Page 6 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - June 13
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Israel would always put its national interests outdated ideological purity of a handful of
above those of Diaspora Jews." British immigrants.
In trying to re-define his attitude to Zionism, Tony I certainly found some controversial issues in this
quotes from his own writing from around 1982: book on which I personally (far left -of-Centre in
"The State of Israel had been established so today's Israeli political terms) broadly agree with
one can no longer say that Zionism is the idea Tony's analysis. I find myself in agreement with
of establishing a Jewish State in Eretz Israel'. the author on practically all of his criticism of
Israel today and the impossible situation into
In 1982, he had offered a definition that 'Zionism which we have been led by all of our
is the principle that the State of Israel belongs not Governments since 1967. I also agree with Tony's
only to its citizens, but also to the entire Jewish cogent arguments on Israel and anti-Semitism that
people.' He admits that "it now seems bizarre that branding the attempts to delegitimize Israel for
I seemed to see no confusion between talking political reasons is "effectively an escape from the
about a country belonging to its citizens, a need both to argue the case for Zionism and to
significant proportion of whom were not Jewish, destroy the anti-Zionist case by attacking its
and at the same time, belonging to Jews who premises." As Tony points out:
didn't even live there and had no intention of Don't we often feel Israel's leaders are "best
doing so."
served by exaggerating levels of anti-
In addition to his discussion of the larger issues of Semitism, to the detriment of Jewish life?"
Zionism (and, to a lesser extent, of Kibbutz life), I am certainly not the only person in Israel who
Tony has some interesting revelations about the squirms at the over-kill used by our politicians
Movement, issues about which most of us Bogrei (and not only by them) of anti-Semitism and the
Habonim here in Israel would be unaware. In the Holocaust.
period following the Six-Day war, senior
members were preoccupied with the question of In the harshest of terms, Tony explains the erosion
what should be done with the territories now of support for Israel and why we see "the world"
occupied by Israel. By 1968, most members of the moving to permanent anti-Israel positions:
Amiad Garin had gone to Israel and a new group an attitude had developed that claimed that
had been formed but had not yet decided on which Israel and Jews throughout the world cannot
Kibbutz they should settle. Tony writes: continuously rely on European feelings of
After the Six-Day War, the debate changed guilt regarding the Holocaust to ensure
radically; the possibility of settling beyond the support of positions which are politically and
Green Line emerged as an option. It was morally unacceptable to the rest of the world.
certainly not considered illegitimate to discuss Rather, there is now a clear tendency for
it. liberal opinion to swing towards groups who
openly oppose Israel, Zionism, the notion of
Further referring to Movement developments, it Jewish nation and statehood, on the grounds
was under Tony's "watch" as Mazkir Habonim that such groups also have legitimate rights
that the hugely symbolic step (perhaps also which must be satisfied.
financially motivated) of closing the remaining
Hachshara at the David Eder farm in West Sussex I find it difficult to argue with his note about the
was taken." In Tony’s words: failure of the Kibbutz Movement in its declared
In many respects it represented communal aim of deeply influencing the social structure of
living more complete than Kibbutz itself. And the whole of Israel. In the 1950s, the Kibbutz
yet Kibbutz was certainly not going to change "was the cornerstone of the State and the State
in order to accommodate the increasingly judged itself according to the standards of the
Kibbutz." Then, "material possessions were few
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