에이나트 빌프: 이스라엘을 이해하는 5가지 핵심 개념

The Best Explanation of Zionism and Israel - YouTube

The Best Explanation of Zionism and Israel

Einat Wilf

15.4K subscribers

29,533 views  Mar 30, 2015

Israel is the most discussed yet least understood place in the world. Dr. Einat Wilf has spent much of her life trying to explain it to others. In this speech, she presents five concepts that are critical to understanding what is really going on in Israel, and why.

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세진님, 보내주신 에이나트 빌프(Einat Wilf) 박사의 강연록 <지오니즘과 이스라엘에 대한 최고의 설명(The Best Explanation of Zionism and Israel)>을 바탕으로 요청하신 요약과 평론을 작성해 드립니다.

전체 분량은 약 1,200 단어로 맞추었으며, 약속드린 지침에 따라 본문은 <해라>체로 일관되게 작성했습니다 . 별표 기호는 가독성을 방해하지 않도록 모두 배제하거나 필요한 경우 문맥 기호(< >)로 대체했습니다 [cite: 10-01, 2025-10-01].

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에이나트 빌프 강연 요약: 이스라엘을 이해하는 5가지 핵심 개념

본 강연에서 에이나트 빌프 박사는 이스라엘이라는 국가와 사회의 본질을 관통하는 5가지 거시적 개념을 제시하며, 이스라엘이 단순한 영토적 실체를 넘어 강력한 '아이디어' 위에 세워진 독특한 유기체임을 논증한다.

1. 아이디어와 상상력의 산물로서의 이스라엘 (Israel was Born of Imagination)

이스라엘은 물리적 영토가 존재하기 훨씬 전, 인간의 마음과 비전 속에서 먼저 탄생한 국가이다. 수세기 동안 전 세계에 흩어져 살던 유대인들은 매년 유월절 만찬(Seder)의 끝에 "내년에는 예루살렘에서"라고 읊조리며 귀환을 염원했다.

19세기 말 테오도르 헤르첼(Theodore Herzel)은 이러한 종교적·메시아적 수동성을 깨고, 현대적이고 세속적인 혁명을 주도했다. 그는 "너희가 원한다면 그것은 꿈이 아니다"라며 개인이 아닌 '집단적 의지와 동원(Collective mobilization)'을 통해 스스로 메시아가 되어 운명을 개척할 것을 촉구했다. 오늘날 이스라엘의 스타트업 국가 정신과 혁신 역량은 기술의 문제를 넘어 무모한 아이디어를 현실로 바꾸어 낸 이 지오니즘적 상상력에 뿌리를 두고 있다.

2. 이스라엘의 위대한 힘이자 취약성 (Greatest Strength and Vulnerability)

이스라엘을 움직이는 이 강력한 '아이디어'는 국가의 가장 큰 원동력이지만, 동시에 가장 치명적인 취약점이기도 하다. 이스라엘은 건국 이념, 즉 '유대 민족이 고유한 고향에서 자결권을 가질 권리(지오니즘)' 자체를 부정당하고 공격받는 세계에서 유일한 국가이다.

이스라엘의 진정한 힘은 군사력이나 경제력이 아니라, 사람들을 결속하고 희생하게 만드는 지오니즘 사상 그 자체에서 나온다. 따라서 만약 국제 사회의 지적 담론 속에서 지오니즘이 악으로 규정되고 인간의 마음속에서 이 아이디어가 약화된다면, 영토적·물리적 침략보다 더 빠르게 이스라엘의 실질적 붕괴(Destruction)가 도래할 수 있다.

3. 이민자 사회의 역동성과 '이민 파도의 층위' (Immigrant Society and the Layering of Waves)

이스라엘은 이민을 행정적 과제가 아닌 국가적 '이상(Ideal)'으로 삼는 드문 소국이다. 히브리어로 이민을 뜻하는 '알리야(Aliyah)'는 '상승'을 의미하며, 이는 19세기 아이디어 단계에 머물던 이스라엘을 현실로 구현한 결정적 연결고리였다.

1948년 건국 당시 60만 명에 불과했던 유대 인구는 이후 10년 동안 유럽과 아랍권에서 온 100만 명의 난민을 흡수했고, 80~90년대 소련 붕괴 이후 또다시 100만 명을 수용했다. 이 과정에서 사어(死語)에 가까웠던 히브리어가 일상어로 부활했으며, 전 세계 각지에서 온 다양한 인종과 문화가 혼재된 다민족 사회가 형성되었다.

그러나 이민자 사회 특유의 갈등도 존재한다. 먼저 정착한 세력이 사회의 규칙을 만들고 나면, 새로운 이민자 파도가 밀려와 정착한 뒤 "가구를 재배치하듯" 기존의 규칙과 파이의 분배에 도전하기 때문이다. 현재 이스라엘 내부의 많은 사회적 긴장은 이러한 이민 파도의 중첩(Layering)에 따른 역사적 유산이다.

4. '유대 국가'의 정의를 두고 벌이는 영원한 논쟁 (What it means to be a Jewish State)

현대 이전의 유대 정체성은 부족, 종교, 전통, 문화가 하나로 묶인 일체형 청사진이었다. 그러나 계몽주의와 민족주의, 공산주의라는 현대적 사조가 밀려오면서 이 총체적 정체성은 균열을 맞이했다.

이에 대항하여 헤르첼이 구상한 '유대 국가'는 프랑스 공화국처럼 세속적이고 민족적이며 평등하고 비배타적인 공화국 체제였다. 실제로 빌프 자신을 포함한 많은 유대인이 하느님을 믿지 않으면서도 유대 민족의 문화와 역사, 연대성에 깊이 헌신하는 '무신론자 유대인(Atheist Jew)'의 전통을 지탱하고 있다.

반면, 현대성에 대한 반발로 더 보수화된 초정통파(Ultra-Orthodox) 유대인이나 1967년 전쟁 이후 팽창한 종교적 지오니스트(Religious Zionists)들은 이스라엘을 신의 섭리가 작용하는 종교적 공간으로 정의하려 한다. 결국 빌프가 내리는 유대 국가의 가장 정확한 정의는 "유대 국가가 무엇을 의미하는지 매일 전 국민이 모여 논쟁할 수 있는 지구상의 유일한 공간"이다.

5. 이스라엘-팔레스타인 분쟁의 본질: 존재론적 거부 (The Existential Core of the Conflict)

이스라엘 내부에는 20%의 아랍계 소수 민족이 시민권을 가지고 살아가고 있다. 빌프는 이들이 "내 국가가 내 민족과 전쟁 중이거나, 내 민족이 내 국가와 전쟁 중"인 모순된 상황 속에서도 전면적인 내전 없이 민주적 통합과 거부를 동시에 오가는 기적적인 균형을 유지하고 있다고 평한다.

그러나 외부의 팔레스타인 및 아랍 세계와의 거시적 분쟁으로 눈을 돌리면 본질은 완전히 달라진다. 빌프는 이 분쟁이 영토나 수자원 같은 자원의 분배 문제가 아니라 이스라엘의 '존재 자체'를 둘러싼 엑시스텐셜(Existential, 존재론적) 분쟁이라고 확신한다.

역사적으로 영국 외무장관 어니스트 베빈(Ernst Bevin)이 간파했듯, 분쟁이 타협 불가능한 이유는 유대인의 핵심 원칙이 '주권 획득'인 반면, 아랍인의 핵심 원칙은 '유대인 주권의 수립을 끝까지 막아서는 것'이기 때문이다. 이스라엘은 영토를 분할하는 타협(두 국가 솔루션)안에 반복적으로 찬성해 왔으나, 팔레스타인은 그 대가로 유대 민족의 영구적 존재와 영토적 정당성을 인정해야 한다는 사실(귀환권 포기 등)을 수용하지 못해 번번이 제안을 거부했다.

빌프가 바라는 궁극적인 평화는 단순한 국경선 획정이 아니라, 유대인과 아랍 팔레스타인인 모두가 이 땅의 원주민(Indigenous)이며 각각 주권적 자결권을 가질 권리가 있음을 상호 간에 완전히 인정하는 사상적 토대 위에서만 가능하다.

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평론: 서구 자유주의를 향한 세련된 변론과 그 이면에 가려진 맹점

에이나트 빌프의 강연은 주류 이스라엘 사회, 특히 세속적이고 교육받은 하이테크 진보 성향의 이스라엘인들이 자신들의 국가 정체성과 분쟁을 바라보는 지배적인 서사를 가장 정교하고 설득력 있게 집약한 텍스트이다.

