Dr. Yitzḥaq (Isaac) Ḥayut-Man, cyber-architect
The classical Zionist vision that brought about the establishment of the State of Israel has now become obsolete. Since "where there is no vision, the people become unruly" (Proverbs 29:18), the time has come to raise a new and integrative Vision for the State of Israel, in which there is also an alternative to the division of the land and establishment of a hostile Palestinian State. There are three main principles in the proposed vision:
I. Instead of a diminished "Jewish State", a rule of a covenant of "cultural cantons" ("Tribes of Israel" in the Biblical terms) in the whole Land of Israel, with a Jewish seniority within a multi-faceted Israel.
II. A New Zionism, based on the global spiritual significance of the whole/Holy Jerusalem.
III. A regime of economic justice within an open society ("Economic Democracy") based upon the Biblical concept of the Jubilee.
1 - The Dilemmas of Contemporary Israeli Society: There are three schisms that presently threaten Israeli society: the Jewish/Arab schism; the religious/secular schism and the Oriental/Ashkenazy (or Western) schism. Other or additional schisms are probable in the future, as these tendencies are prevalent in Israeli society. Our (post)modern society has witnessed a devaluation of ideology and a kind of "evil spirit" that has insinuated itself into the contemporary Israeli cultural scene, threatening to disintegrate national solidarity.
Thesis: A new approach is required for the healing of the collective Jewish soul. There's need for a new Jewish and Israeli vision. Toward this aim, we must nurture "the Israeli Soul" that draws from the characteristics of "the Jewish Soul" and recognizes the legacy of the Jewish trauma of the Exile, the Holocaust and the wars of Israel, as well as the legacy of the Arab trauma of the defeats of 1948 and 1967.
2 - The Present Decline of Zionism and its Possible Renewal: Zionism suffers from "the curse of success" and from degeneration due to institutionalization and ossification. The decline of ideology in our times affects Zionism too. Historically, Zionism was characterized by Western (Ashkenazy) dominance, which no longer fits the present social structure. Zionism also left many unresolved problems, including the attitude toward the native Arab population. For the renewal of Zionism it is necessary to adopt a combination of revolution and tradition (as was in the teachings of Herzl and Zabotinski, for example). We need to acknowledge the value of mass communications, the momentum of the Palestinian ideology and the appearance of new global ideologies, including tribalism, ecology, Christian (-Zionist) Fundamentalism and the "Noahide" religion. We must examine how Zionism can adopt new contents that will nevertheless be recognized as "Zionist".
3 - "The Old-New Zion" - The Heavenly Jerusalem as the City of Understandings: Both in Jewish and Christian culture, "Zion" symbolizes "The Heavenly (or New) Jerusalem", which is the perfected city/society. In our new interpretation of Zion, Heavenly Jerusalem would be "A City of Understandings" (in Hebrew Havannot) - made up of the different cultures which comprise the Israeli people, including the friends of Jerusalem world-wide. According to this approach, the Heavenly Jerusalem will also have a concrete symbolic-geometrical expression in the form of a light structure in the pattern of "The Heavenly Jerusalem/Temple" hovering over the earthly holy city. This structure will serve as a three-dimensional screen for the collection and display of measurable achievements in building inter-cultural understandings in various popular frameworks.
4 - The Proposed Jubilee Legislation for Economic Justice: With the collapse of communism and the ebbing of socialism in our times, the hope for economic justice must find a venue through the market economy. "The Capitalist Manifest" of Luis Kelso and Mortimer Adler proposes the wide distribution of capital assets as the alternative to the application of socialism worldwide. The social proposition of Zabotinski (which was also mentioned by Theodore Herzl in his "Altneuland") was to adapt the Biblical Jubilee plan for a modern economy. Today, in the information age, capital ownership is mainly through stocks that can be diluted or re-distributed through the application of a computer program. It is proposed that every fifty years there will be a new dealing of the national capital - or a certain portion thereof. In this manner, it should be possible to solve the dilemma of reparations for Palestinian refugees, which is one of the fundamental problems of reconciliation. It is therefore proposed to plan and institute a Jubilee system for socio-economic justice, whose beneficiaries will be the various parts of Israeli society - the tribes.
5 - The Jubilee and the Tribes of Israel: According to the Halakha (Jewish religious law), the Jubilee is dependent on the return to the twelve-tribe social structure of Israel. Twelve is the right number to demonstrate the concept of the Whole in any situation. The Twelve Tribes signify the multifaceted whole of the Nation of Israel. The assembly of the Twelve can serve to integrate all the groups that exist in Israel and are distinguished by characteristics of intermarriage, voting and communications. At present, the distinctions are primarily Jewish/Arab, Oriental/Occidental, Religious/Secular. Yet the principle is that each subsequent Jubilee will require a reassessment of the primary distinctions within the whole of Israeli society and a redefinition of the tribes and their relative rights accordingly.
