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| Graffiti mural on an old building, Carmel market, south Tel Aviv / D-A Vider 2016 |
This post is not written to arouse controversy. It simply describe a shift in opinion. Millennial Israelis do not think or feel like their grandparents. They also do not know the life Jews experienced in Europe or the Arab world a mere seventy years ago. Before shooting off a nasty comment, take a moment to reflect and imagine change. <editor>
Many Israeli millennials seem jaded and negative when it comes to traditional Zionism. Not the Zionism which drives passion toward the state, evoked in daily conversations about terrorist attacks and economic success rivaling any country the last century (the worst and best of Israel). The 120 year old idea popularized by Theodor Herzl [
Wikipedia] in Europe long before Jewish communities in Eastern Europe organized immigration to this land.
- What do Israeli millennials "Sabras" (the Hebrew term for a new generation of Jews born in Israel) know or believe that Herzl did not? Why do they not believe what their grandparents believed?
- Why is traditional Zionism, with a rich history and decades of success making young Israeli think "old, out of date, not relevant today". Why a century changed our thinking so much?
What really changed for Israelis the last century is the establishment of a modern, developed and in many ways a well running state. Not simply a symbolic declaration of independence. Not even a well run former colony. But a truly good place for Jews to live. This essentially "completes" or fulfills Herzl's dream. Some say, Israelis outdid the "prophecy". Young Israelis are not disrespectful of traditional Zionism, yet they see quite different landscape today. Most discount the Jewish diaspora of today as simply distant relatives. With no understanding and appreciation of Jewish life around the world, millennials here only know what they see here. This is due to little contact with Jews around the world. American and European volunteers who came to help in kibbutzim in the 1970s were a small glimpse at foreigners. Since then, Jews have not come to Israel on great numbers, even to visit (the Birthright-Taglit program is one exception). Jewish tourists coming here have hardly any contact with Israelis. They seem to come to see the sights and post pictures on Facebook. Israelis are generally isolated from Jewish communities even when visiting places with strong Jewish identity (US, France, UK, Argentina, Canada, South Africa). This isolation of the two groups is changing how we interpret our Zionist past. Israelis see the movement as the driving force in establishing and growing the state. Yet where is Zionism today when challenges from inside and out need a new vision? Jews in the diaspora see Zionism as a vital idea and movement still alive today. The call for a
"new Jewish state" means different things to different people. Even today.
More on this somewhat hidden aspect of Israeli millennials and Zionism in future posts.
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