TürkçeWhat is Zionism?
*AHMET TÜRKAN
Zionism derived from the word Zion. Zion is the name of Jerusalem which was conquered by King David and made capital of the kingdom, as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Yet, this word expanded its scope over time and started to signify the whole Land of Israel. The concept of Zionism which indicates the return to the homeland for Jewish people in mass emerged in the last quarter of 19th century.
If we take a look at the current religious map of the world, 33 percent of world population is Christian, 25 percent is Muslim and only 0,2 percent of the population is Jewish. Even though they have the lowest population, the matter of Jewish Zionism keeps the world agenda occupied for more than one and a half century. Consequently, it is essential to understand the 2000 years old Jewish history, specifically the last 200 years as well as the relationship between Jews and Westerners in order to fully understand Zionism.
Like an archeologist who meticulously approaches a historical artifact while excavating it out from the earth with his brush; in order to understand Zionism better, we need to handle the matter thoroughly in a delicate manner by avoiding general evaluations. Otherwise, the generalizations will lead to high error rate and accurate conclusions will not be inferred. While not every Jew is a Zionist, there are also fervent Christians who defend Jews as the real owner of Jerusalem and call for Messiah to come immediately. For instance, when the State of Israel established in 1948, many Jews were dubious about its legitimacy whereas Zionist Christians were overenthusiastic with the hope of impending second descend of Messiah. On the other hand, there are many different types of Zionism such as religious Zionism and National Zionism; not to mention, there are differences between the various Jewish groups’ opinion on Zionism of the past and of today. This is a process that progress in accordance with sometimes linear concept of history whereas other times circular concept of history.
The Loss of Jerusalem and Suspending Prayers
The importance of Jerusalem in religious life underlies in the belief that the Jewish state will be established by Messiah in this land. The Temple of Solomon is particularly important for Jews in the sense of pilgrimage and korban (sacrificial offerings). Every man needs to be present in the temple for offerings in Jewish holidays such as Passover (or Pesach), Shavuot and Sukkot. Jerusalem is not only a city chosen for them by God but also a place for settlement. After the destruction of Second Temple in 70 AD, Jerusalem became less present in Jews’ lives; however, its spiritual importance continued. They kept turning to Jerusalem during their prayers and praying for the reconstruction of Jerusalem on their tables. Orthodox Jews believe that their suspending prayers will happen again under the leadership of Messiah by the command of God. Yet, it is not possible to make a general assessment at this point. For example, orthodox Jews believe that the korban service was suspended and replaced with prayers and other worship in 70 AC. With the arrival of Messiah, it will be put into practice again. On the other hand, korban is a service of past that has no relevance today for Conservatives, Reconstructionists and Reformists. It is not possible to retreat the service whatsoever. Certain organizations such as the Temple Institute try to perform korban service in Jerusalem even though Messiah has not arrived yet and they often cause conflicts. Meanwhile, there are Jewish groups which argue that the time of Messiah will be a vegetarian period and thus, the korban service has lost its validity. Even though there are many different points of view concerning the suspending korban service due to the lack of the Temple, the opinions of the abovementioned groups on the establishment of State of Israel on Palestine land are pretty close. Subsequently, there is not always a direct correlation between the views on practicing the commands on the Hebrew Bible and the Zionism ideal of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.
The Religions Foundations of Zionism and Its Change
In both written and oral religious texts of Jews, there are commands about the loss of Jerusalem and the desire to take it back. For example, in the Book of Psalms, it says “We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” (Psalms 137: 2-6). Accordingly, the longing for Jerusalem has always been alive in Jewish history. This longing intensified after Roman Empire conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple of Solomon in 70 AD. As a consequence, Jews who were under the rule of different states have always wanted to return Jerusalem. But the key question is in which direction this return will happen. In Hebrew Bible, the book of Jeremiah states this return will happen under the hands of God with this excerpt “They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.” (Jeremiah 27: 22). In accordance with this passage, the sacred land which includes Jerusalem was promised to Abraham, the ancestor of Jews and his descendants by God; however, Jews were expelled from this land due to their sins and shall return to it by the will of God.
