...These strange distinctions between spirit and matter in national existence are giving rise to another vague distinction between what is called the spiritual Zionism of Ahad Ha'am and the political Zionism of Theodor Herzl, when Burg and his friends call on us to turn our backs on Herzlian Zionism and to choose the Ahad Ha'am option. Not only are they missing the true intention of Ahad Ha'am, who specifically aspired to a Jewish state, but they also fail to understand that had Ahad Ha'am arrived in the State of Israel at the beginning of the 21st century he would actually have enjoyed what he saw, whereas his friend Herzl would have been disappointed and worried.
The spiritual center in the Land of Israel to which Ahad Ha'am was referring was not meant to be 'a light unto the nations' that would teach humanity to distinguish between right and wrong (he was not a megalomanic like some lunatic Jews), but rather a spiritual center that would concentrate within itself the Hebrew Jewish codes, in order to prevent a split in identity of the Jewish communities scattered throughout the world. Were Ahad Ha'am to arrive in Israel and see the research activity in all branches of Jewish history and thought, the departments in the various universities and colleges, the tremendous number of Torah scholars (who are living off the state), the many Israeli lecturers on all branches of Judaism, who are also reinforcing the Jewish studies departments in universities abroad and the many publications on Jewish subjects, he would be very pleased with what he saw; in addition to his amazement that this small country of Israel, despite its wars and difficulties, has achieved a place of honor in the community of nations, relative to its size, in science, literature, music, art, dance, film and theater.
But were Theodor Herzl to arrive in the Jewish state, not only would he be disappointed at the fact that the majority of Jews did not follow in the path of Zionism and missed the opportunity given them to establish a state before the Holocaust, a state that in the 1920s and 1930s would have reduced the dimensions of the terrible catastrophe that befell the Jewish people; he would also be worried about the fact that the existence of a Jewish state is not preventing hatred of Jews in the world, at a time when Israel itself still faces an existential threat.
It is not "spirituality" that we are lacking here - of that we have more than enough - rather, it is a better understanding of the concepts of ethical sovereignty and responsibility, based on clear boundaries of Israeli identity that does not rule over a foreign nation in order to achieve a few more pieces of land in the name of "Jewish spirituality."
A.B. Yehoshua is a great writer. His views on Israel and Diaspora are not mine. I don't think he understands "spirituality" as it has taken hold in some precincts of Diaspora Jewish life --he is blinded by the abhorrent mix of intolerant, dried-out religion and self-aggrandizing power politics within the Israeli ultra-observant communities. But I am grateful for his recognition that Jewish (and universal) morality insist on "ethical sovereignty and responsibility."
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