In the Beginning
Few friends of Israel have managed to avoid noticing the deepening sense of
crisis—political, social and above all, cultural—which has beset
the Jewish state over the last three years. The Oslo accords, the accelerating
successes of Post-Zionist thought in Israel, the horrifying assassination of
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the unprecedented waves of recrimination and hatred
which ensued, and now, an election on essential issues which was decided by
a hair’s breadth—all these have worked to raise unprecedented questions
as to the long-term desirability and viability of a unified Jewish polity, and
of the Zionist consensus which once supported it.
Remarkably, there has as yet been no comprehensive attempt at understanding
the basic concepts and values which have caused the crisis in Jewish nationalism
and lie at its root. Faced with the absence of such serious Jewish national
and cultural thought capable of interpreting what is happening and pointing
to solutions, a group of individuals has formed around the common goal of filling
this need. The contents of this publication represent our first efforts in this
direction.
The Jewish nation will be faced with decisions of the first order in the years
ahead. Opportunities and dangers abound, whether in war or peace. But the direction
in which Israeli’s intelligentsia and its political allies are leading
the nation today is unequivocal: They have for years now advocated a worldview
which opposes everything hitherto accepted as being the basis of a Jewish state
integrally linked to the Jewish people. And their position has gained with every
passing year.
The struggle surrounding the promulgation of this worldview and its official
adoption in Israel is being conducted in the political, legal and social arenas,
but it is clear that at its heart what we are witnessing is a cultural struggle.
On the one side stand those who define themselves as hatzibur hana’or,
“the enlightened public,” and whose aim it is to achieve a state
that would be called “democratic and Jewish,” but which would have
nothing Jewish about it. On the other side are those who are persuaded that
the State of Israel and its democracy can only exist if it is a Jewish state.
The fundamental questions involved in this cultural struggle are neither “who
is a Jew” nor the nature of Israel’s security arrangements, but
rather “what is a Jew” and what is a Jewish state in our time. It
is a struggle between those for whom the most important issue is the continuing
existence of the Jewish nation and state two and three generations from now,
and those for whom national identity and continuity are relics of a past best
put behind us.
Azure aims to seek out and consolidate a new common denominator among Jews who
still believe in the Jewish state. With this, it seeks to form a new consensus
capable of refashioning our national goals. Such an effort demands an open and
comprehensive cultural discussion which can take place only if it embraces a
broad diversity of individuals and opinions, drawn from among all those who
are willing and able to assist in the formation of such a joint path. Azure
will therefore welcome all who are interested in taking part in the discussions
and dialogues that will be found on its pages.
On the centenary of the publication of Herzl’s The Jewish State, and close
to fifty years after the founding of the Jewish state in Israel, Azure strives
to bring new and fresh ideas to the Jewish nation, so as to assist in forging
its path for the next century.
Please let us know how our efforts are faring.
Ofir Haivry
Editor-in-Chief
June 1, 1996
All the Articles are Copyright © The Shalem Center. All rights reserved.
Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect
the views of The Shalem Center or Azure.