그녀의 논리가 지닌 강점은 분쟁의 지정학적 수렁을 서구인들이 이해하기 쉬운 사상사적 서사(Utopianism, Entrepreneurship, Secular Nationalism)로 치환해 낸 세련미에 있다. 그러나 이러한 담론적 유려함 이면에는 역사적 주객전도와 도덕적 인과관계의 의도적 탈맥락화라는 치명적인 한계가 숨어 있다.

1. 지오니즘의 로맨티시즘화와 '땅 없는 인구' 서사의 허구

빌프는 헤르첼의 구상을 '불가능을 가능케 한 낭만적 상상력과 앙트레프레너십(Entrepreneurship)의 승리'로 묘사한다. 그러나 이 세련된 언어는 지오니즘이 태동하고 실행되던 19~20세기 제국주의적 군사 동맹과 원주민 축출이라는 물리적 잔혹성을 은폐한다.

그녀는 "땅 없는 백성이 백성 없는 땅으로 간다"는 슬로건을 언급하며, 당시 팔레스타인이 오스만 제국의 변방이자 마크 트웨인의 묘사처럼 황량한 비어 있는 공간이었다고 정당화한다. 이는 식민주의자들이 피식민지를 '문명화가 필요한 진공 상태'로 규정하던 전형적인 서구 정착민-식민주의(Settler-Colonialism)의 담론적 논리이다. 실상 그 땅에는 대를 이어 농사를 짓고 공동체를 형성해 온 수십만의 아랍 원주민이 살고 있었으며, 지오니즘의 '상상력'이 실현되는 과정은 필연적으로 그 원주민들의 삶의 터전을 파괴하는 '물리적 폭력'을 동반할 수밖에 없었다.

2. 분쟁의 '존재론적 주객전도'와 가해성의 은폐

빌프의 논리 중 가장 취약한 대목은 분쟁의 본질을 영토가 아닌 아랍 측의 사상적 '유대 주권 거부'로 돌리는 부분이다. 그녀는 이스라엘이 타협안을 제시했음에도 팔레스타인이 이스라엘의 permanence(영속성)를 받아들이지 못해 평화가 무산되었다고 주장한다.

이는 인과관계를 완전히 뒤바꾼 주객전도이다. 팔레스타인인들이 이스라엘 주권을 거부하는 것은 내재적이고 맹목적인 유대인 혐오 때문이 아니라, 자신들의 땅을 점령하고, 서안지구에 불법 정착촌을 건설하며, 가자지구를 봉쇄하고 있는 '지속적인 군사 점령과 인권 침해'라는 물리적 실체에 대한 저항이다. 빌프는 이스라엘이 행사하는 국가 폭력과 군사 점령이라는 실체적 가해성은 철저히 탈맥락화한 채, 피점령국의 반발을 '존재론적이고 타협 불가능한 사상적 악'으로 규정함으로써 점령국의 도덕적 면죄부를 발행하고 있다.

3. '논쟁하는 공화국'이라는 가상과 내부적 모순

빌프는 이스라엘을 "유대 국가의 의미를 두고 자유롭게 논쟁하는 민주적 공간"으로 찬양한다. 그러나 이 '민주주의와 논쟁의 특권'은 오직 유대인 시민권자(혹은 제한된 틀 안의 아랍계 시민)에게만 허용되는 배타적 특권이다.

그녀가 유대 국가의 '세속적 공화국' 정체성을 자랑하는 동안에도, 현실의 이스라엘은 유대 민족에게만 차별적인 자결권을 부여하는 '유대 민족국가법(Nation-State Law)'을 통과시켰으며, 서안지구의 수백만 팔레스타인인들은 투표권도, 이동의 자유도 없는 군사 재판 체제 하에 신음하고 있다.

결국 빌프가 말하는 아름다운 '논쟁의 공화국'은, 담장 밖의 피점령민들을 철저히 시야에서 지워버린 채 담장 안의 기득권층끼리만 누리는 이른바 <헤렌폴크 민주주의(Herrenvolk Democracy, 지배민족 민주주의)>의 상상적 유토피아에 불과하다.

결론

에이나트 빌프의 강연은 지오니즘이 가질 수 있는 가장 지적이고 현대적인 변론이지만, 동시에 이스라엘 지배 엘리트들이 직면하기 싫어하는 '점령의 현실'과 '역사적 부채'를 사상사적 수사학 뒤로 얼마나 교묘하게 숨길 수 있는지를 보여주는 웅변적인 증거이다. 그녀의 비전은 팔레스타인인들에게 타협이 아닌 '사상적 패배와 굴복'을 요구한다는 점에서, 역설적으로 그녀가 비판하는 타협 불가능한 평행선을 스스로 공고히 하고 있다.

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<Einat Wilf의 시오니즘론과 이스라엘 이해>

― 요약 + 평론

Einat Wilf의 강연 <The Best Explanation of Zionism and Israel>는 단순한 이스라엘 소개 강연이 아니다. 이것은 현대 시오니즘을 정당화하는 하나의 철학적·역사적 내러티브이며, 동시에 팔레스타인 문제에 대한 매우 분명한 정치적 해석이다.

Wilf는 자신을 세속적·자유주의적 시오니스트로 위치시킨다. 그녀는 무신론자이며 여성주의자이지만 동시에 강한 유대 민족주의자이다. 그녀의 핵심 메시지는 다음과 같다.

→ <시오니즘은 식민주의가 아니라, 유대인의 자기결정권 운동이다>

그리고 더 나아가:

→ <이스라엘-팔레스타인 갈등의 핵심은 영토가 아니라 유대 국가의 존재를 인정하느냐 여부다>

이 강연은 매우 설득력 있고 논리적이며 역사적 자기서사를 잘 구성하고 있지만, 동시에 중요한 역사적 공백과 권력 비대칭의 문제를 안고 있다.

---

1. “이스라엘은 하나의 아이디어였다”

강연의 첫 번째 핵심 개념은 이것이다.

→ <이스라엘은 먼저 현실이 아니라 상상이었고 비전이었다>

Wilf는 시오니즘을 단순한 영토운동이 아니라:

• 집단적 상상력
• 민족적 의지
• 근대적 자기구원 프로젝트

로 설명한다.

그녀는 특히 Theodor Herzl를 “현대적 기업가”처럼 묘사한다. Herzl은 단지 꿈꾸는 사람이 아니라:

• 자금 조달 계획을 세우고
• 이주 모델을 설계하고
• 대중 모금을 조직한 인물이었다는 것이다.

이 부분은 상당히 흥미롭다.

왜냐하면 Wilf는 시오니즘을:

• 종교적 예언의 실현이 아니라
• 근대 민족주의와 집단 동원의 산물로 설명하기 때문이다.

그녀가 반복적으로 강조하는 것은:

→ “우리는 메시아를 기다리지 않았다. 우리가 스스로 메시아가 되었다.”

이다.

이것은 매우 현대주의적·세속주의적 해석이다.

---

2. 시오니즘은 식민주의가 아니라는 주장

Wilf의 핵심 방어 논리는:

→ 유대인은 외부 식민 세력이 아니라 “귀환하는 원주민”이라는 것이다.

그녀는:

• 유대인의 예루살렘 기억
• 디아스포라의 종교적 전통
• “내년에는 예루살렘에서(Next year in Jerusalem)”라는 기도

를 근거로 제시한다.

그리고 결론적으로:

→ 시오니즘은 제국주의 팽창이 아니라
→ 역사적 귀환 운동이라고 주장한다.

이 논리는 오늘날 자유주의 시오니스트들의 핵심 논리 중 하나다.

즉:

• 유대인은 단순 유럽인이 아니며
• 역사적으로 이 땅과 연결된 민족이고
• 따라서 자기결정권을 가질 권리가 있다는 것이다.

---

3. “유대 국가”의 의미

Wilf의 가장 흥미로운 부분 중 하나는 “유대 국가” 개념 설명이다.

그녀는 이를:

→ 종교국가가 아니라 “민족국가”로 이해한다.

즉:

• 프랑스인이 프랑스 국가를 갖듯
• 유대인도 국가를 갖는다는 것이다.

