Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism , Religious Zionist Movement ( Hebrew ציונות דתית, pronounced as Zionut Datit ) or Religious Nationalism (Hebrew דתי לאומי, pronounced as Dati Leumi ) is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism .
history
Zwi Hirsch Kalischer was one of the first rabbis to represent religious Zionism in modern times . He was committed to the settlement of Jews in Israel. In his treatise Drischath Zion ("Zion's Production") from 1861 he takes the opinion that the redemption of the Jews promised by the prophets can only be achieved through additional self-help.
In 1902, Rabbis Reines and Seew Jawetz founded the Misrachi movement in Vilnius . The goals of this movement are observance of the commandments of Judaism and the return to Israel. Another religious movement is the Ashkenazi Orthodox Jewish movement Agudat Jisra'el, founded in Katowice in 1912 . Agudat Jisra'el was a gathering movement of traditional, strictly religious, non-Zionist Judaism. In the meantime, however, the movement supports the State of Israel, although it does not see itself as Zionist. Agudat Jisra'el was able to establish itself as a political party in Israel.
Bnei Akiva is a youth movement associated with the Mizrachi movement. Bne Akiwa ( Hebrew בני עקיבא, German sons Akiwas ) is a religious-Zionist youth association that was founded in 1929 under the League of Nations mandate for Palestine , which was then administered by the British to "establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine". At the beginning of the 20th century, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (who spent more than 50 million dollars on the settlement of Israel) and Jizchak Jakob Reines were committed to the idea of religious Zionism. Many religious organizations, on the other hand, were negative towards Zionism on the grounds that an attempt to restore Israel by man would be blasphemous and would have to be postponed until the arrival of the Messiah .
However, the increasing reference to Judaism was not without its effects on these religious organizations. Since Begin's ( Likud ) election victory as Prime Minister of Israel in 1977, the fight against the state that resulted from the rejection of the state has turned into a fight for the state of Israel. The increasing willingness to face the confrontations through representatives of secular Judaism shows a better integration into Israeli society. Although the majority of the Charedim living in Israel continue to refuse to participate in military service , there has been increasing political commitment over the past few years.
ideology
The cultivation of Israeli soil is a commandment in Judaism . In the Babylonian Talmud, however, there is a midrash (" three oaths "), according to which the Jews swore not to go to Israel en masse and not to rebel against other nations; the other nations, for their part, swore not to treat the Jews too badly. However, Maimonides wrote that the oaths are metaphorical. He also wrote frequently in his work that he attaches great importance to life in the Land of Israel and forbids people to leave it.
Religious Zionist Jews believe that the Land of Israel ( Eretz Israel ) - since it was given to the Jews by God - belongs permanently to the Jews. The motto of Religious Zionism is:
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"The land of Israel for the people of Israel according to the Torah of Israel."
The Hebrew term Torat Eretz Israel denotes Jewish teachings about the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel), especially those from a religious-Zionist point of view. The term is an abbreviation of the religious Zionism motto mentioned above. The works of Rabbi Abraham Isaak Kook , for example, are counted among these teachings .
Settlement of the West Bank
For today's image of the religious Zionists, the occupations in the Six Day War , especially Jerusalem and the West Bank (which corresponds to the biblical Judea and Samaria ), are decisive. For many religious Zionists, the conquest of these areas was evidence of the redemption process that had begun and the settlement of the area as the necessary consequence. That is why the Gush Emunim settlement movement developed from among them and laid the foundation for the more than 300,000 settlers today.
Zvi Yehuda Kook (1891–1982), son of Abraham Isaak, who was the mentor of the settlement movement and became one of the most important rabbis of the religious Zionists, played a prominent role . For him, the settlement of the occupied territories became the central religious imperative, as he was convinced that this was decisive for the next step in the redemption that had begun. That is why his prohibition regarding the return of the territories was set at the highest level known to Judaism (and otherwise only applies to idolatry, murder and sexual fornication): "Die, but do not sin!"
The developments after 1967 combined with the increasingly prominent teachings of Kook and his followers led to a shift to the right of the majority of religious Zionists. In their religious thinking, settlement of the West Bank became one - if not the - central category.
However, this brought the national religious to recurring confrontations with state projects, in particular the land-for-peace plans, as they came to fruition when peace was made with Egypt and would of course form the basis of a future Palestinian state.
These projects, and in particular the peace process , aroused harsh rejection on the part of the national religious and in individual cases also led to extreme acts of violence. The attempt to blow up the Temple Mount (with its mosques), the Baruch Goldstein massacre , which killed 29 Muslims and wounded over 100, and of course the murder of Yitzchak Rabin (because of his peace plans) were reactions from extremist religious Zionists on plans to divulge the "holy land" for them.
The question of how to deal with the occupied territories led - especially in the light of those acts of violence by members from within their own ranks - to political divisions. Today one can roughly speak of three political directions: a radical wing of falcons, for whom the settlement of the areas is the highest goal, a pragmatic wing of falcons, for whom the areas are of great importance, but are not placed above the state , and finally a moderate-liberal wing who would cede territories for a secure peace. The Hilltop Youth can be regarded as a relatively new phenomenon within religious Zionism . The majority of these young people were born in the West Bank and view this more than the State of Israel as their homeland. Rather, the peace process increasingly sees the state as an enemy. Action by the state against settler facilities is acknowledged by these young people with counter-attacks as part of a price tag policy.
