Israel’s founding dreamer envisioned a New Society

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Wednesday, July 3, is the 120th anniversary of the death of Theodore Herzl (1860-1904). A secular Jew, journalist and playwright, Herzl witnessed the growth of European antisemitism in the early 1890s and turned political activist. He responded to the “Jewish Question” by founding the modern Zionist movement that over the coming decades grew into the movement for self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel.

As the war between Israel and Hamas continues and as debates about Zionism take a much-needed summer break on American college campuses, it is worth revisiting Herzl’s life and mission.

Herzl’s story, like Israel’s story, is the story of Jews but not just for Jews. It is the most remarkable, most improbable story in the modern era. It is a story of the national liberation of an historically oppressed people, a story of overcoming odds, of lifting the downtrodden, of realizing dreams. In this sense, it is a universal story that should be known and celebrated especially by progressives. Indeed, there is no greater success story of progressive values and vision than Israel.

Herzl envisioned a New Society, a state that took care of the health, education and welfare of its citizens and that harnessed new technology for the good of all. And yet, in some ways, Herzl’s vision was narrow. Though he imagined a diverse society, he did not thoroughly consider the desires of Palestinian Arabs. He assumed they would be grateful for the benefits of modernization but died before appreciating the impact of emerging Arab nationalism.

Herzl’s vision and Israel’s reality are not one and the same. But neither conforms to the slanderous progressive narrative of Zionism as a white colonial movement that oppresses Black and brown people.

Here in the U.S., progressives speak out for immigrants as is just and right. Israel has absorbed immigrants from 103 countries speaking 82 languages. Here, progressives highlight the plight of refugees. Those who moved to Israel were almost all refugees, many of them Black and brown people fleeing oppression in Arab countries and finding a home and a haven in Israel. Here, progressives fight for the rights of the LGBTQ community. Recently in Tel Aviv, 250,000 people came out for the annual Pride parade. Meanwhile, gays are paraded around Gaza for public execution. Here, progressives seek to break the glass barrier for women in corporate America. In Israel, women fighter pilots break the sound barrier, while among some of Israel’s neighbors, they are not even allowed to drive.

No, Israel is not the model society of which Herzl dreamed. Right-wing government ministers are racist. For too long, their policies along with the actions of some settlers have threatened, targeted and dehumanized Palestinians. And the war in Gaza, begun by Hamas, is a heartbreaking tragedy that has left tens of thousands of civilians killed and displaced.

But in the face of pogroms, ancient and modern, Herzl gave Jews pride, place and purpose. It is a message that can be embraced by all people, regardless of their faith or nationality. To be a Zionist is to believe in the human potential to turn dreams into reality. To be a Zionist is to challenge people to rise above the lot they have been dealt. To be a Zionist is not only to support the state of Israel. It is to believe that all people have the right to self-determination. And therefore, with Israel’s right to exist as a precondition and with important questions of Israel’s security as a caveat, I believe anyone who calls themselves a Zionist should be especially sympathetic to Palestinians’ desire for a state of their own living side by side with Israel.

On the anniversary of his death, we honor Herzl’s memory by learning and teaching his story, by fighting antisemitism, by supporting Israel, by working to achieve his utopian vision for all people, and by never giving up hope. As he said and as he showed the world, “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Alexander Davis is chief rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park.