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Introduction to Judaism Israel / Zionism Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana

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Introduction to Judaism Israel / Zionism Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana 1 Introduction to Judaism Israel / Zionism Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana 1. Origins of Zionism: The Jewish Problem a. Exile – 70 AD b. Emancipation of European Jewry – 1789-1918 i. Ghettos freed by Napoleon – many restored after his fall in 1815 c. Anti-Semitism restored in France i. 1886 – Edouard Drumont “Jewish France” 1. 1200 pages of antisemitic invective which appeared in Paris in 1886 and went through hundreds of printings and sold in the millions. Attributed all of France’s ills to the Jews. ii. 1894 – Dryfus affair 1. Alfred Dreyfus, an Alsatian captain, was accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. Dreyfus was not religious or even acknowledged as a Jew, yet he became the pawn of anti-Semitic and anti-Republic forces. The entire country became divided between Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards. The subsequent trial and its anti- Semitic overtones served as an impetus for many Jews (i.e. Herzl) to become aware of their own Jewishness. iii. Theodore Herzl – journalist at Dryfus trial – 1. Jews are “nation” – unique in diaspora - need home 2. control of own destiny – be a “normal” nation 3. “The Jewish State” 1896 d. Russian Pogroms 1871-1906 i. Emigration 1. First Aliyah (1882-1903) a. moshavot 2. Second Aliyah (1904-1914) Russia, Galicia, Rumania and Poland a. 2,000,000 to US; b. 200,000 to Britain c. 60,000 to Palestine - “Second Aliyah” i. Idealists - libnot u’lhibatot ba ii. Kibbutz, Yishuv, Ha-Shomer iii. Reality: over half leave 2. Zionism takes root a. First Zionist Congress – 1897 i. Urges: “a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine” ii. Meetings in Basil: 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1911, 1927, 1931 b. Holocaust i. German anti-Semitism institutionalized 1933-1941 ii. Jewish refuges refused entry around the world iii. Post-Holocaust immigration 3. The Palestinian Problem 1 2 a. Herzl – need to share the land, full rights b. British Mandate 1920: i. In April 1920, in the small Italian town of San Remo, Britain and France divide the Middle East into mandates while the American ambassador read his newspaper in the garden. Britain obtained Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq; the French acquired Syria. ii. The Council of the League of Nations: July 24, 1922 c. Arab Riots 1929 d. 1903 – British government formally proposes Uganda. Discussed and rejected at Zionist Congress of 1903 (Herzl dies 1904) e. 1917 - Balfour Declaration i. British support for “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” f. 1937 - Peel Commission – divide the land unevenly (see map) – Undergrounds g. 1948 - UN Partition Plan (see map) h. 1948 - War of Independence (Arabic: an-Nakba – “the Catastrophe) i. Refugees – UN camps ii. Declaration of Independence iii. Right of Return 1. Immigration of Jews from Arab countries i. 1964 – PLO Charter – Partition of 1948 is illegal and Israel has no right to exist j. 1967 - Six Day War – June 1967 – changed conversation i. Captured: West Bank (Jordon), Golan (Syria), Sinai (Egypt) ii. Refugees iii. “Land for Peace” – PM Levi Eshkol: “waiting for a phone call” Willingness to return land for recognition of Israel’s right to exist iv. Arab League meets in Khartoum: no peace w/Israel, no negotiation, no acceptance of Israel’s right to exist k. 1973 - Yom Kippur War – changed conversation again. Labor out of power. l. 1977 – Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem, address Knesset m. 1979 – Camp David: Carter, Begin, Sadat. Return Sinai for peace. n. 1982 – Operation “Peace for the Galilee” – PLO in southern Lebennon. Plan: Push PLO out of rocket ranger. Actual: Push to Beirut. Reagan decides to rescue Arafat. Under Israeli guns, Arafat leaves Beirut and is transported to Tunis. Invited on condition that all operations take place outside Tunis. Arafat begins tour of European and Arab capitals. Treated as diplomat. o. 1987 – Intifada (1) – Stones and Rocks p. 1993 – Oslo: Clinton, Rabin, Arafat. Arafat invited to change role from terrorist to statesman q. 1995 – Assassination of Yitzchak Rabin r. 2000 – Camp David (then Taba): Clinton, Barak, Arafat. Talks fail. s. 2000 – Intifada 2 – Guns & Bombs. Blamed on Sharon’s campaign visit to Temple Mount – documented that planning had begun before (unlike Intifada 1). Arafat seen as promoting terrorism t. 2001 – Separation Fence begins to be built - helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005.[2] 2 3 u. 2002 – January – the Israeli Navy seized a Gaza-bound, PA-owned freighter ― the Karine A ― that was loaded with more than fifty tons of Iranian ammunition and weapons, including dozens of surface-to-surface Katyusha rockets. v. 2002 – June – Bush calls for isolation of Arafat. Progress required 'a new and different Palestinian leadership...not compromised by terror.' w. 2003 – April – Mahmud Abbas Prime Minister, “Road Map” released – Quartet (US, EU, UN, FSU) – two-state solution x. 2004 - Arafat dies y. 2005 – Disengagement from Gaza – plans for West Bank as well z. 2006 – Second Lebanon War aa. 2009 – Gaza War bb. 2009 – America elects Obama, Israel elects Netanyahu. Pope visits Israel/Palestine 3 1 Introduction to Judaism Zionism and Israel An Abriged Source Reader Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana 1. THE JEWISH STATE (1896) Theodor Herzl We are one people--our enemies have made us one without our consent, as repeatedly happens in history. Distress binds us together, and, thus united, we suddenly discover our strength. Yes, we are strong enough to form a State, and, indeed, a model State. We possess all human and material resources necessary for the purpose. This is therefore the appropriate place to give an account of what has been somewhat roughly termed our "human material." But it would not be appreciated till the broad lines of the plan, on which everything depends, has first been marked out. THE PLAN The whole plan is in its essence perfectly simple, as it must necessarily be if it is to come within the comprehension of all. Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest we shall manage for ourselves. The creation of a new State is neither ridiculous nor impossible. We have in our day witnessed the process in connection with nations which were not largely members of the middle class, but poorer, less educated, and consequently weaker than ourselves. The Governments of all countries scourged by Anti- Semitism will be keenly interested in assisting us to obtain the sovereignty we want. We must not imagine the departure of the Jews to be a sudden one. It will be gradual, continuous, and will cover many decades. The poorest will go first to cultivate the soil. In accordance with a preconceived plan, they will construct roads, bridges, railways and telegraph installations; regulate rivers; and build their own dwellings; their labor will create trade, trade will create markets and markets will attract new settlers, for every man will go voluntarily, at his own expense and his own risk. The labor expended on the land will enhance its value, and the Jews will soon perceive that a new and permanent sphere of operation is opening here for that spirit of enterprise which has heretofore met only with hatred and obloquy. 1 2 2. The Balfour Declaration November 2, 1917 Foreign Office November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour 3. The Palestine Mandate The Council of the League of Nations: July 24, 1922 Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; and Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and 2 3 Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and Whereas by the afore-mentioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League Of Nations; confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as follows: ARTICLE 1.
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