그녀는 반복해서:

• 유대교는 단순 종교가 아니라
• 역사·문화·민족 정체성이라고 말한다.

따라서 그녀는 무신론자임에도 강한 시오니스트가 될 수 있다고 설명한다.

이 부분은 서구 기독교 문화권 사람들이 자주 혼동하는 지점을 잘 설명한다.

많은 서구인은:
→ “Jewish = religion”

이라고 이해하지만,

Wilf는:
→ “Jewish = peoplehood”

라는 관점을 강조한다.

이것은 매우 중요한 차이다.

---

4. 이스라엘 사회를 “이민 사회”로 보는 관점

Wilf는 이스라엘을:

→ 세계에서 가장 독특한 이민 사회 중 하나라고 설명한다.

그녀는:

• 유럽 유대인
• 아랍권 유대인
• 소련 유대인
• 에티오피아 유대인

등이 뒤섞여 새로운 사회를 만들었다고 본다.

특히 히브리어 부활을:

→ “라틴어를 현대어로 되살린 것 같은 사건”

으로 묘사한다.

이 부분은 상당히 설득력이 있다.

실제로:

• 히브리어 부활
• 디아스포라 유대인의 대규모 통합
• 국가 건설 속도

등은 현대사에서 매우 특수한 사례이다.

---

5. 팔레스타인 문제에 대한 그녀의 시각

여기서 강연은 본격적으로 정치적이 된다.

Wilf는 갈등의 본질을:

→ 영토 분쟁이 아니라
→ “유대 주권을 인정하느냐”의 문제라고 본다.

그녀는 1947년 유엔 분할안을 언급하며:

• 유대인은 국가를 수용했지만
• 아랍 측은 거부했다고 설명한다.

그리고 그녀는 반복해서:

→ 팔레스타인 민족주의 내부에는
→ “유대 국가를 인정하지 않으려는 흐름”이 존재한다고 주장한다.

이것은 그녀의 핵심 정치철학이다.

---

6. 그녀의 평화론

흥미로운 점은:

Wilf가 단순한 극우 “대이스라엘” 인물은 아니라는 점이다.

그녀는 마지막 부분에서:

→ 두 민족 모두 이 땅에 대한 권리를 가진다고 말한다.

즉:

• 유대인도 토착성(indigeneity)이 있고
• 팔레스타인인도 토착성이 있다는 것이다.

그리고 그녀는:
→ 상호 인정(mutual recognition)

을 평화의 핵심 조건으로 제시한다.

이 점은 극우 정착촌 시오니즘과는 분명히 다르다.

---

7. 강연의 강점

(1) 시오니즘의 내부 논리를 잘 설명

많은 반시오니즘 담론은:

• 시오니즘을 단순 식민주의로 설명한다.

그러나 Wilf는:

• 왜 유대인들이 시오니즘을 해방운동으로 느끼는지
• 왜 그것이 단순 유럽 제국주의와 다르게 인식되는지

를 매우 효과적으로 설명한다.

이 점은 실제 이해를 위해 중요하다.

상대를 이해하지 못하면 비판도 얕아지기 때문이다.

---

(2) 유대 정체성의 복합성을 잘 설명

그녀는:

• 종교
• 민족
• 문화
• 역사

가 뒤섞인 유대 정체성을 매우 설득력 있게 설명한다.

특히:
→ “유대인은 종교만이 아니다”

라는 설명은 서구적 오해를 깨는 데 효과적이다.

---

(3) 세속적 시오니즘 설명

Wilf는 종교적 메시아주의가 아니라:

• 근대 민족주의
• 시민공화국
• 집단 자결

의 언어로 시오니즘을 설명한다.

이는 유럽 자유주의 전통 속 시오니즘 이해에 가깝다.

---

8. 그러나 중요한 한계

이 강연의 가장 큰 문제는:

→ 팔레스타인 경험이 구조적으로 축소된다는 점이다.

---

(1) 식민주의 요소의 축소

Wilf는:

• 유대인의 귀환 서사
• 역사적 연결성

을 강조하지만,

다음 문제는 상대적으로 약하게 다룬다:

• 토지 소유 이동
• 아랍 주민 축출
• 군사 점령
• 정착촌 확장
• 권력 비대칭

즉:
→ 팔레스타인인의 경험은 상대적으로 주변화된다.

---

(2) “땅 없는 민족” 서사의 문제

그녀는:
→ “a land without a people”

담론을 역사적 맥락 속에서 설명하려 하지만,

오늘날 많은 역사학자들은 이 표현이:

• 팔레스타인 사회의 존재를 지워버렸다고 비판한다.

실제로 당시에도:

• 농민 공동체
• 도시 사회
• 지역 정체성

은 존재했다.

---

(3) 권력 비대칭 문제

Wilf는 갈등을:
→ “두 민족의 상호 불인정”

으로 설명하지만,

현실에서는:

• 핵보유 국가
• 점령 체제
• 이동 통제
• 경제적 우위

등의 비대칭이 매우 크다.

이 부분은 그녀의 설명에서 충분히 드러나지 않는다.

---

9. 전체 평가

Einat Wilf는 오늘날 가장 논리적이고 세련된 자유주의 시오니스트 중 한 명이다.

그녀는:

• 종교적 광신이 아니라
• 근대 민족주의 언어로
• 이스라엘의 존재 정당성을 설명한다.

그녀의 강점은:

→ 시오니즘 내부의 자기이해를 매우 명확하게 보여준다는 점이다.

그러나 동시에 그녀의 한계는:

→ 팔레스타인인의 역사 경험과 권력 구조를 충분히 중심화하지 못한다는 점이다.

결국 그녀의 세계관은 다음 한 문장으로 요약할 수 있다.

→ <평화는 유대 국가의 영속성을 팔레스타인 사회가 받아들이는 데서 시작된다>

반면 비판자들은 말한다.

→ <평화는 먼저 점령과 구조적 불평등을 끝내는 데서 시작된다>

현대 이스라엘-팔레스타인 논쟁은 바로 이 두 세계관의 충돌이라고 볼 수 있다.

==

==

==

Transcript

Chapter 1: Introduction

0:00wonderful thank you so much thank you for this kind introduction thank you for being here on a beautiful day in Tel Aviv certainly I can tell you from the

0:099 secondsfew years that I've spent in Boston and I know this year was particularly brutal so I'm sure uh you're enjoying this so

0:1717 secondswhat I will do here now that you're here and you're going to have uh many more meetings and events uh in Israel is I

0:2525 secondswill give you a very broad introduction to Israel what are in my view the most fundamental things to understand about

0:3434 secondsIsrael Israeli Society Israeli history and this will be about as high level as

0:4141 secondsit gets very broad I know that often uh we get into the details of what goes on here we just assume that everyone is

0:4949 secondsjust engaged in all the details and I want to try to do something different and just take a step back and go and discuss the very broad Concepts about

0:5858 secondswhat Israel is I'll introduce you to five Concepts I hope you find them useful and then we should have some time

Chapter 2: Israel was born here

1:051 minute, 5 secondsleft for questions and discussion so I'll go right to it with the first one and the first concept and I think it is

1:131 minute, 13 secondsby far the most important one to understand and one that I think will appeal to you in your work is the notion

1:201 minute, 20 secondsthat Israel was born here that Israel was an idea Israel was a vision Israel

1:281 minute, 28 secondswas born of people's imination long before it became the reality that you see here now of course the land of

1:361 minute, 36 secondsIsrael the physical geography existed uh for since the beginning of Earth and

1:451 minute, 45 secondsuh and of course the the history of this place has been long but the modern state

1:521 minute, 52 secondsof Israel as we have it today was first born in people's minds it was first a

1:581 minute, 58 secondsvision it was was first an imagination and only then did it become a reality and I would argue that this is Israel's

Chapter 3: Israels greatest strength

2:072 minutes, 7 secondsgreatest strength and also one of our great vulnerabilities it is a great strength because we are all airs to

2:152 minutes, 15 secondspeople who have made the impossible possible people who have imagined the establishment of this state and then

2:232 minutes, 23 secondswent about to do it we are all heirs to that and this is part of the spirit that you will see in

2:312 minutes, 31 secondsthis space in this place we are all airs to a person his name is Theodore Herzel one of the great Visionaries the person

2:392 minutes, 39 secondswho imagined a state who literally wrote the book who said it that if you will it it is no

