This video is about Zionism. If you are a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim, you should be a Zionist unless you totally ignore the Bible because the one Bible that often groups share in common is the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. That is clearly a Zionist work from the very beginning of God telling Abraham that his ancestors would be slaves in Egypt and God will take them out and bring them to the land of Israel.
The first five books of the holy Torah is the Zionist book. It tells a whole story of them going to Israel, staying in Israel and to be in Israel and then it ends with Moses not being able to go into the land but knowing that Joshua would take the people in.
And then, from there on, the book of Joshua and Judges and Samuel and Kings, they are all about the Jews being in the land, living in the land, their history in the land and their part of the covenant which used to be in the land through the end of the Bible. Even though people conquer them, the Assyrians conquer the ten northern tribes in 722, that is in the Bible and the Babylonians conquered Jew in 586 and that is in Bible.
Then the Jews were forced to leave and then they came back. We have synagogues in Israel, 4th or 6th century synagogues. The only time the Jews ever left is when they were forced to by the Romans taking them away of slaves and after rebellion in 70 and in 132, but the Jewish people have desperately wanted to be back. In fact, over almost 700 times in the Hebrew Bible, Jerusalem was mentioned. It was not even mentioned once in the Koran. But it is clear that the whole Bible is a Zionist book.
And throughout world history, the Jews who did not live in Israel desperately want to pray everyday, in our prayers, in our grace after meals, in our sentence after Passover next year in Jerusalem desperately wanting to go back.
The Jews had stayed there the entire time but the Jews who left always wanted to go back and continue and started to go back when they could. Finally, in the early part of 1920’s, The Lord Balfour of the British Empire and the British controlled the land of Palestine at that time, issued a paper saying the Jews had a right to their own land.
Part of the history is this was that Theodore Herzl in the 19th century was a bystander watching the awful trial of Captain Dreyfus who was the highest ranking Jew on the French military and was wrongfully accused of treason trumped up charges of anti Semitism. It hurt so sad if that can happen in France which was the first country to give them the correct rights. The only answer to the Jewish situation is to have their own homeland.
Neevicam really pounding on doors, his expression was a few will. It is no dream. In 1897, there was a first Zionist Congress in Basil, Switzerland where they predicted that within 50 years it would be a Jewish state and exactly 50 years later the UN voted the partition Palestine which the Jews accepted. The Arabs unfortunately did not and started the war but the Jews were able to win and safeguard the land and the Jewish state now in its 60th year. It will have a 60th birthday coming up this May. Thank goodness.
Now, there are various ideologies that went into the creation of the state. Not all Jews have the same reason. If you want to read about this in depth, the best book I think is by Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg called the ‘Zionist’s Idea’ which has excerpts of a lot of the main thinkers in Zionism. They have also a brilliant introduction.
For example, did they believed, that when the state existed that all Jews would go there. No, not everybody thought that. Many believe that Jews would stay outside of Isarael, somewhere.
Pinscher was one great Zionist thinker. He advocated about all Jews go bit thought that many, the book would. Moses had said no, they want to not all go, Theodore Herzl he said, “Absolutely they will all go to Israel.” Haddam felt that it was not really important that Israel should be a cultural sect in religious spiritual center.
What about should they have their religious character, should not have be a religious state Pinscher, said it should be a secular and Herzl said it should be secular, Haddam said it should be humanist but has spiritual authority. Zirkin said it should be socialist—that should be its religion and of course Ralph Cook said it should be religious.
But what impact will it have on the situation affecting the Jews? It has thought, it would greatly benefit the world, and as in fact, that has been true. There is no country in the world that helps the world more per capita than Israel in terms of medicine and technology and art and literature.
Pinscher thought that it would solve the Jewish political problem, people would not be anti-Semitic anymore and that has been completely wrong. People are very anti-Semitic in Israel, many not all of course but some.
Haddam understood they would never eliminate anti-Semitism because it would never be just a normal regular country and why is it that Jerusalem has more foreign correspondents than any country in the world outside the United States and I think Moscow.
Why did you need it? Well Pinscher said, because of anti-Semitism, Herzl said it would be the place of ingathering of the Jews. Zirkin said he needs a Jewish socialist state while Ralph Cook said it would be for a lot of purposes so you could see there are lots of different views that went in to the creation of Zionism.
It deluding to me that people that are Muslims and, I mean I understand their political reasons, but if you are a person who is basing your religion on the Bible, we all have the Hebrew Bible in common—it is clearly a Zionist book. So Zionism is one of God’s clearest ideas the Jewish people right and need to be in the land of Israel.
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