A New Philosophy of History Develops
A number of Jews argued that “Instead of living in exile in a city in which majority of the population is Jewish, it was better to live in Israel where majority of the people is polytheist.” whereas another group associated this incident with the Holy Book and revealed that their stance was more valid by saying “Any person who leave Babylonia went against an affirmative command.” As the conditions change over time, Jews developed a new philosophy of history. According to this philosophy, the main purpose of history is to prepare humankind for the arrival of Messiah. The period of Messiah’s time is more important than Messiah as a person. Thus, they are required to prepare the arrival of Messiah with their own efforts. The fact that Jewish notables got financially powerful and took an active role in world politics served as a catalyzer for this thought. The thought of accelerating Messiah’s arrival improved the relations with Christian Zionists and motivated them to follow a common policy.
Reformist Jews and Zionism
Reformist thought emerged in Germany at the beginning of 19th century as an alternative to Orthodox Judaism due to the fact that it did not meet the needs of society anymore. This movement tried to modernize the Judaism which got stuck in the face of Enlightenment and modernism. The validity of Hebrew Bible in everyday life were questioned and certain rules of Sabbath and kosher were bent. In addition to suggestions about the change in worshipping ways, Reformist Jews contemplated on the Zionism matter. While they were saying that Jews should blend in the country that they live in, they also made a distinction between Judaism and Jerusalem. They pushed the plans of return to the sacred land and reconstruction of the temple into the background and believed that the countries that they live in could be another Jerusalem. Accordingly the first Reformist Jews did not accept the thought of the establishment of a Jewish state in the sacred land; however, later they changed their minds. Especially majority of Reformist Jews who live in America today become avid supporters of Zionism within the changing conditions over time and started to defend the thought that they were against two centuries ago.
Mass Immigrations and the Dream of Establishing a State
Since the Jews in the West were considered responsible for plagues, poisoning of wells, kidnapping of Christian kids and were killed as well as forced to exile since the Roman Empire, Jews were motivated to look for other places. There were many Jewish immigration waves from one region to another due to reasons such as prejudice, discrimination and hate. Some of these immigration waves were towards Ottoman Empire. Jews who were expelled from Spain took shelter in Ottoman Empire, and were settled in different Ottoman cities including Istanbul during the rule of Sultan II. Bayezid. Jews who could not settle in Jerusalem embraced these places like their own and adjusted well. On the contrary to Jewish ghettos in Western countries which exclude Jews, Ottoman state bestowed them certain social and economic rights. Moreover, Jews in Ottoman Empire defined the lands that they live as a kind of New Jerusalem and maintained the sacredness of Jerusalem in a nostalgic way.
In 1492, Ottoman Archive Documents state that a number of Jews that came from Spain to Istanbul settled in Kuzguncuk and this neighborhood was seen as a Jewish village during the reign of Sultan II. Bayezid. Furthermore, Jews named Kuzguncuk as “a region that was attached to Jerusalem” and thought that it was more blessing to bury their dead on there than other neighborhoods.
During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, several Jews emigrated from Spain were settled in Safed. After the Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews from countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland and Lithuania came and settled in Jerusalem. Moreover, a Jewish committee named “Honorable Guardians of Sacred Land and Istanbul Community Council” threw an aid campaign for Jews in Jerusalem and the relations between Palestinian Jews and Jews diaspora in Istanbul improved. Ottoman Empire did not prevent this immigration to Palestine at first and provided convenience at the aspect of building religious and cultural bonds. At the last quarter of 19th century, Ottoman state’s attitude towards this immigration wave was more dubious.
