Without any desire to lose myself in philosophic subtleties, I shall, for the sake of brevity, adopt the Hegelian language and explain the development of these issues on the principle of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis, i. e., of the initial prevalence of one extreme, of its yielding subsequently to the opposite extreme, and of the final harmonization of the two in a higher unity, combining the essential features of both. I shall endeavor to point out that the Synthesis forms the ground on which both parties may cooperate, without sacrificing an iota of their respective convictions.
The first issue, expressed in the formula "Diaspora versus Palestine," hinges on the question as to whether the Jewish people finds its best opportunities for development in the Diaspora, i. e., as an integral part of the nations in whose midst it lives, or, away from the other nations, as a separate entity, on its own soil in Palestine.
The Rise and Fall of "Diaspora Judaism"
WHEN modern Jewry, after the isolation of centuries, suddenly emerged from the Ghetto to seek a place in the sun in the midst of the Christian environment, the thesis adopted by it was Diaspora. Consumed with the desire for emancipation, for sharing the benefits and attractions of the new life around them, the Jews discarded the hope for an independent national existence in Palestine, which had been their lode-star throughout the ages. Diaspora as opposed to Palestine, and as exclusive of it, became the slogan of emancipated Jewry. The Jewish religion was refitted to harmonize with this new striving for material and cultural progress. Reform Judaism arose, the main object of which was to break down the previous separateness of the Jews; and the theory of a "Jewish mission" sprang into life, not as a spontaneous growth of Jewish tradition, but as a forced hothouse product of practical life—a theory which proclaimed that an isolated Jewish existence in Palestine was subversive of the very essence of Judaism, that the mission of the Jewish people was to propagate monotheism among the nations of the earth, and that this mission could only be carried out in the Dispersion, in the midst of the nations which were to be the objects of that mission.
As time progressed, however, the "Diaspora" thesis gradually lost its force. Emancipation failed to fulfill the ardent hopes attached to it. The nations refused to allow the Jews to participate fully and unrestrictedly in the general life of the country. Anti-Semitism, manifesting itself in the crude form of hatred, or under the subtle guise of prejudice, turned, in many cases, the liberties previously granted to the Jews into a scrap of paper. On the other hand, the dangers of this extreme Diaspora Judaism, at first little thought of, began to loom larger and larger. The rush for emancipation threatened not only to disrupt the unity of the Jewish people throughout the world, which had been maintained during the ages of suffering and persecution, but it also led large and important sections of Jewry to assimilation, that is, to complete absorption.
The Antithesis "Palestine" and Its Inadequacy
AS a protest against the thesis "Diaspora," its opposite came to life, the antithesis "Palestine." Political Zionism sprang into being, loudly proclaiming that emancipation was a failure; that Judaism had no chance of life in the Dispersion, and that the only salvation of Jewry lay in being transferred to Palestine. Zionism or assimilation was the alternative placed before the Jewish people. All efforts of Jewry, as the last attempt to escape annihilation, were to be focused on the obtaining of a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine. All Jewish endeavors in the Diaspora were deprecated, because consecrated to a cause which was foredoomed to failure.
It was not long before the antithesis, too, began to reveal its deficiencies. The difficulties of reaching the Zionist goal very soon proved far greater than had been anticipated in the blissful ecstasy of the Zionist honeymoon. The ultimate consummation of the national hope receded further and further before the longing gaze of the Jewish people, and no longer held out an immediate remedy for the pressing needs of suffering Jewry. The conviction also gradually gained ground that, even under the most favorable of circumstances, Palestine could only harbor a fraction of the Jewish, people, and that the vast bulk of Jews would still remain in the lands of the Diaspora. Zionists who were looking reality in the face could not accept the view of the extremists, who were ready to save a small portion of the Jewish people at the cost of abandoning to its fate the enormous majority thereof.
Opposing Ideals Fused Into Spiritual Zionism
AS a result, a new formula asserted itself: Diaspora plus Palestine. It was the combination between the two extremes of Diaspora existence and Palestine existence. This synthesis, generally called Cultural or Spiritual Zionism, proclaimed that Palestine was indispensable for the continuation of Judaism, for it was the only spot where the spirit of Judaism, undisturbed by conflicting influences, could develop normally and unfold all its hidden possibilities, and the only bond of unity which could save the scattered members of the race from falling asunder into disjointed fragments. The Diaspora, on the other hand, as the dwelling place of the overwhelming majority of the Jewish people, had problems of its own which clamored equally for solution.