The question is not whether "progressive Zionism" feels compassionate. It is whether the assumptions of "progressive Zionists" can survive contact with reality — and most often, they do not.
4) The Democrat Party does not need or want Jews any more.
Progressive Zionists have a binary choice: Stay in the Democrat Party and be ignored and hated or leave it.
Progressive Zionism is a "Luxury Belief." It is doomed because the people that hold those ideas are doomed given present political alliances. It is just as stupid and moronic as LGBTQ's for Palestinians. It is almost funny but it isn't because it is tragic and suicidal, but it is hard to stop someone who desperately wants to kill himself.
The word ‘progressive’ has been misappropriated by performative, pseudo-liberal, selectively humanitarian, moral hypocrites - rendering its use as a badge of honour questionable in virtually any context today. Zionism actually encapsulates the noble values that once defined Progressivism.
The term ‘progressive Zionism ‘ — akin to describing a ‘ Pink Lady’ (which is by default a crisp, sweet red) a red Pink Lady. ‘Red’ like ‘progressive’ is redundant and I challenge anyone to explain to me why they think I am wrong and I should caveat that in my book, anti - Semites/anti-Zionists don’t get to define either.
Zionism once a movement for Jewish self determination - both for the Jews subjugated as Dhimmis in the Levant and those persecuted in exile in Europe — is today the commitment to the continue sovereignty, liberty and equality of Israel’s First Nation and the Jewish diaspora.
It is at its core a human rights movement -/consistent with what was once true progressive values.
Empirically speaking, Israel’s survival in a hostile neighbourhood is constantly under threat. And yet, empirically speaking she remains among the most inclusive democracies on earth. Her non Jewish ethnic minorities are ~27% of her population and represented across all sectors of society and spheres of influence. In contrast the U.K. for example is 18% ethnic minority, France 15% and Japan 2.5%
By defining a ‘progressive Zionism’ one is simply suggesting that it is not an essentially progressive movement — which is absurd.
One only has to look at a map to understand: Israel, a tiny baby finger nail surrounded by dictatorships — nations that once burgeoned from the Arabian Peninsula through conquest, to realise that framing Zionism as anything other than the fight for the future of Jews; is surreal.
That Israel should be defined by her fringe villains when her neighbours are not defined by theirs, and nor are their villains fringe, reflects a profoundly immoral exceptionalism that undermines everything that old style progressivism once stood for: consistency is surely the foundation of any moral position.
If the more than all 80+ nation states that sought self determination in the post imperial nation building era of the 20th century used an ISM at the end of the names of their countries (Zion be another name for the Holy land), how would we characterise South Koreanism, Pakistanism, Lebanonism, Jordanism, Saudi Arabianism, South Africanism. For that matter how would we characterise the political movements that created statehood before then? Spanishism; Germanyism; Americanism — and what do we call their movements that drive policies and build armies to serve their sovereign interests? Oh yes, it’s patriotism. Increasingly a dirty world among globalists who seem willing to sacrifice Western hegemonic freedoms and rights for more oppressive, totalitarian alternatives.
The practice of holding the Jewish state to unique standards and utopian ideals — to which no other nation is held — is best served by the increasing swathes of anti-Semites.
I don’t know what drives these Jews who nonsensically caveat their Zionism — Jews desperately seeking to fit among elite society despite its obvious flaws and absence of intellectual curiosity? Like Jews once desperate to to be accepted at the country clubs that once banned them as unsuitable, non-white Semites.
Is it an absence of intellect, geopolitical ignorance or ideological capture or maybe a combination of all the above?
One step worse are the anti-Zionist Jews — much like Black Americans opposing civil rights; slaves opposing freedom; women opposing suffrage or Gay people opposing Pride. Self sabotage?
Pure gold, every word of this article. Spoken for me.
Let's also remember what a deceitful adjective " progressive " has become. The self-denominated " progressives" often vehemently or even indirectly support the most regressive ( no quote marks) ideologies ever espoused. " Progressive " today means the opposite: regressive. Many crucial language items have been hijacked ideologically. Today's abject moral inversion shows plenty of those.
Look at the " progressive" US Democratic party, that those " progressive " Zionists belong to. Who and what do they vouch for? You can fill the items.
Time to be coherent and pro-civilization. " Progressive Zionist " doesn't work.
I think it means that they are pretty certain that the Palestinians living in the West Bank can be trusted to be peaceful ....and they should take over the whole of Judea and Samaria .... and that it will all be tickety boo!
Being a dhimmi, involving paying the jizah (tax), willingly submit to Muslim rule, being fully humbled, is only one of the choices allowed them. The other two are either to convert or to emmigrate, if they can.
Interesting perspective about Progressive Zionists, but I wonder what the reception would be if you had tried to have a conversation with them about their beliefs while presenting yours. I think their response would have provided another facet to explore for your essay. So their 'compassion' and belief about Zionism is to receive approval at a dinner party? If that may be true, then how do the same Progressive Zionists believe that Israel can achieve all their unrealistic beliefs? It sounds like they wear their 'Progressive Zionism' as a shield to protect them from the antisemitism that has been growing. It gives them a false sense of security and helps them to retain their moral character, sleep soundly at night, but what it doesn't do is give a strong voice to the hate and blood libels that encompass social media, the MSM, and those in power who have turned on Israel and Jews everywhere. Sorry, but they don't get a pass from me.
Yes, and sorry to state the 'bleedin obvious' as below ...
