The goal of the first generations of Zionists, and their precursors, was not just to return Jews to their ancestral homeland, but also to embody and disseminate a particular set of ideals. Benjamin Kerstein argues that American Jews—the majority of whom are unlikely to make aliyah—have much to gain by reacquainting themselves with this line of thinking:

The early Zionists . . . urged the Diaspora to adopt a veritable encyclopedia of principles and values, all based around the unthinkably radical idea that the Jews are a people with the same rights as any other people. These included pan-Jewish solidarity; political and social empowerment; active self-defense; the revival of the Hebrew language; secular knowledge of Jewish history, culture, and thought; the creation of new and uniquely Jewish works of art; and the integrity of the Jewish body itself.

They believed that, as Vladimir Jabotinsky put it, “We do not have to account to anybody, we are not to sit for anybody’s examination, and nobody is old enough to call on us to answer. We came before them and will leave after them. We are what we are; we are good for ourselves; we will not change and we do not want to.”

It seems to me that these are the principles and values that the American Jewish community now requires, perhaps more than ever. And they can be fostered through a “Zionism of the spirit,” in which the basic tenets of Zionism are given a Diaspora context. . . . After all, the Jews are one people, and have the same rights wherever we are.

After several weeks of passionate political conflict in Israel over judical reform, the tensions seem to be defused, or at least dialed down, for the time being. In light of this, and in anticipation of the Passover holiday soon upon us, Eric Cohen considers the way forward for both the Jewish state and the Jewish people. (Video, 8 minutes. A text is available at the link below.)