StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name Questions 4, 6 Herzl's thinking on the Jewish state took an approach that was secular and nationalistic. Although the people he writes about are the Jews, which is to say, the religious community that ascribes to Judaism, the way he refers to them does not focus on religion as the common and binding trait…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.8% of users find it useful
Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker"

Download file to see previous pages

He wanted a Jewish state for the Jews, as if it fell into the very same category. Indeed, the secular approach he championed cleared his ideals of any religious fervor, and left the idea of the Jewish people as something that could only be equated with race and ethnicity. Race also played an important role for Herzl because it defined who the Jews were not. A prime example of this is in the Dreyfus affair, which Herzl does not specifically mention but depends upon because of its historical importance to his audience.

Dreyfus was an example of anti-semitism, which Herzl explained was a result of a variety of situations—these being assimilation, success of Jews, and other interactions with Western society. Herzl believed that there was no hope for Jewish assimilation, and this may have contributed to the importance of race in his thinking. Because assimilation was such a problem, race was not just an important factor for Jews, but also was important for non-Jews. The fact that Jews had trouble assimilating into French society, for example, showed that the French race was distinguished from the Jews and thus the religious group was not part of the French racial group.

This led to the conclusion that the Jewish people were like a race, separate from European races. Without this establishment of the Jewish people as being racially excluded in Europe, it would be difficult to link the group with Jewish nationalist ideology. After establishing this difference, Herzl could then go on to develop Zionism as a specific nationalistic ideology that exclusively applies to Jews, yet has the same framework as other nationalistic movements that are based off of race and blood.

Thus, with no use of religion or language to classify the Jews as a people and a minority, Herzl was left with the concept of race in order to define Jews and bring them together toward a nationalist agenda. In Herzl's writings, the idea of awakening from a sleep as pointed by Anderson in European nationalism is also present in Jewish nationalism. Herzl refers to the history of the Jewish people, and especially stresses that they have a history of weakness which is used a survival strategy. Herzl and Pinsker both discuss the history of the Jewish people, from ancient times to modern times, as one of expulsion and mistreatment.

However, these recounts of Jewish history are seen as a point of contrast with what is happening in the modern era, beginning with the hope of Jewish emancipation in Western Europe. The French Revolution, while a great awakening for the Enlightenment movement and for the French people, also showed an example of the Jewish people awakening from not so much a great sleep but a great captivity where they were denied equal status under any governments. Later recognition of their equal status under other states seemed to point to the dawn of a new age.

The development of the Jewish state as a solution to the problem of Jewish assimilation and discrimination ushered in a new atmosphere, where Jewish thought suddenly experienced the same sentiment that Anderson mentions. The Jews of Europe underwent an awakening from a deep sleep in their own sense as they began to understand the reason for all their woes and as they began to envision a solution that would bring them out of Europe and into a new land. As Herzl believed that the Jews must be a majority in their own land to finally be emancipated,

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1439443-critical-response-of-herzl-and-pinsker
(Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1439443-critical-response-of-herzl-and-pinsker.
“Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1439443-critical-response-of-herzl-and-pinsker.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Critical Response of Herzl and Pinsker

What Does a Healthy Child Mean

For example, the Moro reflex or "startle response" occurs when a newborn is startled by a noise or sudden movement.... It is well known that first few years of human being are most important years of life.... Each child is different and may learn and grow at a different rate.... However, if a child cannot do many of the skills listed for his or her age group, one should consult the paediatrician (National Network for Child Care - NNCC....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Active Shape Modelling compared to Hip Morphometry in the prediction of Hip fracture

It is a highly traumatic sometimes fatal event, especially for the elderly.... People with osteoarthritis (OA) are at a higher risk of hip fracture due to… OA is a non-typical inflammatory disease, the most common form of arthritis, effecting elderly people (above 60yrs) and its prevalence increases It involves pain, stiffness and and swelling and most commonly effects knee, hips and hand (Lawrence et al....
11 Pages (2750 words) Thesis

PHILOSOPHY: ETHICAL ISSUES

hellip; Let this paper then be a vantage point for illumination on the needed critical changes, so that we can assume a new ethical vision and a better way of coping with the problems of great proportion which confront us.... This paper gives information that the alarming comment by some futurists that global issues today are out of control and social forces are running free reflect an imminent crisis....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

Business and management studies

Current study has stirred away from studies of rater correctness and psychometric measures to subject of employee response towards performance appraisal as indicators of organization satisfaction and efficiency.... The optimal number of response alternatives for a scale: a review.... Human resource management: a critical analysis, in New perspectives in human resource management, Storey, J....
2 Pages (500 words) Thesis

Critical Response to Liberal Government

One critical response critical response Basic Components and goals of a liberal government Liberalism refers to a political ideologythat considers government as a fundamental part of the society.... Socialism: critical Concepts in Political Science....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Clinical Management Plan

In particular, the clinical management plan provides a regulatory framework that a supplementary prescriber would prescribe a given medication under… The clinical management plan should focus on a given patient; it should also be within the scope of competence of a supplementary prescriber....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Moral Sense: the Internal Right and Wrong Pointer

By a “moral sense”, Wilson implies the internal right and wrong pointer or sensor within an individual that tells them what is wrong and right (Wilson 23-25).... Wilson's theory is grounded on the premise that an individual develops an inborn sense that develops as he or she… Wilson holds that the principal sense of an individual begins as good, and layers of bad build up as he or she intermingles with the environment....
19 Pages (4750 words) Assignment

Theodor Herzl and his Effect on Jewish Culture in Central Europe

This paper ''Theodor herzl and his Effect on Jewish Culture in Central Europe'' tells that the 19th Century began with promises of reforms and acceptance of people from different racial and cultural origins in Europe.... This trend started with the Napoleonic Code and was enhanced by the Revolutions of 1848....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us