Title: The Wrath of Jonah: The Crisis of Religious Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Author: Rosemary Radford Ruether, Herman J. Ruether
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Press
ISBN: 0800634799
Pro:
• Helpful information about religious nationalism in Israel
• Good background on roots of Israeli intransigence on certain issues
Con:
• Strongly biased - but biases are not hidden or denied
Description:
• History of secular and religious Zionism in Israel
• History of Jewish and Palestinian relations
• Exploration of ways to end the cycle of violence
Book Review
In “Why the Nations Rage,” Christopher Catherwood makes a convincing case that much of religious violence is actually a question of extremist religious nationalism. To that end, The Wrath of Jonah by Rosemary Radford and Herman J. Reuther is very helpful in explaining the nature of such religious nationalism when it comes to Jews in Israel.
However, it is important to note that that the authors don’t hide their biases — they have little to say about the Israeli government that is good and little criticism for Palestinians. You won’t even find an entry for “suicide bombings” in the index.
This is not an attempt to explain both sides and because of that we don’t hear much about the religious nationalism among Palestinians. Nevertheless, once you accept the authors’ biases, it is informative about the religious biases behind Israel’s national aspirations and the biases of many Israelis themselves.
A key factor is religious Zionism, which regards the restoration of a biblical Israel as an important step to help bring about the arrival of the Messiah. Thus, settling the land is a religious duty which everyone should perform, while giving up the land is a heresy which must be avoided. This is why politicians are afraid to compromise on who gets what land — it is uncertain whether any Israeli politician could survive the accusations of religious betrayal.
More interesting is the Reuthers’ explanation of the role of secular Zionism, in particular because of how it is rooted in 19th century European nationalism. According to the Reuthers, this is what serves to undermine the Israeli ideals of creating a just and moral state: this style of nationalism conceives of the Jewish people as an organic whole which needs to rule itself in its own state, thus the possibility of a truly multi-ethnic state is excluded.
This nationalism has helped Orthodox Jews retain power in Israel and hobbles its democracy from being freer and more just. Some early Zionist leaders found inspiration in European fascism — a political movement which relied heavily on the aforementioned ideal of nationalism. Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of Zionist Reconstructionism, described fascist Italy as:
- ...the land of industry and cars and electricity, it is not just the promenade for international do-nothings who look for aesthetic recreation. The New Italian is organized and orderly, meticulous in his accounts — a builder and a conqueror, obstinate and cruel. This is the first origin of fascism.
This is part of the origins of modern Zionism, and it is the argument of the Reuthers that it has betrayed fundamental Jewish ideals of justice and equality. A narrow vision of nationhood has combined with a narrow vision of religious orthodoxy and religious messianism, resulting in unjust and objectionable policies:
- Israel has failed to be the center of moral and religious renewal that socialist and spiritual Zionists promised. It has not constructed an appealing expression of religious life, but it is locked into a style of orthodoxy rejected by most Diaspora Jews.
- It has become less a “light to the nations” of exemplary social justice and equality than an expression of militarism and intercommunal discrimination and hatred. ...The ultra-Orthodox have become the source of extremely dangerous kinds of political violence in their fanatical efforts to create settlements in the midst of sites holy to Muslims, such as Hebron, or to occupy the Temple Mount in preparation for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. Thus religious messianism, far from being healing and unifying, has become one of the major sources of inter-Jewish violence, as well as violence with Palestinians.
Because of its bias, this shouldn’t be the only book you read on the subject, but it will serve as a valuable source of information on the ways in which religious messianism and secular Zionism have negatively affected the way in which Israeli politics and society have developed. The people who most need to read it are, perhaps, the Israelis themselves — by better understanding their own history, it might help them to construct a better future for themselves and their neighbors.