6 - How was the Ancient Israeli-Covenant Formed: An analysis of the Biblical narrative through Biblical criticism and archeological findings shows that in fact there was then an ongoing process of integration of "mixed multitudes" (Erev Rav) and the tribes of Canaan within the Israelite covenant. The significance of Judah and the "Children of Leah" in the Biblical narrative is plural seniority (6 tribes from among the 12) for the "Jewish" side. "Levi" is the tribe of associates-escorts (Levaya) intended for religious function, whereas the "House of Yoseph" (Joseph) are those who are added (Nosaph) willingly to Judah, and the "Sons of the Maid-Servants" (1/3 of the tribes) are related to the conquered native people, who were absorbed into Israel. The Bible is in this way similar to the late dialogues of Plato, which proposed an ideal state based on twelve groups.
Thesis: the Biblical model offers a radical Israeli solution for the fundamental problems of contemporary Israel.
7 - The Possibility of Absorbing the Palestinians into the New Israel Tribes: Despite the Oslo agreements the Palestinian dilemma remains unsolvable, and both parties cannot bear the price of war or the price of annexation. The Israelis fear the loss of a Jewish majority in a bi-national state - but what is proposed here is a multi-national covenant in the original Israeli pattern, in which a Jewish seniority will be safeguarded through the inclusion of other tribes along with the Arab ones. Alongside with the development of Palestinian national identity among Israeli Arabs, in practice they prefer Israeli citizenship - and so would the Palestinians, if they really had the choice. The incorporation would be a controlled process - one which issues from a declaration of principles that offers a full and comprehensive future solution for the Arab tribes of Israel - and gradual realization at each jubilee. Modeled after the ancient Hebrew tribes, each will find equal status in the new society, including the Palestinians.
Thesis: The Arabs of the land can be incorporated into the system of the Israeli covenant and culture.
8 - The Integration of "Noahides" and Christian-Zionists - a right-hand support for the New Israel: From the time of Theodore Herzl there existed much Christian support for the State of Israel. The mythos of their being counted among the Tribes of Israel is gaining strength in the Christian and post-Christian world. There are many Christian-Zionists who would be willing to be absorbed into Israel - even under the condition that they would not strive for the conversion of the Jews. In parallel, there is the emergence of the "Noahides" as a new universal religion that acknowledges a Jewish seniority. It is therefore conceivable to include immigrants from the (post) Christian countries, Western and worldwide, as tribes of "the House of Joseph" of the New Israel, and as a complementary and balancing factor in respect to the Arab population.
Thesis: The establishment of a balanced tribal system for "the Greater Israel" also offers a resolution of the historical Jewish-Christian conflict.
9 - The Global Role of Jerusalem as focus for Humankind - the New Temple: Zionism, Zion and Jerusalem are all facets of the same vision, and the larger Zionist Vision relates to the realization of Jerusalem and the Temple. (There was already talk of a New Temple in Herzl's Altneuland and by "Yair" Abraham Stern). There is substance to the traditional view of Jerusalem as "the center of the world" - namely the center of gravity of the inhabited continents, and therefore of all of humankind, which is located in Asia where the majority of humans live. Jerusalem also has much significance and importance in world culture and can therefore serve as a global point of reference and site for a temple dedicated to the perfection of all humankind. With this novel global formulation, which is in accord with the universal vision of the prophets of Israel concerning Jerusalem and her Temple as "A House of Prayer for All Peoples" (Isaiah 60, 56:7), it is possible to overcome the obstacles for actualizing the Temple in our times. The whole Old City and its visual basin should be granted a special status as a new Temple-City. By these means it would be possible to transform Jerusalem from a focus of conflict into a fulcrum for peace and amplifying Israel's status in the world.
Summary: The importance of the proposed vision is in raising conceptual alternatives and novel modes of thinking, a broadening of the horizons of the cultural and national discussion in Israel and its transition from the vain disputations and rehashing of old positions, into a joint creation. The new visions and ideas will provide challenge and inspiration for discussions on the future of Israel, and will prompt even the political system to attend to fundamental issues. The vision will fructify the discussions that take place in the educational systems (formal and informal) and will restore a Jewish-Biblical motif to questions of current events, and current relevance to the studies of Judaism.
A Call: The ideas raised in this manifest are as yet completely novel for most of the population of Israel and the world - but as they become wide-spread, they may well become self- evident. If you find merit in these ideas, please help their dissemination via the Internet and other means.
See also a later article:
See also a later article:http://www.global-report.com/thehope/a127-a-sustainable-12-state-israel
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