Altneuland by Theodor Herzl. Translated from German: Miriam Kraus. Babel publishing (pocket) backpack, 318 pages, NIS 42
Shlomo Avinari
Theodore Herzl visiting Israel, 1903
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/altneuland.html
One of the common myths here - and even more so in the Arab world - is that the founders of Zionism completely ignored the existence of Arabs in the Land of Israel. Anyone who thinks so has obviously never read "Altneuland" by Theodor Herzl.
"Altneuland" ("Old-New Land") is, as we know, a utopian novel written by Herzl in 1902 and describes what the Land of Israel will look like in 1923 if the Zionist dream is realized there. Back in the year of its appearance, the book was translated into Hebrew by Nahum Sokolov, who gave it the suggestive name "Tel Aviv", and by 1918 it had six editions in its German original and translations into many languages. There are many translations into Hebrew, and now, in the centenary year of the novel's appearance, the latest eloquent and modern translation, which first appeared in 1997, has been released in a pocket edition and frees the book from the shackles of archaism.
Like any utopian novel, this is a didactic and somewhat boring composition, with long speeches and descriptions of social institutions that, of course, complicate the plot. But in two, Herzl's composition is distinguished from other utopian novels, which Herzl himself admits served as his inspiration (such as Edward Bellamy's book "Looking Back", or "Freeland" by the Viennese-Jewish journalist whose name is strikingly similar to Herzl's, Theodor Hertzka). First, Herzl's utopia can be compared to an existing reality, which was to no small extent shaped by the political work of Herzl and those who followed him; Other socialist utopias have generally not been realized, except for a few isolated colonies in the United States, so the dimension of comparing the vision to reality in them does not exist. Second, Herzl's utopian story is not just a song of praise for a model society that is supposed to arise in the future: its plot focuses on describing the problems and tensions that plague the new society - and the main one is the status of the Arabs in this society. I am not aware of any other utopian essay that has a similar critical dimension.
This is the story: two people, one Jewish and the other Austrian-Christian, who chose to cut themselves off from the world and spent twenty years on a remote island in the ocean, return to Europe in 1923 and their ship docks in Haifa. To their astonishment, they discover a modern and sophisticated industrial country instead of the Ottoman province they remembered from their visit in 1902 on their way to their island of refuge. They immediately encounter - and this is of course the kitschy part of the novel - old acquaintances from Vienna; It turns out that these have meanwhile become leaders in the Land of Israel. They tell them that the economic boom is due to the massive immigration of Jews, who founded a "new society" (this is its official name) in the Land of Israel. This company is based on the adoption of the most innovative technology with the principle of mutual solidarity ("mutualism" - a concept borrowed from utopian socialism), "an intermediate form between capitalism and socialism, between individualism and collectivism".
To their surprise, they also find that the Arabs, the original inhabitants of the country, are equal members and have the right to vote in the new company, and one of them, a Haifa engineer named Rashid Bey, is also one of the leaders of the new company. On a tour of the Jezreel Valley, he showered the foreign guests with passionate speeches about the great benefit that the Jews brought to the Arab inhabitants of the land, and about the tolerance that the Arabs showed in the face of Jewish immigration, in accordance with the best of the Muslim tradition, which was more tolerant towards the Jews than Christian Europe. The contemporary reader will surely smile at the combination between naive Eurocentric liberalism, in which the natives thank European technology for saving them from backwardness and ignorance and integrating them into the world of culture, and an idealization of Islam. But ignoring the existence of Arabs is not here; On the contrary: an attempt is made here to share with the Arab residents of the country a social vision on a universal basis.
There is no doubt that Herzl ignores the potential of the rise of an Arab national movement, but in truth, such a movement did not yet exist as a political force in 1902. One can, of course, argue against Herzl that he could have foreseen its existence, but at a time when no one in Europe - and in the Middle East itself - Not having noticed the existence of this movement, it would be a bit excessive to demand this from Herzl. British imperialism was needed in the First World War to give Arab nationalism its first impetus in the struggle against the Ottoman rule.
But the main thing is in another matter - the political plot of the book. During the visit of the two foreigners in Israel, elections are being held in the shadow of a phenomenon that threatens the liberal and democratic nature of society. Recently, a movement was established there, headed by a fanatical rabbi, Dr. Gayer (in German, this is the name of the chicken that eats carrion and carrion), which demands that the westerners of the country be denied the right to vote. This is the land of the Jews only, Gayer claims, and he is founding a party whose slogan is denial The right to choose from the Arabs. This is not a report on Israel; 2002 was written a century ago.
The political plot of the book focuses on this election system, while the liberal-democratic establishment of society is dealing with the phenomenon of Jewish racism: in the description of the election system, election speeches are made - both by the liberals who repeat their claim that the foundation of Zionism is in the European liberal humanism of the 19th century, and by The supporters of Rabbi Gayer, who Herzl put in their mouths (inverted) the claims of the customers from the Viennese leader's teaching The anti-Semitic Dr. Lueger, whose election as mayor of Vienna was among the things that convinced Herzl that European liberalism is in a deep crisis.