A major, systematic, holistic immigration wave started with “pogrom” which was an emigration wave from Russia. As this wave intensified after 1882, the Jewish population in Ottoman land also increased. Sultan Abdul Hamid II got suspicious of Zionist activities in Palestine and thus, introduced certain prohibitions to prevent Jews from settling Palestine. However, European wealthy Jews enabled the immigration through certain bureaucratic maneuvers by taking the support of powerful states.
There were different perceptions about Zionist activities amongst Ottoman statesmen. The majority of the statesmen were disturbed by the Zionist activities in principle. Nonetheless they also tried to make use of the power of Western wealthy Jews in order to get their support. On the other hand, the thought of establishing a Zionist might be true but it was also utopian in the eyes of certain statesmen. The reason was that majority of Jews around the world was not convinced by Zionist ideal and the Ottoman Jews had a distant relationship with Zionists. For instance, the managers of Alliance Schools which had a great influence on the modernization of Eastern Jews were distant towards Zionists both in Istanbul and in Jerusalem. The reason behind this attitude was the fact that Zionist attributed great importance on Hebrew whereas Alliance Schools favored French language and educational system. Another reason was the possibility that Zionist activities might interrupt the studies of Alliance Schools and the schools might suffer. Jewish members of Alliance Schools thought that Zionist activities could antagonize Ottoman State and stir up a hornet’s nest. This viewpoint was pretty obvious in the reports of Alliance officials in Istanbul. To exemplify, Izak Fernandez, the head of Istanbul Alliance School was in a constant correspondence with Ottoman State officials about the Jewish emigration wave from Russia and Romania. Fernandez was informed that Jews were not allowed to immigrate Syria region and the state did not want to deal with a problem like in Bulgaria. The grand vizier of Ottoman Empire also notified Fernandez that he was against the thought of Theodor Herzl. Izak Fernandez was also against Zionist thought but he did not share the same opinion about the Jewish settlement in Palestine with Ottoman state. He shared his options with a statement that said “The movement led by Herzl is against the advantages of Jews in Ottoman Empire, Alliance Schools and Palestine settlements.”
The Factors Directly or Indirectly Influenced Zionism
It can be seen that the centuries long anti-Semitic treatment against Jews in the West continued to increase in 19th century. Yet, in this century, Jews were not economically and politically vulnerable like before. Meanwhile, the international developments led Western countries to have a more tolerant policy towards Jews. With the French Revolution (1789), many Jews were given citizenships in several countries and it was an important step towards Jews becoming a part of society. However, it can be observed that the outcome of these citizenships was not always positive. The decisions taken in parliaments did not immediately put into practice within the societies. The most know examples for this situation are Damascus affair in 1840, Mortara case and Dreyfus affair. The common ground of all these anti-Semitic cases is France. Especially the Albert Dreyfus affair was the last straw in the eyes of Jews. Albert Dreyfus who was a French artillery officer of Jewish descent was accused of espionage for Germany in 1894 and put on a trial in the following days. As an Australian journalist, Theodor Herzl was required to cover the case. Being a German nationalist, he did not acknowledge Albert Dreyfus to be right at first. Yet, he became a Jewish nationalist upon hearing the expression “Death to Jews!” used by French during the trial. He started to think about the Jewish problem and published his book entitled The Jewish State (Der Judenstaat) in 1896. One year later, he organized the First Zionist Congress with 208 delegates from different parts of the world and turned his thoughts and plans into a goal. Afterwards, Zionists continued their activities of founding a Jewish state step-by-step following a strategic plan. Theodor Herzl made a statement in the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 as such: “At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.” and this statement shows that workshops were done about this case and the process was progressing within a plan.
Zionist thoughts of Theodor Herzl were not received well at first within the majority of international Jewish community. They were thought to be nationalist and secular. However, the assassination of Czar Alexander II and the fact that Jews were seen responsible for it caused a major wave of Jewish emigration from Russia. Accordingly, the search for a homeland for the major wave of Jewish immigrants was effective in putting the Zionist thoughts into action.
