Geschreven door: Yuval Noah Harari
There is a lot at stake here, not just for Israel, but for Jews all over the world. If Netanyahu and his political allies cement their hold over Israel, it would spell the end of the historical bond between the Jewish people and ideas of universal justice, human rights, democracy and humanism. Judaism would instead make a covenant with bigotry, discrimination and violence. Jews in London and New York might wish to argue that they have nothing to do with Israel, and that what happens in the Middle East doesn’t represent the true spirit of Judaism. But they would be in an analogous situation to British and American communists in the 20th century, who tried in vain to argue that what Joseph Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union wasn’t really communism.
The main problem for non-Zionist Jews is that, unlike Buddhism or Protestantism, Judaism is a collectivist rather than individualistic religion, and building the state of Israel has been the most important collective enterprise of the modern Jewish people. If Israel is conquered by bigotry, it would become the face of Judaism worldwide.
The victory of the Netanyahu coalition and its bigoted worldview would have consequences not just throughout space, but also throughout time. For starters, it would retrospectively alter the meaning of the entire history of the state of Israel. Herzl, the founding father of modern Zionism, identified bigotry as an existential danger to Zionism already more than a century ago. In his 1902 book “The Old New Land,” in which Herzl envisioned the future state of Israel, he prophesied the rise of an imaginary party, led by Rabbi Geyer, that claims that Jews are superior to non-Jews and deserve special privileges. Herzl’s book warned readers that Geyer is “a blasphemer,” deviating from Jewish values.
Herzl severely criticized the idea that Jews are superior to other humans and deserve special privileges in the future state. His envisioned state was meant to serve as a national home for the Jewish people, but to give equal rights to all its inhabitants. Herzl wrote, “We do not ask to what race or religion a man belongs. If he is a man, that is enough for us.” Herzl feared that if Jews were tempted by Geyer’s ideas, this would destroy their state. The duty of the Jews, Herzl wrote, is to support “liberality, tolerance, love of mankind. Only then is Zion truly Zion! … But if you choose a Geyer man, you will not deserve to have the sun of our Holy Land shine upon you.” This was Herzl’s prophecy in 1902.
If Netanyahu’s bigoted vision vanquishes Herzl’s Zionist ethos, it would alter the meaning not only of the modern state of Israel, but also of thousands of years of prior Jewish history. Two millennia ago, religious zealots inflicted a terrible catastrophe on the Jewish people. Out of religious fanaticism, they rebelled against the Roman Empire. The legions of Vespasian and his son Titus defeated the Jewish zealots, conquered one city after the other, and finally surrounded Jerusalem in a ring of steel. The moderate Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai decided to escape the besieged city. To elude the Jewish fanatics, who would have killed him on the spot, he hid himself inside a coffin. According to Jewish lore, after exiting the city, Ben Zakkai prophesied that Vespasian would become emperor of Rome. The general was overjoyed by the prediction, and agreed to fulfill any request Ben Zakkai made. The rabbi asked Vespasian to spare from destruction the small town of Yavneh, and to allow Ben Zakkai to establish there a center of Jewish learning. The Roman general agreed.
Vespasian indeed became emperor, and left Judea to assume power in Rome. His son Titus was left behind to besiege Jerusalem, which he conquered and burned to the ground. Ben Zakkai went to Yavneh, and he and the entire Jewish people embarked on a unique historical journey — a journey of learning. Judaism renounced the burned temple, the bloodthirsty temple rituals and the zealots who ignited the flame of rebellion, and instead became a religion of learning. Jews lived in Yavneh, and learned. They settled in Cairo and Baghdad, and learned. They settled in Vilna and Brooklyn, and learned.
After 2,000 years, Jews from all over the world returned to Jerusalem, ostensibly to put into practice what they had learned. What great truth, then, did Jews discover in 2,000 years of study? Well, judging by the words and actions of Netanyahu and his allies, the Jews discovered what Vespasian, Titus and their legionnaires knew from the very beginning: They discovered the thirst for power, the joy of feeling superior and the dark pleasure of crushing weaker people under their feet. If that is indeed what Jews discovered, then what a waste of 2,000 years! Instead of asking for Yavneh, Ben Zakkai should have asked Vespasian and Titus to teach him what the Romans already knew.
If Jews have learned anything over the past 2,000 years that Titus didn’t know, now is the time to show it.
Bron: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/13/israel-independence-day-zionism-future/
Imaan Booster 