tize the electioxs rrere over adXerd pernitted not oill;~EL ~roie0:1 those resolutions, but 'ndicatecl. in xost cases, t?et lie n2s in favour of

the^.

The ?rojosals of tke cultural cornittee dealt with the sunport for a

1ibrz.q in Jerusalen, the publication of a Hebrew Encyclopedia, the founding of t:le Jewish Publication IIouse --Juedisc'rer Yerlag , end the est-?-?blisl~ren-i;oi" comittees in the different countries, which were charged w2th the durty to report about cultural activities to the Congress. The motion to back up the foundin2 of the .Tuerii:;c;lerw wit? a warmteed lom, vas lozt. Eut nost of the o-tler notioils were ado2tei;. Ibst of the3 rrere accept~bleeven for the religiously .r.:inded Zionio-ts, some were even r-?oved by Rabbis. "he nost decisive and really controversial notion, however, nas the folloainy:

"The Conpess declares that the cultural uplifting, i.e. the education of the .Tewish people in a.nationa7. spirit, is one of the nost ementiel elenents of the Zionist pr7 TW. The Congress makes it a duty for all its adl?ere-ts to cooperate in this respec I,.tt74 The lrotion rran voted on in-tno parts, beczuse the second sentence seemed to exclude autmatically :?any relii;'iouslp ~indedZionists, &st as the inclusion of the word nrelig$ous" in the culturcl motion of the -previous year would in the opinion of saxe :iele,yates have exclude5 others.75 The imjority of the deleptes voted'in favour of both parts of the moA'blon. 76

The raligious n?-,osition of the Faction had a chance to becoze vocal at this Congress, after *Weimam and Buber had presented their resolutions rmd Herzl had wanted to establish a balance. 77 But t. is was, before tya final vote had been taken. Rabbi Rabbinomitsch aclcnovrle3~edthat none of the speakers, who mere in favour of culture, ilacl said anything ~g&.nst religion.78 But the Orthodox had no confidence in the initiztors of the matter. The Rabbi quoted as exmple the speaker, who hsd clai-led that reli- gion should be replaced by Zionisn. That was a mroil<; principle. Reli;5on

had not co ye to an end m1d , wmld not co. e to an end. .Rebbinomitsch clai-:ed --- -- I --- _ ____-_ , that- a Jew, who mas not a Zionist, was nevertheless o but :lot e. lo,ikzl , -one. On the o-ther hand had in his opinion a Jev, 610 nes not strictly religious, still not conpletely given ua religion, even if he ms a Tree-

thinker. Seligion uni'bed ?en:; and so did %.oiiir.:a. !!? c -ped:er coxlsiilere '

Zionisn as a jeenr to strenghhen religion ~ddvice versa. ?e expres-e- the opinion t7:a-L religim mn the latest mrd of civiliz.a.tion. It had been the first wrd ol civilization, dlic:~v2.s s~oken3,000 yews earlier 0:: "ount

Sinai. 3ventuallg everyone -iroulci see that the tTemisb leligion rras tlie right e '.'he Tordl had given the -true civil.izalioi~, ihe true - i?;?t. A generzl propan for culture mao therefore not called for.

The s?ertl:er t' en :-ve another exar!iple of so;nething which had disturbed the Orthodox. Israel Zmgni.11 !lad declared on tile Conqess floor t:le-b %bbi

Jocharntln ben Sdckai had prays6 only Tor the Tore3 adnot for the coun-fry. 79

ZIe 2nd as~erte also, tht %::isrilan, whon he had called the frtL'16:r of r:nti-

ZionLsv had tyuicelly been carrieZ em.y alive in s crsket. Zaz.y.,511 *-,-A; lzter explaine ' in a private c0:l-i.-er :etion, t 1ci.t he h::C not ii-i-Lended to 3%~ my-thL;i,y nr;sinst the aut:iority of Rzbbi .-ochmai ben "drlcai. ';a lmd clzl :ec? omly that tllc sam 'lad been just coiicerncd about the religion m~dnot Lhut the country of the .Ten-,. Rzbbi. RaYoinowitsch explained thzt t'l'xgs had really been different. 'Jhenerer ic -erdsh history PA enemy had etteq%ec' the c!esLmction 02 the --en-ish reli,.;ion, t1.e -emish authoritie: had resisted, becctlse they had been afraid of the der>lructionof the nztion. -%.t rilenever the enezies vaited only political superiority, ad did xoC touch .Tenis3 religion mid culture, the Jewish aut?lorities had been a~;c?lnstthe u::e of force. In such cases the)- foresm tL3eend of the political re$-~e >f t'le enerny and did :lot cons'der it as n, danser fcjr the nct-ion. T~lisYres tn-e for R&bi tT~~41~~ai~ben Sakcei. TTe was in truth 'ihe hefther of Zioiiisr~. %en t: e hard tixes were gxe, Zionism which ms only seeminyly deed, vas re?.n,?k- ened. In such tims es tho~e,during nhich Jocliznan ben Taklrsi lived, -.vex r?en like FTerzl, --orLau md Zmguill would have ~ronozec'c differeu-;; co-.?rs;e oT

action. FZ:e speaker TELL:, the clair?, C~latcultu-rel, ecoro. ic a r7 spiritual uplj.fting was of no use.

.The nost ot~tspokendeclaration frog the point of -"~ieaof reli2*or_ ca:!e -- f ron Rabbi Reines . tie lmcntcd : The cul-Lurnl que5ioii is a xisforhuie r" - r us. hi-i;v.re -:rill C.e.3-bray e~er~hins.Chm distrlct is co!.pictely Orthodox. it is los5 t!7x;u;.k culture. The cultural question s'lould not have been in t:-e 3asel Platror . R nistdre was !.lade, tdiich has to be iwde good for md hns to be reversed. Ye have to be prepared to ,@ve88ur lives for our people, for our country, rmd Sod will help us.

The last session of Y::e Fift' 5.onist Con~essendeil at 5: 30 a.::~. the -130- next morning, Decer?.ber 31, 1901. It had brought clarification on many points, not only in the cultural field. Sut that kind of unity, which 5erzl had so ~axiouslyguarded at the previous four Congresses, was destroyed forever. -4 further step ITES taken in co- nitting the Zionist :'ioverient i;onwxls the furtherace of codern secd.ar culkre &-rid thereby alienating reli~ionsly'-- rxinded Jews. ':litli the Democr~tic Paction having won a substant izl victory, -_ - there was t:re danger of a secession of the very inportmt zx1 strong elenent within Zionism: the Orthod~x. In order to Torestall this distinct possib- ility, Eerzl secretely approached shor-tl;r after the. Congress one of tyie

Orthodox lezders, namely Rctbbi Fishan, (later :~ainon), md su~:gested to hin to take the initiative in the establislmeni of a Zionist party uniting religious ;ens. Rabbi Yaiinon passed the infor: atian on to RabSi IZeines, m:?o founrled in the spring; of 1902 what was called the ?sghi-Party. This narre reminded of the party founded by Rabbi Yohilener within the ra&s of the 81 Lovers of Zion in 1833.

A foundin;; conven-tion of the new 1:izrahi orgmization was held in the spring of 1902 at TJilna. fne expenses for this xeeting were defrayed by

Herzl -self fro-.I Iris own pocket. Herzl ls in-v-olv~mentin the whole afr"aj-r renained a secret until 1955, when Rabbi Vainon hi:;self reveolec! it to the public. 82 The founders of ?lizraili were co-mince i that the establishient of the people of Israel in the Land of Israel had to take place in accordacce with the precepts of the Torah. 1:izrehi saw as its t~~lito brin~ t'-e Teosage of Sionis to the :;asses of Orthodox ,7ews. The religious Zionists tried to convince tl~eirfellorr-believers tnat prrc-bicctl work for the redaption of the .Jewish people did not contradict the lnessiaaic expectztions orc" .Tudais . They also atte-pted to instill a feeling of unity into the hearts of relih5ous

Jews axad to encourage %her! to cooiserate wi-bh their secularist brethrer; in the rebuilding of the national Jewish home. Thus the principles laid down by Rabbi !?ohilener were carried on.83 This did not .?em, however, t!mt there

was unaninity w-on3 the founders of Fizrahi. In fact, the ori35ns of 2

later split can be detected right at the beginning. Two trends mere reyres-

ented already at the I"ouadin8 -ee%ine;. 84 There were those, rAo strove to

guard vhat they thoucht mas t::e purity of noliticd Tionis? ard o~posedthe

decisions of the Tifth Zionist Con.yrens concernin: cultural :;-ork. Others

mere not against cultural mrk as such. They understood its ir~portmce2.nd

demanded thet ?iiare'nh iteelf engeeged in re1igious educational actfvities.

first public procltmation of "Pzrahi 'orougllt about a conpronise Setneen bot3

trends. Jt declared that Tionism did not only strive for -tile creation oi'

safe refuge for the Jewish people, but als~to redee-1. then spiritually. Tn

1 the 9icspora "it is i:-+ossible fo- the soul of the oxtion, which 1s its holy)

Torah, to exint in fill force and forit&-co!-xmdmnts to be fulfilled in

/! their essential purity. lta5 I:izrahi intended to gather those Zionizts, ri?o .-

mated to prim official Zionisn from all foreiga accretions. It also

advocated religious-cul-Lura1 nor?: "in accordance trttl; local conditims znd 86 in %he spirit 02 0r~'~odoxy." Rabbi Reinen su;.;gested tkt the I"iaral11

braxches un?ted their -e :her:: throug : spiritual activity mch as Tore11

studies. A centr31 r3ffice of T7izra;li was estzblished in Lidz, +:ere P,t'hbi

Reines lived. A wide::prezd pro~agandaon behalf of the nev orgmizat20n na : lzunchec irwe -iately ~6th,yeat success. TiJc5 the fowlding of the I'izrahi organization the unit:? of the Zionist /- nove~erztnzs -resewed ov.tvardly. Ifimrdly -I;-.ere ms a split. Thi-, h2G L-,--- - _ / -\. a lasting effect . Even-tuall:r trio co?pl etely different e?ucztlonal s:rstem were created which are basicall-y still in existence todzy. The grouncl~or?:

for this was laid at the first official convention of RussFan Zionists ':eld in October, 1902, at Yinsk, at which Ilizrahi made its first >ublic appearance.

This seven-day conference was attended by :.lore than 500 delegates and about 200 guests. 87 Both ?"izrahi, as m11 as the Democratic Fection were stron&- represe?ted. The majority of delegates, however, were neutrzl ad did not belong to one of the two TOUPS. Eesides problem of or~.,anlzrtion, the

culturc.1 question mas on the a~emia. The key spe&er mas All& TIa-an.

showed solutions.for tb dis~itecli;:r:ues and helnei! to brins about an accep table conpromise in the ar,pqent within the Zionist ove~ent,thereby restor-

ing peace for tlie time being.

In this his-torical addresso8 Ahad Ha-a? first cnsjysed fhe situation

and proceeded to offer ?is solutions to the ~robler.1~.He stcted that it n2s not a :lere accident, that tile question 02 Jewis culture iiad co .e to the __------front with thee rize of political Zionis-I. The Zionism of the Lovers of Tion, wWch existed e%rlier, hem r?ot$lng of my proWms of cul.ture. It knew only one,ain, nmely the $lacing of Hebrew nztionality in nem'coYidit$ons, &d to

?:ive it the possibility 2f developing dl the various sides of its indi-rid- ualitg. Political md cultural work was combined. Any work w'nic'il strenF$h-

ened and develo-3ed .Tenish l~r~tionalitgmzs Zioiiist nork. The epithet

llpolitical" of the never Zionim added nothing, becwse the ho?e for tle distmt future o? the Lovers of Zion had alvays been politiczl. It had . becole obvious non, that even the newer Zionism mzs not more successf~~lin this field. It could %o"t;min~ the ?Tessiah ttoday or tor?orronw'89 .icier.

Tt was thus politicrl zlso only in its hopes for the future. Therei'ore t3.e epithet ll>olitical'l was often understood as.t&ing so~ethingmay. The ai? vas only the fow~dj-ngin nalestine of a safe refuge for the Jewis:l peonle, no loqer the devel op.eat of the 'lebren national individualit y , which -- eant Jewish nztionality. The speeches at the five C~-~~esseshod ststec7 repeatedly

and e:2,haticzlly that Zionis-: wanted to solve the economic and politiccl proble~sof the Jews. This wzs a narrowing down of the Zionist conce?tion. /

Thus the nroblem of cul$ure was a child of political Zionism. \-A- -- ?or centuries i/--._. , -..--- .---,. -133- the 'ewis'! people had suffered for the preservation of the products of their nafional spirit. They had finally recognized t'rst suffering alone ms not enouzh, but that i* v8s necessary to work actively for the national survival.

Jnd non it hod become a question of nhether the strengthening of the nstional snirit a--d the developent of the nation's spiritual products -,.rere esmential -9zrts of -the mork of the revival. Ahad 3a-a.7 observed thet %'?is ques-t!on mas a~s-:reredby many in the ne~~tive,a reference, of course .i;: the Orthodox. This did not involve opposition to cultural w~rkas such.

They only did n~tmmt to have it .sde obligatory. They t!:ezselves nere in fect taking part in cultural work by fomidhg schools a,ild libraries, md in sole c ses even helyed in the diffusion of Hebrerr literature. ??any Zionist societies mere actucllg ke9t alive by such ~iork. Those, nho felt that cultural work ma so ~eth-insforeign to Zionisz *st did not orant to discuss the purely theoreticzl questions. In actual practice ~ostZionists d.I cl -&sir shzre. This mzs rig:~tonly fro the po..nt of vien of the interests of culture. I-: was not right frm that of the interests of Zionism. Cul+ural vork needed no express sawtion from Zionism. But Zionisn was bound t rely on the help of cultural work. There was a danger in the idea tyat diglonacy and financial trrtnsactions mere all that was needed. This would z?ake Yionis~ an exlptty , -1.eaningless phrrse. Internal national mrk hod !reat ettrecf ions and could sl&e the thirst f~ractivity.

\That was necessary therefore wzs z clear and explicit s-tatei-e: t that work for the revival of the nationzl spirit and the developnent of its products was of very esse:.ce of Zionisx, and that it ms inconceivable mit'.lout such a mork. Jn this may -he honour ofZio~lisnnould be s~vcia26 it ;.rould be ?reserved from narrowness znd decay, which were inevitable, if it nere confined to the political aspects. But before an attempt nere made to nzke cultural mrk a part or" the Zionist propame, a distinction should -134- be made between tno branches of that work. These were tlie culture a nation' had uroduced a:d the state of its cultural work at any given. ti-.~e. A nation's culture had sonething of a realit-r of its om. It mas t'ile c~cre-te evression of the best ninds of the nation in every >eriod of its history.

This renained for all tire and ms no loncer dependert on t'lose nh3 created the culkmil products. But t!le state of -ti- e cultural life -:eat the de-:ree to which culture van diffused a.- wg the individual me ?hers of -l'_e natim and was visible in their private and public lives. Ayplied to .Te-i~is!~cul- ture this neat tm things. In the Zirst ~lrcet"e bodg of culSure rrllich the .Tewiss: people had created in the past hed to be >erfected ad its cre~tive porrer had to be stizulated to fresh ex~ressions. In the second glace the cultural level of the people in xeneral hzd to be reised. The objective ' culture had to be .lade the subjective possession of each of its indivicius; members. Ahad Ha-w asserteti that the existeme of an ori&ml Eebrea culture needed no proof. The Sible was testimony Tor the creattve poner of the .Tevi,s:i mind. Those, ~7110 felt the% Jews were still a peonle had. a ri@t to believe that the .Tenis' creative senius still lived m-3 mas capble of expressing itself anew. It lmd beco~efashianabie ?-?*telyto assune thzC . there vas no true Yebrev culture outside tke Scriptures and that the liter- ature of the Diasisoro did not express tl-e true Iiebren genius. This vien had no foundation. !?he unfcvorable conditions oZ the Dispersion had naturclly left their :lark on the literary vork. But the iewisi~zenius had not under- gone any chanr;e iz its essential ch~r~,cteristics,a d had never cesse' to bear fruit. The c- ansed co-.di-tions hed g!-ven its fruit a differeiit %as-be.

Only in the latest uerioci, fht of e:.i&mi?at.i-on and essirlilation had f-lebre~ culture beco :e sterile and had borne pmc-biczli-y no fresh fruit. "ot -k'-ct the creative ?over had suddenly been destroyed. Ratker the tendency to sick the national individuality serge it in that of other nations hzd procuced -135- two characteristic phenozlena. This was on the one hand the conscious a:ld deliberate ne~lectof the original spiritual qualities and the strivinz to be like other people in every possible may. On the other hand t!lere m2s the loss of the nost 25fted men and the rrbmdo:me:it of -Terrish national work lor a life devote:; to t::e servlce of ot'ler nations. Ahad EIa-a? vent on to sive muy exmples for +his. Ile theL: dea1.t rsith the national literature. ?his was often talren in a vide sense to include eve+h:ny thzt ms mri-l-ler by nm of Jemisi race in any lan~vage. But tiis conception was fundamentally wrong. The national litereture of my nation was only that which WES mit- ten in its own national lanmace. This was Hebrew in the cxe of the Jews.