Consequently, there are four factors that directly influenced Zionist thought within the context of settling mass wave of Jewish immigrants at the end of 19th century. These are; Jews expelled from Russia and their forced emigration, Albert Dreyfus affair, the overlap between revisionist thought of Zionist Christians and Zionist Judaism and finally, the international conjecture being in favor of Zionist Jews.
Search for Alternative Homeland
The expulsion of Jews from Russia through harbors such as Sevastopol created an immigration wave towards the Ottoman Empire. The archive documents of that time reveal that the Ottoman state helped Jews for board and lodging and arranged them places for accommodation. Since the first arrivers stayed in shack-like places, it caused a series of health problems and a cholera epidemic; thus, the Ottoman state needed to take certain precautions. When Ottoman government asked the Chief Rabbinate in Istanbul whether a number of houses could be allocated for new Jewish immigrants, the Rabbinate answered that they had a guesthouse belonged to their congregation; however, it was not enough to house so many immigrants. Hence, the government started to arrange houses to lease for Jews in Istanbul; in the meantime, make a planning to settle Jews in different Ottoman cities. Sultan Abdul Hamid II allowed Jews to be settled in different Ottoman regions but absolutely forbade to letting them settle in Jerusalem. Since he observed the Zionist ambitions of establishing a Jewish state, he commanded his bureaucrats not to be tolerant on this issue.
Seeing the decisiveness of Ottoman Empire about Jerusalem, Theodor Herzl considered other options for Jewish homeland. As a matter of fact, his observation on Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem created a negative impression on him. Even though he was Jewish, he supported secular thought and dreamt of building a secular state. Because of this, he was not against it when places other than Jerusalem were suggested as a homeland. Yet, when majority of Zionist Jews specified that it would be huge disappointment for them if they start searching for other homeland than Jerusalem, he focused his efforts on this city.
Taking the Ottoman Archive Documents of that time into regard, it can be seen that certain American bureaucrats on duty for Ottoman Empire also made efforts for this purpose. For instance, certain previous American ambassador of Istanbul who returned to his country after his retirement sent a letter to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, requesting the Island of Rhodes to be given to Jews and let them establish a colony there. Sultan Abdul Hamid II had certain ideas about where to place Jews in Mesopotamia but he was completely opposed to the idea of Jewish settlements in Jerusalem.
Two Sides of the Medallion
Even though the main element that fed Zionism was the Western anti-Semitism, the main problem for Zionists in 19th century became Ottoman Empire and then, Muslim Arabs. The facts that Jerusalem was an Ottoman land and Zionists wanted Jerusalem for homeland made Ottoman state and Zionists opponents. At that time, Ottoman state was dealing with Armenian problem as well as observing the Zionist activities. However, state was separating Zionists from Jewish immigrants who were now Ottoman citizens. Despite all of these treatments, it can be observed that Zionism problem was provoked by foreign powers in media. For example, English paper The Times carried out a perception operation with a title “Religious Intolerance in Turkey” in its issue dated March 10, 1892. According to the fictionalized news article, there was a religious intolerance in Turkey and the reason for this was that Sultan Abdul Hamid II did not permit Jews to go to Jerusalem. Whereas around that time, Sultan was offering shelter for majority of the Jews emigrating from Russia and covering their food and accommodation expenses and preventing them from going only Jerusalem; which is why, he was accused of being intolerant. On the other side of the medallion, the same year Jews celebrated their 400th anniversary of their immigration to Ottoman Empire. This situation can be clearly observed in a letter sent by French Jewish members of Alliance Israelite Universelle School on April 1892, as follows: “Due to the 400th anniversary of Jews emigrating from Spain to Ottoman Empire, more than 314.000 Jews living in Ottoman Empire offer their gratitude to Sultan. They also read Hebrew poems for Sultan Bayezid II (may He be in heaven) in all synagogues in 1492 when they were embraced by the Ottoman Empire. In this respect, Alliance Israelite Universelle delegate in Paris offered this written gratitude whose translation was given below to Sultan Abdul Hamid II. At the spring of 1492, Jews expelled from Spain took shelter in Ottoman Empire. At that time, even though Jews were under oppression in other parts of the world, they were honored with acceptance under Ottoman rule and to this day, they benefited from this rule, continued and advanced their lives under the command of Sultan. Even though Jews cannot give a worthy thanks in the face of all these blessing and help that they have been honored with, they will keep trying to prove that they are worthy of this guardianship.”