But Zionists need to admit that there *were* mistakes and cruelties in the founding of the state of Israel .... and no doubt still are.
Eg when absentee Arab landlords sold good agricultural land to Jews, the peasants/'fellahin' lost their livelihood and land their family had cultivated for, say, over hundred years or so.
I know that is true, having read the biography of a Jewish woman with a husband in the British army, I think .... whose family took over a farm in the 1920's or so and wrote about what she saw, including the resentment from children of Arab families that formerly lived there.
And whilst the land the Jews were developing provided jobs to surrounding areas, eg Egyptians and Syrians, as denoted in Palestinian names, there must have been understandable concerns when they saw Jews doing so well and in increasing numbers - envy isn't just an anti-semitic trait - Jews have it too ....
Plus ordinary ignorant racism doesn't just go one way, unfortunately.
Add to that the local Imams, Priests and 'prominent' Arab families/clan elders/sheikhs could only have resented their demotion in the power structure and the increasing influx of Jewish immigrants and the wealth they brought. (And that's without the hatred that may be inherent in what is written or interpreted from their holy texts.)
Also, some nasty things Ben Gurion & Co may have said/written, I believe, under war conditions, eg something like, 'If I were the Arabs, I'd hate and fight us too".
And I'm not saying this as an anti-Zionist ... I am saying that it does no good not to admit these things; to claim all the right is on one side.
We need to give respect for understandable resentments and feelings; and maybe this can help towards some mutual understanding and peaceful dialogue - even whilst knowing and saying that mistakes and cruelties have certainly come from the Arab/Palestinian and Anti-Zionist, 'progressive Zionist' and sheer self-hating Jewish (useful eedjits) anti-semitic side.
There are so many aspects to the problem, but being a Progressive Zionist is almost an oxymoron. Criticism of Israel or any country is not a bad thing, but it becomes much more than that. One Israeli woman who told her story gives us her perspective, but that's not the entire story. I wish there were only resentments and feelings but it's much more complex than that, and there have been supposed mutual understanding and peaceful dialogue and solutions that were broken by the Arabs. They do not want Jews or Israel to exist side by side with them. They want it all and minus the Jews. With that attitude, the outcome never changes.
"Progressivism" is just the postmodern lapel pin or crucifix pendant meant to signal symbolic beliefs to others, in this case that the wearer is a good person who cares about the poor and oppressed and who marches on the Right Side of History™️. It is a belief system a mile wide and an inch deep constructed from the simplistic and moralistic Oppressor/Oppressed binary, which is why it's perfectly suited to our phone-addicted youth who mostly read emojis.
And all this is most extreme and mandatory here in California, which is to the Social Justice faith what Catholicism is to Vatican City, its birthplace and home office, where the largest seminaries are located to create and propagate the faith and where heretics are dealt with harshly.
I can only imagine how hard it is to be a young Zionist on California college campuses and in cities now, considering that despising Israel has become the mandatory foundational belief of all progressives, the litmus test that decides if you are friend or foe.
But there will be no splitting the baby a la King Solomon here. "Progressive Zionists" are the proverbial frogs in boiling water and they will have to pick one pot to jump into, especially as 2028 approaches with the Dem primaries shaping up to be a second Beer Hall Putsch.
Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one: if you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you're simply a Zionist, sans qualifier.
They might as well start practicing courage now when they're young, it'll be needed more as they grow older, especially Diaspora Jews living in the increasingly hostile West.
If so-called "progressives" would only attack all the nations that are total enemies of all so-called "progressive" contents, Israel would be among the very last states they had to be busy with. And they were the first to land and end in those nations in torture dungeons, see Iran 1979. But if you are a totally imbecile dumb coward having issues with becoming adult, you will never learn. Any argument with "progressives" is completely in vain, as it is with every mentally unhealably ill.
Jewish particularism or Jewish Essentialism? The former is PC, the latter a more accurate description of Jewish essence.
"the Jewish People are not merely adherents of a religion but a historic nation with a language, a civilization, a collective memory, and a homeland."
Missing from this list is, crucially, Jewish ethnicity.
"The characters may initially distrust one another, but eventually they discover that they are 'not so different' after all. The walls come down. The music rises. The children play together. Everyone learns a valuable lesson."
Ahhh, a kumbaya moment. Certainly something the Judean and Samarian Arabs have been pining for for decades.
"They construct a Zionism that . . . constantly apologizes for itself. A Zionism whose moral legitimacy depends on Israel behaving according to standards demanded of no other country facing comparable threats.
They do not abandon Zionism altogether. Instead, they edit it."
The Judenrats also believed cooperation was the best way to preserve Jewish life. The capos also believed cooperation was the best way to secure tolerance.
The term as applied just to a political movement, was only a political expression of a Biblical command. Zion is mentioned over a hundred times in the Tanach, and many more times in the commentaries. Now every Jew should know what the definition and description of the word Zion is according to the Torah. When we Jews know what we are talking about, then the non-Jews will listen and understand. This is how we can take control of what is still a dangerous political debate. There is much more to debate, define and describe.
Good article. 1) If Israel is not a utopia, it is condemned; 2) the whole thing presupposes that the opponents are logical and rational, when in fact the opponents are barbarians.