Ahad Ha-aa then dealt dth the questioiz of Yiddinh, "the .'ar:on1; vhich had in his opinion no greater 2-;morta~lcethan any other lon~ages>oke-5 by .Tens in the Diaspora. IIe ex>ressed his convictio~ithat the .Targo?' muld s?on cease to be a living and spoken lanruage. nation mould zever regzrd it as mything but e.n external a- d -benporary :?ediu~of interaction. BeBre:.~ alone was linked to the .Tewislz nation inseparab1;r txld eternally 2s part of

its being, The Hebren literature l~f the recent past mas extre~ely2oor and ;?ea

.Jews were not at liberty to neglect the effort create in 'eles-i;he "a fixed ayd independel* centre for our nationel culture, for learninz, art and litcr~ture.~~~~The ruins in the country had to be repaireil, but elso the sl>iritual ruins. Ahad Hs-a? mresced his opinion, that the founding of a sinzle great school of learnin,: or of art in Palestine, or t he estctb- * /- lishment of a single would be a work of highest i~portance.

It mould do nore f3r the fulfil7en-t of the final goal thcn a hundred as.~i- cultural colonies. These nere but bricks for the buildin{; of the future.

They could not mould anew the life of .a whole peo1)le.

But a peat elhcetioml institutim in Pelestine, rillic? s!lould a-ktract Jews of learning and 8.bilit:y in larze nrm'oers -I-) carry on their rror!.. on ,Temish nztional lines in a true Tenis!? spirit, without co-wtrai3t or undue inf l~~encePro-. dt lout, -1i $lt even non reavenzte tie glf01ole peo9le aYld breathe new life int2 Judaim and .Ternis> literature.

The speaker mmei that the re-centralization of the spiritu~lpotentialities could not be carried out easily. To lay the founda'ifims for a spiritual refuge for Lhe national culture demanded preparations no less extensive than for those 02 a material refuge for persecuted Jews. Besides the nork of preparation fir the future, there mas also a great deal of nork to be done in the present. The national creative prier re-ained the sme in all ases 9 end had not ceased evw in exile to work in its om-- specific fas:-ion. 2vem-y achieve:-eiit or creation of pronise in a.ny brmc:; of culture had to be supportecl. But the Zionist or~aiizationcould not poscibly be sacldled with the task of revivillg the national culture. Therefore a s:?ecial orpniza-. tion for cultural mrk had to be estab1is::er': in Ahad Ye-am's opinion.

The spedcer then dealt with the second branch of cultural nork, where things nere siqler. ~h6.'ewTsh people as a vhole stood in need of ir!prover?.ent frai the point of view of culture. Rut t'his ms not in itself a task for Zionisn. This :.~ove:~.entdid not hew to diffu::e enli&terment.

T.lbdern life itself forced Jews t3 Fursue this end. Rut Zionisr! mas bo~md to sup-?ly the nork of enli,yhtenV:.ent nith the nationalist basis. Ahad Ik-zm then cane to tlze hie;hli,:ht of his address. He reported that at one of tile earlier Coi>g~essesthe battle-cry had gone out to win over the Spagome organization. Zionis-ls everyn'lere had responded ober: iently and had started -137- an unequal struggle with comma1 leaders. But their labor had scarcely

anynhe~ehad my tangible results, It mould have been better to hzve encour-

aged Zionists to win over the eckcational orgarizations. In the Syna~pe

one dealt wit3 parents, in the zcllools dtl.1 children. To co!lquer the yr-

ents, to infuse a new s1:iri-b into ,grown 12ea, did not bring mch gror'it. 1% nere better to lay out the energy oa the conquest of the chilcken. Tf a

large squzdron of younger men nere put into the field to fi&t tl-eir eider-: - the products of the school against the leaders of the Synapgue - it mould be the c3ildre~,who would win -inst t.heir parents.

The duty of Zionists in the sphere of education was not confined to schools of the enlizhtened type, !?he old, traditional - neznin:? the relisious - system, ms still stronz, though it 10::-t -ound eveq year. This too, h?,d to be refor;?e7 in EL suitable my. Oue should not zet out with t're ictee the'c -t::e traditional system was opposed to the national spirit. %e et-o- syhere of -i;'~ereligious school mzs .Tewisl?through md through. There ms

I not a book nliich did not rmind the young reeder of their people and its history in ha:~pinessand exile. Yevertheless -Eli:; did not --&:e tile-, zuto- natically Zionists.

Yet it is obvious and undenizble, honever extr~~ordinary,that 70s-t orthodox .Tern who have bee-- trsine,; in this sys'cen, for all their devotion to tl-e co ?unity of Israel, are unable to .~mderstaidthe ideel of the' regeneration of Israel a.; a people. The zasses stad aloof, and re;;ard the nen movenent with co plete indiffere-:ce; t5eir leaders are nodly opponed to it, ani try, b-- every r7 and :?atred can suggest, to put obstacles in its path.- -5p" t:iat jeelousy

It ms the business of the orthodox Zionists to refor:~t:?is educctional systen. Ahad then cme to the heart of his proposzl. He e?rpkine' that he had referre? to the orthodox Zionists advisedly. There mcs no need and no right to dexmd of any sectLon that it entrusted tl e efucation of its children to another section, which as fundaaentally opposed to its views on hman life. llie rno6ernis-b~could not sacrifice the education to -138-

satisfy the orthodox =d vice versa. It was a natural desire md a ri;:ht

of every nan Lo educake his children so that they muld gron u-;,to be of'

his om nay of thinking. Since the tm qain sections of t'le :enis'- peogle

mere un5ted under the bmner af'Zionis -,they had both to recogaiee the

pointc of union md of difference betneen them in every de??xtnent of life

arrit epecially in that of education. %ch section had -the riyht to act

as it thought best, with absolu2~efreedo. in all its affairs. But Tii?,:5s-:

had to denand fron both sections that each made the ideal of the natioi~el

revival, in the !;iodern sense, the basis of its educatio-:. On this four_datior,

each r~sat liberty to erect its om superstmcture in its om mjr. !had

&-an hod hoped that his words had cleareti up t:e conceptions involved in the phrase ltcul"vral ~orl;~~and created a true aypreciation of the nakure

object of thzt work. If that were done, przcticzl results muld follon.

1:ahum Solrolow also presented a pqer at this Yinsk Conference in 1902.

His topic was: lWational education Crow a nracticol point of vim. ~93Fe

a,qeed with Ahad TTa-a; on the primiple that nahionel .Tersi~'~culture ??ad to be A~rthered. But he felt that the national culture nould flourish qui :;e naturally, once the territorial basis was secured. 9e therefore suzyested that large-scale cad free coloniz~tionof Palestine s'?ould be stressed. ?;oove all by Zionisn. Sokolorr made prectical proposds conceriny culturcl rro,rl.:.

Auongckher things he suggested that Hebrew should beco e the official 1.22- sage of the Zionist novement. Bern schools should be established, including a training centre for Iiabbis run by Zionists in t3e s: irit of .Tenisll nctionzl- is:?.

A stor-~ythree-day debate folloned, durinc ~dlichdelegates oT the

Dezocratic Fcction and Yizrahi cat into heater' argwents. Xlzd Ea-an's suggestion that e, separate ormisation for cultural activities be crerted, was rejected even by nenbers of the Faction, 1210 mere afraid of a splitting -139- I'/ I I, up of Zionist forces. But Iiabbi Reines of l!izrahi agreed .to the naning of k I\ I two pcrallel educational co:mittees, one religious, the other nofi-observant.

JI In this way z conpro+-sc mas reached between the tmo mrring cmps. The

formla finally ado~tedread as follons:

In order tq fulfill the Gong-ess res~lutionin rec3rd to nandatorg nationzl e~lucationalactivity, ad taking into consiilerc.=tion the fect th2.t there are along us tn:, equal trends the traditional-no-tione1i;t and the progessive-nntionclijt t'le Coi~gressis to na$ff tno Corn-.-ttees ' on Education, nit3 each side choosing one of the two.

Out of this coapronise eventually different school system ardse, v11ich nil1 be deelt with in this paper later on.

The I'insl: decision: preserved t;le unity of t-e Zionist r?ove:?en-t for the time being and tke cultural question came to rest for a fen yews. The main reason for tliis mas the fect tl11.t extremely i~portmtnolitical ques-

I %ions c212e to occup;~ the minds and therefore tie agendas of tile next Zionist Ill

I Congresses, In ~oliticalnatters ?.:izrahi did not to re~resentc snecial !I1 point of view, The conpromise d-ecisions EL the Yinsk Conference hod,

'II ILill honever, their repercussions imediately nithin the rmks of 1:izrahi itself. ,'!'!jlI~ the first cocvention of !'izrahi in Lida in the spring of 1903 a shzry debate 2xose concerning the cultural question. Those nenbera, uho were opposed on principle against cultural work fo~~ghtvigorously agrinst the decisions of t3e !:inslr Conference. But it ms still pos7ible to patch up the differences by a conpronise. It mes resolved that

the lfizrahi program shall not include activities which have no direct relations?Q) to political and practical Zionism. Iyovever, it is up to the local branches to engcp in spirituzl cctivity in accordencc rrith our faith md our holy Tora; th head office is to instruct the brznches to eigcge in such activity. 9 5

as a Fac-Lion in its om right. I-Ss nen'oers acted as a voting bloc aud -oce deleg?.tes spoke In -:he ilme of the organization as a whole, One such occasion, when this was deemed necessary caxe at the Sixth Con&ress in connection mith the interpretation of a historical question. Israel Zmgwill referred once again to Babbi tTochman ben Sal&ai and the remzrks nade by Rabbi iiabbino- 96 nitsch at -the Fifth Zi mist Coxgess. It true, ZanSmll said, tbzt

.Tochena? ben Yrkkai had saved 3?dzisn, when the .Ted& state ms destroyed.

But if he had loeen 2,ble to foresee tlle tragedy rrhic3 v2s to lezt for ei+ teen hunCre ; years, Zm vould mobably have preferrec' to die witl: the ~ntriots in .Terusalen, instead of being carried alive in c casket into the 80-~cn a-This casket becrme the s;.i!bol for t'le living death mhicF- ms froT? then os the fuJ;ure of his people. The price with vMch Jocha~znben 7&.Jr~i had saved -Tudais, '-ad been too high. Aild even '_lisspiri-halizztion of tho

Jcnish religion was not a co ~ple-lejob in Zan&vill s opinion. Judaisn ms detache?. fro:-1 the soil no% through .Toch,?nz~ben Sakkai, bnt through tl:e disciples of Christianity. hcleim gained mny ad'.ere:lt s in Asia ?:inor md fio12e during the fifty years after the destruction of the Jenish state. 3ut nevertheless religion lost the chance to resin its national basis. .Tochanan bea S&ai retained the old territorial terminology, but gave it a culfurcl fom. A~gicul-f;urems chm,ged into culture. The process had nom to be reversed.

This inteere-ta,tion of zn ir?pmtant nonent in Jewish history upset the reli*ous Zioci;t-, even ore tlim renarks about the sane subject at the previous Coilyress. 3u-b t'lis tise it vas i10t 0il1~ an indivicbal, vho res:'londed,

the Snsis of -?he Zionist orcaniz8.tion had fo be the principle that the di;cussion of relieous ?roblox had to be zvoided. "othing.should be said that offended ar?y one. If 9. Zanir.nill hen nhat the rime .Tochanm ben

Scickai aexat to t3e --enbcrs of the !:izra:ci Fwtion, he muld not have talked the IW he did. Dr. I!obel prote ,ted e3pecizlly aeinst the reference to the casket of Jocha:an ban Saldcai as a spbol of tloe livizg death of his people. -141-

Since .Tocha,nan bea SC,a?;kniha3 a religious r!ission in .Tenishhistory, t'le

nztter nas e reli:~iouc,question. Imzel Zangmill mz-:7eredC)' that he hxd.

had no intention of speaking about religion. But it nas a peculiarity

of the .Teri.s I peonle, -b!12t reli@oii ;t~dpoli-tics mre indi~so2ubly r?:.n?;ler'

nalriny-..-- it - obvious-- Lhzt eveqrthlngr had both a religious 2s --ell as s polit- I" -- . icsl aspect. I,mLppillmnted to desl only with the .oliticzl :ide. -'e

re~pectedTocha~an bcn S&&ai for his role in the codificatj-on of the 2rin-

ciyles of t'~Jewisi~ religion af%cr the des$ructio;~of the te3ple. 31%

Zang.7111 claice:' tlmt 'ochm~~iben 7&Jcsi: hccl als 1 bee? c? politicizn. 'nd

it was the politiczl. rts:oect wXch he inkeiided to criticize. There could

be no doubt thzt Jochmla,n ben Saldcai had saved the .Tents reli:?-on. 3ut

there could also be no donbt t:.ct he had surrendered the .Telxis's neo:~le to

eighteeii hundred years of suff erin:.

The Yizrahi ?action vas got satisfied with this explmatio~:. :-k had

ation ms ex~ressedthet t3e Congress mould not desl ;?it11 such re1ly;iovs

questions in the future. 39

The rzain to - ic c?"c tliio SixtI1 Zionist Con :ress ms ;7':nt heme 1x0-n23

Je~risilstate as a 3ritish nro-Lectorate. This was a historical no:len2c. "or

the first -tine within ei~ilteenhundred yeers nould Jens hare tilcir 0x1

ahinis-bration in a terri-tozy ?f consiclcr~blesize. Tile offer nas als, the

first political success of Serzl. A Europezn goverzment had given recopti- i. i tion to the Zionist movement as the representation of the ;Tenistl people. But -142- it =s not Zion, not Palestine, not the ancient Jewish honeland, mhiok mas offered. This fact was played down by the leadersihip of the 2ovement by describing the possibility of Jewish settlement as a "shelter for the aightn (~achtas~l)lollt could nkrha~soffer a considerable number of persecuted Jews a tem?orary haven of refuge. Acceptace of the offer would not nem a giving up of the final goal, namely Sion. East Affrica could becoze a stey pinestone on the ~7ayto Palestine. Herzl considered it sinply as &T act of courtesy to consider the natter. Afterstoxmy and heated debates the ques- tion cane finally to a vote, whether or not the o9fer by the British

Govement should be invosfigated by a coiiMission of the Zionist ~rm&a- . tion aid an expedition sent to East Africa. In a dramatic vote, 295 delemtes mere in favour of the resolution, 178 were &.gainst it, with 98 abstaining.

Yhen the result was nade public, those, who had voted "non left the roon en They returned the next day, after Herd himself had pleaded with them personally. But it took years to patch up the psycholo~5ca.lrift thct this &'fair had crezted. Anong those, who voted in favour or" t':e East Yrica expedition, nere most of the members of IsizrtM.. The rnenbers of the 3e20- cratic Faction voted liith many others, especially Russia3 delegates, against the proposd. They wanted nothing else considered but?alestine. They called thenselves the Zionists of Zion,,while they dubbed their opponents Africans.

An interesting report about this incident m.s given sl~ortlyafter the

Congress by the Chief-ILsbbi of Papa, !?ungary, ??.A. ~0th.'~~Re was c. sexber of ITizrahi, who had participated as an officicl Con5~essdelegate. The Chief-

Rabbi described how deeply he ms moved, w!~en he met co-religionists frog around the world. lo4 He was, however, saddened by the observation that there \ nere irreligious elemnts in the r.ddst of the Jewish people. It was especid-ly a grouy of Russian delegates, who belonged to the so-called Faction, who he found disgusting and depressing. !!%we men de~onstratedtheir conta~ptfor -143- the Jenisl? religion with a cynism, which was hard to describe, It nade v&& tudly curdle his blood, But the Xa~tAfrica debate had reconciled Wn so.ewhat. These saqe Russian delegates fought for their Zionist ideal with an enthusinsn, which noved the Cilief-Rabbi deeply. He hinself like nost other :Tiarahi delesates did not share t2leir point of view, z'ost of the religiously minded Zionists hrd voted in fcvour of the sending of t:le ex~editionto East Africa. kt the love for Zion, for the lad of their forefathers, which these Russian delegates had denonstrated, w.s sirply over- whelming a;nd had noved t3e Chief-Rabbi 'to tears. Be thought that nen, who were so faithfil to their ideal of Zion could not be as bad, as it hcd seened at first. TIe said t:, himself that their heark ms ?robably better and nore

Jewish t;-an their ton3e. Mot even with reprd to the7 was all hope lost for ,Judaisn. Roth also thought that 'lesLern Jews would eventually be dram nearer to the ,TeKish religion through Zionism. Even if the fathers nere not full Jews, %he following generation would be.