2:472 minutes, 47 secondsdream so the notion and the you by the way that Herzel uses is the collective you not the individual you the dream of

2:552 minutes, 55 secondsestablishing the state of Israel is not about individual stri and success is the American dream i' be it's a collective

Chapter 4: A collective dream

3:033 minutes, 3 secondsDream It's about Collective mobilization so Theodore Herzel says if you as a collective as a people if you will it if

3:133 minutes, 13 secondsyou have the will to make this it is no dream and we are all heirs to that now

3:203 minutes, 20 secondswe really need to understand why it was such an impossible idea at the time why it was considered so crazy so insane

3:293 minutes, 29 secondsbecause on the one hand this was very much part of the history and tradition of the Jewish people it rested on a very

3:373 minutes, 37 secondsstrong history for centuries in Exile after the Jewish people originally the name comes from the fact that they were

3:443 minutes, 44 secondsfrom Judea here the Jewish people lived in Exile after Roman times and dreamt of

3:513 minutes, 51 secondsreturning here every Passover seder and we have Passover coming up soon if you had a chance to participate in a

3:583 minutes, 58 secondsPassover Seder uh what we say every year and Jews said it for centuries whether they lived in Morocco or Poland they ended the Sater

Chapter 5: Next year in Jerusalem

4:074 minutes, 7 secondsby saying next year in Jerusalem every time they got that they got married before they break the glass

4:154 minutes, 15 secondsthat you see on all the wedding they speak of not forgetting Jerusalem Zion is the other name of Jerusalem so Jews

4:244 minutes, 24 secondsfor centuries no matter where they lived yearned to return to this place so on the one hand this was a very acceptable

4:324 minutes, 32 secondsestablished idea but it was also a very Messianic wish one day we will return to Jerusalem

4:424 minutes, 42 secondsthey didn't really think that next year in Jerusalem it was an expression of Messianic quish one day the Messiah will

4:494 minutes, 49 secondscome and he will take us from all corners of the world and bring us back to our homeland to the Holy Land so

4:584 minutes, 58 secondssomeday so when people in the 19th century such as Theodore Herzel begin to think of establishing or reestablishing

Chapter 6: A complete break with history

5:075 minutes, 7 secondsthe state of Israel they're building on Jewish tradition on the desire to return but at the same time it's a complete

5:155 minutes, 15 secondsbreak with history it's a revolution it's insane because what are they saying they're saying you know what literally

5:225 minutes, 22 secondsnext year in Jerusalem and more than that they are modern people many of them secular they are saying we're not going

5:315 minutes, 31 secondsto passively wait for the Messiah anymore we are going to be our own Messiah is there any more modern idea

5:395 minutes, 39 secondsthat you don't passively wait you will be your own Messiah you will shape your own future so it's a complete break with

5:495 minutes, 49 secondsJewish history it rests on Jewish history and the desire to return but it's a break with this passive notion of

5:575 minutes, 57 secondswaiting for the Messiah and this modern idea that we will take fate into our own hands so this is considered a revolution

6:076 minutes, 7 secondsan insane idea if you have a chance to read about Theodore Herzel he's a remarkable character he is the

6:156 minutes, 15 secondsentrepreneur uh he's truly someone who takes an insane idea and not just writes about it he wrote the book about how to

6:236 minutes, 23 secondscreated the the state of the Jews a friend of mine recently said you do realize that when her wrote the state of the Jews he was writing a funding

6:316 minutes, 31 secondsproposal an offering memorandum he was essentially he had an idea he he was very specific about how this idea will

6:406 minutes, 40 secondsbe realized it's quite amazing to read it he's very specific about how to go about doing it how banks will be established how funding will be

6:486 minutes, 48 secondscollected how people will move here and then he goes around he tries to convince wealthy Jews to contribute all most of

6:576 minutes, 57 secondshim uh kind of call him crazy czy so then what does he do he's a very modern entrepreneur he goes for crowdfunding he

Chapter 7: Modern entrepreneur

7:057 minutes, 5 secondsgoes for a lot of very poor Jews who give them each a little bit and together they mobilize to make the dream a

7:137 minutes, 13 secondsreality and many actually conceived of him as a modern day Messiah so we are all heirs to that we are heirs to people

7:227 minutes, 22 secondswho imagined and dreamt big and then made them possible possible and it's what you see around you now people talk

7:317 minutes, 31 secondsabout Israeli entrepreneurship and startup nation and high-tech but I would say that it's far bigger than that it's not just about software and technology

7:407 minutes, 40 secondsor medical equipment it's really about the spirit that you could take the most crazy idea the most insane idea and make

7:487 minutes, 48 secondsit a reality one of my favorite quotes I read recently in a book about Herzel is from the Jews of Vienna when his book

7:567 minutes, 56 secondscame out it was the talk of Vienna and Vienna VI was a very Jewish City in the 19th century a bit like uh New York is

Chapter 8: The talk of Vienna

8:038 minutes, 3 secondstoday so it was the talk of Vienna and people thought he was crazy and they said one of the kind of common refrains

8:118 minutes, 11 secondswas the Jewish people waited to have their state for 2,000 years and it had to happen to me so this notion that okay

8:188 minutes, 18 secondswe get it yes we wanted it for 2,000 years but really so it was at the same time an idea that rested on tradition

8:268 minutes, 26 secondsbut truly revolutionary so great strength of Israeli Society about who we are but also tremendous

8:348 minutes, 34 secondsvulnerability I would say 34 of the world's countries make less sense than Israel in terms of coherence of land and

8:438 minutes, 43 secondsborders and history and people and language and yet Israel is the only country in the world today that gets

8:518 minutes, 51 secondsattacked and undermined and maligned for its foundational idea for the idea that the Jewish people as a people have the

8:598 minutes, 59 secondsright to self-determination in their ancient Homeland also known as Zionism from the word Zion the return to

Chapter 9: What makes Israel strong

9:079 minutes, 7 secondsJerusalem there is so much attack on this idea you hear it in placards that proclaim the Zionism in Israel are equal

9:169 minutes, 16 secondsto all of the world's evils and I think that those who do that understand something very fundamental

9:239 minutes, 23 secondsmaybe consciously maybe not about what makes Israel strong I would say that what makes Israel strong is not our

9:309 minutes, 30 secondsmilitary not our tanks not our airplanes not even our economy and not even our people I would say what that makes us

9:389 minutes, 38 secondsstrong is the idea that mobilizes the people it's the idea that inspires people people were willing to sacrifice

9:469 minutes, 46 secondsto go to Great length in order to realize this idea if you create a global intellectual atmosphere in which this

9:549 minutes, 54 secondsidea is maligned people think of it as evil they don't want to be a associated with it they are afraid to call

Chapter 10: Israel is an idea

10:0110 minutes, 1 secondthemselves zionists to speak about the inspirational idea that Zionism is then I believe that just as the construction

10:1010 minutes, 10 secondsof Israel followed the power of the idea I truly believe that the destruction of Israel could follow if the idea

10:1810 minutes, 18 secondsweakens so this is one of the great vulnerabilities and danger that I see to Israel today greater than any supposedly

10:2510 minutes, 25 secondsphysical one because I believe that if you prepare the minds in hearts of people to believe that there is an evil

10:3210 minutes, 32 secondshere and it shouldn't be here then ultimately physical action will follow and this is a great vulnerability and it

10:3910 minutes, 39 secondsall goes to the core of the fact that Israel is first and foremost an idea so this is the first concept and I

10:4810 minutes, 48 secondsthink by far the most important one and it's directly related to the second the second is to understand that Israel is

10:5410 minutes, 54 secondsan immigrant Society now you might say big deal every society today is an immigrant Society but there are very few

11:0311 minutes, 3 secondscountries and societies that have immigration as their ideal not as an issue that you need to deal with but as

11:1111 minutes, 11 secondsan ideal bring up your poor your huddled masses as an ideal typically countries

11:1711 minutes, 17 secondsthat have immigration as their ideal are countries that at one point in their history had to populate massive land

11:2511 minutes, 25 secondsmass and basically called people to come so Canada and Australia and of course the United States those are countries

11:3211 minutes, 32 secondsthat have immigration much more as an ideal not as a fact of life that needs to be handled there an as an ideal

11:4011 minutes, 40 secondsIsrael is also a country but the only small country that has immigration as an ideal immigration in Hebrew the word is

