A revisionist history of the settler movement argues that it was never really about messianic, religious ideology as much as it was about nuts-and-bolts issues of economy and class. Were we wrong all along about Israel’s settler movement?
This is a segment from The “Panthers and Cubs” Edition.
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Listening to this, I am amazed that the entire ethos of resettling the Land of Israel, such a central and powerful element within the Jewish national self-conceptualization over centuries from all places of our Dispersion, is missing, even in passing. Think: here is a line from the 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement: “Article IV – All necessary measures will be taken to encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants upon the land through closer settlement and intensive cultivation of the soil.” This might help explain your surprise that people would support or wish to participate in the post-67 settlement campaign. Suggesting it was pushed by a small minority is ridiculous. All governments supported to this or that extent the efforts. Promoting the idea of “no ideological motivation” indicates a lack of understanding of Zionism.