TY - JOUR
T1 - “The great sin of today is the ‘politicization’ of our Judaism, the great need, the ‘Judaization’ of our politics”
T2 - Leon Roth and the possibilities of a Jewish critique of Zionist politics
AU - Yadgar, Yaacov
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This article explores the possibilities and limitations of a Jewish critique of Zionist politics and the State of Israel, via an engagement with the writings of Leon Roth (1896–1963). Specifically, the article focuses on three main themes: (a) the relation between Judaism and Jews, questioning the “ethnicist” foundation of Zionist ideology; (b) the relation between religion and politics as the two are constructed in modern European discourse, questioning the nationalist premise of the supremacy of nation-statist politics over religion; and (c) the meaning of Jewish secularism, questioning the Zionist claim to a “non-religious” Jewish identity. I argue that Roth’s critique of the moral failures of Zionism offers an illuminating explication of a Jewish critique of “the Jewish state”, while ultimately failing to form a coherent political voice because of its commitment to the concept of modern, nation-statist sovereignty.
AB - This article explores the possibilities and limitations of a Jewish critique of Zionist politics and the State of Israel, via an engagement with the writings of Leon Roth (1896–1963). Specifically, the article focuses on three main themes: (a) the relation between Judaism and Jews, questioning the “ethnicist” foundation of Zionist ideology; (b) the relation between religion and politics as the two are constructed in modern European discourse, questioning the nationalist premise of the supremacy of nation-statist politics over religion; and (c) the meaning of Jewish secularism, questioning the Zionist claim to a “non-religious” Jewish identity. I argue that Roth’s critique of the moral failures of Zionism offers an illuminating explication of a Jewish critique of “the Jewish state”, while ultimately failing to form a coherent political voice because of its commitment to the concept of modern, nation-statist sovereignty.
KW - Israel
KW - Judaism
KW - Leon Roth
KW - Zionism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129232181&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14725886.2022.2064735
DO - 10.1080/14725886.2022.2064735
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AN - SCOPUS:85129232181
SN - 1472-5886
VL - 22
SP - 412
EP - 437
JO - Journal of Modern Jewish Studies
JF - Journal of Modern Jewish Studies
IS - 4
ER -