The Competition between Zionists and Alliance School
The fact that Ottoman government was in correspondence with Alliance in regard to Jewish immigration problem displays a trust towards these schools. Alliance Schools which were founded after 1840 Damascus affair for the purpose of modernizing Eastern Jews gave a French education. Ottoman Archive documents show that Ottoman state gave permission to open schools in Palestine regions such as Jaffa and Haifa to Alliance. On the other hand, there was a competition between Alliance Schools and Zionists. Yusuf Akçura pointed out this competition in a visit to Jaffa in 1913 as such: “Today’s politics in the whole world is school politics. Jews also applies this. They are also opening schools in order to own Palestine and put Zionism into execution. There was another smaller girls school that had French scribing in front of the school we visited. It was Alliance Israelite School. I heard that there is a competition between Zionism and Alliance.”
Yusuf Akçura met with Dr. Nissin, the head of Zionist girls school in Jaffa, and observed the Zionist activities in this region closely. According to him, Zionists were quite ambitious and self-sacrificing about reaching their goals. Akçura acquired this observation in a girls teacher school in Berlin. He met a female teacher who was going to raise Jewish children in Palestine according to modern methods after she finished her school. Akçura asked her:
“Are you a Zionist?” The candidate teacher replied:
“Of course. Is is possible to be a Jewish girl and not be a Zionist?”
Akçura saw that this ambition he witnessed was in all Zionist Jews in Jaffa and also observed that the relationship between Alliance and Zionist schools was not positive. The founder of Zionist girls school in Jaffa, Dr. Nissin told him: “Here, right across from us, is Alliance girls school. It looks small and poor next to ours. They are an obstacle who prefers French to their own language. Look at the French scriptures, hardly seeable, at the top of the building. Then, look at ours.”
One of Yusuf Akçura’s visits was to Muslim schools and according to him; there were many infrastructural, financial, hygienic and pedagogical problems in this schools as well as low number of students.
As a consequence, it can be inferred that Alliance schools was not close with Zionism at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century. This was also because the schools originated from France whose policies which were not aligned with Jews at that time. Moreover, the activities of Zionist schools in Palestine were towards establishment of a state whereas Alliance Schools were inclined towards the scientific modernization of the Jews. Accordingly, Alliance did not have a mission to establish a Jewish state but it also was not against the Jewish immigration to Palestine land. Seeing Zionist Jews built the educational and medical infrastructure in Jaffa and Tel Aviv without a legal infrastructure in 1913, Yusuf Akçura thought “Why could the people who built a city like this not build a couple of other cities and maybe even a small state while working for a common goal?”
International Conjuncture Supports Zionism
Jerusalem was a junction point for the competition between important states in 19th century and the highest point of this competition was the Crimean War (1853-1856) which was a consequence of Holy Places Issue. When Western states supported Ottoman Empire against Russia in this war, Ottoman Empire gave several religious compromises and privileges to Westerners with the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856. Furthermore, Jewish notables suggested that a Jewish state could be established in Palestine on Western media in 1854. A number of Zionist Christians offered their support and yet, with the lack of support from majority of the Jews and international conjecture, this thought did not put into action. However, the defeat of Ottoman Empire in 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war and its aftermath that included a great loss of land and the autonomy for Bulgaria whetted the appetite of Jews in Eastern Europe and Russia. Thus, the purpose of finding a homeland for Jews specifically fed the popularity of nationalism in Jewish circles of Eastern Europe. Even though Ottoman Empire tried to prevent the Jewish immigration, the Jews continued to immigrate to Palestine. Despite all these efforts, it can be seen that the Jewish population was very low and not enough to establish a state in the region before the invasion of Jerusalem after Ottomans’ defeat and the British Mandate in 1917.