11:4811 minutes, 48 secondsAliyah it means ascendance it comes from the Biblical times of ascending to the Temple mount the notion is that when

11:5611 minutes, 56 secondsJewish people immigrate or return to the land of Israel Israel they ascend and this is again a tremendous

Chapter 11: Immigrant societies

12:0312 minutes, 3 secondsstrength of Israeli society and one of our challenges a strength it will be obvious to you why uh immigrant societies are

12:1312 minutes, 13 secondsdiverse they're interesting they're alive there's an energy to a place where people come and continuously and they

12:2112 minutes, 21 secondscome from all corners of the world so this is a huge strength of Israeli society and in fact in this fact in this

12:2912 minutes, 29 secondsuh respect Israel is probably the world's most remarkable immigrant Society just to understand some of the

12:3712 minutes, 37 secondsnumbers the proportion when Israel declared independence from the British mandate uh

12:4412 minutes, 44 secondsin 1948 there were 600,000 Jews living here within the next decade they

12:5112 minutes, 51 secondsabsorbed 1 million Jewish refugees from Europe from North Africa from Arab

12:5712 minutes, 57 secondscountries so so 600,000 people absorbed a million people in the span of a decade in the 80s and '90s

Chapter 12: Language

13:0613 minutes, 6 seconds4 million Jews here absorbed a million Jews who came from the former Soviet Union as the gates opened up after the

13:1413 minutes, 14 secondsfall of the Soviet Union those are proportions that you have in no other case in history and everyone was absorbed and

13:2313 minutes, 23 secondsbecame part of Israeli society and think of the language issue language is a big issue in immigration in Israel no one had the

13:3213 minutes, 32 secondslanguage the immigrants that came to Israel renewed the Hebrew language it's like renewing Latin as a spoken language

13:4013 minutes, 40 secondsHebrew was a language of scriptures for Jews for centuries they spoke the languages of wherever they they

13:4713 minutes, 47 secondswere so everyone was foreign to this new language new old language which suddenly

13:5413 minutes, 54 secondsbecame a spoken language so the Revival of the Hebrew is is also a remarkable story and everyone is mixing up I have

Chapter 13: Ethnicity

14:0414 minutes, 4 secondsan exercise that I like to do you know I know that in some places people think of being Jewish as an ethnicity per se but

14:1214 minutes, 12 secondsreally here we don't think of it this way we think of the Jews as being a people and with multiple ethnicities because over the centuries they mixed in

14:2114 minutes, 21 secondsvarious populations so who you have black Jews and white Jews and brown Jews and blueeyed Jews and blackeyed Jews and all color and shapes and languages and

14:3014 minutes, 30 secondsethnicities and all of them mixed here when I speak to young people high schoolers soldiers I like to do a little

14:3814 minutes, 38 secondsexercise I ask them for those of you born in Israel and whose parents if not born in Israel married in Israel how

14:4514 minutes, 45 secondsmany have four grandparents from the same ethnic background from the same geography in a room of 200 I will have

14:5214 minutes, 52 secondsthree four five hands raised so people have been mixing up here as well so immigration is one of the greatest

Chapter 14: Migration

15:0115 minutes, 1 secondsuccess and elements of energy and power of Israeli Society you really will feel it all around

15:0915 minutes, 9 secondsyou but a great challenge as well we have a phrase where we say we very much like Aliyah we very much like

15:1815 minutes, 18 secondsimmigration not so much the ol not so much the immigrants so this notion that

15:2615 minutes, 26 secondsyes we have the ideal of immigration we're committed to it Israel in its very

15:3215 minutes, 32 secondscore is the notion that the door will never be closed to any Jewish person wherever they may be who wants to

15:4015 minutes, 40 secondsimmigrate here Jews who immigrate here become citizens on day one many of them get their papers on the airplane all that

15:4815 minutes, 48 secondsso yes we have this ideal we're committed to this ideal there's never a notion of the capacity or not enough

15:5615 minutes, 56 secondsplace or not enough room but the challenge of the people themselves well that's a challenge now

Chapter 15: Immigrant Society

16:0316 minutes, 3 secondssome people will talk about it in ethnic terms the difference between Jews from Eastern Europe and from Arab countries

16:1116 minutes, 11 secondsin North Africa uh and between Jews who came from the former Soviet Union but I think the more correct way to think

16:1816 minutes, 18 secondsabout it is the layering of the immigration waves because what happens in an immigrant Society you have those

16:2616 minutes, 26 secondswho come first what do those who come first do they set the rules they bake the pot and then a new wave of

16:3316 minutes, 33 secondsimmigrants come initially they take the rules as they are they take whatever share of the pie they can get and they

16:4116 minutes, 41 secondssay thank you but after a while they begin to feel at home right because the whole idea of an immigrant Society is

16:4816 minutes, 48 secondsthat after a while immigrants are supposed to start feeling at home now what do you do when you're at home you want to rearrange the furniture once in

16:5616 minutes, 56 secondsa while right so the new immigrants no longer new very much feeling at home begin to say you know what we don't like

17:0417 minutes, 4 secondsyour rules anymore we have something to say about your rules and the pie we're helping bake the pie so we should get a larger share and then those who came

17:1317 minutes, 13 secondsearlier say help hold it those are the rules say thank you for whatever you're getting and I would argue that much of

17:2017 minutes, 20 secondsthe tensions that we do have in Israeli Society is the legacy of the layering of immigration waves and we have a

17:2717 minutes, 27 secondswonderful SK about it where you see wave after wave of immigrants disembarking from the boat and as soon as they're

17:3417 minutes, 34 secondsdisembarking from the boat they're turning to the new immigrants who are now disembarking from the boat and very critical of them have spoiled they are

17:4317 minutes, 43 secondshow they want everything Their Manners and it's really that sense in Israeli society as soon as you disembark from the boat you begin to feel at home and

17:5217 minutes, 52 secondsyou have a lot to say about this new group that's just coming in so a great strength of Israel

17:5917 minutes, 59 secondsSociety very much a challenge as well so now I will uh deal with the the

Chapter 16: Aliya Immigration

18:0618 minutes, 6 secondsthird issue but oh I just want wanted to say one more thing about the second concept and why it's related for to the

18:1318 minutes, 13 secondsfirst it's related to the first because without immigration without Aliyah Israel would have remained an

18:2218 minutes, 22 secondsidea Aliyah immigration is the missing link between the Ida and the reality and

18:2818 minutes, 28 secondsthe reason is that most Jews at the time that Zionism is conceived in the 19th

18:3518 minutes, 35 secondscentury live out uh outside of this area there was some permanent and continuous Jewish life fear over the centuries

18:4418 minutes, 44 secondssince Roman times but mostly in religious cities like Jerusalem and tiberias and heon and uh safid but they

18:5218 minutes, 52 secondswere part of the Ottoman Empire and no expectation of sovereignty most Jews were living outside the land of Israel so in order

Chapter 17: The Third Concept

19:0119 minutes, 1 secondto make the modern state of Israel a reality rather than just the crazy delusional imaginings of people in

19:0819 minutes, 8 secondsVienna people actually had to pick up and leave and this is why alah immigration is the missing link between

19:1819 minutes, 18 secondsthe notion that Israel is first and foremost an idea and the fact that it became a reality so on the third concept the

19:2719 minutes, 27 secondsthird concept I would say is by far the most misunderstood not understood abused

19:3519 minutes, 35 secondsconcept there is and I hope to shed some light on it even though some people tell me they end up being more more confused once I'm done and that's the question of

19:4419 minutes, 44 secondswhat does it mean to be the Jewish State what is that what does it mean and in order to understand that

19:5219 minutes, 52 secondsI'll say something about what being Jewish was before modern times before in ening before the beginning of secular

20:0220 minutes, 2 secondsideas basically being Jewish was a coherent whole you are part of a people

20:1020 minutes, 10 secondsyou are part of a tribe you are part of a covenant with God a religion a tradition a history a culture and you

20:1820 minutes, 18 secondswere either in or you were out end of story The Simple is that and then

20:2620 minutes, 26 secondsmodernity is experienced an assault on this coherent ho this coherent notion of what it is to be

20:3420 minutes, 34 secondsJewish I don't know if any of you had a chance to see the movie or the play Fiddler on the Roof or to read the the book by Shalom Alim but it is

20:4320 minutes, 43 secondsessentially a parable on the modern Onslaught on Jewish Life The First Daughter breaks with tradition by

