No disagreement here. That broader picture is correct, but only some Jews saw the possibility of overseeing a middle eastern colony as a desirable option.
J. ----- Original Message ----- >> The Zionists would >> govern the middle east pretty much in the way they worked as stewards in >> Eastern Europe me: > I don't get this. In general, the Jews in Eastern Europe were > generally treated as second-class subjects, submitted to pogroms and > the like. > Joanna: Well, in Poland for example, the Jews were used to collect > taxes/tribute and to insulate the aristocracy from the anger of the populace. > The pogroms were one expression of that insulation.< That makes sense, but I dunno. I have a different, broader, interpretation. I see Zionism as being in the light of the various nationalisms (French, German, Italian, etc.) that had prevailed in Europe. It was an imitation of these, complete with colonies (Palestine). All of these nationalisms involved efforts at forced homogeneity of culture, religion, language, etc. All of them involved efforts to recreate imaginary worlds of the past. All of them were based in _cross-class_ alliances, involving not only government agents (tax farmers) but also much of the bourgeoisie, the petty bourgeoisie, peasants, and parts of the working class. (Not all: there were also organizations such as the Bund.) The specific case of Zionism involved a purported solution to the "Jewish problem," one that was supported by many of the non-Jews in Europe: dump the "problem" on Palestine! and of course the new Israeli state would gain support for itself by supporting other nationalisms -- including one effort by the Irgun (I believe) to link up with the Nazis... -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
