Monday, November 4, 2013

November 4, 2013

What problem/s for Jews did the varying kinds of Zionism propose to solve?
The problems Jews were having were a lack of unity in the community and the lack of a homeland. Zionism strived to give the Jews a stronger sense of identity that they needed by making Palestine the homeland and instituting Hebrew as the language. Nationally, Zionism strived to strengthen Judaism and the community of Jews by giving a set home and a language to the religion.

How did Pinsker analyze antisemitism (which he called Judeophobia) and what did he prescribe for Jews to do in response to it?
Pinsker firmly believed that the reason that Jews were discriminated against so much was because they were not part of a majority group. Not only were they not part of the majority group, they did not have a homeland or a set language. As a Zionist, Pinsker felt that if the Jews unified in very specific ways, that their numbers would make it so that they were no longer a minority group, they would not be discriminated against. He also pressed that the Jews were not to try to take their place in a Christian society, they would have to leave and settle somewhere else in order for them to be treated equally.

2 comments:

  1. The problems were greater than a lack of unity - in both eastern and western Europe, antisemitism was becoming stronger, and Zionism was proposed as a solution to it. By removing themselves from Europe and creating a Jewish state, the Zionists hoped to remove hostility against Jews.

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