What is Zionism? This question was posed on Thursday at the Wolfond Centre by Daniel Roth, a second year student at U of T and a member of the Jewish group Ha’Shomer Ha’tzair Kidma on campus.
In our age, Zionism has different meanings, said Roth. “The meaning of the word ‘Kidma’ means ‘forward’ in Hebrew. My belief is that the definition of Zionism must move forward just like the word suggests, towards a more progressive view.” The original goal of Zionism has been accomplished: Israel is now a Jewish state that is recognized throughout the world. Therefore, said Roth, the definition of Zionism must now be expanded to attain the next goal, which is peace in the region. Of course, modern history has shown that this is easier said than done. Roth says that Israel must recognize the Palestinians’ right to their land. This should now be part of the definition of Zionism: a two-state solution, a state for Jews and a state for the Palestinians.
Second-year student John Jaffit disagreed. “The definition of Zionism cannot move forward because we are still fighting for the recognition of the Jewish state. Most Arab countries still don’t recognize Israel and this is why we need Zionism, to keep fighting for this recognition. If we didn’t have anti-Israel attacks that are happening every day in Israel, we wouldn’t need Zionism. As a matter of fact, I think that Zionism is a terrible thing; I don’t think that we should fight for the existence of a state that is already there.”
Both Jaffit and Roth agreed on the fact that in our age Israel should be focusing on the goal of peace. In this sense, the agreed consensus was that the definition of Zionism is moldable because it faces new challenges and overcomes many transformations.
One such transformation shows the positive side of the elasticity of the term “Zionism.” “In our age, Israel is not only a place for Jews,” said Erin, a second-year student. “There are Arabs living in Israel who have the freedom to practice their customs and traditions as much as any other Jew. The same goes for Christians, and people of any other religion. So Zionism, in itself has room for anyone who wishes to live in Israel.”
“But should we continue to mold the definition of Zionism further?” one student in the discussion (who wanted to stay anonymous) asked. “If we keep changing our definition of what Zionism is, we will be left without a state. I think that what we are forgetting here is the Holocaust and the horrific historical events that the Jewish people had to go through in order to achieve their dream of Zionism. If what we do now is strip the definition of Zionism from its original meaning, it won’t be long until we will be left without a state once again.”
The fact that a mutual consensus to the definition of Zionism was not reached did not frustrate Roth. “As the organizer of this activity, I received the results that I was hoping for, which is to educate people. The issue of Zionism is complicated and in order to educate people of its complexity I think that a group discussion is much more effective than having a huge rally that stirs up people’s emotions but does not involve any rational thoughts about the issues at hand.”