“But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods…”
The One Who identifies Himself in the Tanakh as “the Lord God of Israel” 108 times, “the God of Israel” 95 times, “the Holy One of Israel” 31 times, “the King of Israel” 6 times, “the Hope of Israel” and “the Mighty One of Israel” 2 times each, and “the Shepherd of Israel”, “the Creator of Israel”, “the Redeemer of Israel”, “the Stone of Israel”, and “the Rock of Israel” 1 time each - is the original and everlasting Zionist.
Psalms 132:13-14
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
He has not changed His mind, and He holds the counter views, beliefs, and actions of angels or humans in derisive contempt.
Malachi 3:6
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
He has a Plan of the Ages that He will bring to pass. The angelic hosts made their choice regarding what side of His plan they would stake their eternal existence upon in the distant past.
That choice has now been before all humanity for over six thousand years, but the time for choosing will soon be over for us as well. For every human being, but especially for those He chose out of the sea of humanity to be His special inheritance:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Through whom He revealed, preserved, and passed down His written Word, and through whom He brought into the world the Living Word:
John 1:1-5
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
That through Him, the world might be saved and brought into that Plan, according to His perfect will and purpose.
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 10:7-18 (CJB)
“7 So Yeshua said to them again, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. 9 I am the gate; if someone enters through me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he isn't a shepherd and the sheep aren't his own, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf drags them off and scatters them. 13 The hired worker behaves like this because that's all he is, a hired worker; so it doesn't matter to him what happens to the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me— 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father—and I lay down my life on behalf of the sheep. 16 Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 "This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life—in order to take it up again! 18 No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do."
May each consider these matters carefully, and choose well…
When speaking to Jews, please leave Jesus out of the discussion. Thank you for the quotes from the Hebrew Bible. They are what every Jew should know and use against the barbarians. See the Jews for Judaism Youtube channel to understand why we Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah or as the son of God, or as God incarnate.
I know those views well Paul, and I believe I understand them better than the average Gentile. That said, I continue to seek understanding in that and other areas of controversy in relation to God’s plans and dealings with the Church and Israel, and how those two entities are to interact with and relate to one another.
I am also well aware of the lamentable, and in various times and aspects, downright evil, history of the Church towards the Chosen People, whether in the Diaspora or, in Israel, since the regathering and rebirth of the nation.
It grieves me to a great degree, but I also know from various prophetic Scriptures, that the relationship between the Jewish people and ‘the world’ is going to go from ‘bad’, to ‘worse’, to ‘terrible’, and terminate in ‘horrific’ - though it may seem to improve for a relatively brief period of time - until the Satanically-inspired evil that seeks to enslave the world and destroy the nation of Israel is defeated by the (2nd, in our view) coming of the Messiah.
Believe me Paul, there are far more professing Christians who resent, reject, and chaff at my beliefs in regard to God’s continued love for, and faithfulness to fulfill His promises to, the Chosen People, than there are total Jews alive in the world.
And, for the benefit of any and all that might not have grasped this fact, Jesus was not only born, raised, lived, and died as a Jew, from the standpoint of Biblical Christianity, He also resurrected as a Jew, remains a Jew, and will return to Jerusalem to rule and reign over Israel, as well as the entire world (from David’s throne) - as a Jew…
I understand that the Christian view of Jesus poses a number of very great challenges to Orthodox Jews; it always has - and it will be so until the End.
The early Church, which was exclusively Jewish for a number of years, was controversial from its beginning. And it took the greatest enemy of the early Church, Saul of Tarsus (Paul), many years after his conversion encounter with the resurrected Jesus to work through the comprehensive understanding that made him the greatest of the writing Apostles.
I’ll just end by saying that it is no more my desire to offend you, or any other Jewish person, than it is my desire to offend any of my Christian brothers and sisters. But the love of God compels me to share the truth with any and all, because it is only the truth of God that can save and redeem a lost humanity, and a fallen world.
The world is dark and growing darker to the Jewish people. But, one day the entire world will be brought to understand the full import of these words: “Am Israel Chai, to the glory of God!”
And the world at that time will be divided into two principal groups; those who love and worship the true and living God (the God of Israel), and rejoice over the glory of His righteous reign - even if ashamed at their prior foolishness, and those who have been self-glorifying, self-seeking, rebels - who are stunned in shameful silence, awaiting their eternal doom.
I know where I will be in that mix, and I yearn to help others - especially those who profess to love, serve, and honor Jesus Christ - recognize the need to do so in the right Spirit. And that Spirit loves the Chosen People, the Land, and Jerusalem, with a great and undiminished passion.
I, for one, Mike, am a Jew who appreciates your view and your quotes and mention of Jesus. I understand your beliefs, that your heart is in the right place, and that you are not condemning Judaism or denigrating Judaism in any way. Our beliefs differ in some ways, especially concerning the Messiah, but our beliefs have much much more in common than not.
That said, I also understand why some Jews bristle at the mention of Jesus (like I used to) because those mentions have quite often come with the insistence that Jews convert and accept Jesus--and when the Jews do not do that, those Christians often turn to scorn and condemnation of the Jews, or worse. I have experienced THAT type of Christian in my life, too, as have many Jews. I still encounter them, daily. I know you are not that, based on many of our conversations on this page. Meeting more Christians like yourself has shown me that, indeed, we are linked (even with some theological differences), we are united by the same God and the same love of Israel, and essentially have the same goals for the future of our religions.