I The book, in whic:~these personal observations and consid.erations ;:rere recorded is interestins for other reasons as well. It shomg hon durint- thet time an Orthodox was able to harnonize his religious beliefs with Zionist activities. Basically the author used I

"Seeking Zion" he. qv-?led extensively, lo5 20th claioed t!lat the holy doctrine 106 03 Judois-I knew no difference between "religious"md 'ha%ionalr1, Xverything / religious were at the same tP:e nctional, and everjthing national nere also reli,-ious. The distinction betveen religious md nztional were of no:~-.~emLsl~ origin md h2.d been ii-lposed upon Judais;? fro2 the outside. The Tor?! m.s neither religious nor national in Rothls opinion. It ma.; a doctrine wbicl? embraced all hurw spheres, inc1.uding the national one. ~nrfthzt ,Ten rrere truly observant, who fulfilled all duties of the Torah, whether they were of a religious or national nature. It =s hard to imagine tllata-t~lyrelidous -144-

Jew would not be led throug:i his religion to Jewish nationalisr.1. On the other hand would a truly national Jew be led . to religion, if his nationaliso were @mine, Jevish, consequent, lo7 RoVh assured hk readers that the daiger for Orthodoxy hzd been re:loved, since the OrtL?odoxdid r?o ion-er participste in the Zionist move pent as individucls, but 2s a vell-orgaized 108 pcrty rni"~l1a1 Orthodox pro,gam, nmely t'le !lizrahi-soup*

Karahi seezed to haw beco le quite -L>opulrr=oa% Orthodox Jews GurFr:~ that tifle md nany mst have looked at it in the swe my as Chief-%bbi

Rot?. A first interr.;ctional convention of the orpnization nks held in the sumor of 1904 at Pozsony (~ressburg),Austria-l!un@qr, (now Bratislava,

Czechoslovakia). The prozrx: for the 1:i zrahi lorld Organization ms sam a? ized as follons:

1. !:izral~i is a.Zionist orzmization based on the Dasel Fro,yr=?, striv- ing for the national rebir-bh of the people 02 Isr~el. :'izrahi considers the existence of the Jewish people dependent on the observ~.iiceof the I Tors and the tradition, the fulfill?ent of t3e comandnents, the i return to the Lad of the Pathers. I 2. ?lizre.hi shell rexein within the Zionist OrgaYlization and f i&-t vithin j it for it om and outlook. Xowever, it sl~.llcreate its om I organization for the pryose of conducting its religious alci cul3ui-a1 activities. 3. The -5ssion of ?:izraki sha'l be to achieve its ai:-1s by explaining its ideal in all religious circles, creating and di~seoin~.ting-~~~li,Sous- nationalist literature, md educating the young in its sgiril.

A severe blow for the Zionist novenent mcs the sucden =d unex?ectec death of i-Ls founder and lecder, Dr. Theodor Eerzl, in July 1904 at the age of fortpfour. It cme it tl~eheight of a crisis and contributed considerably to a gener?J- confusion rn-ithin the of the orgCanization, The next fen years nere d-evoted to %lie necesscry reori;n,nizetion md reorientation. new leader ms finally found in the ;pew n of David :'lolffsolm, and the hezdpertern of the novement nere noved fro3 Vienna to Cologme. The Ue.nda crisis rras settled, when t!.e report of t5e expedition wasnegative and protests fron white settlers in East Africa had also ~~utione.3the ~ritiihGoverm?ent. It vas decided t!mt from now on only a resettlezent of 'Palesf i??e mas envisioned. T5is 110 caused a sl~litwithin the novexent. There were tho-e, who still felt tkt another territory might be easier to get thc,n t'ce axcie-1-k ;Teris;\ ho~elmdad they founded their om "Tenish Territorial Or,rwllzstionw +-th Israel Yzm~rill as Presidert. The qiest-lon ?ore:loc;t mde$iscussion in the Zionist Orcaniza-

L.,,ion n-s, rrhetl~erthe em?l~asisof'Zioni.;t norl: should be 2.3 in ISerzlts ficps on political cctivity, or d?ether practical mrk in ?elest'.ne itsel? should be

stressed.

During this -.eriocl questions of religion %id culttreooved into t5.e bz,ck,grovnd, md vere xentioned only ~coasimally,~ithout causing erguzents.

At the Tjeventh Con~;rcssin 1905 it mas re, orted thzt a ~TOUD of Orthodox 3Wis in TIungary had recently Telt it to be necessqr to issue a proclam.tion a-inst Zionisn. Tnis sad docu~entnrts the mrlr of an unljeliev~bleterroi-Fs-I of a ferr fmatics, m3o hzd rnaneged even to get the signatures of notorious friends of t--enetionzl novenent. The renorter mve the assurmce thet the msscs \of ::m:garim Orthodox were in favour 02 Zionis 7, and would shortly 111 join its ra--ks olficially. 112 The ~~lturalquestion nzs ;nentioned by no-e s~~ezlkersat this Conkress, but it was felt th~tits discussion wcs certainly not called for at tbe

At the Eighth Zionist Con,,ress in 1907 the phrase wsyntl~eticZioonis:~" was coined. 114 Chaim Veiz~annpointed out that yoli-ticzl work ms hportznt, but it had to be bncked up by coloni~~tionin Palestine itself. 5:;ecific reference nqs made to the nrinciple of religious neutrclitg, w'lich all oreviovs 116 Conyesses had observed and which hd been clearly s7)elled out. ?!ix?rs were read concerning national educstion in Palestine and the Diasyo~e.117 , coxplaint was launched tlmt none of the decisions of the Congesses concerning culture had been put into practice. Cultural Zioni:;ts mere systematicclly I. 1.8 forced into the background by the leadership of the novement. Jt nas yinted out thzt the Zionist orga~~iaationtiad not done cultural work of its om due to the lack of fImds. It nas, ilo::ever, decided at this CO~I:.~;T~SS

120 .?. to create n co.mission for nztional educ~tion. T::e : lzra-li orga~izction

~.1zi10unced thct it intencied to found a secoxlery ,;chool in Dalestine. 121

In the minter of 1908 ~~izrai-ilileaders decided that th's fcc'.eretiozl should create m e hcational netvork of its err. It nas to lamch ar, educztio~d and cultural progrm in Fa1er;tine. Practical steps in this direction nere /-- taken imediately. 122 ,4t t3e T?inth Zi.~ni:-t 7-ngress in 1909 leck of fmd~for national e&ucc?- tion was a::ain ~eyretted. One speeirer lme~ltedt?~.t nobody cared for 124 culture anynore. It was, 1.-ovever, clso reported -that t::e relaticns betneen

Yizrrhi rind the rest of the Zionists had imprmed cons'.d-.rably. There nas ro longer my difference, but full har-mny. !'izra'zi had shorn tlict it TE.S by no iaeas hostile to culture. 125 kt a disoonc:rting no5e also owe to the fore at this convention. Iiab'oi 3r. '.br:hmsohn, re-nresentixg Yizrd~i,s:~ol;e in Pc?vour of all prccticzl mr!: in Pale?%-:ne. Rut he ncrned asinst dezling with cv.1-Lure, nhich mould create in his oninion a Ynltur! =i~f. 9e n2.s 30% afraid of it, but he felt tlmt t: e tine for $his had not yet cone. ln6 ?hen considered together, t'lese last rensrks gave 2.1 indication of -t:.e nature of the 3roblems %21et mere still in tile air. They ~lsogave a gliqse at Che fact thzt there nere basic differences of opinion concerning the >olicy, which nz;; to be followed by religiously ninded Zionists. These dj.a,l;ree-_!en-ts were eventv.~,lly-Lo lend. to e split nitkin this caq. That cz e abou.%, vhen t' e cultur21 question mas discussed amin under ch,nged circv:~stances. -147-

Chapter VIII

The Debates Concerning 3eligi.m and Eational Culture at the Zionist Con.;ress in 1911 and the Consequences.

The Tenth Zionist Con~esstcok place at Sasel in 1911. It ms to beco :e a turning point in the histoy, of the Zionist rzove19en-t. Short1;r before

this conventio L, an orgmization for -t?e fbthermce of Tebrew l.c?ll:,uay and cultureiras fowded with the nxse l3istedruth.l The agenda Tor -he Con-ares3 elso cclled for the discussion of cultural questions. In view of these . facts the LXzrahi Faction held a ,pre-Conz~ess meeting in order to deternine its position. It was decided to oppose the introduction of cultural activi- 2 ties into the Zionist propan.

Then the Congress convened it became obvious fro? the start, thct the tine had coxe for radical chaages. Right at the begiming David 7olffsohn announced that he felt forced to resign in the interest 02 the novereni;. 3

Jakobus Kann, in a letter read on the Congress floor, expressed his hope thzt this assembly would nark the beginning of a new era. Ee visiled Lhzt the negotiations and results nay carry a new s irit into the :ovenert e.nd i-ks organi~alion.~It was the beginning of n new era. The Cmgress elected

Professor 3r. Otto 7arburg of Berlin as President of t;--e Zionist i'lorld

Organization. Its headquarters were subzequently moved to thet ci",. Cnly ------practics.1 Zionists .were elected into the executive. ?;?is ncs z victoq of synthetic Zionisn. It beczme clecr thzt politic~lefforts would be continued, but the emphzsis of Zionist work nits no loner on svch ac-bivi-hies. 3etcilecl discussioss rrere held on practicd problex of colo..:izzbion in 7oles-:Lne.

It mndecided th2,t such projects were urgent. Rmiiementel ch~lzes in tlze co:stitution were edo~ted. ?!en regulations conccnling f.in,?nces nere intro- duced. Policies mere adopted with reLvrd to the supyort o.$henisll enic~ztion and irnigrati~n~All, these changes were voted upon only after strucgles and ,- . .. - -14%

heated debates. Religious and cultural questions were also debated extm-

sively, But in no other area did the enotions ru?: as high as in the-e

fields.

The first discussion conccr~insreli:;rious i~?uesmas cawed 3y so-c

re.?arks of 9r. Bodenheiner, which he ?.ado in his re-ort doout 2Ji~evorl: of

of the .Jevi;h !htional Pu id. He ~?entioneda nen difficulty, nhich hzd

arisen. ?"Fzra:?i- had filed a cor?ylaint. It clained W?,t torkers iii P21es-tize9

includhg such, nho lived on pro?erties of t'~eFatiazal Fund, hrd injured

the religious feelings of s great ?art of t!le Jemisl. population of '-'elesl:i;le.

The bureau of 7:iz;rahi had. asked. what sJ6e;,s the a&l;ni&ra";on 07" the

intended Lo tdie in order to prevent sucl! ti?ings from happeniiie zgsin.

Bodenheiner declared th&t he did not horn a5out suc3 behrsviour by worker-,

But he felt that the Jevish E~ationalFund was not entitled to uork like a 6 nreligiou~olice". He was in favour of a ruling which vould state, that

every observzvlt Jerr could live and 7.1ork on the proyerty of the J."'.F. vith-

out hindrance accordin: to his religious convictions. It was yos-ible to

crea+e the preconditions for the religious freed21 of the lost nious Tens

3u-t' there sbould 'oe no coercim througl vhich the freedor1 of coancie-lce 05

the indivi6.ual would be li--.like' . The spec-er insiste i that on s?ll .T. IT. 3'. properties t:te Sabbath md the Jewish religious holidays nere ke?t, es far as

the zd-linistrztim could help it. Alm t:?e religious lam concernin:: -the

Schnittah were observed.'l Bodenheiner indicated that there m.s one my, in

~hichthe observmt ~ionistzjkouldclz,uzge, what they t'iou,?ht vas vro;~:. T;.'-e;:

could beco le the do~inmtfrctor. If ?lizrdli muld ;n.wqe to do :ore vositlve

work in this direction, the co -plaints would probably stou. The aclhere:zts of the obserrmt w5ng muld have enough to do nith their om prccticol mr!: of naint~5ni.n~ 'and developing their ~ettle-tlents.

Hemam Struck a?smered in the naie of Yizrahi that it ms an outreqeous -149- 8 insult by Dr. Bodenheiner to call the !:izrahi- Zionists "rel-igious policew.

ecrlier tine they had already been ridiouled by leadlng circle:; nith ter,:s like Sabbcth-wz~tchers and s-des. Struck then read a letter by the

Chief-Rabbi of .laffa md the colonies, -4brahm ~izhe~'l1akohenKOOB.~ Tke latter i'elt forced to bring to t'le intention of the Congress E. matter nl?ich he tkouf;:.~tconcerned the nature xdthe foundt?Sion of the .Tenis:] colontzatio~, its honmr it? Gevelopr?ent. Kook charged tho% the profmation of t:?e

Sabbat'q and the other religious holidays nere vsry frequent in a11 ~zrtsof the settlelent, but especially on the pro~erties02 tl?e Jewis!? Zlational Md.

The ~or'rersand administra.tors were not in the least concerned about what m2s sacred for Israel. They desecrated with contexpt the sacredness of holy dcys throuc 9~1'olicworks, driving, horse-brck riding, carr:ring objects 2nd by starting frres like on ordinary dzys. 'Phis grieved ell those -people, 5n dl07 there was still Jewish feel in^. They observed ~5thre-entnent, hoa t3eir

I holie,;t of holy ms -Ircmpled dom by brethren in the Lmd of Isrzel, in tie I Yoly Land. The .atter h2.d reache2 such proportions, t5zt only God hen, vh&, I1 the end of the scandal vould be, unless the evil rrould be stopye3 through xi3e md just counsel. The su~criorshad the duty to direct t3e mrl:ers m-d adninistr~torson the properties of the ?ktior-l ??and through s'c'rict Order ad severe re?rinmds to wend their In fhture t3eg should ~eeteverything,

rezcrd =d resqect c:-d had to bemre of my profmation of the sacred day. S-truc!: rexarked t:et this natter mzs not only one whic4 conceme:! I'izrc"i, but it m,s a ;-nerd 3io:;ist coxern. Re t3ere- fore made the notion thzt the ~dvinistra-ti011of the Fationol Fund hcd to see 10 to it thst tl?e Jexi.sh.law nas keyt on all its pro?erties.

The remarks by Dr. Bode~heinera~:d the rezdinx of the le5ter of Chi-ef-

Rabbi Kook became the subset of two heated debates on the flosr of the Tenth

Zionist Con,yress. Firsf of all the representative of the J.B.F. in Palestine, Dr, ,?acob Thon replied, that the Sabbath and the Jewish holy dcys mere atrictly observed.'' It should, however, be taken into consideretioa, that the Crthodox vere not represented very well mo?lg the you;.lg people, +o -8de up the .~c,iorityof tlie workers and the adclinistretors, It m3 ilot a?~)ro>riat~ to intrude into the personal, grivate lives of thoye, $10 norked there. 3~1.t nevertheless mas the Sabbath observed strictl:. according to tlie lm. hother delegate, Dr. Zuckermann spoke cs represen%ative of t::e i5onis-t lzbour ~crty,

Foale Zion, nhich in his opinion had aims pad pals coi~~rarjto those of irTile sl eaker claiaed that the notion nrde by Struck just?fied the expression used by 3r. Bodenheimer, namely "religious nolic-".12 ?ie felt the% this religious policinz had to co-ze to an end. It was a big question, whether or not lllove your neighbour as yourself" mzs not a -?ore i-?portmt

Jewish conme:idxent. Yne clerical is^ of Yiarahi had to be cast off. The principle s:~.ouldbe religious freedon. &ery Zionist should be ~erit-tedto live in Palestine with respect to religion as he hi-:self thou&t ri.$~t.

Ill Iiabbi Sclmelkes on the other hand declared that the ?eople of Tsrzel ,111k wuld no logger live, if it wore not for its Torah. The lav should be t!:e fortress of Zionism. This statement was not an exLxession of cleric2LFsn.

The .TeF%ish Torah laem no such thing as clericalisn. All Zionist inzti-lufions 13 should be directed in the s;,irit of the Torah. !?he chair :an, Yr. Tsc'n?eno .-, finclly re :Lnded the delegates, that the subact under d

religion, but the JJsh- IJational-.% Fund. Zionism :?ad al~~aysmd muld clmys -. - --- keep the principle thzt nothins mould be done to injure the reli~ouscon- science. %en those people, who were not considered fully observant %:.

