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philosopher. He regularly
published articles and essays
in the local press which had
a deep impact on the ideolo-
gical development of Zionism.
"Our road leads to nature
through the medium of physi-
cal labor," Mr. Gordon wrote.
In his writings he insisted
that the Jewish people in the
Diaspora led a highly abnor-
mal existence. They were, he
claimed, an almost entirely
urban people with little con-
tact with the land and the
countryside. At the same time
he was concerned by the fact
that few Jews worked in
heavy industry or farming.
The task of Zionism as he saw
it was to create a rural Jewish
society based on hard labor
and working the land. Only
in this manner could Jews be
at one with nature.
Though he denounced the
evils of - capitalism and in-
dustrialization, he also
distanced himself from Marx-
ism and socialism. "The aim
of Marxism is the reorganiza-
tion of the social order," he
wrote, "not the renewal of the
human spirit."
He also rejected the cosmo-
politanism of both socialism
and capitalism, asserting
that a person's spirit is deep-
ly rooted in the culture, tradi-
tions and history of his peo-
ple. He called this theory
"cosmo-nationalism."
The notion has often been
expressed that if Gordon were
alive today he would be deep-
ly disappointed by modern
Israel. In many ways Israel
has come to resemble
Diaspora life. Most Israelis
live in large cities and the
groves of Petah Tikvah and
Rishon Le Zion, where Mr.
Gordon once labored, have
become concrete suburbs of
Tel Aviv.
Moreover, the ethos of
manual labor, so important in
Israel just a generation ago,
has largely evaporated. Arab
labor from the administered
territories is used for menial
jobs. A recent Israel Televi-
sion program even revealed
that there are 16,000 foreign
workers in Israel imported
from such countries as Por-
tugal and Turkey.
And yet there is also much
that Mr. Gordon would take
satisfaction from. The coun-
try has a thriving agricul-
tural sector and most of the
labor in the kibbutzim, mo-
shavim and other agricul-
tural settlements is under-
taken by Jews. Even a
pampered middle class child,
living in one of those expen-
sive Tel Aviv apartments in
Rehov Gordon, would through
school visits and army ser-
vice, grow up with a feeling
for the land. ❑

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