So, I hope you will continue your good-heartedness and will continue to understand the sensitivity Jews have vis-a-vis Christianity. My grandmother, who fled Russia/Poland (the borders were in dispute) after witnessing her father and other community members brutalized during a pogrom, never lost her utter FEAR of Christians. Not hate--FEAR. When I married my non-Jewish husband, she was terrified for me, convinced that the day would come he would beat me or indeed, murder me. Even after years, she practically trembled whenever she was around him, was even afraid to speak to him. This fear, this distrust, is present in many Jews, still. And when we encounter the "other" type of Christians that are NOT like you, Mike--I mean the ones who currently call us the "Synagogue of Satan," and "fake Jews," and worse--that fear and distrust is validated. We need more true Christians like YOU to continue to speak out for us, to show your love and support. As I have said before--THANK YOU.
Have a look at Jews for Judaism for the truth. Jesus was not a descendent of King David. We are taught that all negative prophecies can be avoided. We can bring the Messiah in a peaceful way, and avoid the horrors of a final war. You'd make a great proponent and member of the the Noachide movement, of B'nei Noach.
Good article, Joshua. The problem is that, for many of these people, progressivism has almost become a cult. You can show them the failures of their ideology—victimhood over accountability, equity over equality, identity over merit—and they simply refuse to question the underlying beliefs.
But to me, the most dangerous progressive idea of all is multiculturalism as it is practiced today. That is the one that could ultimately implode the West. Not all cultures are the same. Not all cultures share the same values, and Islam is not the same as other cultures and ideologies that have successfully integrated into Western democratic societies. Pretending otherwise doesn't make it true.
Progressives assume that everyone ultimately wants what they want: democracy, equality, secular government, individual freedom and peaceful coexistence. Joshua, that's the fantasy. Some ideologies have fundamentally different goals, and refusing to recognize that reality may ultimately be the progressives' own downfall—and unfortunately, they may take the rest of the West down with them.
There is a backlash beginning against woke progressive ideology, so I still have some hope. The only question is whether the West wakes up before the damage becomes irreversible.
I appreciate this argument and would add this to it. This argument against the cognitive dissonance of ‘progressive Zionism’ is also applicable to the failure of ‘progressive’ Leftism in general. ‘Progressivism’ is an ideal used to virtue-signal moral superiority. It is dangerous because it denies some harsh realities, such as the threat posed by Communism and Islamism, and wants the West to apologize for itself - although relative to other societies, the West has nothing to apologize for. It wants us to be conciliatory and weak by allowing mass immigration of Islamists to Western Europe, the UK, Canada, the USA and Australia, for example. It is the cause of suicidal empathy, which evil, opportunistic religious and political movements take advantage of. This cognitive dissonance is more obvious with regard to Israel at war with Islamic terrorists, but it’s also occurring in the West. “Progressive Leftism,” in general, is a bad ideology, one that weakens and destroys human civilization. And it is not just happening at dinner parties. Entire governments in the West have fallen sway to this, e.g., Liberals in Canada and talk of a so-called "two-state solution" and criticism of Israel, and funding aid for Gaza (which goes into the hands of terrorists). Same with Labour in the UK and numerous other Western states that have fallen to Leftist ideology. Some parts of Christianity have also been corrupted by Leftism and anti-Zionism (eg., United Church of Canada).
Virue-signalling - yes, too much of it and disagreement is frowned upon. I don't care what people follow in their personal life - the problem comes when we see migrants making their own countries within countries - not assimilating with the host country or learning the values of the host country. Wouldn't you want to when you move to a new place? But all this talk of division, racism, prejudice adds doesn't help either - it's an idea that the leftists adopt in order to virtue signal and ostracize, even shame, those who don't follow their ideology. It's actually a very strange attitude - value tolerance yet allow others not to be. Where is the fairness in that especially if people don't assimilate?
I do feel for you, Joshua. On the one hand you held yourself back in conversation with the warm-sounding Progressive Jewish woman at the synagogue out of respect for where you were, i.e. in her domain, and on the other hand it is exactly as you say regarding Zionism and Israel. I must admit, for me as a bit of a loner, albeit a gregarious loner, a poet and an outlier, I'm used to saying what I think despite protocol. I'm also old and not prepared to waste my time and energy.
I detest any word with the prefix 'progressive'. Using that word already condemns it to a romanticised, self-inflated realm where there's no room for reality. Let's sock it to them - and we can do that while still being willing to be friendly - as it's the only way forward.
There is a reason that virtually every "progressive zionist" lives in the United States and not in Israel. There is a reason the Israeli left has genuinely collapsed and what is left of it is trending "post Zionist." The progressive ideology does not comport with reality. American progressive Zionists have spent the last 30 years inviting that it does while blaming Netanyahu or the Israeli right for the war the Palestinians refuse to stop fighting. Israelis by and large don't have that luxury. They have to live there.
Now, since October 7, progressive Zionists are losing the luxury of their beliefs as well. What they are learning is that the progressive world they are part of hates them, hates Israel and is vile. They are obligated to make a choice. Some are choosing...poorly. Others have woken up. But the day of the "progressive Zionist" is over.
Progressive Zionists
1) They are Democrats
2) The Democrat Party hates Israel
3) The Democrat Party is allied with Islam.
4) The Democrat Party does not need or want Jews any more.
Progressive Zionists have a binary choice: Stay in the Democrat Party and be ignored and hated or leave it.
Progressive Zionism is a "Luxury Belief." It is doomed because the people that hold those ideas are doomed given present political alliances. It is just as stupid and moronic as LGBTQ's for Palestinians. It is almost funny but it isn't because it is tragic and suicidal, but it is hard to stop someone who desperately wants to kill himself.