20:5020 minutes, 50 secondswanting to marry who she wants rather than having an arranged marriage the second daughter wants to marry a communist the third daughter wants to

20:5920 minutes, 59 secondsmarry someone who's not Jewish so this is the progression of what is experienced as an onslaught on Jewish

21:0621 minutes, 6 secondslife and tradition uh during modern times and why is that because modern

21:1321 minutes, 13 secondsideas of secularism and nationalism and communism all present to the Jewish

21:1921 minutes, 19 secondspeople something that they want desperately the ability to be part of a

21:2621 minutes, 26 secondswhole equ equal and yet retain their uniqueness because in the past if Jews wanted to leave being Jewish conversion

21:3521 minutes, 35 secondsto Christianity or to Islam was the only way but if you wanted to be Jewish and still be part of a whole of society to

21:4321 minutes, 43 secondsbe equal well you didn't have that option and suddenly you have ideas that speak of that of course nationalism

21:5221 minutes, 52 secondsafter the French Revolution the establishment of the French Republic something that is still very much relevant to this day as we hear the

21:5921 minutes, 59 secondsdiscussion of the French Republic and Jewish life there this was the first time that the Jews were promised the possibility of

Chapter 18: Nationalism

22:0722 minutes, 7 secondsbeing French and the fact that they're Jewish is a private Affair being told that they were no different from a

22:1422 minutes, 14 secondsFrench Catholic or a French Protestant they are French everyone is French that is the idea of the secular Republic

22:2222 minutes, 22 secondsbeing Jewish is your own private Affair and what were the Jews told what was the price of Entry

22:2822 minutes, 28 secondsas individuals everything as a people nothing so the notion that individuals

22:3622 minutes, 36 secondsas Jewish individuals you could be part of the French Republic equal but no longer the notion that being Jewish is a

22:4322 minutes, 43 secondsnation or a people cuz you are all French and many Jews accepted that ideal

22:5122 minutes, 51 secondsleaving the ghos joining uh becoming French British German Theodore hsel like

22:5822 minutes, 58 secondsironically wanted nothing more than to be German to be a German National and a Jew but he loved the idea of secular

Chapter 19: Secular nationalism

23:0723 minutes, 7 secondsnationalism as an idea that enables everyone to be equal yet no need to leave their Jewish identity behind

23:1623 minutes, 16 secondscommunism why were so many Jews Communists because this was again an appeal of Utopia everyone will be equal

23:2423 minutes, 24 secondseveryone will be the same and there's no need to give up the fact that you're Jewish because there's no religion it is

23:3123 minutes, 31 secondsa Utopia where everyone is equal and many Jews answer to that call and many immigrated of course to the United

23:3923 minutes, 39 secondsStates with its own particular brand of what it offered and Zionism emerges

23:4523 minutes, 45 secondsagainst this background Theodore Herzel experiences this promise of nationalism

23:5223 minutes, 52 secondsultimately as a law as a false promise whether it's is in Vienna in his

23:5923 minutes, 59 secondsuniversity days or later as a reporter when he reports on the dyus affair at the time would you begin to

Chapter 20: Theodor Herzl

24:0724 minutes, 7 secondssee the emergence of what was considered a progressive scientific idea of race and Jews are shely not considered a

24:1524 minutes, 15 secondsdifferent people or religion but a different race and Theodore Herzel is despondent by that because he says I look like them

24:2524 minutes, 25 secondsI speak like them I am a vien needs and if they tell me that all that doesn't

24:3124 minutes, 31 secondsmatter because I am of A different race then I have no hope how can I change

24:3924 minutes, 39 secondsthat so he comes up with the following idea he says Okay the reason that we will always be considered different is

24:4624 minutes, 46 secondsthat we don't have our own State at a time that everyone's organizing into states he says if the Jews are to feel

24:5424 minutes, 54 secondsequal in this world if they are to walk with their head held up High among the world's peoples they need to have their

Chapter 21: The Jewish State

25:0125 minutes, 1 secondown State when there will be a state for the Jews even Jews who don't live in that state will be more proud will be

25:0825 minutes, 8 secondsable to feel as equals in this world so when he conceives of the Jewish State

25:1525 minutes, 15 secondsit's Jew like French Jew like German it's a national secular

25:2225 minutes, 22 secondsidea and it's not an exclusivist idea you read his books he speaks of Jews and Christians and Muslims and Buddhists and

25:3025 minutes, 30 secondsatheists all living in the Jewish State because he thinks of it like the French Republic It's the Hebrew

25:3825 minutes, 38 secondsRepublic so that is one clear conception of the Jewish State secular National non- exclusivist

25:4725 minutes, 47 secondsegalitarian but there are all kinds of Jews I'm very much of The Herzel tradition like Herzel and many of his

25:5625 minutes, 56 secondsheirs I'm an atheist now a lot of people when they hear an atheist Jew it doesn't compute because

Chapter 22: Atheist Jews

26:0426 minutes, 4 secondswe're so used in some places because of this idea of for the Jews as individuals everything but as a people Nothing the

26:1226 minutes, 12 secondsJewish is only a religion but atheism has a long and proud tradition in Jewish life because

26:2026 minutes, 20 secondsJudaism has never been about what you believe it's about what you do it's about your actions it's about your solidarity with your people it's not

26:3026 minutes, 30 secondsabout what you believe so and Noah here has given me the phrase that if you want to understand the Jewish relationship to

26:3726 minutes, 37 secondsFaith you need to understand that in Judaism you can believe in one God or less so those are your

26:4526 minutes, 45 secondsoptions and so yes it's very much I am someone who does not believe in God but

26:5326 minutes, 53 secondsI am deeply committed to the Jewish people to the Jewish state to our his history to our culture to our traditions and because Judaism is not

Chapter 23: Secular National Identity

27:0227 minutes, 2 secondsabout what you believe it's about what you do it's very difficult to carve uh kind of where does religion end and the

27:1027 minutes, 10 secondssecular national identity begin for example Israel has the Hebrew calendar the ancient Hebrew calendar as our

27:1727 minutes, 17 secondsofficial calendar it's a calendar that the Jews kept as a religious calendar in Exile but it's a calendar that was based on

27:2627 minutes, 26 secondsthe seasons of this land in fact it made sense to renew this calendar once the people were in this land again is that religious is that

27:3427 minutes, 34 secondssecular is that history I'm going to celebrate a Passover Seder in a few

27:4227 minutes, 42 secondsweeks I think of it as a National Historical holiday when our people became a people from slavery to Liberty

27:5127 minutes, 51 secondsand became of people my next door neighbor will celebrate a Passover seder and conceive

27:5727 minutes, 57 secondsof it as a Jewish religious act rather than a National Historical act but you will not be able to tell the difference

28:0528 minutes, 5 secondsbetween our saders so that's the other reason why it's sometimes difficult to understand

28:1328 minutes, 13 secondsand just so you understand how many different types of Jews they are following modernity maybe some of you noticed sometimes that there are very

28:2228 minutes, 22 secondsreligious looking Jews in anti-israel demonstrations they hold signs Jews against Israel Jews do not support

28:3128 minutes, 31 secondsZionism and maybe some of you think that if Jews are against Israel then Israel must be a terrible place but let me tell you that even if

28:4028 minutes, 40 secondsIsrael was the most perfect place on Earth they would still be against it because they conceive in their right of

28:4828 minutes, 48 secondsZionism as a rebellion against God right I said the zionists were secular people who said be your own Messiah shape your

28:5628 minutes, 56 secondsown future don't passively wait so there are those who are saying this is heresy

Chapter 24: Religious Zionism

29:0329 minutes, 3 secondswe you're jumping the gun we need to continue to passively wait until the Messiah will come they are sometimes

29:1129 minutes, 11 secondssupporting people who want to destroy Israel because they say only once Israel is destroyed can God proceed with his original plan on his terms and then

29:2029 minutes, 20 secondsthere are people who are religious zionists now I told you that Zionism was secular and even atheist and a rebellion

29:2729 minutes, 27 secondsagainst God so how are there religious Zs well sometimes when I give talks and I mention that I'm an atheist people

29:3529 minutes, 35 secondscome at end and tell me you know what a not you might not believe in God but God believes in you so and um religious

29:4329 minutes, 43 secondsZionism God works in a mysterious ways for some reason God chose those Godless

