Post-Zionism is the opinion of some
Israelis
Israelis (; ) are the Israeli citizenship law, citizens and nationals of the Israel, State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Israeli Jews, Jews and Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percen ...
,
diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and others, particularly in academia, that
Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
fulfilled its ideological mission with the formation of the modern
State of Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1948, and that Zionist ideology should therefore be considered at an end. The
Jewish right also use the term to refer to the
Israeli Left in light of the
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...
of 1993 and 1995. Some critics associate post-Zionism with
anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
; proponents strenuously deny this association.
Hebrew Universalism
Hebrew Universalism is a post-Zionist philosophy developed initially by Rav
Abraham Kook and expanded upon by
Israeli settler
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...
activist Rav
Yehuda HaKohen, as well as the
Vision Movement.
The philosophy attempts to synthesize "three forces" defined by Kook in his 1920 book, Lights of Rebirth. The three forces being: "The Holy" (
Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...
), "The Nation" (
secular Jewish Zionists), and "The Humanist" (General
Humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The me ...
). Kook believed that through his philosophy
anti-Zionists, Orthodox Jews, and secular nationalists could work together in Israel.
The current ideology, as espoused by the Vision Movement and HaKohen, draws inspiration from
Natan Yellin-Mor, Rav
Abraham Kook,
Canaanism
Canaanism was a cultural and ideological movement founded in 1939, reaching its peak among the Jews of Mandatory Palestine during the 1940s. It has had a significant effect on the course of Israeli art, literature and spiritual and political t ...
,
Avraham Stern
Avraham Stern (, ''Avraham Shtern''; December 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942), alias Yair (), was one of the leaders of the Jewish paramilitary organization Irgun. In September 1940, he founded a breakaway militant Zionist group named Lehi, c ...
,
anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
critics, and the left wing
Semitic Action
Semitic Action (, ''HaPeulah Hashemit'') was a small Israeli political group of the 1950s and 1960s which sought the creation of a regional federation encompassing Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The same name is used by a new group formed in 20 ...
group.
Criticism
Post-Zionism has been criticized by
Shlomo Avineri
Shlomo Avineri (Hebrew: שלמה אבינרי; born Jerzy Wiener; 20 August 1933 – 30 November 2023) was an Israeli political scientist. He was a professor of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and member of the Israel A ...
as a polite recasting of
anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
, and therefore a deceptive term.
Some right-wing Israelis have accused Jewish post-Zionists of being
self-hating Jew
The terms "self-hating Jew", "self-loathing Jew", and "auto-antisemite" (, ) are pejorative terms used to describe Jews that oppose certain characteristics that the claimant considers core to Jewish identity.
Early claims of self-hate were used ...
s.
See also
*
Antifa (Israel)
*
:Post-Zionists
*
Canaanism
Canaanism was a cultural and ideological movement founded in 1939, reaching its peak among the Jews of Mandatory Palestine during the 1940s. It has had a significant effect on the course of Israeli art, literature and spiritual and political t ...
*
Hebrew Universalism
*
Critical theory
Critical theory is a social, historical, and political school of thought and philosophical perspective which centers on analyzing and challenging systemic power relations in society, arguing that knowledge, truth, and social structures are ...
*
Deconstruction
In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...
*
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...
*
Postnationalism
Postnationalism or non-nationalism is the process or trend by which nation states and national identities lose their importance relative to cross-nation and self-organized or supranational union, supranational and global entities as well as local ...
References
External links
The Idea of Post-Zionism and its critiqueby Avishai Ehrich.
Resources and articles on Post-Zionismfrom the World Zionist Organization, tends to be critical.
by Paul J. White
Dr. Aaron Lerner IMRA September 1, 2002
Post-Zionism only rings onceby Neri Livneh from
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
The Love of Israel: After Post-ZionismEretz Acheret
Magazine
{{Authority control
Zionism
Political theories