The word ‘progressive’ has been misappropriated by performative, pseudo-liberal, selectively humanitarian, moral hypocrites - rendering its use as a badge of honour questionable in virtually any context today. Zionism actually encapsulates the noble values that once defined Progressivism.
The term ‘progressive Zionism ‘ — akin to describing a ‘ Pink Lady’ (which is by default a crisp, sweet red) a red Pink Lady. ‘Red’ like ‘progressive’ is redundant and I challenge anyone to explain to me why they think I am wrong and I should caveat that in my book, anti - Semites/anti-Zionists don’t get to define either.
Zionism once a movement for Jewish self determination - both for the Jews subjugated as Dhimmis in the Levant and those persecuted in exile in Europe — is today the commitment to the continue sovereignty, liberty and equality of Israel’s First Nation and the Jewish diaspora.
It is at its core a human rights movement -/consistent with what was once true progressive values.
Empirically speaking, Israel’s survival in a hostile neighbourhood is constantly under threat. And yet, empirically speaking she remains among the most inclusive democracies on earth. Her non Jewish ethnic minorities are ~27% of her population and represented across all sectors of society and spheres of influence. In contrast the U.K. for example is 18% ethnic minority, France 15% and Japan 2.5%
By defining a ‘progressive Zionism’ one is simply suggesting that it is not an essentially progressive movement — which is absurd.
One only has to look at a map to understand: Israel, a tiny baby finger nail surrounded by dictatorships — nations that once burgeoned from the Arabian Peninsula through conquest, to realise that framing Zionism as anything other than the fight for the future of Jews; is surreal.
That Israel should be defined by her fringe villains when her neighbours are not defined by theirs, and nor are their villains fringe, reflects a profoundly immoral exceptionalism that undermines everything that old style progressivism once stood for: consistency is surely the foundation of any moral position.
If the more than all 80+ nation states that sought self determination in the post imperial nation building era of the 20th century used an ISM at the end of the names of their countries (Zion be another name for the Holy land), how would we characterise South Koreanism, Pakistanism, Lebanonism, Jordanism, Saudi Arabianism, South Africanism. For that matter how would we characterise the political movements that created statehood before then? Spanishism; Germanyism; Americanism — and what do we call their movements that drive policies and build armies to serve their sovereign interests? Oh yes, it’s patriotism. Increasingly a dirty world among globalists who seem willing to sacrifice Western hegemonic freedoms and rights for more oppressive, totalitarian alternatives.
The practice of holding the Jewish state to unique standards and utopian ideals — to which no other nation is held — is best served by the increasing swathes of anti-Semites.
I don’t know what drives these Jews who nonsensically caveat their Zionism — Jews desperately seeking to fit among elite society despite its obvious flaws and absence of intellectual curiosity? Like Jews once desperate to to be accepted at the country clubs that once banned them as unsuitable, non-white Semites.
Is it an absence of intellect, geopolitical ignorance or ideological capture or maybe a combination of all the above?
One step worse are the anti-Zionist Jews — much like Black Americans opposing civil rights; slaves opposing freedom; women opposing suffrage or Gay people opposing Pride. Self sabotage?
well said.
Scratch a progressive and you will find an anti-Semite. I don’t care if the progressive is Jewish. He’s still an anti-Semite.
Pure gold, every word of this article. Spoken for me.
Let's also remember what a deceitful adjective " progressive " has become. The self-denominated " progressives" often vehemently or even indirectly support the most regressive ( no quote marks) ideologies ever espoused. " Progressive " today means the opposite: regressive. Many crucial language items have been hijacked ideologically. Today's abject moral inversion shows plenty of those.
Look at the " progressive" US Democratic party, that those " progressive " Zionists belong to. Who and what do they vouch for? You can fill the items.
Time to be coherent and pro-civilization. " Progressive Zionist " doesn't work.
Jews against occupation means they are pinning to go back and live as second class citizens to live under occupying power as Dhimmī.
I think it means that they are pretty certain that the Palestinians living in the West Bank can be trusted to be peaceful ....and they should take over the whole of Judea and Samaria .... and that it will all be tickety boo!
You nailed it!
Being a dhimmi, involving paying the jizah (tax), willingly submit to Muslim rule, being fully humbled, is only one of the choices allowed them. The other two are either to convert or to emmigrate, if they can.
Interesting perspective about Progressive Zionists, but I wonder what the reception would be if you had tried to have a conversation with them about their beliefs while presenting yours. I think their response would have provided another facet to explore for your essay. So their 'compassion' and belief about Zionism is to receive approval at a dinner party? If that may be true, then how do the same Progressive Zionists believe that Israel can achieve all their unrealistic beliefs? It sounds like they wear their 'Progressive Zionism' as a shield to protect them from the antisemitism that has been growing. It gives them a false sense of security and helps them to retain their moral character, sleep soundly at night, but what it doesn't do is give a strong voice to the hate and blood libels that encompass social media, the MSM, and those in power who have turned on Israel and Jews everywhere. Sorry, but they don't get a pass from me.
Yes, and sorry to state the 'bleedin obvious' as below ...
But Zionists need to admit that there *were* mistakes and cruelties in the founding of the state of Israel .... and no doubt still are.
Eg when absentee Arab landlords sold good agricultural land to Jews, the peasants/'fellahin' lost their livelihood and land their family had cultivated for, say, over hundred years or so.
