According to their website, Jewish
Voice for Peace is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in
the world. They explain: “We organize our people and we resist Zionism because
we love Jews, Jewishness and Judaism. Our struggle against Zionism is not only
an act of solidarity with the Palestinians, but also a concrete commitment to
creating a Jewish future we all deserve. We are fighting for a thriving Judaism
and Jewish communities, for a municipality of Jewish cultures and for the
future of the Jewish people.”
The viewpoint of Jewish Voice for Peace
which may seem shocking is actually nothing new and goes back to the ten spies
who were afraid to go to Israel and convinced the rest of the nation that
Israel isn’t worth their while. Because of their actions, those spies died and
B’nai Yisrael spent forty years in the wilderness while that entire generation died
out.
We read in Bamidbar 14:37: “Those
men died- who spread evil slander against the land- in a plague, before God.”
Why is it so bad that they spread
evil slander about the land? Does the Land of Israel get insulted?
According to Rav David Stav, we learn
from the Torah a basic way in which we are supposed to behave. We can argue and
disagree, but we shouldn’t speak evil about the land. We will all be hurt if
the Land of Israel has negative vibes associated with it.
Rav Stav explains:
Throughout history there have been
groups of Jewish people who rejected Israel and tried to disassociate
themselves from the land. There have been different excuses and the result was
that they remained in exile.
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi called this
phenomenon “cherpa,” disgrace, as it says in Sefer HaKuzari “You found the
place of my disgrace.”
In Tehillim 106:24 which summarizes
the history of B’nai Yisrael in the wilderness, there is an allusion to the
spies: “They despised the desirable land, they didn’t believe His word.”
At the end of the day, those who
relate to the Land of Israel will be able to go there and connect with the
Jewish nation, while those who despise the Land will remain outside in the
wilderness.
Rav Stav concludes:
The Zionist movement is a
continuation of the process that the heads of the nation like the Vilna Gaon
and his students already put into motion. They wanted to attach themselves to
the Land of Israel. The Zionist movement is the “tikun,” correction for the sin
of the spies. Those who love the land, even if they have differences amongst
themselves, will always remember that it is a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
If we remember who gave it to us as a gift and refrain from despising the
desirable land then we will reach the level of Kalev ben Yefuneh, one of the
two good spies, who said (Bamidbar 13:30) “We can surely go up to the Land and
we shall possess it.”
The entire Jewish religion is
centered around Israel. Just open a Tanach (Bible) or siddur (prayer book) and
you can’t escape it. Most of the Tanach takes places in Israel or revolves
around the yearning of the Jewish people to return there. Our holidays are set
up according to Israel’s agricultural calendar as are our prayers for rain.
Three times a day we pray asking to return to Zion and for the rebuilding of
the Beit HaMikdash (Temple).
While not every Jew can make aliya
at this time or even visit due to all different types of circumstances, that
doesn’t mean that they don’t love the land or that they aren’t yearning to
return.
May all Jews who love Israel have
the opportunity to come back home!
