Non-position Non-Zionism has also been defined in terms of a non-position on Zionism. Anthony Frosh has defined a non-Zionist Jew as a Jew "who does not have any particular political relationship (positive or negative) with the State of Israel, or at least little more of a relationship than they would have with some other 3rd party state."
Haredi non-Zionism Generally, those groups of
Ashkenazi (Western)
Haredi Jews who participate in the Israeli government but do not believe in
religious Zionism are known as "non-Zionists". The most prominent non-Zionist Haredi group is
Agudath Israel. This is in contrast to the religious Zionist
Mizrachi party (which believed the State of Israel to be the beginning of the redemption); and also in contrast to the anti-Zionist Haredi groups, such as
Satmar,
Neturei Karta, and
Edah HaChareidis, that openly oppose Zionism and have little to no interaction with the State of Israel and no representation in its government. Unlike the older definition, many live in the State of Israel. They tend to be extremely pro-Israel politically, as can be seen in such publications as
Mishpacha and
Hamodia.
Sephardi Haredi Jews may refer to themselves as Zionist.
Simon Dubnow's Non-Zionism, or "Folkism" Simon Dubnow was a
Russian-
Jewish philosopher and
historian of
Jewish history, especially
Russian and
Polish Jewish history. Dubnow himself was somewhat ambivalent towards
Zionism as a
political ideology, calling it "a beautiful,
messianic dream" and seeing the creation of a
Jewish state in
Palestine as improbable. Nonetheless, Dubnow was adamantly opposed to
assimilation. In his book,
Weltgeschichte des jüdischen volkes, Dubnow differentiates between a political and spiritual nation, arguing that
Jewish nationalism was not inherently violent, and promoting the ideal of a universal Jewish
humanism, or the "Jewish world-nation," as the core of his ideal. In seeking this ideal, the
Jewish diaspora would aspire for a
non-territorial autonomous status. This philosophy became known as "
Jewish Autonomism," or "
Folkism" and was eventually adopted by the
Folkspartei ("Jewish People's Party" in English), which Dubnow himself helped found, and the
Bund, a
socialist Jewish labor movement. For him, any
Jewish national movement should not to have a flag or a military. Nonetheless, he did gradually warm up to some aspects of
Ahad Ha'am's vision of
Cultural Zionism later in his life and viewed a
return to Zion as fitting for some Jews, albeit not for all. Dubnow would never see the birth of the
State of Israel, as he was murdered on December 8, 1941 during the march to the
Rumbula forest, where the Nazi
Wehrmacht and
collaborators killed 25,000 Jews in the
Rumbula massacre. Nonetheless, Dubnow's histories and promotion of
Jewish culture and Jewish political autonomy still earn him praise to this day within many intellectual circles. == References ==