Behavior at the polls and religious-Zionist parties
The ideological split is also reflected in their parties. Traditionally, the religious Zionists were represented in the Knesset by the National Religious Party (NRP or Mafdal ), which until the 1977 elections, with the exception of a few months, was always represented in the government and was able to win between 10 and 12 seats.
After 1977, especially in view of the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, the fronts within religious Zionism hardened and dealing with the territories became a political watershed. The NRP itself became more and more a party of the hawks. “There was no longer any place in the NRP for moderates or pacifists in view of the growing number of settlers,” explains David Glas, pacifist and Knesset member of the NRP between 1977 and 1981. As a result, the liberal part (around a quarter) of the religious Zionism no longer voted for the party and since then has tended to vote for parties from the center or left. This wing is methodologically separated from the majority, since for them modern elements such as human rights and democracy exist on an equal footing with the Torah and, from their point of view, are also compatible. With Meimad (Hebrew for “Jewish state, democratic state”) there is even a left-wing party of religious Zionists, which never won more than one seat and is not represented in the current Knesset.
On the other hand, for the radical part of the religious Zionists, the attitude of the NRP to the territories was not uncompromising enough, which has led to the formation of a number of parties that are almost exclusively devoted to the settlements. From 1999 these were represented by the National Union alliance , which won up to 9 seats in the last election (but only four in this election). The National Union works uncompromisingly for the further expansion of the settlements, an annexation of the West Bank and also for a "transfer" of the Palestinian population. Although it also acknowledges the Jewish character of the State of Israel and calls for it, the areas are so highly valued that secular parties with the corresponding ideology also come under the umbrella of the union. Although the religious Zionists are in the majority, the National Union is not a purely religious party alliance.
The fall of religious Zionists to parties to the left and right of the NRP has led to the situation that “the national religious party is the only party that most of its supporters do not vote,” as journalist Uri Orbach comments on this situation. The party itself is in a dilemma. It is committed to the classic motto of the religious Zionists: "The land of Israel for the people of Israel according to the Torah of Israel", d. In other words, she is both a representative of religious-orthodox aspects (such as identity, legislation, school system) as she is also a defender of the settlement project in the West Bank. In doing so, it has a profile problem: Religious concerns are represented “more authentically” by the ultra-Orthodox parties, while the settlement issue is served more emphatically by the National Union. It is therefore not surprising that the NRP (with the exception of the special 1996 election) has only won between four and six seats since 1977 and the successor party HaBajit haJehudi (“Jewish Home”) only three in the 2009 Knesset election. However, after the entrepreneur Naftali Bennett took over the chairmanship of the party, this increased sharply and won 12 seats in 2013.
In addition to the actual religious Zionist parties, the Likud is also ideologically connected to the settler wing of the religious Zionists, particularly through its historical Greater Israel policy. There is also a strong religious Zionist faction in Likud.
Religious Zionist Organizations
The religious kibbutz movement, an organization of the Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel, has existed in Israel since 1935. Since a single religious kibbutz would have problems defending religious-ideological principles, the religious-Zionist movement founded so-called settlement blocs. These consist of three kibbutzim each. There are three such settlement blocks in total. The movement also maintains various educational institutions, such as the Yeshiva Ein Tzurim, the Yeshiva Ma'ale Gilboa and the women's seminar Ein HaNatziv.
Another religious Zionist organization is Bne Akiwa. With over 125,000 members in more than 30 countries, Bne Akiwa is the largest religious Zionist Jewish youth organization. In 1929 the association was founded in Jerusalem.
dress
The shape and color of the kippah often provide information about the religious, political and also party-political background of its wearer.
Religious Zionists are often called "Kippot Srugot" what crocheted kippa means because crocheted skullcaps by many male religious Zionists are worn.
military service
For most religious Zionists, military service (for men) has a high value. Many male religious Zionists participate in the Hesder program, whereby they can combine their military service with the yeshiva study. These yeshivot allow Orthodox Jews to fully and actively participate in the defense of Israel in the IDF , in addition to intensive Torah study.
See also
Well-known religious Zionist people
media
- HaTzofe (Israeli newspaper)
- Tehumin
- Iton Meyuhad
- Arutz Scheva
education
Web links
- Zionism, currents
- Religious Zionists of America
- Mafdal parliamentary candidates
- "Kipa - House of Religious Zionism"
Individual evidence
- ↑ Drischath Zion, or Zion's production, in Hebrew by Hirsch Kalischer, translated into German by Dr. Poper, rabbi in Czarnikau. 2nd edition, Berlin 1905.
- ↑ Zvi Hirsch Kalischer (Jewish Encyclopedia)
- ↑ Hilchos Melachim 5: 9 "It is forbidden to leave Eretz Yisrael for the Diaspora at all times except: to study Torah; to marry; or to save [one's property] from the gentiles. [After accomplishing these objectives,] one must return." to Eretz Yisrael. "
- ^ Zvi Yehuda Kook. Quoted from Gideon Aran: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Land. P. 313. In: R. Scott Appleby: Spokesmen for the Despised. Fundamentalist Leaders for the Middle East. Chicago 1997, p. 294327
- ↑ a b Escalation in the West Bank Fokus-Nahost.de
- ↑ See Cohen, Asher. Religious Zionism and the National Religious Party in the 2003 Elections: An attempt to Respond to the Challenges of Religious, Ethnic and Political Schism. In: Arian, Asher; Shamir, Michal. The Elections in Israel - 2003. New Brunswick, 2005. pp. 187-213.
- ↑ hairetz.com
- ↑ HaGalil - Kippah ( Memento of the original from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Living Jewish - Jewish Attire!
- ↑ myjewishlearning.com - Kippah
