A Threat from Within

A Century of Jewish Opposition to Zionism

Yakov M. Rabkin

His profound and extensive grounding in history and political science enabled the author to examine a variety of Judaic scholars whose views, however diverse, reflect the supremacy of Torah ethics over nationalism. I hope that their views, expressed mostly before the establishment of the State of Israel, will, in our post-Zionist times, help reduce anti-Semitism and show the way towards peace and security in the Middle East. —Rabbi Baruch Horovitz, Dean, Jerusalem Academy of Jewish Studies, Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim. This book sheds light on religious anti-Zionism, which, demographically and ideologically, represents the most serious threat to Israel as a State and as a collective identity. In fact, it is a more grievous and dangerous challenge than Arab and Palestinian hostility. The State, by increasing its achievements, leads the country straight into an abyss. To paraphrase Marx, one could say that Israel, by virtue of its spectacular development, is digging its own tomb. —Joseph Hodara, Professor of Sociology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Yakov Rabkin has written an enlightening book about the historic diversity of Jewish views on Zionism with special attention to those religious Jews who seek continuity in Jewish life that transcends the Holocaust and Israel. By daring to question Zionism as it has come to be known and practiced, Rabkin squarely poses the question of the future of Jewish life. This question will form the struggle of Jewish identity in the 21st century. —Marc H. Ellis, University Professor of American and Jewish Studies, Director, Center for American and Jewish Studies, Baylor University

Contents

• Foreword
• Prologue
• Orientations
• A New Identity
• The Land of Israel: Exile and Return
• The Use of Force
• Collaboration and Its Limits
• Zionism, the Shoah and the State of Israel
• Prophecies of Destruction
• Epilogue
• Afterword
• References
• Glossary
• Index

About the Author

YAKOV RABKIN has taught Jewish history and the history of science at the University of Montreal since 1973.

Excerpt

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