I'izrahi, laen very well that the Jewis;. religion possessed "a nationalizin~ and uniting ooner11.14 Jews had left Palestine nith the Tordl end rioulii retum with the Torah, But in order to give tie law back t'le old uoral force a first coildition was to be observed, and that was tolerance. They all served Zionism, the religious conviction asa ~rivateaffair, The chainan su*

gested that the topic of religion should be left &n,d the discussion cbou2; the

Jewish MationaJ Fund be remned. 7?evertheles:; the religious argment started

again, when the I!ational' Fund debcie ms contimed during the next Congress

session, 15

Delepte Struck claiued tk~the been i-~isurlderstood, He did not hs~e

the intention to be intolermt, and to 1irii.t the freed03 of individuals. 31% he dexanded thzt the executive and the adminisJ~rzbionrespected the LTe;xLsh

comandnents. The next speaker, Dr. '7. Lemy, pointed out that t'lere had been no other force, wllich had worked for the preservation of the Jewish nationel-

ity du-ring the two thousmd yesrsaf dispersion ns strongly as the Jevish

religion. Zionists norked to build a newfm-le in Palestine. They dLd not

only do this i~order to L$ve bresd to the -?oar Jens, But Zionisn &lso mted to give a home t - the Jemish spirit, so thzt the .Tevish teac3ingx mould be revived in "alestine. The speaker co-ypleined eypecially about the

slomess, with n;iich the ~dministrrrt-tionof the Jewish Katioaal Fund hsci acted

~5thregzrd to proposcls by Chief-Rabbi Kook concernfng Che SchnittaL The

ClFef-3abbi had sho:m hon through e purely for?al. concession it was possible to re-;pect t 5s age-old Jeivish national 1m. 17

Several other speakers ak.0 dealt nith the subject. I'my controver-:icl points nere clar:fied in the discussione :;'hen finall:: the assurence mas given by the Yxecutive of the Eationsl -Fund, that there was no inte:rkion to bre& the reli$ous laws, Eemz-an Strut!: rrithicren his -lotion. It ms in his 18 opinion no lolzser ;1ecessrrTr in the 1itl;ll-t of the state:ients -.ade,

A nhole sessioi~ct the Tent:? Zi2nis-b Con.n;ress mas ::et aside for the 4' "question of the spiritual-cultural Renaisscmcen. 19 A len&-l~paper we,.; re~.d ,by Febua Sokolon in Hebrew about the Hebrew languap. He asked t!?at it be recop-ized in Palestine as the officisl national lant,gmm. Ye reiterated his dexands that the Zionist orzznization founded &d sponsored Sebren schools

and associations and acader~ies. Sokolom s~~ecifiedhis proposals in c1ei;zil. . . In the folloning discussion Dr, :!ncht pin-bed out, thct t'le s>ezkin<: 0:: !

;ns an i-lportut, but not the only principle. The lan-pzp nas just a .-ems 20 for the ?reservation of tile Tora.. Delegcte 3r. Dcicl:es Te~arked-I;h?.t

eveqrr'oody had &-t used to concider the cul-tural queqtion as a stu"?'o12n3

.block. 9nly a fen dzys earlier -izs Lhere the fear e.qrer;;;eir, SkS c. ci2Ccr-72

debate would be a danger for the Zionist organization, kt thiq VTZS ul error.

Tlie ':entl? Conzress had so far zlready deno:zr;trsted, thzt the cultural rpestion

ms t:ze ::od i:n?ortmt question of t'ne national ' life. This nas now ameed

upon by both Kizraifi as well as the Histarlmt?, nhich furthered culture in

different ways. The speaker asked the d%le9tefe$o re-establis'l the Jewish

people. He also pointed out that did not vnderstmd the =cient liter+

'cure. This mas true, whether they were Orthodox or Reforned. The spirit of

the legislature, prophet^ and seers was no longer fully gresped, becm~e.Tens

-.7&retoo far raioved fro!;; their l~ad. The undsrstanding of the Bible ms

linked with the understmding of the country. .?ev$ad -to recover t'leir

iquity. They hod to beco e aga-in the ;>code of the Bible. 3ut thzt mas

lz:~?tlage of tile younq people. Associations had to be founded, dlich nould

further the ki~o~le~:geof the new, as neLl as %lie old Eebrem literature, 21 including the Talriudic one. Delegate I-. Serlin s9ol:e in the nm-e of

becox -t' e officiel one. lie e~eedvith Sokolo-.-r tllct a bureau for ILebren

culture could be fo~uded. kt it rrm not 1)os::ible to do it at tiiris tize,

bec-.use dl.d not have ho;~o,.i;enouss.l;iritucl prero,y.tives. This nzs the

result of the different ztaosphere in the oountries, in n3ich Zionists lived. . . It was therefore not "o"sib1e to give definite directionn in this respect. The thin~n'ooncernedfee15ng&rd conscience and the mjority should not coerce the ninority, xeaning the observmt Jews.

After saxe arther discussion ';okolo.rr mule a final renark. Ye +,'-!ought thzt it ms wrong that sone speakers had introduced the reltgious que?tion

into the debate. There was no difference of opinion nith regard to tl-e Iiebre~ language mo~ig-the different pouys. There nere differences betveen r\r"uodoox

pad modemlists nith rezard to other questions. Sut they were all natione:ly minded. Obsctions on religious grounds to Hebrea nere not called Tor. 23 .

During a later session the Palestine Committee surprised the Congress

delegate:: vith a resolution in vhich the grohll of the natioiml schools in

Palestine szs to be rvelcor?.ed. The coexistence of institutes representing different tendencies was supposed to be coilsidered sonething quite natural.

The expectation was to be exnressed that the relation- or" the t~osgs-beis nere nothing but one of peaceful corlpetition in the educational and spirituel

E.nediately a representative of the ?Pzir&i group, dele&e 'beller,

il protestei sgainst the fact, that such e resolution was presented zt a tine, tl when t:>e cultural question mas by no ::ems settle '. He therefore moved t3at the yotion be referred to the cultural corlnI.tte~. Delegzte Dr. Pasnanik declared thzt this was not a reso1ut;on co-ncerfling the cultural questio-3, but

si ply a reqt,.est to keep peace. Yoeller's notion to refer the resolntion to the cultural coxmittee mas lost. The resolution itself was ado7teci. 25

Ano-kher resolution, which mas rdopted after so:le discussion, declared tht fiebren =s the official lwguegc of the Congress. As long as it nes pzctic~l, however, the cleliberations ~rouldbe in Gemme The deleg~tesh?,d the ri&% to use other lm~aC:e:je Such co~~tri'outio~zsnoulll 'oe partidl;r t rmslc-bed by 26 secretaries.

The really crucial discussion cme about in a situation reminispent of the fateful cultural debate at the Fifth ~onyress.27 At the last session of the Conpess, just before the elections nere. to come, Dr. T!armorel-., who

happened to chzir the meeting, announced that "the culkrnl debotetg28

next. President Yolffsohn reraarked that this was not on the agenda 2.-d did

not kno17, hon this had cone about. It could only be a vote on'resolutions,

Delegate 1:. Syrkin thereupon presented notions, which, he explainef, had

been workect out dh~ringthe preceeding two days by the cultur~lcomi",ee,

From all sifies, except one, the atte:xpt had been nade to ease the stwds e-~.d

to co -ymise. The resolt of all these efforts were the resolutiocs ~3ch

I-bile co~mPt.tee?resented, and which read as follows:

The co-mittee vhich nas establislled by tl-e Congress z:cl which consLsts of represen-Lxtives of all groups md federations ~wkesthe folloning ~t~tenent: The different schools of thought and factions of the Co:yress zyree in their coiiviction, thzt our cultural and educztional wrk are intimately linked rritIl our Hebrew langucc.ze cwd a11 the cultural tre~su~es,ri:?ich our 3eople have accurulated throu$~out soye thousads of years, Sssed on this conviction, the cornittee tz&es pleasure in presenting the f ollonj-ng resolutiocs: 1) The Tent'! Zionist Congress asks the Inner Actions Cor-mi-ttee to organize and. ce2tralize the cultural nork in Palestine 2nd in the Orient. 2) The Tenth Zionist Congress indicates its detemin~tionto see to it, thet in the institutions for cultural nork created bx the Zionl~t orgznizrtion, not3ing will be done, that 5s in contr::dPction to the Jewish religion. 3) The Congress declares that the culturzl work in the hlds 3f t'le Diaspora is an ~utononousm~tter of the different loccl orgmTzetions. But it is being nade the duty of every Ziollist, es nell as all local or~janiz~tionsand federations, to work for the furtherance of .re@&- national culture in all fields of Jewish work an2 nationrl life.

A ;procedural debate ensued in connection vith the presen-ktio;? of t3ese

resol~tions.~~W1 speakers agreed that it was t )o l~tefor c full Ccbete.

Sor~eof thox, idlo mre oppose? to t3e natter, nmted it referred to the

executive for rl'L~r-tkrstn6.y. Another delegate proposed to have the sv.:?ject 1 debeted at the next Coizgress. The xajority manted to vote without debate

ita. A short debate took place nevertheless. It becme obvFou-s during this s'ort exchange that the su'oject natter was extremely controversiel for the :5zralxi Faction. Delegate Struck stated3' that the adherents of !.izrahi had alwa,ys been ready to cooperate with Zionizts of all tendccies in the political field. It r;ns 'different in the field of cul-hwe. m'nis was in

Judzis:~intimately lidred vi-ti1 religion. There TIeltmsch,..uuny;en.uewere og:.osed to each other. In this reqpect -the nerlbers of ?Timehi could for reasODs of conscience not cooper~;te with friends who held different v5ens. ThereTore bXzPchi asked thzt the Conpxss left the execution of -iAe cu12;ural tc?sl:s to the differed federnti ons. Zi2.svas necessary for %:?e sake of t'le ~mit--.f the or~;c',nizzitionmd it m.s e. prfico::ditim for further useful and neeceT~7.1 cooperation. iYzrahi itself mddf a duty for all its ze ber: to firt\er the cultural vork adto co-Ainue the ex:,ansio_rl of the scllool sgster?. zr_d tlze nork of the recently founded .Tenis: cultural ~?ssociztion, In crtse the Conz~ess would not S-JO aloq vith tlie deiands of IIizrahi, fur%;-.er stens -5gl-l be tdren ancl. the representatives could not be held responsible for t3e conseqlmxes. cY0tn1.ck assured his fellow-2ionir;ta that he and his friends were i-rith a11 .t'?e2r. heart in the Ziogist -:overnent. They mted to fight wit:? t'-e others for t:le

I grect goal wld they -anted to win with them. Struck conjure - the ot:ier 11 delestes not to leave tlm cormon ground.

bong ot'lers cielegzte Kcplansky replied that the Zionist orycizetion

supported cull;ural institu-tio:is of Yizrahi. He supposed t:?_ct -the reyesentz- tives of 1Yzrahi could also 2.~eeth&% cultural inatitutioac, aere s~qyortcd bv the orgmimtion, which nere not Orthodox. 32 Dr. re~orte;th- -b all re?resentzt.tives in the c&tureJ co nittes h~.d c;reed with the resolutlws, including Iiabbi Seines and Rzbbi liabino\-rits&. 33 Wiis s-la-be ent dEs_utec' by dele:rtte iloeller, who cl:.i.led thzt t'!e represel?tntives of S'iw?,' i :~s?beell opposed. 34

After these re:?.arks IZabbi Reines got permission to sped?. IIe re~o~ed thct before he mas a menber of RMl;ra*i, he had believed, thzt Zio:5sn could unite different tendencies. Re sa17, novr that the culJ,:l-ral nor!: diviLeci -:he -156-

?eo~le. IT,vertlleless he calied on the I'izralli to remain faitml to tl~e,

or,!?iz&tion. But he clso asked for exclusion of the culture1 qu?stio:~,

became i-t destroyed the interncl unity. Dr. Tschlenon reminded the c..-;er~bl:;

that the resolutions ?resented were no-thin.? new. 35 The second Con~esshad

slre~dyc?(!o~ted .rj?!!ilm stz-kments. If the resolutions nere rdo-)ted, eve2

thole ;!e ~krsof ''izr~+xi rrould not leave t:?e movement, vho kd joined ?,fter

the yecond Congre~s. Rabbi Rzbinonitscl? t'nen nade a short stete.!ent COiicep:-

ing the debnte in t' e cultursl co -*mittee.36 T!e renorte~:that one of t' c

'3izraiii de1e;a-k~ had pred.icted t':at all !'izrahi/bmbers vould leave t'7e

Zi ai;t ory.-~izztion,if the cultural resoluti ms ~iro?ilbbe c..dopted b:; t-e

Con;-ress. This ha2 deeply xoved ~rndupset hi-,. 31%he hiaself declarei. -- that he VOLT~~st;?~:, even if he were t'le last and the only *'izra'-i ~lenbcr. _..e

did no-: lrmon r~herehe should go. -'e wuld not find better Jens ~~13ilg-Y?e

Neverthele.;~l:e azd Rabloi Reine.: had expressed t'leir opinioit- ia t:le

co xtittee ::ee-lin::, t~~-:tit m.z better not to hcve thc cultursl question

dealt rrit'l by the Conyress. "is ;;lould only cause r?; sunderstandings mo?;,

the l~eogle. But he '-ad ndded, thct I?e mou.ld not vo$e against t'le resolutio:?~,

if the-. mere yresen-bed to t-le Conz~esscontrary to his sdvice. 3ut he had

attache- a fern conditions. Iie worliei aTong Orthodox people, vho kept the

coT~mrir~entscgi~cernfng the Sabbath. 'Phis was one of the greztest m:!':ost

i-lportant lam. The Rabbi de-.izmded that all Zionist insti-kutio;ls hzd. to :,e

clo :ed on kbbc.tT:. The Congrezs ohovld exj?l'citly state its ilis'l in %':is

reprd. :?rlong all 9eople :, nho ?ad i !itate ' the Jewish Sabba-3l wit'? t:?e-ir

S~nd2.:~r, t 6s latter was re-nected b?r all clxm s-.mg the people. Jt :7as z

shaiie, that the Jews did not respect suc:~a day. %en, the pr~-ressives

should opee ;rit'n the principle that everythi.ng should be closed ojl the

Sabbath, "and everybody should keep the ~abbath.~~~~bit] In a c1:)sing rexxk the c11aiman of the cultural cornittee, dele(3te

Syrkin, stated that he could not cor:prehend, hon these differences of

opinion could still co:e about. j8 The bbbis had speed with the prows.-.Is

of the co -nittee. 3erjbody hen t:lzt Zio;lisn had to do cultural nor!:,

mhethcr they liked it or not. This concerned a basic educational wrlr in

Pclestine. The --atter wder discussion mere not religious differexes or '~zfr

sglittiilg, At stske nere rather t1.e peat tasks or" natiolial -:ork and of a

livirlg nxtional culture. All Zionists had really always bee-? united in th's

re-:pect, reGrdless of JiXerences in ritual natters a?d/-ithout heving had

to nake concessiois. ,4nd .they had to be united. I-!e therefore rmde s last

ple~to adopt the resolutiojis.

referred to the Jerris'. religion, vms even passed unmi~ously.' 40

In a final address to the Congress, I)r. Tschlenow gave a revierr of t:;e

work of the last four-tee? years adthe achievements of -I-,e ~ionistor,ya:iLz~.-

tion. He closed with the old motto of the Yaccabees: "7hoever Fs on the 41 side of God, Let hi come to us!"

At tl?is Co~~ressthre was sm observer, 3110 dTd not szy a mrii :ouhlicly

himself, bu.-t whose ideas had strmgly influenced -.:.my delesates. hzd not

attended a Zioniit Congess since the first one in 1897. The visitor 'ms

Ahad-?I,.=--e . Foll owing his attendcmce at Bcsel he travel.led through Fe.1 eatine for fifty days. After :!is retum Ile recmded hi; ex;eriemes and pfolklled 41 in 1912 an article entitled 3wz.m SUQ am. k?e- re-oortcd t3-t he had one;led

his r5nd 'e to -2le different i.-.pressixs thzt crosde,' in on hl 1 fro.: all si5es. And - for a ch,mge, - he mas deli.gh-led ot :iht he had seen. ,Se con- fessed that it ms a long the since he had spe t ;uch happy days as t'2or;e of

this tr'ip.. That did not man that all mars r.&t with the Zionist aove-ent.

t The sun hzd not s' om on the norl: and driven may shadorrs txd had spread

light and $y everjnhere. kt one fact had becole increasingly clerr. T!e

Zionirt nark vas not ,an artificial product. Tt was not a thing th2t nas

invented to gtve tie people so-ethinz to do, a kind of gallietive for tl~e

n~Aio:zel sorron. The driving force of the -1ove~entnas not reasonfn: reflec-

tion, but sor?ethi-ng deeyer. It had to be cchieve6 for the -per?etu-ti02 of

the Jedsh nztionel exi~tence. Thether the Zionints understood the true

iq~ortand mr;Jo :e of their mrk, or whether they ?referre:$ not to uncer-

stand, in eitker case hsstory norked throush t!~en, md n-ould reach its 3x1

by their acemy. .knd 'r8-e-~ re?orted that all he szn 'and hezrd at 9mel zld

in 'alest-he hsd strengthened h2-s conviction, thd t'le insti:?ct ofze1.Z-

>re -emation neither slnf~erednor slept in the nntLonrs heart. 3es3ite tile

oistakes nak, this inn,tinct created t'rough the egency of tl:e Zi0:iists just

nhzt Yne nation&: existence required --ost of all at the present. That ms

a fixed centre for our na-fiiolzal s-.lrit and culture, d~ich-,'Jill be a nerr spiritual bond betneen the xattered sections of the people, a.@ by its spiritual influence stirrul?-te then a11 to a nem nctio:zal life. - T!le Tenth Zioni.-:t Congress was in the m~thor's vier mi extreordlnery

-medley of lan,gusges and ideas. It was the result of zn internzl crisis of

which everybody mas conr;cious, but vhich everybody had tried hard not to see.

