oatmealMay 9

Zionism Wasn't Always Racist. The Trouble Began When Russians Took Over

An interesting article challenges conventional narratives surrounding Israeli political culture, positing that its emphasis on force and expansionism is significantly rooted in the brutal political landscape of late Imperial Russia.

Examining the impact of the Second "Aliyah" (colonial expedition) and the subsequent dominance of Russian-Jewish political ideologies within the Zionist movement, the author argues for a reassessment of historical influences beyond typical analyses of religious messianism or colonial models.

The piece contends that a critical examination of this largely unacknowledged Russian inheritance is crucial for understanding contemporary Israeli policy and for envisioning alternative trajectories.

English https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-05-09/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/zionism-wasnt-always-racist-trouble-began-when-russians-took-over/00000196-b32b-d9bf-a1b6-fbab7f260000 or https://archive.ph/DhflH

Dr. Ofri Ilany researches the intersections of Jewish history, intellectual history, and masculinity, exploring the complex relationship between early Zionist movements and the first homosexual rights movement in Europe

@histodons #histodons @palestine
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#IsraeliPolitics #Zionism #RussianHistory #PoliticalCulture #HistoricalAnalysis

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Additional context: Though most Israelis of Eastern European heritage call themselves Ashkenazi, they’re not. I think this divide is fundamental.

Left-leaning liberalism in Israel is really associated more with Jews of German heritage (Ashkenazi), while right-wing, including religious Zionism and the settler movement, think #Smotrich, Kahane, Baruch Goldstein, Netanyahu, Begin, etc., are often of Eastern European heritage, Polish, or Russian (including Ukrainian).

On how Eastern Jews started identifying as Ashkenazi in Israel, see for example Aziza Khazzoom’s seminal “How the Polish Peddler Became a German Intellectual” (in “Orientalism, Jewish Identity, and the Antecedents to Social Closure in Israel”).

May 9 at 11:18amWeb