29:5029 minutes, 50 secondsCommunists and Zionist atheists to carry out his grand plan of returning the Jewish people people to their Homeland

29:5829 minutes, 58 secondsunbeknownst to them they were carrying out his plan and this is by the way why religious Zionism really took off after

30:0630 minutes, 6 secondsthe 1967 war and the 1973 War where Israel came into possession of the West Bank where even someone like me who's

30:1530 minutes, 15 secondsnot religious has to admit that the Jewish people have more a historical geographical con connection to Judea which is in the West Bank than to Tel

30:2430 minutes, 24 secondsAviv which I like very much um so the 67 and 73 were such dramatic

30:3230 minutes, 32 secondsevents that many people felt that it could not but be evidence that God is working out his plan for the Jewish

30:4030 minutes, 40 secondspeople in history all of these are Jews and you have Ultra Orthodox Jews who

30:4630 minutes, 46 secondsbasically put the walls up higher beginning after modernity because of this Onslaught on modernity they became

30:5430 minutes, 54 secondsmore conservative more religious this is why why they're wearing the clothes of 17th and 18th Century Polish uh Nobles

Chapter 25: Jewish State

31:0331 minutes, 3 secondsbecause they want to keep Jewish life the moment before the beginning of the modern Onslaught and all of these are Jews and

31:1231 minutes, 12 secondsall of them have an opinion about what the Jewish State should be and all of them are trying to promote their own

31:1931 minutes, 19 secondsvision for the Jewish State secular egalitarian inclusive religious exclusive

31:2831 minutes, 28 secondsanything in the middle and the thing is I have come by now to the following definition of the Jewish state which you will find I'm

31:3531 minutes, 35 secondssure very helpful the Jewish state is the one place in the world where we get to argue about what it means to be the

31:4231 minutes, 42 secondsJewish State and I think this is actually an accurate

31:4831 minutes, 48 secondsdefinition literally every day you will open the paper on the front page of the paper you will see a headline some

31:5731 minutes, 57 secondssomething that relates to the question of what it means to be the Jewish state after all for 2,000 years we've grown

32:0432 minutes, 4 secondsout of practice in being our own Sovereign people so renewing that in

32:1132 minutes, 11 secondsmodern times is still an ongoing work and process for us we continue to debate

32:1732 minutes, 17 secondsit each and every day and all we ask because we be given the one place in the world that we can debate that and anyone

32:2632 minutes, 26 secondswho tries to tell you that the Jewish state is tatata one thing they are speaking from their own position their

32:3432 minutes, 34 secondsown desire I have my own position but I'm able to say that other people have their own visions and there is no

32:4232 minutes, 42 secondssingular definition and there's also no inherent definition ultimately Jewish

32:4932 minutes, 49 secondscivilization is an ancient civilization and the thing about ancient civilizations is that you can use

32:5632 minutes, 56 secondsanything to justify everything you want to justify a communist state you will find Jewish writings that will help you

Chapter 26: Jewish Civilization

33:0533 minutes, 5 secondsjustify that you want to justify capitalism you will find Jewish writings for that you want something that's

33:1233 minutes, 12 secondsegalitarian and inclusive you will find Jewish writings for that and you want something that's exclusive uh you will

33:1933 minutes, 19 secondsfind something for that so ultimately we continue to debate and continue to try to figure out and it is up to us to

33:2733 minutes, 27 secondsultimately determine it so that's the issue I hope I was able to shed some light on it and not confuse you too

33:3533 minutes, 35 secondsmuch the last two concepts have been talking up until now about the Jews and the land and zionists and Zion but

33:4333 minutes, 43 secondsobviously and you also just came from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bend people are interested sometimes

33:5033 minutes, 50 secondsobsessed about the question of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians Israel and the Arab world

33:5733 minutes, 57 secondsbetween Jews and Arabs so let me discuss two concepts the first is Jews and Arabs within

Chapter 27: Jews Arabs

34:0534 minutes, 5 secondsIsrael and Israel and the Arab world Israel and the Palestinians within Israel there's about

34:1234 minutes, 12 seconds20% Arab minority an Arab is a national identity there are Muslim Arabs almost

34:1934 minutes, 19 secondsall and a small Christian Arab uh minority uh Arab as a national identity Jewish as a na naal identity so there is

34:2834 minutes, 28 secondsa 20% National Arab minority in Israel how did they come to be so when Zionism was conceived there

34:3734 minutes, 37 secondswas a phrase a people without a land are coming to a land without a people the people without a land obviously the

34:4534 minutes, 45 secondsJewish people living as Nomads among the host Nations even literally barred from

34:5334 minutes, 53 secondsphysically being owners of land people without a land the land without a people the land of Israel now

Chapter 28: Land of Israel

35:0235 minutes, 2 secondswhy was this considered a land without a people people knew that there were humans living here if you read herzl's

35:0935 minutes, 9 secondsbooks he talks about uh the Arabs in the Jewish State and again it's very utopian egalitarian Vision so everyone knows

35:1835 minutes, 18 secondsthat there are people living here so why is considered a land without a people for two reasons one at the time that

35:2835 minutes, 28 secondsZionism emerges in the 19th century it's this is part of the Ottoman Empire an unimportant part of the Ottoman Empire

35:3635 minutes, 36 secondsno major urban center of the Ottoman Empire is here it's it's considered southern Syrian

35:4435 minutes, 44 secondsProvince so not particularly important not particularly settled and at a time

35:5135 minutes, 51 secondswhen Europeans think of the fr the French as the people of France and the Germans as the people of Germany and the

35:5935 minutes, 59 secondsItalians now unified as the people of Italy this place is not considered to have a

Chapter 29: Arab nationalism

36:0636 minutes, 6 secondspeople Arab nationalism is still fairly dormant and even Arab nationalism is across the region there's no people that

36:1536 minutes, 15 secondsare particularly considered as um attached to this land and if anything

36:2136 minutes, 21 secondscertainly in the European imagination if this land belongs to any people it's the Jewish people this is the land of the

36:3036 minutes, 30 secondsBible these are the people of the Bible so this is one reason why it's considered a land without a people the other reason is that this is a time when

36:3836 minutes, 38 secondstravelogs begin to be published and the most famous among them is Mark Twain Mark Twain publishes a travelog of his

36:4636 minutes, 46 secondstravels to the Holy Land and he describes a desolate land a poor land an almost uninhabited land with some

36:5436 minutes, 54 secondsShepherds who appear to be stuck in biblical times so in the popular imagination people didn't travel that

Chapter 30: Popular imagination

37:0137 minutes, 1 secondmuch the notion is that this place is not very inhabited yeah there are people here not very developed and certainly

37:0937 minutes, 9 secondsfor people with an ideal of reestablishing a state of sovereignty this is considered to be a land without

37:1637 minutes, 16 secondsa people and the individuals who live here and you see it in all the early zist writings are expected to be

37:2337 minutes, 23 secondsintegrated into the new state that will be establish so beginning at the end of the 19th centuries Jews begin to immigrate here

37:3237 minutes, 32 secondsand think of them they are young idealists most of them teenagers leaving their parents behind mobilized by this new insane idea they're going to do

37:4137 minutes, 41 secondssomething new something utopian and they begin by purchasing tracks of land from land owners here even though they feel

37:5037 minutes, 50 secondsthat they are returning home they know that they need to get legitimacy they purchase the land they get the support

37:5637 minutes, 56 secondsPort of the sultan and they build new uh uh kind of ways of living that are utopian egalitarian because in their

Chapter 31: A perfect state

38:0438 minutes, 4 secondsmind they were not just going to establish a state it was going to be a perfect state they're going to so all of

38:1138 minutes, 11 secondsthis is happening and what begin as small skirmishes between no uh bedwin

38:1838 minutes, 18 secondsand farmers and along kind of Borderlands when the British enter here

38:2538 minutes, 25 secondscarving up the the carcass of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of World War I what they received from the League of Nations it's no longer legitimate to be

38:3438 minutes, 34 secondsan Empire they received from the League of Nations a mandate for this land to help the Jewish people achieve sovereignty that's actually the terms of

38:4238 minutes, 42 secondsthe Mandate and under the British these skirmishes develop fairly quickly as

38:4938 minutes, 49 secondsimmigration continues into fullblown uh battles between two national movements the Jewish people the