The British invasion of Egypt in 1882 and their attempt to take control over Suez Canal increased the strategic importance of Jerusalem. Suggesting that it was the intention of Brits to establish a Jewish state from the beginning would be a generalization. It was important for them to take control of Palestine in order to maintain their dominance on Suez Canal and the roads to India. The main motivation for Brits in this region was the effective and active Jewish lobby. When Britain was in a tight situation during the First World War, it attempted to include the USA in the war through Jewish lobbies and made certain promises about Palestine land to Jews. On December 11, 1917, Jerusalem was captured by British forces led by General Allenby. During this period, there was a British policy which economically, demographically and administratively foregrounded Jews. Zionist Intelligence Agencies and armed groups in Jerusalem were all disregarded by Brits. From time to time, the assassinations and safety problems caused by Jews gave trouble for British Mandate. It could be observed that sometimes British Mandate were reluctant to provide for never-ending requests of Jews. When Jews pressured Brits to immediately establish a Jewish state, Brits told them that they were promised a “homeland” not a “state” and yet, Zionist did not give up on their claims.
Another issue that was less discussed was that Brits also prioritized Protestant Christians as well as Jews. Even though Britain promised Catholics that their French rights in Jerusalem would not be harmed through secret agreements during the First World War, it can be seen from the papers around that time that Britain did not keep its promise to France. To exemplify, The Times newspaper published an article entitled “Moral Decadence In The Holy Land” on March 31, 1922. In the interview, The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem Luigi Barlassina gave to The Times, he stated “Latin people lived very well for centuries in Palestine under the rule Muslim rulers and kept their rights. However, since the emergence of Zionism, they have been experiencing many alarming practical difficulties.”
When the interviewer asked how Zionism affects this situation, the Patriarch replied:
“I will answer this question with another question. What are Zionists looking for in Palestine? Their most notable goal is to establish a Jewish Kingdom. This Zionist political goal even troubles the Orthodox Jews in Palestine. These Zionists come from Russia, Hungary and other countries. Those who came from Russia are mostly Bolsheviks, Communists or Socialists. As you know, a Russian socialist has completely different character from a British Socialist. However, all of these Jews are given political ideas that are completely opposite of their spiritual ideals. Sometimes they say there are not many Bolsheviks and political groups in here. To them, I say: ‘Go to Palestine and see for yourself.’ Even if it is true that there are not many of them in here, the fact is that they have enormous influence and witness horrible uprisings and acts.”
Zionists under British Mandate not only disturb Muslims but also Catholic Christians. However, the Zionist lobbies around the world demanded and pressured Britain to kept its promise which was given during World War I. This led British Mandate to disregard Jews in many ways such as their perception operations and military operations. Brits’ prioritization of Protestants was theological whereas their prioritization of Jews was mostly political and partially theopolitical.
What is the Vatican’s Perspective on Zionism?
When Zionist movement was organizing and gaining momentum in the world, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) was head of the Catholic Church. During his reign, his attitude towards Zionist policies was not generally positive. Despite not being openly against the Jewish immigration to Sacred Land, he openly reacted to the Jewish state that could have total control over the Christian sanctuaries.
Theodor Herzl spent a great effort to get Vatican’s support. He met with Papal legate in Austria in 1896 and gave his word that a Jewish state in Palestine would not be against Catholics’ interests and Christian sanctuaries would have international status. Another discussed matter was that the Jewish state would not include important cities for Christianity such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. However, the Vatican was openly against the Jewish state even though it did not oppose against Jewish settlements. It is observed that this attitude of Vatican at the end of 19th century continued during the reign of Pope Pius X (1903-1914) in the beginning of 20th century.
