The Marvelous Modern Origins of Zionism

A solid case could be made to say that Zionism began in 70 AD at the beginning of the Diaspora following the destruction of Jerusalem, because from that day the dream of every Jew has been to return to their homeland.  But, as Leon Pinkster explained in 1882, the belief in the intervention of the Messiah “to bring about our political resurrection and the religious assumption that we must bear patiently divine punishment, caused us to abandon every thought of our national liberation. 

  Consequently we renounced the idea of a nation and did so the more readily since we were preoccupied with our immediate needs.  Thus, we sank lower and lower.  ‘The people without a country’ forgot their country.”

In other words, the Jewish people had drifted deeper and deeper into apathy through the centuries, resigning themselves to their situation, giving up the hope that the Scriptures clearly held out as a certainty.

Theodor Herzl, an early leader in the Zionist movement, in one of the most extra-Biblical prophetic statements ever spoken, said, “Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word, it would be this:  ‘At Basel I founded the Jewish State.  If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter.  If not in five years, certainly in 50, everyone will know it.”  He made that statement in 1897.  If you are not impressed, add 50 years to 1897 and see what year you get.

Admittedly there are those who believe that the nation of Israel is a humanly-conceived and man-made venture and that it is, therefore, not of God.  That is possible to accept, but only on one condition:  that one ignores that God always works through men.  To list them all would be impossible, men like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Solomon, Nehemiah, and Daniel.  It is, therefore, absurd to think that He would do anything different to bring the promised rebuilding of the nation of Israel through any other means.

To object to the work that these faithful men and woman committed to and have accomplished, to call it human rather than divinely conceived, is akin to calling Noah a fool because he built an ark.  Sure, God could have spoken the Ark into existence in a literal heartbeat, but He didn’t.  Instead it took Noah over 100 years to do it.  The problem is that some folks believe only what their eyes can see and their hands can touch.  Yet the Bible describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

To see the nation of Israel as it is today and to say that it is not a work of God is stunningly preposterous.  Zionism exhibits the rising faith of the Jewish people in the latter 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries that God, working through willing servants and leaders, would keep His promise that Israel would, indeed, return to the Promised Land.  As the sometimes disturbing scenario in the Middle East unfolds, it is possible for Bible scholars to see how the table is being set for prophecies concerning Israel to be fulfilled, such as the expansion of its territories and the rebuilding of the Temple.

In order for the Lord to do the things He has promised to do with and for Israel, it was necessary for Israel to be gathered together again as a nation.  Using men and women who longed for that day, people called Zionists, God has brought them into the land and has prospered them.  What a beautiful and blessed fulfillment of His promises we have been able to witness, and are witnessing still.  Pray with thanks when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and pray with faith, believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has said He will do.

Source material for this article included the Jewish Virtual Library, and Zionism-Israel.

World's Largest Jewish Center Opens in Ukraine

At 50,000 square meters, the seven-building complex named the Menorah Center, had its grand opening yesterday in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.  Several hundred dignitaries were on hand along with about 100 news reporters for the ceremonies that opened the largest and perhaps most unique Jewish cultural center in the world.

The building complex includes the Institute for Jewish Culture in Ukraine, a 3,000 square foot Holocaust museum, art galleries, a community center, a hotel, a kosher restaurant, and thousands of artifacts.

The Holocaust museum features photographic and video presentations, including pictures of the 40 major synagogues that were in Dnepropetrovsk prior to the Nazi invasion.  It is estimated that over 12,000 Jews living in the center were murdered by the Nazis in 1941.  The center will open to the public on October 21^st, and will feature an exhibition entitled “Wanderings of the Children of Israel”, telling the story of the Diaspora in the Ukraine.  Museum curator Marina Shelest noted that, “Wanderings, voluntary or forced, are the biography of every Jew, and the artists that are represented in this show are no exception.”

Beth Moskowitz, representing the Jewish Community Relation Council in Boston, said, “We all thought that there would be no Jews here today in 2012.  To see the amount of Jews that actually take part in the Menorah Center and in the synagogue, in the Golden Rose Synagogue, the activities here -- it's hard to believe.  There has been an incredible revival.”

The European Jewish Public Affairs group representative, Rabbi Levi Yitschok Matusof described the impact of the Menorah Center, saying, “When there is a center like such in Dnepropetrovsk and also in other places in Ukraine where there are striving Jewish communities in terms of buildings and spaces, people feel that there is a place where they could come, there is someone they could talk to, there is a meal they could share, there is a place where they could send their children to learn, to be educated better, to have a proper Jewish life, and at the same time living integrated fully in the society with a European perspective.”

Israeli Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora looked forward with anticipation to when “we will see this place full of kids, full of different Jewish activities, full of different organizations working here," Edelstein said. "I think that this will be the real answer to what Nazis and communists tried to do to Jewish communities in the Ukraine and in the former Soviet Union.”

“Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands:  The LORD, who scattered His people, will gather them and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock.  For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them.” (Jeremiah 31:10-11 NLT)

Rejoice with us and Israel over the opening of this new center.  Rejoice with us that the Lord has brought Israel into the Land.  Rejoice with us that He is watching over His flock.  And pray with us for the peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)

For more information see Israel National News, and Radio Free Europe.