From a State in the Making to an Established State: Does Israel Still Need Zionism?

Zionism is one of the most deeply rooted concepts in the Israeli narrative. Precisely because of its central position, however, its meaning and function should now be reconsidered. For more than a century, it provided the ideological framework that legitimized the establishment of the State of Israel, justified its existence, and helped shape its identity. Yet no historical concept is immune to the test of time. The question that must now be asked is therefore no longer whether Zionism has succeeded, but whether it remains necessary within the reality it itself helped create.

For a long time, it appeared that the state would replace the communities of the Diaspora and that the new nation would become the ultimate framework of identity. Israel, however, ceased long ago to be a national project in the process of construction. And yet one contradiction persists: the sense of exile has not disappeared.

A Jew who wishes to settle in Israel is today required to undertake neither a pioneering act nor a commitment to an ideological project. He or she can become a citizen by virtue of belonging to the “Jewish people.” By contrast, a person who is not Jewish and wishes to make Israel........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)