In Herzl's Jewish Land of Israel, of course, the liberal ethos wins: towards the end of the book, it becomes clear that Rabbi Dr. Geyer suffers a crushing defeat in the elections: unlike in Vienna, in the Jewish Land of Israel, the liberals win. The heads of the company are also proud to point out to the guests that many of the merchants in the land are Armenians, Greeks and others so far on the Arab issue.
Another interest in the book is Herzl's dealing with the issue of religion in the Jewish state. There is no need to mention that Herzl belonged to the same stratum of educated Viennese Jews from whom observance of mitzvot was from them onwards, and in his first political pamphlet, "The State of the Jews", he insisted that the rabbis have a prominent place in the synagogues - but not in politics. However, in "Altneuland" the picture is more complex and interesting: on the one hand, the company's leaders are all modern people, but one of the central scenes in the book is a description of the Seder night in Tiberias, led by the company's president.
Particularly fascinating is the description of Jerusalem. In this description, the old city became a historical reserve, cleansed of its pollution and of the beggars, members of all denominations and religions who crowded it and who so disturbed Herzl on his only visit to the country in 1898. But in the center of the new city stands a magnificent hall: this is, nothing less and nothing more, the Temple "that was established anew because the time has come for that. It was built as in the old days, of ash stones... once again the pillars, cast in copper, stood before the sanctuary. The Holy of Holies of Israel. The left pillar is called 'Boaz' and the right - Yachin. In the front yard there was a huge altar made of copper and the wide basin of water known as the 'Copper Sea', like in those distant days, when King Solomon was in Israel" (p. 267).
A bit surprising for Herzl; However, to remove doubt: this temple was built in the new city, not in the place of the mosques on Mount Habit, and despite the mentioned altar, Herzl does not indicate that the sacrifices were renewed. The description of the worship on Shabbat night in the temple - with separate women's help, of course - is more reminiscent of a modern synagogue in Vienna or Budapest than a ritual based on this or that Talmudic treatise. Next to the Temple is also the "Peace Hall", an international center for conflict resolution - a sort of member of nations at a time when such an institution did not exist. Herzl's slightly conservative liberal position stands out here: religion has a respectable public status in an enlightened and tolerant society. This was how it was in liberal Austria-Hungary before populist and racist demagogues like Luger appeared on the stage.
Furthermore, the description of the Shabbat evening when the travelers arrive in Jerusalem is also interesting: "At noon the alleys are still full of people, and now, miraculously, the hustle and bustle appears. The number of cars driving on the streets is considerably less and the shops were closed one after another. Shabbat fell solemnly on the city bustling with life. The keepers of tradition began flocking to the synagogues... - in honor of the invisible God, whose presence has ruled over the exiled people of Israel for thousands of years." (p. 264). And during the Shabbat prayer at the Temple, the Viennese Jewish traveler remembered Heine's beautiful poem, "Princess Shabbat", and the words of the poem, which include within the wonderful German text also the Hebrew melody "Lecha Dodi Nadesh khela", echo in his head as they pulsate the pages of the book.
There are many other topics in the book - suffrage for women, when at the time of writing the book there was no suffrage for women in any European country, and mandatory national service for boys and girls, who in this way maintain social and health services for all.
This, then, is Herzl - more complex than the Zionist myth and anti-Zionist propaganda both describe him: a Jewish state contract that not only does not ignore the existence of Arabs in Israel, but is already fighting their war for equal rights because, as a realist, he knows that racism may appear in any nation ; A liberal-conservative who fears social revolutions but outlines a society based on solidarity and combines the initiative of capitalism with the justice of socialism; And a modern and enlightened person, who wants to give a place in the renewed Jewish society to religion as well, but without coercion.
Perhaps it is permissible to give advice on this matter to the current Minister of Education, who is concerned (and rightly so) to bring the next generation of Israeli citizens together with the values of Zionism. In the centenary year of the appearance of "Altneuland" it might be worth recommending it as a required book in all high schools in Israel, both state and state-religious. For all his cultural pessimism in relation to Europe, Herzl did not foresee the Holocaust, nor did he imagine the depth of the Arab hostility to the Zionist enterprise: in both of these - which determined not a little the image of Israel today - Herzl was wrong. However, it is appropriate to introduce the Israeli student to the image of Zionism in the eyes of Huzia - national and universal, standing up for the rights of the Arabs insofar as it fulfills a vision of a Jewish state, enlightened and giving a place to the Jewish religion in a renewed Jewish parochial: a realistic utopia, which does not ignore flaws even during the realization of the Zionist vision . Both Tommy Lapid and Efi with them can learn from this connection.
Theodor Herzl Altneuland
Prof. Shlomo Avineri wrote the comprehensive historical introduction to the three volumes of Herzl's diaries that appeared recently under the title "The Jewish Matters - Diary Books" published by Mossad Bialik
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