There na3 a struggle beheen ti70 sections, the political and the practicnl. ,' Zionists. And get the ?oliticals Seclared that tlle.7 mere also nracticzl, / / a~~dthe practicals professed to be politic.:l, too. In the end the practicels

non. T'le essential rmrl; of Zionisn ?renounced to be the extenqion of ,.-F \ the .Ted& settlel~et,md the f'urthsring of eciucc?tion a- d culture in "les- L---- - tine. The ster of 2oliticnl Zi-nis? k.d rrmed. Zioxis~ms no longer L'-'\-, justified on the powd of anti-Sexitis-.. The practicals were mostly Testem

Jews and t!leir Tlesterr! pupils. For then national Judaisn was the very centre

of tiieir being. But even theye people did not relxdiate that article of -159- faith, n' ich done 112d mde Zionis- a 710mulcbr:love ent, namely "the red.err-+ tion of the nationn. 43 It was not ackno~:ledged that the ead the Zionists were vorking for, differed fro1 that of tile Zionist tradition as estab1i;heq durinc the previous fourteen years. The:r s,ou$~tno lonyer a ho :c of re~?u._:e

/-- for the 2e07le or" Ilrael, but c fixed certtre Tor the spj-rit .of 1:rzel. n?~nis real obj~ectrc??,ined beaeath tie threshold of conscious~essof the r?:l;crs 02 :::stor - inside the C~-~essIIdL But outsi'e the Rall, -%had Fa-ax thou&t he saw n'2at history really had beell doing clurinc t3e last fourteen

yecrs. A ne:? kind of .'ev hed joined, xmely ?en in nho~the national-- co2- ,- sciousness ms deep-roo-bed z.:d for rrho 1 it ~as2.1 all-pemadingmd dl- \ e~braci~iigrsentiy?ei?-b. ?-ost of theze mere youns ,?en, n-o hsd co -e fron fhe encis of the earth, z.ble wd milling to work for the netional revival. :'l?en fied

Iia-

History nas doi:~@it&ork 2% that plece, pad these :?en inside the Cory~ress

everj .3e3, -:??a nr.3 fcit:~ful. to -is ~eople,'%he-ther as a religious belief, or in so ?e other for .1td5 Tt becme obviouz, t?nt f0rUr.d Ea-a? the future redecytion ms not 2 relizious belief, but hzd ns e other fom. What haa already bee!n accomplished in Pslestine entitles one to say wi* confidence that that country will be "a nationaI spiritual centre- of Judaism, to which all Jews will turn with affection, and which will bind all Jews t ogetiier: a centre of study and learning, of 1~-wand litesnre, of bodily work and spiritual purification; a true miniature ofthe people of Israel as it ought to be ...,,. so that every Hebrew in the Diaspora will tM it a privilege to behold just once the centre of Judaism; and when he returns home w5lI say to his friends: 'If you wish to see the &nuhe type of a Jew, whether it be a Fbbbi or a scholar or a wck'ter, a farmer or an artist or a business man - then go to Palestine, and you will see it. 946 The new type of national life about which Ahecd Ha-am dreamed was not yet in existence, but it aas in the making in Palestine, In thie Jewish col-

onies one felt a Hebrew national atmosphere, In this country only was to be found the solution to the problem of Jewish national existence, With a word-

ing reminiscent of the prophet Ezekiel, Ahad Haem stated that from Palestine 9he spirit shall go fortb and breathe on the dry bones that are scattered

east and west through. all lands and all nations, and restore them to life."47

The author was very pleased with the educational work done in the land, The

national education was a revival of the spirit and created a new Hebrew type,

Hebrew education in the Hebrew language had succeeded in producing a "spirit-

ual remluti~n.~~~AI.lJewish settlements, whether they were in the country or

in the cities, were generating stations, which appeared as a single mtionaJ centre. Even in its infancy it exertbd a visible and appreciable influence on the Maspara. Hence a man need not belfeve in miracles in order to see with his mind's eye this centre growing in size, improving in charaa+rer, and exerting an eve* increasing spiritual influence on our people, until at last it shall reach the goal set before it by the instinct of national self-preservation: to rest- ore our national unity throughout the world thraugh the restoration of -our national culture in its historic home. This centre will not be even then a "secure home of refl;rgew for our people; but Itt will surely be a home of healing for its spirit.49

In thi, present state of spiritual disorganization Jews had no idea of the-. ; volume of their national strength, The generations that were -to come afterrards would know the measure of their power. Bnt Ahad Haem and his contemporaries were not concerned about the hidden things of the distant flxttare,

Naturally not everybody was delighted about the decisions of the Tenth , Zionist Congress. Not only were the political Zionists disturbed, but the ' Uzrahi Faction considered itself a loser also. This latter group was not' opposed to practical work in Palestine, but the decisions concerning Zion- ist cultural activities were the stumbling Immediate3y after the Congress the Mimahi confederation held a convention in Berlin. The mafn - problem was to determine'the attitude towards the Congress decisions. The mggestion was made to secede from the Zionist World Organization altogether. 1 The majority of delegates, however, favoured a fighf for the cause of the To- rah within the movement. Thereupon a split developed withing the rsnks of Mizrahi itself, There were those, who wanted the basio concept of the unity of the World Zionist Organization unaltered. They retained the name Mizrahi,-- but made some organizational changes. This group intensified the practical work in Palestine, especially in the field of education. This was ce-ordinated with efforts in the Diaspora. Mizrahi also established a fhnd for the creation of religious garan suburbs, especially for members of .the old generation of settlers, who devoted their lives to religiourr studies. This was obviously in- tended to counter the criticism of the Chalukkah system.51 The religious garden suburbs were to enable those people to.-engage in agricultural work and enjoy the fruits of their own labor,

The second group of Mizrahi members seceded from the World Zionist Organ- the ization as well as from Mizrahi. They founded their own movement with J acue -'\---.*Agudat ~srael*.~* The founding convention was held in 1912 &tKat€@uits with 300 delegates attending, The-new organization was comprised of three main groups, namely German nebOrthodox follmrs of Sammm Raphael Hirsch, Hung-

arian Orthodoxy and Orthodox Jews in Polandand Lithuania. These three group8 differed among themselves with regard to religious practice, as well as the structure of Jewish communal life. Even Western knowledge and culture rem3.n- ed a problem, because German neo-Orthodoxy had adapted itself to the socisl

patterns of the nonJewish environment, The Eastern European Jewish communit- ies on the other hand considered this as potentially destructive to their of life. But there were en- points of agreement on basic issues to jnsh

if'y the founding of the new organization. Common to dl Agudaf Israel memb- 7 - -- ers was the co~ctionthat everything in Jewish life should be based upon the ------>--- 2 -" /- ----."-.--- -Torah. At the founding convention in Kattowitz a Council of Rabbinic Leaders nas established, This distinguished Agudat Israel from secular Jewish polit- ical organizations and mwements. It assured that no political action would be undertaken, which ran counter to the Torah, Since the Jewish law considered

it meritorious, if not mandatory, for a Jew to settle in Palestine,Agu& Isrd supported such mwes. But it was opposed to the building of a new society there, The concept of a Jewish National Home and of a Jewish State not founded on Jewish law and tradition was rejected, Agudat Israel upheld the messiania ekpectations of traditional Judaism. The time for the Ingathering of the Exiled and the Return to Zion had not yet come,

Jewish nationalism, especially the Zionist brand, was considered as some- thing disastrous, HOW high the emotions ran in the arguments between Agudat Israel and the World Zionist Organization may be seen from some remarks made by Is& Breuer, one of the founders of the new group. He concluded "Zionism/ is the most terrible enemy, which has ever arisen for the Jewish nation.*53 hngthe reasons for this mndemnation he cited the following. Zion-

irrm did not acknowledge the law of God as the national law. Zionism dib nof know anythbg about the national history of Judaism. It falsified its ideals

and misused the name Zion. The politid aspirations were not supported by history . Zionism did not know the national culture of Judaism, It did not call on its talents. On the contrary, it tried to oreate a brand-new culture. It was about to recommend to the Jewish nation a distillate of the culture of the~hWesternnations ss a cultural substitute. Unconsciously Zionism led - -3 a fight' against the nation. If .Zionism should Fully win and sucaeed with its; '\ - ,' & politics aspirations, the world had a new nation, a new national stateOmBut the Jewish nation of history would be dead."%

heracknowledged that Zionism was tolerant towards the Jewish

religian. &t recipmdl demands were made. Nothing more or less was ex- pected of religion, than to resign and to be satisfied with a merely hono*

-.'if5.e position. 55 This was a sin against history. "The husk of the Jewish nation did not contain any other cultural content than the Jewish

If religion and nation were separated, 1srael1s past was emptied.57 Israelts

history was one of a; I1nation of religionM (Religtonsnation), !%

The fight with the Zionist movement made Agudat Israel members use Zionist terminology, but give it a different meaning. R typical example

for this is a booklet by Dr. Moses Auerbach with the title: ARudas Jisroel bt Ere. ~isrnel.~~The author asked the observant Jews to make the Land of Is- rael 'the cultural centre of the Jewish people,"60 kt he did not mean the same thing as Ahad lbam, Auerbach was concerned about "the true Jewish cult- ure, based upon 'the divine teaching and governed by it in all its manifestat- - 164 -

Educational institutions had to be mated in tha Land of Israel, in which Jewish youth would be trained to become consciously Torabrabiding - Jew, The civil code in the Land of Israel had to be based upon-he Torah, so the author claimed.62 Agudat Israel wanted "to win back the Land of

IsraelT. for the people of God, the people for the land, people and land for the ora ah."^^ Tbis ms a god related to and yet different from either Herzlts Jewish State or Ahad Hwam*s spirlkal centre, Attempts. were made also during those years and more so later, to bridge the gap between secular Jewish nationa,lism and culture on the one -- L-v hand and the Jee-on on the other hand. One of those thinkers,who w- - proceeded with such endeavours, was Martin Wrber. Already in his "Three Speeches about Judaism", published in 1911, this was one of his niajor con- oernsea In the first speech entitled "Judaism and the ens^^^^ he asked the question, what the meaning of Judaism was for present-day Jews. He trhd to determine of what kind the conmunitywas, for whose existence people testified, when they called themselves Jews. Wlber answered that there were two words, with wMch a definition for the term of Judaism could be given, namely religion and nation. If one looked only at the formations of the external life, both terms could be applied to Judaism. But 5f one looked at the Ynternal neither real religiosity nor nation- ality were in existenue. In religion one could find both tradition and the ability of Jews to assUatec There was, however, no direct Jewish relig- iosity, that meant no elemental feeling for God, no holy burning God-power.

Nowhere was llGodfs mind, the abs01ute"~~bein~done. Jewish religiosity was in the memoq., perhaps existed even as a hope, but not as a present reality-. The same was in &bergs opinion true for the term nation. The natural, ob- 3ecfive relation of the Jew, especially of the Western Jew, tonards his

nation was nonexistent. All elements, which constituted a nation and could make them a reality, were missing, namely land, language and custom. 68

hber claimed, however, that in every Jew the substance of his being was banished into deep solitude. There was only one form, in which this sub-

E L stance manifested itself, and that was in his descent("~bstammw?g~~)~~~This

meant not'only connection with the past. But something was placed into I

every Jew,which would never leave him and which determined everything he 70 I did. This reality was "the blood as the deepest power-level of the soul".

Buber believed that Judaism had not only a past, but especially a hture. Judaism had in truth not yet done its work. The great forces which i lived in this most tragic and most incomprehensible of all people, had not ' E- yet spoken their most genuine word in the history of the What was necessary for the individual Jew in the present, therefore, was not a con- P ' fession, nor consent to an idea, or membership in s movement, but that he f saved himself. Jews were no long& able to save themselves through devotion B! f i to the one God, whom in Bubervs opinion nobody could make real anymore. It was possible only through devotion to the ground of their nature, the unity t 72 : of the substance within them, which was so unique. In another speech, entitled **TheRenewal of ~udaism"~~Bubar redefined r his insights and made a little more clear, what he meant. He took again issue 1e with those, who considered Judaism as either merely a confessional or merely i as a national As living, leading representatives for the first view he considered Moritz Lazarus, for the second view Ahad Ha-ammBoth wanted

a renewal of Judaism, but Wtber felt he could not agree with either one of hem, Lazarus demanded the introduction of real prophetical Judaism. Brt what Lazarus really meant, in Buberts opinion, was not renewal, but contin- uation of an easier, more elegant and European, a more fashionable form of

Judaism. Even Ahad Ha-am did not propose an absolute renewal of Judaism according to Buber. The spiritual centre which Ahad Ha-am demanded,&d not bring about the reversal and transformation, the revolution of all ele~nents.~~Tbe normal and confident existence of settlers in their om country was even detrimental to the renewal as Buiber saw it, He then pro- ceeded to present his m ideas. mber admitted that as far as the outward organization was concerned, Judaism waa a confession. One reached a deeper level of$realityin his opinion, if one defined Jews as a nation, a people. Wxt in Buberts opinion neither term described the inner nature of Judaism. !!?he latter was rather "a spiritual process, which has documented itself in the internal history of the Jewish people and in the works of the great em. "'17This spiritual process of Judaism was the attempt to perfect the realization of three connected ideas, namely that of unityi, of action and of the f'uture. Ideas did not mean here abstract concepts, but nartural tend- encies of the national character, which expressed themselves with such great strength and permanence. 78

The spiritual proaess in Judaism was, in Euberts opinion, interrupted,

Rut Judaism had to regain absolute life. This meant, Wat fts spirit had to be raised to new life. This real life had to create the consciousness of the immortsl substance of the nation. The Jewish Renaissanm with its flow- ering of the new Jewish literature was not yet a renewal of ~udaism.~~This

had to start on deeper levels, on the "ground of the spirit of the peopleen80 It had to begin, where in times past the great tendencies of Judaism had been born. It had to start, where the flames of the great spiritual battle had once burnt. Out of the blaze of this fire three @ants had once stepped forward, the Unity-God, the Messiah, who was the carrier of the future,and Israel, the man who was struggling; for action.

Buber thought that the nbattle for completionn had to be renewed. 81 This meant that a "new creative synthesis of the three ideas of Judaism" had to be brought about, which were in harmony with the Pleltgehehl of the Nfure generatibn.82 ~obodycould predict how this synthesis would lock like. But everybody had to be.qmepmd for its birth. To be prepared did not mean to wait impassionately. It meant to educate oneself and others towards "the greet self-consciousness of ~udaisn~~.~~It meant to let come to realization the tendencies of unity in the personal life of the individ- ual Jew. Ito be prepared meant to prepare.

Buber dealt with the same topic, the bridging of the gap between the

Jewish religion and Jewish nationalism all his life. A statement from his . later years expressed this attempt in a more mature and perfected way,than the saeeches of the young man. Buber wrote in 1934: . 'Moreover, Israel will not fit into the'two categories most frequent- invoked in attempts at classification: tlnation" and "creed". One crit- erion serves to distinguish a nation from a cped. Nations experience histo- ry as "nationsM.What individuaIs as such experience, is not history. In creeds, on the other hand, salient experiences are undergone by individuals, and, in their purest and sublime form, these experiences are what we call "revelation". When such individuals communicate their experience to the masses and their tidings cause groups to form, a creed comes into being. Thus, nations and creeds differ in the same way as history and revelation. Only in one instance do they coincide. Israel receives its decisive relip imrr experience as a people; it is not the prophet alone but the community as such fhat is involved, The community of Israel experiences hidory and revelation as one phenomenon, history as revelation and revelation as hi&- ory. In the hour of its experience of faith the group becomes a peopIe, Only as a people can it hear what it is destined to hear, The Unity of nationality and faith which constitutes the uniqueness of Israel is not' only our destiny in the empMczl sense of the word: here humanity is ltauched by the divinee84 It would go beyond the scope of this paper to outline the debates concerning the question of nationalism and religion and the..maqy other attempts at bridging the gap during the years following World Wax I. It is certain that such efforts of reconoiliafion made their contribixtion to the nation-welding, the faunding of the State of Israel and its htnction- ing ever since. Bat many problams remaineq, others were made acute precis- ely by the founding of the State. J. L, Talmon wrote concerning the quest- & ion of religion and the State: "With the emergence of the State of Israel the Jews began to realize to their dismay the intractable nature of the problem.n85 This was true in myareas, but especially in the field of education, In the-light of the debates at the early Zionist Congresses concerning the "cultural question" it is of particular interest to note, that the "State Education Law" of 1953 recognized the threefold division, 86 which was developed in the period delt with in this paper. The law pro- vided for a public school system on the elementary level, was to be unified, but two trends were recognized, State schools and religious State- schools, The State schools represented the ideals of the majority of del- egates at the Zionist Congresses between 1897 and 1911, The religious State schools were a continuation of the work launched by Mizrahi prior to World Var I, All schools in Israel have compulsory courses in Bible and Jewish values, But while the State schools emphasize "Jewish consc5- ... crasnessw, the religious State schools are "observant of Orthodox ~recepfs -4 e as to their way of life, curriculum, teachers and &pe~tors".~!b 19% law also provided for what was termed "recognized schools", whiuh were in-

dependent religious schools, These were not "official" ,- * nevertheleu8 received some financid support by the State It waa mainly the Agudaf Israel schools, which were given this status. These tried 'M approximate- the East' European Orthodox schools, unchanged for centuries,

