A Revaluation of Values: Revival of Zionist Humanism
By SHALOM BEN CHORIN
It was the German philoso-
pher Friedrich Nietzsche
-who coined the slogan "Re-
valuation of all values,"
which was also introduced
into modern Hebrew litera-
ture by Micha Joseph ben
Gurion (Berdiczewski). Zion-
ism itself was in a certain
sense such a revaluation of
alues: It transformed, as it
were, the values of Judaism
and imparted to them a na-
tional rather than a religious
connotation.
At the turn of the century
Zionism implied a veritable
revolution in Jewish life and
.-thor-ht, whose dimensions,
imj ;bons and repercus-
iiRAPKIN
Photography
Weddings - Bar Mitzvah
Social Events
647-5731
Eves. and Weds.
Jack Drapkin
851-2671
Over 30 Years
sions came to be fully recog-
nized only decades later.
However, the values of Zion-
ism became depreciated in
the course of time. The gen-
eral problem of fulfilled
ideals made itself felt: what
for the generation of the fa-
thers had been a distant tar-
get, was a matter of course
for the sons and grandsons.
The return to the Land of the
Jews, as put by Theodor
Herzl, cannot be regarded as
an ideal by people born in
the country.
The second great postulate
put forward by the so-called
Cultural Zionism was the He-
braization of the Jewish peo-
ple—the return to its classi-
cal language. This demand
has been out-distanced by the
reality of Israel. The prob-
lem now confronting young
people born in Israel is to
learn other languages, since
Hebrew is their vernacular.
The third target in this
process of revaluation was
the so-called normalization
of the Jewish people, involv-
ing far-reaching changes of
its sociological as well as
psychological set-up. A peo-
ple consisting of businessmen
and intellectuals, urbanized
and largely estranged from
nature, was to be returned
to primary production, to ag-
riculture and industry; the
Jew of the ghetto was to be
replaced by a Jewish peasant
deeply rooted in the soil.
All this is no longer mean-
ingful today. It may be that
normalization has succeeded
only too well. Owing to immi-
gration from oriental coun-
tries we were beset by the
hitherto unknown problem of
illiteracy. The intellectual
was "revalued" since Israel
of today needs not only phy-
sicians and technicians but
also experts in commerce
and banking.
As a result of this change
in conditions and circum-
stances; part of the young
generation of Israel began
to write off Zionism and for
far - too - many Zionism be-
came synonymous with
empty talk. In HebreW slang
they would say: "Al tedaber
rZionut" if they meant that
somebody was using general
phrases, did not speak to the
point or indulged in moraliz-
ing. At best Zionism was tol-
erated as a concern of the
Diaspora, while Israel itself
was regarded as post-Zionist.
ROOM
At The Back
13710 W. 9 Mile
The most tragic aspect of
this development was that
the former Zionist ideals
were not replaced by new
ones, so that a dangerous
vacuum arose in our society,
a void which could be filled
by the pseudo-values of our
time, imports from Europe
and especially from Ameri-
ca. Thus a pioneering society
was transformed into one of
affluence which ; however,
was lacking the solid founda-
tion of real wealth and pros-
perity. The pursuit of mater-
ial success, of luxuries, of
status symbols became char-
acteristic of large sections of
the "Vatikim", the veteran
settlers, and the gap between
them and the new immi-
grants, especially those from
Tues., Wed., Thurs.
SPECIAL
S
Wash
Shampoo
Set
00
Complete
Perfect Touch Perm
reg. $25
111 7 50
Haircut included
Call for Appt.
399-2552
••■
.....
■•■■.
Holiday & Cruisewear
Arriving Daily
Sizes 10-20 and 121/2-241/2
I
71
c--7
Weiler Named JDC President
at 60th Annual Meeting in NY
NEW YORK — More than
Jewish community lead-
ers from throughout the
United States and Canada
elected Jack D. Weiler of
New York chairman of the
Joint Distribution Committee
at its 60th annual meeting
here and adopted a budget of
$29,935,000 for 1975.
Meanwhile, guest-speaker
Sen. Henry M. Jackson (D.-
Wash.) called upon the
.United Nations to reorder its
priorities and "cease indulg-
ing in perversions of the
perversions of the principles
the United Nations was es-
tablished to protect."
In his address Sen. Jackson
said that "the world of peace,
progress and law that we
seek faces an unprecendented
600
JACK D. VVEILER
challenge from terrorists and
criminal organizations mas-
querading as progressive pol-
itical movements. In recent
weeks we have seen a sorry
spectacle of sovereign na-
tions choosing to combat in-
ternational criminality — not
by concerted international
action and vigilance—but by
appeasement."
"Capitulation to terrorist
violence and blackmail only
lead to more of the same,"
Sen. Jackson continued. "Yet,
in the United Nations, cow-
NEW YORK (JTA)—Israeli
Foreign Minister Yigal Allon
said that his talks with ad-
ministration leaders in Wash-
ington were "satisfactory" in
the two major areas they
covered — bilateral relations
between the U. S. and Israel
and a joint exploration of the
entire Middle East situation.
Allon described his visit
with Ford as "warm and
friendly" and said the same
atmosphere characterized his
meetings with leading mem-
Fall &Winter Merchandise
3
STAR-SPANGLED
_SAVINGS
'PLAN
L5eiter-__Atif _Ja3hion3
`FASHION COORDINATORS FOR THE FULL-FIGURED WOMEN'
3055 W. 12 MILE RD., BERKLEY, MICH.
(Between Coolidge and Greenfield Rd.)
