Judaism, Nationalism, and the Land of Israel

ISBN-13: 9780367015718 / Angielski / Twarda / 2019 / 188 str.

Martin Sicker

Opis

This book provides unique insights into the profound religious and cultural issues underlying the increasingly ideological divisions within Israeli society over the questions of territorial concessions and the future character of the state. It explores the significant distinctions between modern Zionism, a primarily secular nationalist movement modeled after the European movements of the nineteenth century, and the much older traditional Jewish nationalism, which is deeply rooted in ancient religion and culture. Dr. Sicker offers a concise overview of the 3,000-year intellectual history of Jewish nationalism, within which modern secular Zionism represents a relatively brief—although immensely important—interlude that may be entering its final stage as other more traditional religious nationalist concepts seek to take its place as the national ideology of the State of Israel. An analysis of how Jewish religious nationalism has shaped the history of the Jews, this book examines the national and territorial dimensions of classical Judaism, explains the survival of the nationalist idea despite the repeated loss of independence and the exile of the majority of the people from their homeland, and demonstrates how the nineteenth-century religious reform movement sought to counter both the growth of Zionism and the resurgence of traditional Jewish nationalism. The book concludes with a discussion of the new ideological synthesis of Judaism, nationalism, and the Land of Israel and its implications for the future of the Jewish state.

Spis treści

Introduction -- The Founding of the Nation -- Between the Ideal and the Reality -- Coping with Exile and Powerlessness -- The National Question in Medieval Jewish Thought -- The Beginnings of Modern Jewish Nationalism -- The Growth of Secular Nationalism -- Affirmation of the Diaspora -- Political Zionism and Territorialism -- The National Idea in the Twentieth Century

O autorze

Sicker, Martin