Many dreams of the forerunners, the founders and the early adherents

of the Zionist movement have come true. Herd was proven right with his

prediction that the State idea was not a utopia, Wit many of the poblems,

which the early Zionists foresaw and debated, have also oaueed difficultiea and are still doing so, Not the least of these is the relation betweem

the ideals of nationalism and religion to the exbent that these do not coincide, - 170 - Conclusion

The land of Israel and the religion of Israel were for more than three thousand years intimately linked to each other. It was generally believed that God had given this land to his om people as an everlasting inheritance. Even after the loss of statehood in 70 A.D. and the follow- ing dispersion until the beginning of the nineteenth century, Jews hoped for an eventual return to their promised land. They did not, however,con- sider themselves to be a nation during these centuries. They thought of themselves and were looked upon by others as a religious community. They claimed to be God's chosen people, separated from what they called summa- rily "the nations". The hoped-for return to what they considered to be the "Holy Land" was termed "the ingathering of the exiled from the four corners of the earth". This was to be accomplished "in the end of days" by God him- self through his appointed Messiah. "The kingdom of God" would then be established, which wwuld bring "everlasting peace". It was believed by most Jews, that man was not permitted to interfere in the affairs of the

Almighty and to bring about by his own actions, what God intended to do himself. The pious people were to wait patiently with folded hands for the new acts of God in favour of his chosen ones. There was no one clear conception of how the kingdom of God would look like, or what the exiled would do there after their return. But it appeared that if was generally thought of as a this-mrdly monarchy, rather than an othercworldly, heavenly realm, although some of the expectations had phantastic and supernatural aspects. Among the things hoped for was the rebuilding ofthe Jewish - 171 - ;temple according to the specifications of the Messiah, When at the end of the nineteenth century a mass-movement for the return of Jews to Palestine started under the name Zionism, and as a consequence in the middle of this century a new, independent Jewish state was finally founded,hardly any of the above mentioned religiotxa cansiderations were of significance. What was founded was not a theo- cracy, but a modern, secular, national state, This is at first sight perhaps a startling observation, The outsider will find it even more surprising to hear that many religiously minded Jew had not only hesi- /' tations to join the new movement, but some were outrightly opposed to these developments precisely on religious The paper here pre- sented traced the thinking of those who move- ment. It was shown that the main roots of the underlying thinking wer not found in the Jewish religion, but in the general European ion in the nineteenth century with its ideal of nationalism and the __-- widespread weakening of traditional religious loyalties, This helped ito explain why as a consequence most of the early leaders of the Zionist movement were secularly minded, some of them were even professed athe- .ists or what was t,ermed free-thinkers. It also 'accounted for the fact that there were frequently conflicts between Zionists and religious leaders and constant tensions within the movement itself caused by 'religious issues. !Chis did not mean, that religious motives were totally absent, There were Jews, who believed that the resurrection from the dead would begin in Jerusalem. Therefore mmy elderly people moved to Palestine,so that'the mld die at that location and be buried in what was con- sidered to be "sacred soil". According fo the Talmud it rrrrs thought to be a meritorious act to live in the Holy Land. Some Jews there- fore spent their lives there, studying the Torah and being dependent on welfare money sent from their pious co-religionists in other countries. But even these people were not in Palestine in order to build the k* dom of God there, nor did the benefactors expect them to do so. It is true that some believed that man might be able to speed up the com-

ing of the Messiah. This could be done by punctual fblfillment of all

details of God's Torah. But all Jews had to co-operate in this en- deavour, regardless of where they lived. Another factor had to be taken into account. In the nineteenth century mmy Western Jews no7 longer cksidered the belief in the future kingdom of God and the refurn\ 7 of the chosen people to the Holy Land to be an essential aspect of the. I1 Jewish religion. mese hopes were given up in the reform movements in -.d) Central Europe and in North America. The religious reforms were both

the result of and went hand in hand with the Jewish struggle for eman- cipation and the attempt at assimilation. 'Phe early forerunners of Zionism around the middle of the nine- teenth century were religious leaders.' Their writings show clearly,

how impressed they were by contemporary movements of national self-liber stion in Europe. The authors urged their co-religionists to imitate the pattern set by national minorities in various countries. The religious motives of these precursors of the later Zionist movement,

had to be different from traditional beliefs. No longer was the patient P waiting for the actions of the Almighty condoned and self-help re- jected. These writers tried to show that a national movement of self- liberation and a return of Jews to Palestine did not contradict the I messianic expectations. New emphasis was laid on the meritorious aspect I gJd of the living in the Holy Land. Reform Judaism was rejeated, because -) -r-.-- it had given up all hopes with regard to the fl~turekingdom in Palestine./ But no mass movements resulted from the suggestions of the precursors. Their writings were soon forgotten, Most religiously minded Jews ion- sidered such ideas as an aberration from the true faith,while the sec- ularly minded were alienated by the religious terminology.

The view that it was the general European situation which caused I w Zioniat thought, rather than specifia Jewish religious precepts, om be -f supported by the observation, that a secularist philosopher came to similar conclusions as the religious forerunners of Zionism, It was Moses Hess, the socialist, Young-Hegelian, and admirer of Spinoza, He began to discover his Jewish nationality under the impact of an anti-Jewish out- break of violence, and the subsequent false aocusations, the so-called Damascus incident of 1840, The same had already shocked the religious forerunners of Zionism. Things like that were thought of belonging to the medieval past and overcome in the enlightened period of the nineteenth oentury. It was to happen again later, that an incident like this wa~ the immediate cause of Zionist thought and led to the discwery of Jewish feeling of togetherness on other than religious grounds. Hess expected that the national idea would unite all Jews, whatever their religious out- - 174 - look. He urged other Jews to consider a move to Palestine and the i founding of agricultural settlements and eventually a Jewish state there. But even the call of Moses Hess went largely unanswered. !be time was not yet 15p. Independent from the ideas of these precursors of Zionism were national ideas developed by Jews in the second half of the nineteenth century in Russia. Here Jem formed cohesive groups, different from their neighbours in dress, language and habits. Rut it was the pogroms of 1881 which sparked a strong Jewish reaction and led to the discovery of Jewish nationality also among enlightened and largely assimilated elements in their midst. This caused the founding of the Back-to-Pale- stine movement of the so-called Lovers of Zion. The uyitings of Leo 7I Pinsker were most influential in this respeot, even tho- his secular f i precepts did at first not even make him think that the new Jewish state I i to be founded as a result of the national awakening had necessarily to be in Palestine. He made it quite clear that Jews did then not want toi found the kingdom of God, but a state. Bey did not seek the Holy Land, but a land of their own. In response to this appeal a German Rabbi,

Ruelph, tried to express the same thoughts in religious terms and urged both Pinsker and his followers to consider Palestine only as the site of the new national Jewish settlement. !Phis they did. But it was not Rabbi

Ftuelph who earned fame and was adhered to, buf the secularist Pinsker, who became the leader of the national movement. Only a minority of the Lavers of Zion were religiously minded. Tensions led to the founding of a religious faction within the movement, called ~izrahi.mof its major - 175 - concerns was the observing of the precepts of the Torah in the new settlements, Only a few thousand Jerrs went to Palestine as a result of the efforts of the Lovers of Zion. Even these few soon got into serious difficulties and required support from friends in other countries.

A new beginning was made with the appearance of the book The Jewish State- by Dr. Theodor Herzl in 1896. The author knew nothing of the writings of the religious forerunners, of Moses Hess, or even of Leo Plnsker. He was only vaguely familiar with the colonization efforts of Jews in Palestine. He looked with contempt on these petty solutions to the Jewish question and sought one on a grand scale. Herd proposed to start with political activities and the attempt to get a charter forthe land first, before engaging in actual settlement. Like for Pinsker, the impe.f;ns for his activities came not out of a religious impulse. Herd also reacted to anti-Semitism, in his case to the Dreyflts Affair, which he had observed first hand. But this was only the immediate cause. Once irealized, Jewish nationalism developed,\rhetherit nss again stirred up by anti-Semitism or not. For both Pinsker and Herzl the discovery of their om Jewish nationality was a sudden inspiration, not the influence of any one particular European thinker outside Judaism. Hannah Arent wrote: "Herzl:thaught in terms of nationalism inspired from Gem sources - as opposed to the French variety, which could never repudiate its original relationship to the political ideas of the French revoluficmu2 Hans Kohn, quoting Hannah'Arendt, added:''According to the German theory,people of common descent or speaking a common language should form one mnaaon

state,**3 Neither Arendt nor Kohn named any German nationalists in par% icular. A oommon language Jews did not speak, WxC Herd certainly mentioned thee common descent. He spoke about "the parent stemn4 and about the "historic group with unmistakable characteristics oommon to ra all.lv5 The decisive thing for Herzl, however, was the same fate ex- perienced by Jews everywhere: "Ye are one people - our enemies have .----1 made us one without our oonsent, as repeatedly happens in history," 6 Neither Pinsker9s nor Herzlrs ideas were possible without the general European background in the late nineteenth century, Zionism was a late-comer on the scene, because the Jewish situation was so differ ent from that of any other nationality, It grew out of a dissolution with what was considered to be the failure of the attempt at assimila- tion, An obstacle which had to be overcome w&s the generdly accepted view that Judaism was only a religion. This assumption had even been strengthened by the Reform movements in the nineteenth century, me nation- alists on the other hand pointed & that Jews had been a nation in anti- quity. lZley could become one again, if national consciousness was awakened and a national Renaissance took place. Herzl and his followers felt that the main work in this regard had been done by the anti-Semites, the enemies. The greatest diffioulty for Jewish nationalism was the fact that Jews did not yet live in the land, in which they intended to Kild their nation and found their state, different from all other European groups struggling for their national self-determination. Palestine was considered for historical and sentimental reasons. Most Zionists did not wnsider it essential for religious reasons, In the Uganda debate; for - 177 - example, most religious Zionists sided with the "Africans". Both Pinsker and Herzl were ready to accept also another country anywhere in the world, as long as it was one unit and large enough to house several million people. For Pinsker and Herzl the language question was not a serious problem. Both lived in multi-language states. Herzlts ideal. was Switaerland with several equally acceptable languages. Yiddish as well as Spaniolic were genuinely r Jewish languages. kt they were looked down upon by the cultured European

gentlem, who spoke High-German. Hebrew was not thought to be acceptable, _L_ beoause neither Heral nor most of his friends knew it well enough The language question had by necessity to become a controversial issue in such ,-

a national movement. Hebrew was finally adopted not for religious reasons,

but for historical ones. It was the language, which Jews had spoken in

antiquity, when they still .were a nation and had been in their own land. Both the Jargon as well as Spaniolic were considered to be Diaspora lan- guages which were destined to die with the end of the dispersion. t' -me fad that Zionism was an application of the contemporary European ideals to the Jewish situation, was clearly recognized by many religiously minded Jews and caused their opposition. This paper traced many of the

tI Slmost continuous arguments concerning this problem. Chief mong the object- f ions on religious grounds was the claim that the Messiah had not yet come i and Jews should not do anything, which contradicted the messianic expectations. LReligiously minded Jews were also afraid that the Torah could and would not be properly observed by Jews in Palestine. The idea of the founding of a modern, secular Jewish state was also not considered proper by many Ortho- b 1 dox Jews. The Chief-Rabbi of Vienna, Guedemann, claimed that Zionism was ,/ 1 just another form of assimilation. He considered if precisely as the attempt of Jewa to imitate the modern nationalism of Europe and to be like all the i other nations. Israel had always been warned against such attempts. It ras the people of God and should be different. It should not imitate "the nations", not wen with regard to modern nationalism. Rabbis pro- tested et some of their assemblies, the founding of the movement. The place of meeting of the Mrst Zionist Congress had to be changed due to opposition from religious circles. Herzl was surprised and angered, when he was attacked on religious

\ grounds. He had supposed and hoped that the religious leaders were the natural allies of any Jewish national movement, especially when the goal was the recovery of Palestine. One result of the religious opposition to

Zionism was that it was not permitted at Zionist Congresses to discuss religious questions. The principle established right from the start was absolute religious neutrality and tolerance. All Jews were to be welcomed in the national movement, whatever their religious outlook. Religion could bring disunity. It was shown in this paper that the Zionists were not always in the position to enforce this principle. The main reason was that religious questions were touched upon, whenever basic decisions con- cerning the development of the movement had to be reached. Religious pro-,7,

1 blems were important especially in.connection with the so-called mtural j I question. It was decided at Zionist Congresses to further a new, secular I/- Jewish cmiture and the establishment of a secular school system. This aroused the opposition of a religiously minded group within the World Zion- ist Organization. ?3ut it finally led to the split of the religious faction. Out of the discussions and arguments on this question eventually three different school systems developed differing from eaoh other conwrning the emphasis laid on religious issues. It was shown in this paper that the basic decisions in this respect had been reached prior to World War I. !be divisions and principles then established did not become law in tie state of Israel until 1953. r Many other questions involving religious principles have not as yet 1 been settled, such as the adoption of a constitution. 'Phis paper tried to throw some new light on the prehistory of such problems. ! 6.I F Footnotes. Introduction.

'see on thiil the *excellent study by Emile Marnorstein,

Heaven at Bay: The Jewish Kulturkampf in the Holy Land (London, 1969) heword anti-Semitism itself was coined only in the seventies of the nineteenth century and did not become popular until about 1880.

See on this: Ismar Elbogen, Ein Jahrhundert juedischen Lebens ("A Century of Jewish ~ife"),ed. by Ellen Littmann (~rankfluctam Man,

1967), PP. 153 ff* Footnotes. Chapter I.

Cf. James William Parker Bi$tofor~of Paladine: from 135 A. D. to modern times (New Y ork, 1949)

? Cf'. Jdius H. Greenstone The Messiah Idea in Jewish History (Philadelphia, 1906) (breina~t;erreferred to as Messiah Idea)

Cf. David Philipson The Reform Movemeart; in ' Jtldsisn reissue of new and rev. ed. by Solomon B. Freehof (nmp* , 1967) - 182 - Chapter 11. '~f. Nahum Sokolon, History of Zionism: 1600-1918 (New York, 1969) I, 63-66.

*Cf. Albert ?I. Hyamson, British Projects for the Restoration of the Jews, The British Palestine Cammitt ee, Fublication No. 1 (N.P., 1917); and: Barbara W. Tuchman, Bible and Sword: Ewland and Palestine from the Bronze

Am to Balfour, Minema hss (~ewYork, 1956).

3~ list of his nrifings in: R. M. Gelber, "Alka1a.i Ben Salomo Chai" Bhcyclopaedia Judaica: Das Judenfum in Geschichte und Ge~enwart(~erlin, 1928) 11, 326-8. An excerpt from his writings in wish translation in Arthur ertzberg, The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader. With an Introduction and Bibliographical Notes. Forward by &armel Neumann. Harper llorchbooks (New York, 1959) pp. 105107. (Hereinafter referred to as The Zionist Idea).

5Am0ng the fen admirers and disciples of Rabbi Alkalsi was a certain Simon Loeb Herd., grandfather of Dr. Theodor Herzl. One of Alkalai's grand- daughters was to attend the first Zionist Congress in 1897 at Basel.

'some letters have come t o light, which show, that the author had expressed these ideas to some friends as early as 1830. On tbi?) life and work of the Rabbi see: S. A. Horode&y, "Kalischer, Zebi Hirsch Ben Salomo", Encyclopedia Judaica: Das Judentm in Geschichte und Ge~~(Berlin, 1932) IX, 825.27. A German translation from the original Hebrew edition appeared in 1865: Hirsch Kalischer, Drischzbh Zion, oder Zions Herstellunq ("Seeking. ion" ) , trans. by Dr. Poper (~hom,1865). Excerpts in English translation in: Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, pp. 11-14. '~errsn translation, p. 16.

'(3. the introduction of Moses Hess, Ausgewaehlte Schriften (ll~eleded

~ritings"),ed, by Horst Lademacher (Cologne, 1962), pp. 6-7. (Herein? after referred to as Ausgewaehlte Schrifien). lon~ornund Jemsslem: die letafe Nationalitsetsirage". !l!he Gem original

was reissued recently in lidoms Hess, Ausgeaaehlte Schriften, pp. 221-320,

!he book ww trenslated into English and appeared under the title: Rome and Jerusalem: A Study in Jewish Nationalism, trans. with introduction

and notes by Meyer Waxmanu (New Pork, 1945).

id,p. 155.

12ibid., p. 55.

13ibid., p 140. Chapter 111.

'see. Salo Wittmayer Baron, Modern Nationalism and Religion,

Meridian Books (~ewYork and Philadelphia, 1960) p. 222,

*Cf. regarding the history of Jews in Ruasia in general: Semen Markovich Dubnov, History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, trans.

Jacob F-sin, ed. et a1 ,Russian Jewry (l860-1917), trans. by .. 'a . Mirra Ginsburg (~ewYork, 1966) ; Ismar Elbogen, Ein Jahrhundert , pp, 69401, 202-9221 333+78.

'~xact figures are available only for the year l8gls see Arthur Ruppin, Die Juden der Ge,qenwart: Eine sozialwissenschaftliche Studie ("The Jews

of the present timet A sociological study") 26. ed. (Cologne and

Berlin, l9ll), p. 37. (Hereinaf%er referred to as Me Juden).