I know that is true, having read the biography of a Jewish woman with a husband in the British army, I think .... whose family took over a farm in the 1920's or so and wrote about what she saw, including the resentment from children of Arab families that formerly lived there.
And whilst the land the Jews were developing provided jobs to surrounding areas, eg Egyptians and Syrians, as denoted in Palestinian names, there must have been understandable concerns when they saw Jews doing so well and in increasing numbers - envy isn't just an anti-semitic trait - Jews have it too ....
Plus ordinary ignorant racism doesn't just go one way, unfortunately.
Add to that the local Imams, Priests and 'prominent' Arab families/clan elders/sheikhs could only have resented their demotion in the power structure and the increasing influx of Jewish immigrants and the wealth they brought. (And that's without the hatred that may be inherent in what is written or interpreted from their holy texts.)
Also, some nasty things Ben Gurion & Co may have said/written, I believe, under war conditions, eg something like, 'If I were the Arabs, I'd hate and fight us too".
And I'm not saying this as an anti-Zionist ... I am saying that it does no good not to admit these things; to claim all the right is on one side.
We need to give respect for understandable resentments and feelings; and maybe this can help towards some mutual understanding and peaceful dialogue - even whilst knowing and saying that mistakes and cruelties have certainly come from the Arab/Palestinian and Anti-Zionist, 'progressive Zionist' and sheer self-hating Jewish (useful eedjits) anti-semitic side.
There are so many aspects to the problem, but being a Progressive Zionist is almost an oxymoron. Criticism of Israel or any country is not a bad thing, but it becomes much more than that. One Israeli woman who told her story gives us her perspective, but that's not the entire story. I wish there were only resentments and feelings but it's much more complex than that, and there have been supposed mutual understanding and peaceful dialogue and solutions that were broken by the Arabs. They do not want Jews or Israel to exist side by side with them. They want it all and minus the Jews. With that attitude, the outcome never changes.
"Progressivism" is just the postmodern lapel pin or crucifix pendant meant to signal symbolic beliefs to others, in this case that the wearer is a good person who cares about the poor and oppressed and who marches on the Right Side of History™️. It is a belief system a mile wide and an inch deep constructed from the simplistic and moralistic Oppressor/Oppressed binary, which is why it's perfectly suited to our phone-addicted youth who mostly read emojis.
And all this is most extreme and mandatory here in California, which is to the Social Justice faith what Catholicism is to Vatican City, its birthplace and home office, where the largest seminaries are located to create and propagate the faith and where heretics are dealt with harshly.
I can only imagine how hard it is to be a young Zionist on California college campuses and in cities now, considering that despising Israel has become the mandatory foundational belief of all progressives, the litmus test that decides if you are friend or foe.
But there will be no splitting the baby a la King Solomon here. "Progressive Zionists" are the proverbial frogs in boiling water and they will have to pick one pot to jump into, especially as 2028 approaches with the Dem primaries shaping up to be a second Beer Hall Putsch.
Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one: if you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you're simply a Zionist, sans qualifier.
They might as well start practicing courage now when they're young, it'll be needed more as they grow older, especially Diaspora Jews living in the increasingly hostile West.
If so-called "progressives" would only attack all the nations that are total enemies of all so-called "progressive" contents, Israel would be among the very last states they had to be busy with. And they were the first to land and end in those nations in torture dungeons, see Iran 1979. But if you are a totally imbecile dumb coward having issues with becoming adult, you will never learn. Any argument with "progressives" is completely in vain, as it is with every mentally unhealably ill.
Perhaps we are not quite there yet but soon the old Lovin Spoonful question may be apropos: DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND?
"Zionism begins with Jewish particularism."
Jewish particularism or Jewish Essentialism? The former is PC, the latter a more accurate description of Jewish essence.
"the Jewish People are not merely adherents of a religion but a historic nation with a language, a civilization, a collective memory, and a homeland."
Missing from this list is, crucially, Jewish ethnicity.
"The characters may initially distrust one another, but eventually they discover that they are 'not so different' after all. The walls come down. The music rises. The children play together. Everyone learns a valuable lesson."
Ahhh, a kumbaya moment. Certainly something the Judean and Samarian Arabs have been pining for for decades.
"They construct a Zionism that . . . constantly apologizes for itself. A Zionism whose moral legitimacy depends on Israel behaving according to standards demanded of no other country facing comparable threats.
They do not abandon Zionism altogether. Instead, they edit it."
The Judenrats also believed cooperation was the best way to preserve Jewish life. The capos also believed cooperation was the best way to secure tolerance.
Zionism achieved its goal in 1948. Let us please retire the word. There is nothing more to debate, define or describe. Bask in it’s glory 🇮🇱❤️💪
The term as applied just to a political movement, was only a political expression of a Biblical command. Zion is mentioned over a hundred times in the Tanach, and many more times in the commentaries. Now every Jew should know what the definition and description of the word Zion is according to the Torah. When we Jews know what we are talking about, then the non-Jews will listen and understand. This is how we can take control of what is still a dangerous political debate. There is much more to debate, define and describe.
Good article. 1) If Israel is not a utopia, it is condemned; 2) the whole thing presupposes that the opponents are logical and rational, when in fact the opponents are barbarians.