British Mandate rule in the region did not wipe away the Vatican’s worries about Catholics. After the Second World War, Vatican followed closely the developments in the region and in a way adopted a wait-and-see strategy. Furthermore, Vatican found the UN’s two-state solution for the region on 29 April 1947 appropriate hoping that this solution would meet the religious and political needs of the region. According to Vatican, an international structure in Jerusalem could guarantee the rights of Catholics in Palestine. However, the developments were not like what Vatican predicted and today, all Christians including Catholics are under great tension both in the aspects of population and placement due to Israel’s policies.
The Key is under the Mat!
Zionism drew the attention of the USA more closely after the Second World War. The USA always offers its support to Zionist, even about the matters that Britain was hesitant. In this sense, Britain approach Zionism within the context of politics or partially theopolitics; the USA always adopts a theopolitical approach. Zionist Christians in the USA play a big role in this. Moreover, when the State of Israel was established in 1948, a great number of Jews questioned the validity of this state and hesitant about immigrating to Israel; eighty percent of Zionist Christians saw it as a step towards the dream of “second descension of Messiah”.
On May 14, 1948, a day before the Israeli Declaration of Independence, a journalist asked a British officer:
“To whom are you thinking of giving your keys?” The officer replied:
“I will leave them under the mat.”
Taking a closer look to the rule of British mandate between the years of 1917 and 1948, they most probably indicated the place of the keys to Jews with gestures and mimics. Taking a closer look to the American policy from 1948 to today, it was even too much to leave the keys under the mat for Americans; they probably gave them directly to the hands of Zionists. The use of metaphors in the discourse of the President of USA is a clear proof of this. President Truman who came to power with the support of Jews in America in 1952 said that he was Cyrus on a visit to Jewish Institute. But who is Cyrus?
Cyrus Metaphor
Cyrus was a Persian King who allowed Jews who were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC to come back in 538 BC. By likening himself to Cyrus, President Truman indicated that the 2000 year long exile of Jews was over. After 1977, the presence of right-wing parties in Israel and Evangelical Christians in America’s politics enabled Israel to increase its unlawful and one-sided policies. With the support of the USA and its veto power in the UN, Israel violated several UN resolutions and continued its unlawful policies. Within this context, Republican President Trump claimed Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 2017, despite not having the approval of more than ninety percent of world nations and moved American embassy to Jerusalem. Because of Trump’s support, he was likened to Cyrus like President Truman and a coin was minted bearing Trump's image to honor his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Even though he was not likened to Cyrus by Zionist Jews, Democrat and Catholic President Biden expressed his one sided support to Israel by saying “You need not be a Jew to be a Zionist. I'm a Zionist.”