4~ map of the Vale of settlement" in Howard Morley Sachar, The Course of ldodern Jewish Historg, Delta Book (New York, 1958), p. 189, (Herein-

after referred to as Modern Jewish Histoq).

5~ordetails see Arthur Rup'pin, Me Juden, p. 42.

-%ee on this Jacob S. Raisin, The Haskalah Movement in Russia, (Philadel- phia, 1913).

7~~eMorley Sachar, Modern Jewish Histow,p. 261.

8~iyah,a Hebrew word, meaning 'going up". It is being used for immf-

gration to Palestine, which is considered to be a going up, since the

heart of the land, the oity of Jerusalem, is located in a mountain area. Coming from any direction, one has to go up, in order to reach the city. he word nrs formed from the Hebrew iaifials of the words imr Isaiah 285: "0 House of Jacob, come ye and let us got" la%oted fro. the translation in Arthur Hertaberg, The Zionist Idea, p. 146. ,

''An English translation in Hertaberg, The Zionist Idea, pp. 160 -165.

'%cerpta from the writings of SmolenMi in 1881 and 1883 in English translation in Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, pp. 148.157. Chapter IV.

kishtranslation in Leo Pinsker, Road to E'reedom:Vriting. and

Addresses, with an Introduction by B. 1Jetanyaha (New ' York, 194.4)

pp. 74-106. (Hereinafter referred to as Writings).

8~(fitaak)Ruelf, Aruchaes Bas-Ammi: Israel *s Heilung (ttIsrael*s Salvation") (~rf~nkflxdam %in, 1883).

91!he "Alliance Israelite Universelle" was founded in 1860 in order to counter anti-Semitic attacks, For details see Ismar Elbogen, $in

Jahrhundert, pp. 62 ff. Cf. also above, p. 18, loLeo Pinsker, Writinps, p. 132. bidp. 137,

12ibid. ,p, 138. l3uoted in Arthur Hertcberg, The Zionist Idea, p. - 177. -I -- --- '%'or details on t he life of the man see: Leon Simon, Ahad He-am: Asher Ginzber~, a Biomaphy (Philadelphia, 1960). (Hereinafter

referred to as Ahad .Ha-;zm, a Bibmap&). l5& Oianslation in Ham Kohn, Nationalism and the Jewish Ethic: Basic Wrffings of Ahad Ha-am (New York, 1962), pp. 34-43. erein in after referred to as Basic writinfcs)

16There is no translation of the volume as a whole; various articles

appesred in translated selections of Ahad IIadun's writings.

17Hana Kohn, Basic Writings, p. 36.

l8ibid*, p.34

"ibid., p.41.

*ibid., p.41.

231eon Simon, Selected Essays by Ahad Ha-am, trans. from the Hebrew (Philadelphia, 1948) , p.117. , (Hereinafter referred to as Selected Essays) .

%f. Leon Simon, Ahad Haram, a Biography, pp. 59 ff.

25Leon Simon, Ahad W: Essays, Letters, Yemoirs, trans from the

Hebrew and ed. (Oxford, 1946), p.75. (Hereinafter referred to as Essags) .

'%f. Bans Kohn, Wsic Writings, pp. 36, 54 if; a.0.

I 27Leon Simon, Essays, p. 74. *%ma Kohn, sicit p 550 , - 188 -

29Leon Simon, Selected Essays, p. 43.

31~0nSimon, ~ssays,p.68.

%.&on Simon, Selected Essays, p.77.

3%- ~ohn,.Basio writings, p.34.

36Leon Simon, Seleoted Essays, p. 169.

J7This is the title of one of his articles. A translation was published

in Leon Simon, Essays, pp. 58-64,

%eon Simon, Essays, p. 63.

42~bbrevationfor the Hebrew words: merkaz ruhd, Uspiritual centre".

4%nglish t rsaslation in Arthur Hertzberg, !Che Zionist Idea, pp.401-05.

*Cf. Zechariah 8r7-8. Chapter V.

4 mmmq of his ideas in the 1880's and the early 1890's is found in ' the article: Die nationale Wiedermburt; des juedischen Volkes in seinem Lande, als Mittel mr Loesung der Judenfrage: Ein Appell an die Guten und Edlen aller ~ationen("~heNational Rebirth of the Jewish People in its

Onn Land as a Means for the Solution of the Jewish Question: an Appeal

to the Good and Noble Among All Nations"); reprinted in Nathan Birnbaum,

Ausgewaehlte Schriften mr juedischen E'rage (tlSelected Essays concerning the JewishQ uestion") (Czernowif z, 1910), I, 1-21.

%enriette Hannah Bodenheimer, ed. , Prelude t o Israel: The Memoirs of I. I. Bodenheimer, trans. by Israel Cohen (New York, l963), p. 60. (Hereinafter

referred to as Prelude).

%ax I. Bodenheimer, Wohin mi* den russischen Juden? ("Whither the Russian Jews?) (Hamburg, 1891).

7~ photographic reproduction of the first page of this article in Henriette Hannah Bodenheimer, Im Anfaw der zionistischen Bewemg: Eine Dokumentation auf der Grundlage des Briefweahsels noisohen Theodor Herzl und Max Bodenheimer von 1896 bis 1905 ("1n the beginning of the Zionist

movement: A documentation on the basis of the letters exchanged between 'Pheodor Herzl and Max Bodenheimer betwen 1896 and 1905") (Frankfurt am

&in, 1%5), p. 441. (Hereinafter referred to as Im Anfan4). 'O~ach Jerusalem gehen wir nicht, sondern ziehen, wenn es noetig ist ,glei& unseren christlichen Bruedern mi* Gott her Kaiser und Vaterland gegen die

Feinde Deutschlands. Ein Schrif-bchen geKidnet aus Liebe seinen katholischen und protestantischen Mitbruedern von einem Deutschen mosaischer Religion, nach 38 jaehriger Ahsenheit in die mliebte Heimat zurueckgekehrt .(Nuernberg, 1893) .

"s. Adler, Assimilation oder NationalJudenthum?("Assimilation or National Judaism?") (Berlin, 1894).

id,p.5.

- u~d~rHerzl, The Jewish State* An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the

Jewish Qnestion, trans. and ed. by Jacob M. Alkm (New York, 1946). (Hereinafter referred to as The Jewish state).

'%any biographies have been written about this rather interesting man.

The most outstanding appears to be: Alex Bein, Theodor Herzl: A Biograpb

of the Founder of Hodern Zionism, trans, by Maurice Samuel, Meridian Books

(Philadelphia, 1962). A list of other biographies ibid., pp. 533-34.

%!heodor Aerzl, The Jewish State, p. 157.

id,p. 96.

18!l!heodor Herzl, The Complete Diaries, ed. by Raphael Patai, t rans. by

Ha.rry Zohn (New York and London, 1960), I, 278, (Hereinafter referred to

as Diaries). '%(o rita) Guedemann, National judenthum(National Judaismw) , (Leip& and Vienna, 1897) . (Hereinaf'ter referred to as National judenthum) : mibid., pp.16-17.

211. Samuel 8:5f.

2%.Guedemann, National judenthun!, p.42.

23!L'he article appeared originally in loch^ s Wochenschrift" ,and was reprinted in Theodor Herzl, Gesammelte Zionistische Werke ("~ollected Zionist morksV) (Tel Aviv, 1934) I, 138-47. (Hereinafter referred to as Gessmmelte Verke) .

24The relations between Herzl and Guedemann, which were apparentlr fbll

of misunderstandings, are the subject of a chapter in Saul R. Landauls book Sturm und bang im Zionirmus ("Storm and Stress in Zionism") (Vienna,

1937), pp. 250-57, in whiah material from Guedemannls own memoirs was published. One has to conclude from these statements that Guedemam

did not change his mind at all, as Herzl had suggested. Cf. also Theodor

Herzl, Maries, I,229 ff; Alex Bein, Theodor Herzl, pp. 148-52; 220 f.

25Tbis reply of Nordau was apparently considered to be so important, that

it was put first in the selection of his collected works, which were pub- lished in 1909. The article entitled "Ein Tempelstreit" ("A temple Argu- ment") appeared first in No. 2 of the official Zionist paper Xe Welt

("The World") in 1897, reprinted in Max Nordau, Zionistische Schriften ( "~ionist Witin@) (Cologne and Lepzig, 1909) , pp . 1-17. (Hereinafter referred to as Schriften). qibid. p. 5. 281heodor Herzl, Diaries, I, 310; cf. Richard Lichtheim, Die Geschichte des deutschen Zionismus (The History of German Zionism") (Jerusalem,

29~Nordau, Schrifbn, p. 320.

30~f.Alex Bein, Theodor Herzl, p. 282.

31~f. Zechariah 9:g; see also the Christian interpretation of this passage in Mstthew 21:2 ff.

32Alr Bein, Theodor Herel, p. 282.

33Theodor Herzl, Macies, I, 233. Cf. Rotokolle X, 15: Dr. Herzl, "the Moses of our time".

%See for eranple the designation of the Actions-Committee which appesred as a preface to Nordau's Schriften.

35ibid., p. 369.

36~mtokolleI, 29; cf. Max Nordrm, Schriften, p. 22. Chapter VI. ,

'lerner J. Cahnmann, *'I~hanichand the First Zionist Congress", Historia

Judaica, ed. Guido Kisch, Vol. 111, April 1941, No. 1, p. 13; cf. Ben Halpern, The Idea of the Jewish State (Cambridge, Mass., 1961). pp. 80 ff. \ (Hereinafter referred to as Idea)

'central Conference of American Rabbis, Year Book, Cincinatti, O., 1898,

p. xii. (Hereinafter referred to as Central Conference Year Book).

I 3~f. above p. 5. I

'central Conference Year Book,1898, p. xli.

5Ph&ographic reproduction in Henrietta Hannah Bodenheimer, Im Anfang, p. 48; cf. Ben Halpern, Idea, pp. 144 ff.

%enriette Hannah Bodenheimer, Im Anfq, p.48.

7!J!he article appeared first in Die Welt (*The world1*)on July 16, 1897; reprinted in Theodor Herzl, Gesammelte Werke, I, 169-74.

*Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State, ~.125.

'~enriette Hannah Bodenheimer, Toldoth Tochnith Basel ("Wehistorg. of the

Base1 Program") (~erusalem,1948), p. XXXVI. l0'J!heodor Herzl , Diaries, 11, 578.

'libid. 11, 583.

121'he complete text of this opening address in Protokolle I, 11-14.

A summary in English translation in The Zionist Congress held at Basle, Switzerland Aug. 29,30 and 31, 189'7 (New York, &897), pp. 10 ff. (Herein- after referred to as The Zionist Congress). l3Theodor Herd, Diaries, 11. 578. M., however, the judgment concerning

Lippe's speech by Max J. Bodenheimer: "His address was dignified in

form and content." Prelude, p.101.

14cf. Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State, pp. 70; 81 f; 87; 93 ft 130 f. l5!beodor Herzl, The Jewish State, pp. 95 f.

18hPinsker, Writings, p.94.

19cf. Zechariah 919; also above p. 92, note 31.

20~f.The Zionist Congress, pp. 42-44.

21ibid. p. 13. See on this question the illuminating article by Joseph Adler "Religion and Herzl: Fad and Fable", Herzl Year Book, ed.Raphae1

Pgtai (New York, 1961-62), pp. 271-3031. (Hereinafter referred to as ttReligion and ~erzl").

22~f. for details Joseph Adler "Religion and Herzl", pp. 288 f.

24F'rotokolle I, 128; cf. 130.

25Pmtokolle I, 208 ff.

26Protokolle I, 212 ff.

27!Che text of his address in Protokolle I, 215.

28~tokolle1, 216; cf. the translation in The Zionist Congl.ess,pp. 57 ff. 29~Weizmann, Trial and Error: The Autobiography, Schocken Books (New York, 1966), p. 45. (HereinaFter referred to as ~utobiography).

30~heodorHerd, Diaries, 11, 579.

'%?he reaction of Christians is a matter, which deserves more attention,

but would go beyond the scope of this paper. Here are some glimpses, Bodenheimer observed at Basel: "At the inns there was a great deal of talk about Zionism and the Congress. I found that the non-Jewish public accepted the Zionist plan as something quite natural." Prelude, p. 99. Max Nordau stated frequently that Zionism did not have enemies among

Christians; Schriften, p. 330; Protokolle 111, 19.

32~r. 8. Salomonsohn, Widerspricht der Zionisms unserer Religion? ("Is Zionism in contradistinction to our religion?") (Berlin, 1898).

331!his was a gross exaggeration. It is hard to estimate the lmmber of sympathizers. kt the number of paying members (Scheke1zahler)in 1898

was 78,000; even if many more were in favour of Zionism, the number did d6Flnitely not go into the millions, Cf. Zionistische Vereinigung her

Deutschland, ed. , Zionistisches A-B-Gkch ("Zionist A-B-GBook" ) (~erlin, . 1908), p. 234. (Hereinafter referred to a8 Zionistisches A-B-~~uch).

I P 36~en%ral Conference of American Rabbis, Year Book (Cincinstti, O., 18991, I pp. 167 ff.

nibid., pp. 179 ff. 38~ionistischesA-B-Clb&,p. 230. e Wnalhan Arukh" is an authoe itave interpretation of the Torah, written in the sixteenth aentury by Joseph Karo, It provides the final decisions on almost any legal and ritual question of Jewish religious practice. See on this

Simon Glustrom, The Language of Judaism (New York, 19661, pp, 308 f. Chapter VII.

'dchad Ha-am (Asher ~inzberg),Ten Essays on Zionism and Judaism,trms. by Leon Simon (London, 1922) p. 30. (Hereinafter referred to as ~ssays).

%bid., pp. 42 f.

5Cf. above pp. 5'7 ff.

6~chadHa-am, Ten Essays. pa 44.

'kohman Syrhin was one of the fathers of Socialist Zionism; see his Essays on Socialist Zionism (noPo,1935); of. Psthur Hertzberg, The Zionist ! Idea, pp.331 ff. 19Protokolle 11,213.

20Protokolle II,21J. Concerning delegate N. ~yrkincf. above pp.110 f.

23ffotokolle 111.78..

24~rotokolle 111,160 if.

25~mtokolle111,162.

26~rotokolla II1,lWf. n~tokolle III,l98 ff.

28~mtokolle 111,199.

29Protokolle III,207.

3oProtckolle 111,210.

31Protokolle 111,213; 2153 a.0.

32~tokolle111,206, of. p. 235.

33Protokolle IY,196 ff.

34Protokolle IY, 85.

35Protoko11e IP,218; of. p. 203.

36Protokolle IV,189. nProf okolle IV, 195.

38~tokolleIY, 193.

39~rotokolle1~1,200.

40Frotokolle IV, 201.

41~mtokolleIV, 209.

42Pmtokolle N,221.

43~mtokolle IV, 281.

44~rotokolle IV, 92 f.

45botokolle IV,218; cf. pp. 220, 223 ff.

46~rotokolle N.95; cf. pp.99; 106; 108; 222; a.0.

47~rotokolle IV, 222 f,

48~mtokolle N,229.

49~rotokolle 1V ,226.

50Chaim Weimam, AutobiograpQ, p. 57.

51~1text of the speech reprinted in Chaim VeizmanS, Reden nnd ~ufsaefze: 1901-1936 ("Speeches and articles: 1901-1936" 1,

pp. 2-6. (Hereinafter referred to as ~~g).

5*ibid. p. 5.

53Chaim Veizmann, ~utobiogrit~hy,p. 69.

% We,Autobiography, pp. 56 f; Reden, p.3. 56~rotokolleV ,27 ff .

57Protokolle V.28; cf. pp. 29 f.This debate shows, that not even the

Russian delegates were united, not even the followers of Ahad Ha-am. Ussischkin was a member of the lodge Bend Moshe; of. Chaim Weipnann,

Autobiography, pp. 58 ff. 74~okolleV,427; cf. p. 389.

75~eeabove pp. 118 ff.

77See above, p. 126 .

78~t~kolleV, 393 ff.

I 79~f.Protokolle V.325. Rabbi Jochanan ben Sakkai lived in the first

century A.D. and become famous on account of aations during the

first Jewish War (66-70 A.D.). He founded a rabbinical academy

atJabnw The survival of Judrism as a religion after the destruction of the second temple and the loss of statehood is largely attributed

to him. For details see the excellent book by Jacob Neusner, A Life of Yohanan Ben Wad.; Ca,l-gO C.E., 2.ed. compl .rev. (Leiden, 1970) Cf. also below p. 140.

'81~eeabove p.65; of. pp. 101 f.

Joseph Adler "Religion and Herzl", pp. 298 ff.

*3see above pp. 64 ff.

%!he following information is derived from "Idi~rahi~~,Encgclowdia of

Zionisnt and Israel, 1971, Vol. 2, p. 792. 87~f."Minsk Conferencett, Ehcyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, 1971

Val 2, p. 788; also Zionistische~A-SGBuch, pp. 140 ff.

