Ethnic Identity Essay

Despite their origins as penniless refugees, the Jews, endowed with intelligence and industry, proved particularly capable of realizing the American dream. Yet, even while Jewish immigrants quickly scaled the steep hills of the American social strata, they, for the most part, remained steadfast to their ethnic identity. The Jews embraced a dual allegiance of sorts—appreciative towards their gracious American hosts, but dedicated as well to their exiled brethren in the diaspora. The nascent recreation of the Jewish national homeland has now laid bare this schizophrenic disposition. And therein lies a fundamental tension in mainstream American Zionism—We preach loftily the virtues of a multi-cultural, pluralistic society while seemingly preferring for our own people an ethnocentric nation-state.
Zionism posits a bifurcated claim. It declares, echoing Moses Hess, that the Jews are forever alien amongst the gentile peoples, incapable of integration, or even assimilation, into their exilic sanctuaries. The organic
traditional societies of Europe wherein the Jews sought safety were, as Herzl discerned, sealed off to the Jews, who, as an alien strain, presented a threat to the viability of such communities. Moreover, Zionism claims that regardless of Gentile antipathy, the Jews should not desire dissolution into their host nations, for theirs was a proud patrimony, comprising a distinct historical consciousness, value system, language, and mode of cultural self-expression. Thus, the Zionists concluded, the Jews required a state of their own, a state in which they too, much like the European nations they currently resided in, could develop autonomously and organically. Ultimately, the Zionists hoped for the restoration of the ancient Hebraic heritage on the revered soil of Palestine.
However, we are told America is different. Founded upon the liberal principles of universalism, democracy, and equality, the American project stands in stark contrast to the European nation-state model. America qua propositional nation welcomes all peoples into its social, commercial, cultural, and political spheres, even the Jews. No doubt this is something to be celebrated; this tolerance has afforded Jews tremendous opportunities. Jews sit on the Supreme Court, have headed the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, produce much of our entertainment content, manage some of our largest law firms, and have reached the upper echelons of our political system.
Yet, this multi-cultural persuasion is not to be found in Israel.
Israel is to have an explicit ethnic identity, bolstered by governmental fiat through legislation favoring racially Jewish immigration and enshrined in Israeli culture in its holidays, art, and public spaces. Yitzchak Rabin, patron saint of the Israeli center and left, a man most would not accuse of racism or rabid nationalism, proclaimed “The red line for Arabs is 20% of the population, that must not be gone over….I want to preserve the Jewish character of the state of Israel not by name only, but also in action, values, language, and culture.” This model appears little different than the nations of the old country. Sure, other peoples are afforded the full amount of safety and the enjoyment of basic rights, but they are to be aware that Israel is primarily a Jewish country, concerned with promoting the Jewish interest and ensuring the cultural and demographical dominance of its Jewish
majority.
My question then, is, which model do American Zionists prefer? We laud the American project, but why don’t we favor it for our own Israel? Is it more morally upstanding to base nationhood on a “creed” or an “idea,” or upon blood, race, ethnicity, religion, and land? Does not the latter, as evidenced by the carnage of the past century, most acutely during the reign of the third Reich, eventuate in racism, violence, and, ultimately, war? Has not the former proven itself to be a fountain of peace, moderation, and tolerance? Why does Jewish patriotism in the American context mean support for propositional nationhood while in the Israeli framework it means veneration of organic society?