Today’s Israel and Zionism
In today’s Israel, Hilonis is the secular group which has the highest population rate as it comprises the forty percent of the population in Israel. Haredi Jews which is a branch of strictly Orthodox Judaism comprise the eight percent of the population and they defend a state of Hebrew law. Dati Jews who are more tolerant than Haredi Jews pay attention to religious rules and comprise the ten percent of the population. Masorti Jews which include Netanyahu’s party are in between the Orthodoxies and secular group; they have traditionalist views and comprise the twenty three percent of Israel’s population. According to a detailed 2014 research, it can be seen that Haredis (Ultra Orthodox), Datis (Modern Orthodox), Masortis (Conservatives) and Hilonis (Secular) did not give the same answers to questions such as “Would you like to live with Arabs?” and “Would you like send Arabs out of Palestine?” While right wing Jews did not give positive answers, left wing Jews had more positive thoughts. On the other hand, majority of Jews –except for Haredis which is the eight percent of the population-, living in a Jewish state, see themselves as Zionists and thought that wanting an existence of a Jewish state is a cultural and religious obligation of being a Jew. While 62 percent of Haredis did not care for Zionism, the majority of Hilonis, Datis and Masortis cared for Zionism. In this context, 91 percent of all Jewish groups in Israel answered with “It is obligatory to have a Jewish state in order for Jewish existence to continue”. A century ago, Zionism which was opposed by majority of Jews with statements such as “utopian”, “lack of religious background”, “It is pointless to go Jerusalem in modern times; if you blend in wherever you are, that place is your Jerusalem”; and now, the majority of the Jews support Zionism. It should be noted that the religion of Judaism and Jewish tradition had a great importance and role in the development, growth and spread of Zionism. At the last quarter of 19th century, it was understood by the secular and nationalist founding fathers of Zionism that Zionist thought could not grow without a religious place and discourse and thus, they got rid of other options than Jerusalem. However, for 1200 years under the Muslim rule, Jerusalem was an equal city whereas now, under the rule of Israel for 70 years, it has become a city where every kind of oppression, violence, inequality and slaughter occurs in front of the world’s eyes. Perhaps this is an epiphany predicted by Chancellor of the German Reich, Prince of Bismarck a century ago. His statements in Sebilürreşad journal on July 9, 1921 can be taken as a proof:
“There was an agenda about Jerusalem in The League of Nations brought by the Vatican in order to protect it from immoral things. The Vatican was immensely offended by the suggestion that places like cafés, movie theaters should be opened in Jerusalem. The notable Christian officials prefer to preserve the old sacredness of Jerusalem, like under the rule of Ottoman Empire. Since Jerusalem was a sacred place for Ottoman Empire, immoral structures were not allowed in the city. Different Christian groups were pleased by this way of ruling. Bismarck made a remark about this issue as such: ‘If one day Ottoman Empire dissolves, the last place to go would be Palestine. Because it is nearly impossible to find a power that can protect this place objectively like Ottoman Empire does.”
Conclusion and Suggestion
Zionist movement which is motivated to have a state in Jewish sacred land, excluding the arrival of Messiah, grew in the direction of one goal at the last quarter of 19th century and created a common ground for Jewish groups with different views. In addition to international conjuncture, the problems between Muslim states worked for the interest of Zionists. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Zionist Jews kept supporting Israel with the help of their lobbies in America. By constantly mentioning the Nazi policies during the Second World War, the concept of anti-Semitism kept alive in the West and this worked for the validation of one-sided Zionist policies. However the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza since 7 October 2023, critically decreased the support for Israel. This might give birth to the dissolution of Zionist order which took years to make. Western public opinion has an important influence on the politics of their countries.
Zionists took important steps about Jewish immigration to Palestine for one and a half centuries; however, it is predicted that they will try to fix their broken image for a long time after October 7. The one problem that should be faced by Zionist Jews is that there will be a major increase in the number of ultra Orthodoxies and ultra right wing Jews in the following fifty years and how to solve the major divergence between two groups.
There are two ways to make Jerusalem a peaceful city again and to stop Israel’s one-sided policies. One of them is that Muslim states should act together within the framework of a strategic plan that centers on Jerusalem and has a specific mission, vision, aim and policies and the other is that Muslims should act together with Christian groups in Jerusalem in an institutional way, not only within the context of neighborhood relations. Every church in Jerusalem has a counterpart in the West and this could change the dynamic in there because Israel gained the upper hand by following the below mentioned policies since 1948:
- Unlawful invasion and settlements,
- Creating a tactical and strategic aim to remove the possibility of a Muslim-Christian coalition that can strengthen the national leadership of Palestine,
- Following deterrent policies that prevents the establishment of a united Christian force against Israel’s policies concerning Jerusalem,
- Buying or hiring as much land of churches as possible,
- Attacking Muslim sanctuaries and attempting to capture them,
- Triggering the differences between Muslims.
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