398-1331
Master Charge and BanhAmericard
•• ■ ,.
valuation of former values."
Essentially, it is not an en-
tirely new phenomenon, but
the second stage of a process
that had set in several years
previously.
ardice rules even to the ex-
tent that architects of mur-
der are greeted as heroes
while the state of Israel, a
principal victim of organized
terrorism—is denied its legal
rights and barred from its
rightful place in the opera-
tion of UN agencies.
"Let us hope that there is
decisive action to restore the
confidence we are entitled to
have in the United Nations.
Otherwise, that agency,
which began with so much
hope and promise a genera-
tion ago, will go the way of
the League of Nations—which
failed because it refused to
distinguish between the crim-
inals and the victims of crim-
inal•ty."
Weiler, who became the
sixth chairman in the 60-year
history of the JDC, succeeds
Edward Ginsberg of Cleve-
land, who served in that post
for three years.
Weiler has been active as a
worker and leader of many
local, national and interna-
tional Jewish organizations.
He was national chairman of
the United Jewish Appeal for
23 years, chairman of the
United Jewish Appeal of
Greater New York for 14
years and continues as hon-
orary chairman of the real
estate division.
He was vice-chairman of
the JDC for 13 years and
chairman of the JDC national
council for seven years. He is
national treasurer of the Uni-
ted Israel Appeal, national
secretary treasurer of the
State of Israel Bond Organi-
zation, a former vice presi-
dent of the Federation of
Jewish Philanthropies of New
York and an officer of the Al-
bert Einstein College of Med-
icine, the Montefiore Hospital
and Medical Center, the
Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, the
Jewish Theological Seminary
and the New York Board of
Rabbis.
Allon Talks 'Satisfactory'
SALE ! 50% Off
&lye green,
the Middle East, widened and
deepened.
The shock of the Yom Kip-
pur War has brought about a
distinct change in this res-
spect. It may be called "re-
MON. - SAT.
10:30 - 4:30
•111..
i.
I
,S1011
op kr
IL S. Ssdnas Bonds,
Wm Reeds= Shwas
bers of Congress. He said his
talks with Kissinger and
Treasury Secretary William
Simon were "frank, friendly
and warm."
In as apparent reference to
reports that the U. S. was
exerting pressure on Israel
for further concessions in the
interests of renewed peace
negotiations with its neigh-
bors, Allan said "No commit-
ments were made."
He reiterated Israel's re-
fusal under any circum-
stances to negotiate with the
.Palestine Liberation Organi-
zation. "Would Israel be will-
ing to ride a tiger ii it were
disguised as a horse?" he
said.
He said that Israel's armed
forces were qualitatively and
quantitatively sup erior to
what they were at the tme of
the Yom Kippur War. He said
Israel now possesses the most
sophisticated weapons in the
world.
Already after the Six-Day
War a certain change was
perceptible: one could note
that the , Israeli isolationism
was being overcome because
many young Israelis recog-
nised the identity between Is-
rael, Jewry and Judaism in
view of the unqualified solid-
arity of the Jews of the Dias-
pora with an Israel struggl-
ing for survival. It is rather
remarkable that this exper-
ience of Jewish identity had
not been as strong and wide-
spread in the War of Libera-
tion of 1948, as is was in 1967.
This proposition of the
unity of Israel and the Dias-
pora had become widely ac-
cepted by 1973. Owing to the
tragic course of the War,
with its heavy casualties, a
further return to the original
values of our society has tak-
en place. While Herzl had
said at the Second Zionist
Congress in 1898, that Zion-
ism meant a return to Ju-
daism before a return to the
Jewish land, to many people
in Israel it has become clear
that the return to the Jewish
Land had been brought about
without a return to Judaism.
A real revaluation of values
is now called for. It is nec-
essary to find a form in
which to offer these values
to 'a generation which, de-
spite its life in Israel and de-
spite its employment of the
Hebrew language, has be-
come estranged from its
spiritual origins.
Individuals and who
groups have raised the de-
mand for "Shinui", for al-
terations in the structure of
our society. The trouble is
that these yearnings have
seldom, if ever, been clearly
articulated. One knows ex-
actly what one rejects—cor-
ruption, "protektzia", negli-
gence and irresponsibility,
but one is less sure about
which positive values should
be installed.
After the Yam Kippur War
—as in fact after every war
—there were signs of a reli-
gious revival. Young people
who had been remote from
Jewish faith and tradition
made sincere attempts to re-
turn to prayer and the mitz-
vot. Here is a rewarding and
important task for all trends
in Judaism; they must do
everything, each in its own
way, to find a common lan-
guage with this youth in
search.
First of all, however, the
values of Zionist humanism
must be brought to the fore;
the conviction that Zionism
has not only a political but
also an ethical message, that
it aims not only at creating
an independent, autonomous
Jewish society, but also a
better one in which the Jews
liberated from external
pressures, will be able to
strive for the realization of
human ideals. The return to
these original values of the
Zionist movement will give
new impulse to a renaissance
of Zionism in Israel herself.
The opportunity is great; it
should not be missed.
The finest qualities of our
nature, like the bloom on
fruits, can be preserved only
by the most delicate handl-
ing.--Henry D. Thoreau
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, Dec. 20, 1974-47