Hosea 4:6a
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
Jeremiah 18:15a
“But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods…”
The One Who identifies Himself in the Tanakh as “the Lord God of Israel” 108 times, “the God of Israel” 95 times, “the Holy One of Israel” 31 times, “the King of Israel” 6 times, “the Hope of Israel” and “the Mighty One of Israel” 2 times each, and “the Shepherd of Israel”, “the Creator of Israel”, “the Redeemer of Israel”, “the Stone of Israel”, and “the Rock of Israel” 1 time each - is the original and everlasting Zionist.
Psalms 132:13-14
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
He has not changed His mind, and He holds the counter views, beliefs, and actions of angels or humans in derisive contempt.
Malachi 3:6
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
He has a Plan of the Ages that He will bring to pass. The angelic hosts made their choice regarding what side of His plan they would stake their eternal existence upon in the distant past.
That choice has now been before all humanity for over six thousand years, but the time for choosing will soon be over for us as well. For every human being, but especially for those He chose out of the sea of humanity to be His special inheritance:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Through whom He revealed, preserved, and passed down His written Word, and through whom He brought into the world the Living Word:
John 1:1-5
“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
That through Him, the world might be saved and brought into that Plan, according to His perfect will and purpose.
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 10:7-18 (CJB)
“7 So Yeshua said to them again, "Yes, indeed! I tell you that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All those who have come before me have been thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn't listen to them. 9 I am the gate; if someone enters through me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he isn't a shepherd and the sheep aren't his own, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf drags them off and scatters them. 13 The hired worker behaves like this because that's all he is, a hired worker; so it doesn't matter to him what happens to the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me— 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father—and I lay down my life on behalf of the sheep. 16 Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 "This is why the Father loves me: because I lay down my life—in order to take it up again! 18 No one takes it away from me; on the contrary, I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This is what my Father commanded me to do."
May each consider these matters carefully, and choose well…
Am Israel Chai, to the glory of God!
When speaking to Jews, please leave Jesus out of the discussion. Thank you for the quotes from the Hebrew Bible. They are what every Jew should know and use against the barbarians. See the Jews for Judaism Youtube channel to understand why we Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah or as the son of God, or as God incarnate.
I know those views well Paul, and I believe I understand them better than the average Gentile. That said, I continue to seek understanding in that and other areas of controversy in relation to God’s plans and dealings with the Church and Israel, and how those two entities are to interact with and relate to one another.
I am also well aware of the lamentable, and in various times and aspects, downright evil, history of the Church towards the Chosen People, whether in the Diaspora or, in Israel, since the regathering and rebirth of the nation.
It grieves me to a great degree, but I also know from various prophetic Scriptures, that the relationship between the Jewish people and ‘the world’ is going to go from ‘bad’, to ‘worse’, to ‘terrible’, and terminate in ‘horrific’ - though it may seem to improve for a relatively brief period of time - until the Satanically-inspired evil that seeks to enslave the world and destroy the nation of Israel is defeated by the (2nd, in our view) coming of the Messiah.
Believe me Paul, there are far more professing Christians who resent, reject, and chaff at my beliefs in regard to God’s continued love for, and faithfulness to fulfill His promises to, the Chosen People, than there are total Jews alive in the world.
And, for the benefit of any and all that might not have grasped this fact, Jesus was not only born, raised, lived, and died as a Jew, from the standpoint of Biblical Christianity, He also resurrected as a Jew, remains a Jew, and will return to Jerusalem to rule and reign over Israel, as well as the entire world (from David’s throne) - as a Jew…
I understand that the Christian view of Jesus poses a number of very great challenges to Orthodox Jews; it always has - and it will be so until the End.
The early Church, which was exclusively Jewish for a number of years, was controversial from its beginning. And it took the greatest enemy of the early Church, Saul of Tarsus (Paul), many years after his conversion encounter with the resurrected Jesus to work through the comprehensive understanding that made him the greatest of the writing Apostles.
I’ll just end by saying that it is no more my desire to offend you, or any other Jewish person, than it is my desire to offend any of my Christian brothers and sisters. But the love of God compels me to share the truth with any and all, because it is only the truth of God that can save and redeem a lost humanity, and a fallen world.
The world is dark and growing darker to the Jewish people. But, one day the entire world will be brought to understand the full import of these words: “Am Israel Chai, to the glory of God!”
And the world at that time will be divided into two principal groups; those who love and worship the true and living God (the God of Israel), and rejoice over the glory of His righteous reign - even if ashamed at their prior foolishness, and those who have been self-glorifying, self-seeking, rebels - who are stunned in shameful silence, awaiting their eternal doom.
I know where I will be in that mix, and I yearn to help others - especially those who profess to love, serve, and honor Jesus Christ - recognize the need to do so in the right Spirit. And that Spirit loves the Chosen People, the Land, and Jerusalem, with a great and undiminished passion.
I, for one, Mike, am a Jew who appreciates your view and your quotes and mention of Jesus. I understand your beliefs, that your heart is in the right place, and that you are not condemning Judaism or denigrating Judaism in any way. Our beliefs differ in some ways, especially concerning the Messiah, but our beliefs have much much more in common than not.
That said, I also understand why some Jews bristle at the mention of Jesus (like I used to) because those mentions have quite often come with the insistence that Jews convert and accept Jesus--and when the Jews do not do that, those Christians often turn to scorn and condemnation of the Jews, or worse. I have experienced THAT type of Christian in my life, too, as have many Jews. I still encounter them, daily. I know you are not that, based on many of our conversations on this page. Meeting more Christians like yourself has shown me that, indeed, we are linked (even with some theological differences), we are united by the same God and the same love of Israel, and essentially have the same goals for the future of our religions.
