A Jewish friend of mine once told me, rather angrily, that not all Jews are Zionists. I strongly disagree. The only difference here is in the intensity of the propensity for Zionism, which in its essence is present in every Jew. These words of Hatikva, the National Anthem of Israel, are describing not just an Israeli soul, but any Jewish soul, I would venture to say, without exception:
“As long as in the heart A Jewish soul still yearns, And onward, to the East, An eye still gazes toward Zion, Our hope is not yet lost, The hope of two thousand years, To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
If these words are not an accurate description of Zionism, what else could Zionism be, by definition? Those who suggest otherwise are hypocrites.
There is no such thing as an anti-Zionist Jew. Among the closed circles of ultra-Orthodox awaiters of the Mashiach, a technical religious objection has long been raised to the existence of the modern State of Israel, but it has never amounted to anything close to a political delegitimization, and, moreover, even these objectors cannot be called anti-Zionists, but rather, Messianic Zionists. Besides, none of them would rather give Zion away than consent to such a preemption of the rightful Messiah’s historically designated mission. Just like the Torah, the Mashiach is a powerful irrational symbol, whereas Medinat Yisroel is the ultimate rational reality that no Jew today can live without.
In other words, there is no real alternative to Zionism among the Jews. The whole question boils down just to those who want to physically live in Israel, and those who don’t.
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