How is Israel a Social Zionist State and Not Religious?

2 Comments

1. numnum says:

   November 8, 2009 at 11:42 am

   i dont know about social zionism. i can tell you that the founders of israels saw themselves as the new jews. no more jews who study Tora all day, pale, weak etc. new ones that work the land, strong and make their own destiny. the zionsm was mostly from russia, so it was effected strongly from comminism and socialism - as seen by kibutz way of life.
   modern israel is much more capitalist. like every western nation we try to find a balance between free market and social rights.

   i hope it helps
2. ai21 says:

   November 8, 2009 at 11:42 am

   1. the leaders that influenced early Israel the most came from Russia that at that time (~WW1) became communist - and so, they absorbed much of the ideology, and wanted to implement it in Israel. in addition, many Jews who came to Israel were young, and socialism appealed to them.

   2. Jews who came from Arab states were both religious AND Zionist, but they came only after Israel was established. most European Jews had to choose - because most of the religious groups feared that in a Jewish state, people will become less devout - and refused to go there. so the result was that while the majority of Jews was religious, the ones that arrived into Israel in the crucial times were not.

   3.after the holocaust people asked, how did G-d allow it?
   religious leaders didn’t have any answer, and so religion was weakened.
   but social Zionism, had an answer - G-d wants us to return to Israel, and the Racism that ended with the Holocaust happened after we ignored G-d’s will.

   since Social Zionism had the ideological answers, the leadership, and the majority it was the one who shaped Israel.