So, I hope you will continue your good-heartedness and will continue to understand the sensitivity Jews have vis-a-vis Christianity. My grandmother, who fled Russia/Poland (the borders were in dispute) after witnessing her father and other community members brutalized during a pogrom, never lost her utter FEAR of Christians. Not hate--FEAR. When I married my non-Jewish husband, she was terrified for me, convinced that the day would come he would beat me or indeed, murder me. Even after years, she practically trembled whenever she was around him, was even afraid to speak to him. This fear, this distrust, is present in many Jews, still. And when we encounter the "other" type of Christians that are NOT like you, Mike--I mean the ones who currently call us the "Synagogue of Satan," and "fake Jews," and worse--that fear and distrust is validated. We need more true Christians like YOU to continue to speak out for us, to show your love and support. As I have said before--THANK YOU.
Thank you Dana; your words are a greatly valued blessing to my heart, and I treasure of friendship. Love,Mike
Same to you. And you are a blessing to the Jewish people.
Have a look at Jews for Judaism for the truth. Jesus was not a descendent of King David. We are taught that all negative prophecies can be avoided. We can bring the Messiah in a peaceful way, and avoid the horrors of a final war. You'd make a great proponent and member of the the Noachide movement, of B'nei Noach.
Good article, Joshua. The problem is that, for many of these people, progressivism has almost become a cult. You can show them the failures of their ideology—victimhood over accountability, equity over equality, identity over merit—and they simply refuse to question the underlying beliefs.
But to me, the most dangerous progressive idea of all is multiculturalism as it is practiced today. That is the one that could ultimately implode the West. Not all cultures are the same. Not all cultures share the same values, and Islam is not the same as other cultures and ideologies that have successfully integrated into Western democratic societies. Pretending otherwise doesn't make it true.
Progressives assume that everyone ultimately wants what they want: democracy, equality, secular government, individual freedom and peaceful coexistence. Joshua, that's the fantasy. Some ideologies have fundamentally different goals, and refusing to recognize that reality may ultimately be the progressives' own downfall—and unfortunately, they may take the rest of the West down with them.
There is a backlash beginning against woke progressive ideology, so I still have some hope. The only question is whether the West wakes up before the damage becomes irreversible.
Excellent essay sir! It is so difficult for an American to understand immediate peril lurking at arms length.
I appreciate this argument and would add this to it. This argument against the cognitive dissonance of ‘progressive Zionism’ is also applicable to the failure of ‘progressive’ Leftism in general. ‘Progressivism’ is an ideal used to virtue-signal moral superiority. It is dangerous because it denies some harsh realities, such as the threat posed by Communism and Islamism, and wants the West to apologize for itself - although relative to other societies, the West has nothing to apologize for. It wants us to be conciliatory and weak by allowing mass immigration of Islamists to Western Europe, the UK, Canada, the USA and Australia, for example. It is the cause of suicidal empathy, which evil, opportunistic religious and political movements take advantage of. This cognitive dissonance is more obvious with regard to Israel at war with Islamic terrorists, but it’s also occurring in the West. “Progressive Leftism,” in general, is a bad ideology, one that weakens and destroys human civilization. And it is not just happening at dinner parties. Entire governments in the West have fallen sway to this, e.g., Liberals in Canada and talk of a so-called "two-state solution" and criticism of Israel, and funding aid for Gaza (which goes into the hands of terrorists). Same with Labour in the UK and numerous other Western states that have fallen to Leftist ideology. Some parts of Christianity have also been corrupted by Leftism and anti-Zionism (eg., United Church of Canada).
Virue-signalling - yes, too much of it and disagreement is frowned upon. I don't care what people follow in their personal life - the problem comes when we see migrants making their own countries within countries - not assimilating with the host country or learning the values of the host country. Wouldn't you want to when you move to a new place? But all this talk of division, racism, prejudice adds doesn't help either - it's an idea that the leftists adopt in order to virtue signal and ostracize, even shame, those who don't follow their ideology. It's actually a very strange attitude - value tolerance yet allow others not to be. Where is the fairness in that especially if people don't assimilate?
I do feel for you, Joshua. On the one hand you held yourself back in conversation with the warm-sounding Progressive Jewish woman at the synagogue out of respect for where you were, i.e. in her domain, and on the other hand it is exactly as you say regarding Zionism and Israel. I must admit, for me as a bit of a loner, albeit a gregarious loner, a poet and an outlier, I'm used to saying what I think despite protocol. I'm also old and not prepared to waste my time and energy.
I detest any word with the prefix 'progressive'. Using that word already condemns it to a romanticised, self-inflated realm where there's no room for reality. Let's sock it to them - and we can do that while still being willing to be friendly - as it's the only way forward.
There is a reason that virtually every "progressive zionist" lives in the United States and not in Israel. There is a reason the Israeli left has genuinely collapsed and what is left of it is trending "post Zionist." The progressive ideology does not comport with reality. American progressive Zionists have spent the last 30 years inviting that it does while blaming Netanyahu or the Israeli right for the war the Palestinians refuse to stop fighting. Israelis by and large don't have that luxury. They have to live there.
Now, since October 7, progressive Zionists are losing the luxury of their beliefs as well. What they are learning is that the progressive world they are part of hates them, hates Israel and is vile. They are obligated to make a choice. Some are choosing...poorly. Others have woken up. But the day of the "progressive Zionist" is over.