*!hat part of the address, which dealt with the cultural question

was published in an Zhglish translation in Ahad Ha-a, Selected

Essays, pp. 253 ff; another selection also in Essays, pp. 83 ff.

89~electedEssays, p. 254.

90ibid., p. 289.

'libid., p. 290.

92ibid., 302.

93Cf. Zionistisches A-%G3uch, p.141; Ehuycf opedia of Zionism and

Israel, Vo1.2, p. 789.

%cyclopedia of Zionism sad Israel, Vo1.2, p. 792.

95ibid.

'~tokolleTI, 132; cf. above pp. 128 f.

m~rotokolleVI, 144 f.

98Protokolle VI, 145.

99~rotokolleVI, 146. lmPmtokolle VI,8f; cf. 214 ff. On the background of this offer and its implications, see "East Africa Schemett, Encyclopedia of Zionism

and Israel, ~01.1,pp. 263 f. lo1~rofokolle lo2protokolle V1,230; cf. p. 236. lo%.A. Roth, Der Zionismus: vom Standpunkt der juedischen Orthodoxie beleuchtet ("Zionism: looked at from the point of view of Orthodoxy") (Nagytapolscany , 1904). (HereinaPter referred to as: Der Zionismus) . r lo4ibid., pp. 57 ff. ,- I lo5Cf'. above, pp. 15 f'f. lo%.A. Roth, Der Zioni-B, p. 17. lo7ibid. p. 24. lo8ibid. pp. 71 ff.

109g11qclopedis of Zionism and Israel, Vol. 2, pp. 792 ff.

'losee "Jewish Territorial Organization", Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, Vol. I, pp. 636. lll~rotokolle VII.34. The book by Cbief-Rabbi Roth was issued in Hungary and the Mizrahi Congress took place there. One may suspect

that these events had a connection with the issuance of the proclamation. The Orthodox Rabbis referred to, might have felt compelled to take a

stand on the issues, because Zionism had come so close to home to them.

112tokolle 1189; 108.

113Protokolle VII, 151.

114Protokolle VIII, 301 ff; 325. 115Protokolle VIII, 298 If.

116~tokolleVIII, 318.

117Protokolle VIII,214 ff; 226 ff.

118~mtokolle VIII, 109. llg~tokol~eVIII, 214.

l$Pmtokolle VIII, 312.

122~ordetails sea: Encyclopedia of Zionism end Israel, Vo1.2, p.793.

123Protokolle IX, 136.

124Protokolle IX, 110.

125~mtokolle IX, 209.

126Protokolle IX, 226. Chapter VIII.

2~ncgclopediaof Zionism and Israel, ~01.2, p. 793. \

3Protokolle X, 14.

5~rotokolleX, 112 ff.

7~eeabove, p. 54.

9~mtokolleX, 124. On Chief-Rabbi Kook see Arthur Hertaberg, T&

Zionist Idea, pp. 416 ff.

15Protokolle X, 142 ff.

19~mtokolleX, 194 ff. 27~eeabove, pp. 126 ff. 39~eeabove, p. 154.

40~rotokolleX, 335.

41~mt~kolleX, 345.

4%ant3 Kobn, Basic Writings, pp. 125 ff.

43ibid., p. 127.

Mibid., p. 130.

45ibid., p 145.

46ibid., pp. 14'7 f. Some words in this quotation are a quote from an

artiule written by Ahad Ha-am himself in 1892.

47~ansKohn, Baaic Writings, p. 149; cf. Ezekiel 37:l-14.

4%ana Kohn, Basic Writings, p. 151.

49ibid., p. 153.

%he information concerning the following is derived mainly from \ "Wzrahi", Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, Vol. 2, p. 793.

53~saacBreuer, Judenprpblem (Oewish Problem"), 4 th ed. (Frank- am

~[ain,19221, p. 138.

%bid., p. 139. 59~osesherbach, Agudas Jisroel in hzJisroel ("Agudas Israel in

the Land of ~srael")(Frankfurt am bin, 1920).

%he quotations in this paper are from the following edition:

Martin Buber, Drei Reden ueber das Judenttxm ("We Speeches about-

Judaism") (~rznkfartam Main, 1919). (Hereinafter referred to as

Drei Reden).

65u~asJttdentum und die JudenIt, ibid., pp. 9 ff.

66 ibid., p. 14.

67ibid.

68ibid., pp. 21 ff.

69ibide, p 22.

'loibid.

71ibid, p. 29.

72ibid., ,. 30 ff. 73w~ieErneuerung des Judehtums", ibid., pp. fl ff.

%rtin Fhber, Israel and the World: Essays in a Time of Crisis,

Schocken Rooks (New York, 19631, p. 169.

85~.1. Talmon, The Unique and the Universal: Some Historical Reflections (New York, 1965), p. 288; cf. pp. 281 ff. Talmon observed in this connection also: "There are signs of an

incipient Church and State struggle on the.medieval model."

'%ae Joseph Badi, Religion in Israel Today: The Relationshir,

Be-hen State and Religion (New York, l959), pp. 25 ff. Eliezer Goldman, Religious Issues in Israel's Political Life

(Jerusalem, 19641, pp. 39 ff. Gershon Winer, The Founding Fathers of Israel (New York, 1971),

pp. 226 ff.

87Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, Vol. I, p. 274. Conclusion.

'see on this now also the book by Mordechai Hacohen, Al Harishonim he First Onesn) (Tel Aviv, 19691, which deals with this period in detail.

2~annahArendt, *The Jewiah State Fifty Years APter: Where Have

'H- Kohn, "Won and the Jewish National Idea", in Zionism Reconsidered:

.. The Rejection of Jewish Normalq, ed. by Michael Selzer. ~~lanhperbaok,

(New York, 1970), p. 187.

4~dorHerzl, Jewish State, pe 92. Adler, Joseph. "Religion and Herzl: Fad and Fable" in Herzl Year Book. Edited by Raphael Patai. New York, 1961-62, pp. 271-303.

Adler, S. Assimilation oder Nationaljudenfum? (Assimilation or National Judaism? ) Berlin, 1894.

I "Agudat Israel" I Emyclopedia of Zionism and Israel 1971, vol.1.

Ahad H-am (Asher Ginzberg) Nationalism and the Jewish Ethic: Basic Writings. Edited by Hans Rohn. New York, 1962.

Selected Essays. 'Pranslated by Leon Simon. Philadelphia, 1912.

Ahad Haem (Asher ~inlrberg) 'Pen Essays on Zionism and Judaism. Translated by Leon Simon. London, 1922.

Arendt, Hannah. "The JeoPish State Fif'ty Years Aftrer: Where Have Herzlts Politics Led?" Commentary,May 1946, Vole I, NO. 7, pp* 1 - 8. Auerbach, Moses. Agudas Jisroel in Erez Jisroel. ("Agudas Israel in the Land of Israel") Frankntrt am Main, 1920. Badi, Joseph. Religion in Israel Tod4y: The Relationship Between State and Religion. New York, 1959. Baron, Salo Wittmayer. Modern Nationalism and Religion. Meridian Books. New York and Philadelphia, 1960. Bein, Alex. Theodore Herzl: A Bibliography of the Founder of Modern Zionism, Translated by hhurice Sa~muel. Meridian Books. Philadelphia, 1962. Ben - Horin, Meir. Max Nordau: Philosopher of Human Solidaritg. London, 1956. Birnbaum, Nathan (Mathias ~cher). Ausgewhlte Schriffen zur juedischen Pram. ("Selected Essays concerning the JewishQ uestion" ) Vol.1. Czernowitz, 1910. Bodenheimer, Henriette Hannah. Im Anfang der zionistischen Benegung: Eine Dokumentation auf Grund des Briehrechsels zwischen Theodor Herzl und Max Bodenheimer von 1896 bis 1905. ("In the beginning of the Zionist movement. A documentation on the basis of the correspondence between Theodor Herzl and Max Bodenheimer from 1896 to 1905") Franbflrrt am Main, 1965. Bodenheimer, Henriette Hannah. Prelude to Israel: The Memoirs of M. I. Badenheimer. Translated by Israel Cohen. New York, 1963.

Bodenheimer, Henriette Hannah. Toldoth Tochnith Basel. ("Prehistory of the Bssel Program") Jeruselem, 1948.

Bodenheimer, Max J. Wohin lPit den msaischen Juden? ("Wither the Russian Jews "1 Hamburg, 1891.

Breuer, Isaac. Judenproblem. (%3wish Problem") 4a. ed. Frankf'urt am Main, 1922. lhber, Mortin. Israel and the World: Essays in a Time of Crisis. Schocken Books. New York, 1963. Buber , Idart in. hi Reden ueber das Judentum. ("'Phree Speeches about Judaism") FrzJlkflxrt am Main, 1919. Cahnman, Werner J. HNwich and the First Zionist Congress," Historia Judaica, ed. by Guido Kisch, ~01.111, April 1941, No. 1, pp. 7-23. Central Conference of Iraerican Rabbis, Year Book. Cincinatti, O., 1898. Central Conference of American Rabbis. Year Book. Cincinatti, O., 1899.

Dubnov, Semen Markovich, History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Trans. by I. Friedlaender , Vol .11. Philadelphia, 1918. PEast Africa Scheme". Enoyclopedia of Zionism and Isrzel. 1971, vol.1.

l%ducation in Israel". Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 1971. vo1.T. Elbogen, Ismar, Ein Jabrhundert juedischen Lebens. ("A Century of Jewish ~ife") Edited by Ellen Littmann. ~~firtsun Main, 1967.

Fmunkin, Jakobg Gregor Aroson; Alexis Goldenmiser, ed. Russian Jewry (1860 - 1917) New York, 1966.

Gelber, N. Me "Alkalai, Jehuda ben Salomo Chai" &cyclopedia Judaica: Das Judentum in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Vol. 11, pp. 326 - 29. - Berlin, 1928. Glustrom, Simon. The Language of Judaism. New ~ork,1966. Goldmann, Elieaer. I Religious Issues in Israeles Political Life. / Jerusalem, 1964. + Greenstone, Julius H. The Messiah Idea in Jewish Historg, Philadelphia, 1906.

(!%ational Judaism" ) Leipzig and Vienna, 189'7. Hamhen, Mordechai. Al Hariahonim. ( "The First Ones1*) Tel Aviv, 1969 Halpern, Ben. The Idea of the Jewish State. Cambridge, Mass., 1961.

Herd, Theodor. Zionistische Schriften. ("Zionist ~rifings")vol.1 of Gerrmelte Zionistisch .e Werke . ("Collected Zionist Works") 3rd ed. Tel Aviv, 1934. Berzl, Theodor. me Complete Diaries. Edited by Raphael Pat& Translated by Harry Zohn. 5 vols. New York and London, 1960.

Herzl, Theodor. 'Fhe Jewish State: An Attempt at a Hodern Solution of the Jewish question. Translated and ed. by Jacob M, Alkow. New York, 1946. Hertzberg, Arthur, ed. The Zionist Idea: A Historical Analysis and Reader* With an Introduction and Bi~graphicalNotes. Foreward by Emarmel Neumann. Harper Torchbooks. New York, 1959.

Hess, Moses. Ausgewaehlte Schriften. ("Selected ~ritings"),Nited by Horst Lademacher. Cologne, 1962. Hess, Moses. Rome and Jerusalem: A Sh&y in Jewish Nationalism. Trans. from German with Introduction and Notes by Meyer WaXmann. New York, 1945.

Korodezky, S. A. "Kalischer, Zebi Hirsch ben Salomo" Encyclopedia Judaica: Das Judenfum in Geschichte und Gepenwart. Vol. IX, pp. 825 - 27. Berlin, 1932,

Hymson, Albert M. British Projects for the Restoration of the Jews. The British Palestine Committee, Azblication No. I.

"3wish Territorial Organization" Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 1971, vol. I.

KaJischer, Hirsch. Drischath Zion, oder Zions Herstellwlg- ("Seeking zionw) Translated by Dr. Poper. Thorn, 1865. Kohn, Hans. Nationalism and the Jewish Ethia: Basic Writings of Ahad Eavam. New York, 1962. Kohn, Hans. "Zion and the Jewish National Ideaw in Zionism BC-nsidered: !Phe Rejection of Jewish Normalq. $ Edited by Michael Selzer. Madill an Paperback. New York, 1970. pp. 175 - 212. Landau, Saul Raphael. Shrrm und Drang im Zionims. ("Storm and Stress in ioni ism us"). Vienna, 1937.

Lichtheim, Richard. Me Geschichte des deutschen Zionisnaxs. ("The History of German Zionism") Jerusalem, 199.

Mamaorstein, Emile. Heaven at Bay: The Jewish Kulturkampf in the Holy Land. London, 1969. "Minsk Conference". Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 1971, vol.11.

Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 1971, vol. 11.

Nach Jerusalem =hen wir nicht, sondern ziehen, wenn es noetig ist, Beich unseren christlichen Bruedern mif Gott fher Kaiser und Vaterland gegen die Feinde Deutschlands.Ein Schrif'tchen gewidmet ruts Liebe seinen katholischen und protestantischen Mitbruedern van einem Deufsohen mosaischer Religion, nach 38 jaehriger Ab- wesenheit in die geliebfe Heimat zurueckgekehrt. ("We rill not go to Jerusalem, but we will, if necessary, march against the enemies of Germany with our Christian brethren with God for Kaiser and Fatherland. A pamphlet dediaated in love to his Catholic and Protestant brethren by a German of Mosaic religion, who returned to his beloved home after an absence of 38 yeam.") Nnernberg, 1893. Neusner, Jakob . A life of Yohanan Ben Zakkai: Ca.I-80 C. E. 20 ed. compl. rev. ' . Leiden, 1970.

Nordau, Idax. Zionistische Schriften. ("Zionist Writings") ed, by Zionistisches Aktionbomitbe . Cologne, 1909, Parker, James William. History of Palestine: from 135 A. D. to modern times. 8 New York, 1949. Philipson, David. The Reform Movement in Judaism. Rev, ed. Solomon Freehof. Nope 1967 Pinsker, Leo, Road to Freedom: Writings and Addresses. With an Introduction by B, Netaaphu. . New York, 1944. wPopulation in Israel". Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel. 1971, Vol. 2. Jkoceedinm of The Zionist Congress. Held at Basle, Switzerland, August 29, 30, 31, 1897, Reprinted from The Jewish Chronicle of London, New York, 1897, Protokolle. Besides the translation of the proceedings of the first congress the following editions of the Stenographische Protokolle der Ve* handlungen des Zionisten-Kongresses ("St enographic protoc 01s of the Zionist ~ongress")were used: I. Congress, 1897 at Basel; Prag, 1911. 2. 11 1898 at Basel; Vienna, 1898. 3 tt 1899 at Basel; Vienna, 1899. 4. II 1900 at London; Vienna, 1900. 5. at 1901 at Basel; Vienna, 1901,

6.- o 1903 at Batrel; Vienna, 1903. 7 II 1905 at Basel; Berlin, 1905, 8. IS 1907 at Haw; Cologne, 1907. 9. 11 1909 at Hamburg; Cologne, 1910. 10, II 1911 at Basel; Berlin, 1911. Raisin, Jakob S, The. Haskalah Movement in Russia, Philadelphia, 1913, Roth, M. A. Der Zionismus vom Standpunkt der juedischen Orthodoxie beleuchtet. (TXonism looked at from the point of view of Orthodoxy") Bagytapolcsany, 1904.

Aruchas BatiAmmi, Israels Heilnng. ("Israel * s Salvation") Frankfirt am Main, 1883. Ruppin, Arthur. Die Juden der Gegenwart: Eine sozialwissenschaftliche Studie. ("The Jews of the present time, a sociological study") 2d ed,; Cologne and Berlin, 1911. Sachar, Ho.Q/rardNorley. The Course of Modern Jewish History. Delta Book. New York, 1958.

Salomonsohn, Dr, He Widerspricht der Zionismus unserer Religion? ('@IsZionism in contradiction to our religion? ") Berlin, 1898, SJmon, Leon. lhad Ha-am: Essays, Letters, Memoirs. Translated from the Hebrew and ed. Oxford, 1946.

Simon, Leon. Selected Essays by Ahad Ha-am. Translated from tlm Hebrew Philadelphia, 1948, Simon, Leon, Ahad Ha-am: Asher Ginzberg, a biography, Philadelphia, 1960.

Sakolow, Nahum. History of Zionism: 1600 - 1918. New York, 1969. Syrkin, Nachman. Essays on Socialist Zionism. N* pa, 1935. Talmon, J. I. The Unique and the Universal: Some Historical Reflections. New York, 1965. 'Puchman, Barbara V. Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from Bronze Age to Balfour. New York, 1956. Weimam, Chaim. Reden und Aufsaetze: 1901 - 1936. ("speeches and Articles: 1901 - 1936.") Berlin, 1937.

Weiamann, Chaim. Trial and Error: The Autobiography. Schocken Books. New York, 1966. Winer, Cershon. The Faunding Fathers of Israel. New York, 1971. Zionistische Vereinigung fier Deutschland ("Zionist Organization for Germany"). Zionistisches A-33-C-Buch ("Zionist A-B-G~ook") . Berlin, 1908,