38:5938 minutes, 59 secondsZionist national movement and an emerging Arab identity at the time still not called Palestinian even though this

39:0639 minutes, 6 secondsplace is called Palestine the word Palestine at the time has if anything a more Jewish connotation uh the Jewish the Palestine

39:1539 minutes, 15 secondsphilarmonic Orchestra for example became the Israel philarmonic Orchestra the Palestine daily became a major p uh

39:2239 minutes, 22 secondsIsraeli paper so at the time it's an Arab nationalist not yet specifically

39:2939 minutes, 29 secondshere after World War II the British basically go to the United Nations the heir of the League of Nations and tell them take back your mandate we can't

39:3739 minutes, 37 secondshandle it anymore we can't fulfill our purpose these guys are fighting too much you decide what to do and the United

39:4539 minutes, 45 secondsNations says split and this has been the discussion ever since a Jewish State this is their phrasing a Jewish State

39:5239 minutes, 52 secondsand an Arab State the Jews say yes even though they're not happy it's half of what they were promised by the League of Nations

40:0140 minutes, 1 secondthe Arabs say no because as far as they're concerned one/ half is one half too much the Jewish people are foreign Interlopers who have no business being

40:0940 minutes, 9 secondshere War ensues Israel declares independence as the Mandate is over ceasefire lines are established after

40:1640 minutes, 16 secondsthe war Jordan gets control of the West Bank uh Egypt militarily controls the Gaza Strip and Israel is within the

40:2440 minutes, 24 secondsceasefire lines that everyone Now call the green line or the 67 borders they're ceasefire lines not

40:3140 minutes, 31 secondsborders within those lines there are Arabs who become citizens of the newly

40:3840 minutes, 38 secondsestablished state of Israel now think about them they wake up the next morning and they are citizens of a state that

40:4640 minutes, 46 secondsthey didn't want they didn't dream of in Vienna they didn't immigrate to and they

40:5340 minutes, 53 secondsfought against its establishment until the very last minute what are they going to do from that moment they have two

Chapter 32: Two Responses

41:0241 minutes, 2 secondsresponses that have remained to this state the first is to say okay we didn't want this state but it's okay it's a

41:1141 minutes, 11 secondsdemocracy we have our official rights we need to make sure that it goes beyond official rights to really a sense of

41:1841 minutes, 18 secondsbelonging and integration into society the Jewish majority has tremendous sympathy for that kind of

41:2541 minutes, 25 secondsbattle it's a classic minority battle for belonging and integration but they also say and

41:3341 minutes, 33 secondssometimes it's the same person not a different person who says not until this country ceases to be

41:4041 minutes, 40 secondswhat it was meant to be no longer open to Jewish immigration from around the world no longer Jewish symbols in the

41:4741 minutes, 47 secondspublic sphere no longer the Hebrew calendar no longer the national expression of the Jewish people only

41:5541 minutes, 55 secondswhen it ceases to be that can we feel that we belong when the Jewish majority hears

Chapter 33: We Belong

42:0142 minutes, 1 secondthat they say no thank you and this is a struggle with which we have no sympathy and this is what complicates

42:0942 minutes, 9 secondsthe relationship even further add to that the conflict with the Arab world and as the Arabs say it my people are at

42:1842 minutes, 18 secondswar with my state or my state my country is at war with my people and think about other situations in history when Nations

42:2642 minutes, 26 secondshave had National minorities while they were at war with the nation from where these minorities came I would say most

42:3342 minutes, 33 secondscountries handled it far worse than Israel I have an Arab colleague who says that to understand Jewish Arab relations

42:4042 minutes, 40 secondswithin Israel you need to understand that the Jews are the numerical majority but in their minds they're the minority

42:4842 minutes, 48 secondsand the Arabs are the numerical minority but in their minds they're the majority now of course when you zoom out to the entire Middle East that's actually the

42:5742 minutes, 57 secondscase the Jews are a 6 to7 million minority and a 350 million Arab Middle East but it's also a matter of

Chapter 34: Minority

43:0643 minutes, 6 secondsmentality the Jews have perfected for over 2,000 years how to be a minority their structures their Traditions their

43:1543 minutes, 15 secondshumor being a majority is new to us the sense of ease and confidence of being in

43:2143 minutes, 21 secondsyour home being a majority we're still uneasy about that and the Arabs are the only Arab minority

43:3043 minutes, 30 secondsin the Middle East where all countries are sometimes a 100% Arab majority that's a humiliating experience

43:3943 minutes, 39 secondsespecially from their perspective this was supposed to be a 100% Arab countries with no Jews so there is much to be desired in

43:4843 minutes, 48 secondsJewish Arab relations within Israel but I would say that sometimes we need to pause to realize that it's a miracle that they're not on

43:5743 minutes, 57 secondsWars and I will end with one last discussion of the big question but I

Chapter 35: Conflict

44:0544 minutes, 5 secondswill be brief because so many people will discuss it with you the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians

44:1244 minutes, 12 secondsbetween the Jewish people and the Arab world I we'll just say this people are asking themselves in Israel what is this

44:2144 minutes, 21 secondsconflict about what are we fighting over and the sense is there's one school of thought that says ultimately this is

44:3044 minutes, 30 secondsabout territory how we divide resources water land sooner or later we will resolve

44:3744 minutes, 37 secondsit part will go to Israel the Jewish state with an Arab minority part will go to Palestine an Arab state that will

44:4544 minutes, 45 secondshave to have a Jewish minority But ultimately that's the solution the two-state solution but a lot of Israelis have

44:5244 minutes, 52 secondsbecome deeply skeptical including myself and say is this what the conflict is about or is it about the very existence

45:0145 minutes, 1 secondof the Jewish State rather about the signs of the Jewish State and amazingly the person who defined it best is Ernst

45:0945 minutes, 9 secondsbevon the British foreign minister after World War II I can assure you not a friend of the Zionist movement not a

45:1645 minutes, 16 secondsfriend of the Jewish people he goes to the British Parliament to say why Britain is giving up the Mandate that it

45:2345 minutes, 23 secondsreceived from the League of Nations why is it returning it to the United Nations and he says the following his Majesty's government has

45:3145 minutes, 31 secondscome to the conclusion that there's an IR reconcilable conflict of interest in this land irreconcilable why for the

45:3945 minutes, 39 secondsJews in the land the central point of principle is the achievement of sovereignty the Jews want a state for the Arabs in the land the

45:4845 minutes, 48 secondsessential point of principle is to prevent to the last the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in any part of the land

45:5645 minutes, 56 secondsnow it's a fascinating definition of the conflict and explains why it's irreconcilable the Jews want to

46:0346 minutes, 3 secondsState the Arabs want the Jews not to have a state it's not that the Jews want a state and the Arabs want a state and

46:1146 minutes, 11 secondsthe question is how do we divide up the resources it's much deeper much more existential than that and in fact this

46:1946 minutes, 19 secondsdefinition has been the best predictor of behavior of the SS ever since given a chance to have their state the Jews said

46:2746 minutes, 27 secondsyes and they'll take as much as they can when the Arabs could have their state again and again and again in 1947

46:3646 minutes, 36 seconds48 in 6768 in 2000 2008 2014 even but the

46:4446 minutes, 44 secondsprice of having that state the liberty and dignity of sovereignty is to come to terms for good and for all times with

46:5446 minutes, 54 secondsthe permanence of the Jewish state with the fact that the Jewish people are not Crusaders and not colonialists and not

47:0247 minutes, 2 secondsforeigners but they are indigenous people to this land who have come

47:0947 minutes, 9 secondshome this is the price to accept that the Jewish people have a right here not the exclusive right not the superior

47:1647 minutes, 16 secondsright but a right up until now the Arabs and the Palestinians have chosen to say too high a price to pay so I believe

47:2547 minutes, 25 secondsthat this is where we are today but what I continue to work for and I continue to promote is a vision of peace that is

47:3347 minutes, 33 secondsbased not just on technical issues of how to divide this land and where to draw the Border but a mutual and full

47:4047 minutes, 40 secondsrecognition that there are two peoples on this land the Jews and the Arab Palestinians both are indigenous to this

47:4847 minutes, 48 secondsland both have been shaped by it both have suffered for it and both have a right to self-determination in it

47:5647 minutes, 56 secondsso I hope that this was a useful introduction for you and I believe we still have a few minutes for a couple

48:0348 minutes, 3 secondsquestions

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