On the value of hereness for a diaspora
October 18, 2018 8:21 AM Subscribe
Molly Crabapple writes for the NY Review of Books about her Bundist great grandfather. The diaspora was home, the Bund argued. Jews could never escape their problems by the dispossession of others. Instead, Bundists adhered to the doctrine of do’ikayt or “Hereness.” Jews had the right to live in freedom and dignity wherever it was they stood.
Noah Berlatsky on the Jewish diaspora as a community based in a shared vision of God, justice, and hope, rather than in land and blood:
The Bund and other Jewish socialist movements used Jewish diaspora internationalism as a springboard to socialist internationalism, and vice versa. Rather than seeking a Jewish homeland, Jewish socialists and communists had a vision of trans-national equality, in which workers of all nations would be liberated. "I've often been asked, here in Israel, what prompted me to volunteer for Spain: Did I go there as a Jew or as a communist?" Shlomo Szlein told Brossat and Klingberg. "That's basically a ridiculous question.... After all, recruitment for Spain was on the basis of anti-fascism." And who has more reason to be anti-fascist than a Jewish communist? The diaspora is everything that fascists hate—and if fascists hate it, it's probably worth embracing.
Noah Berlatsky on the Jewish diaspora as a community based in a shared vision of God, justice, and hope, rather than in land and blood:
The Bund and other Jewish socialist movements used Jewish diaspora internationalism as a springboard to socialist internationalism, and vice versa. Rather than seeking a Jewish homeland, Jewish socialists and communists had a vision of trans-national equality, in which workers of all nations would be liberated. "I've often been asked, here in Israel, what prompted me to volunteer for Spain: Did I go there as a Jew or as a communist?" Shlomo Szlein told Brossat and Klingberg. "That's basically a ridiculous question.... After all, recruitment for Spain was on the basis of anti-fascism." And who has more reason to be anti-fascist than a Jewish communist? The diaspora is everything that fascists hate—and if fascists hate it, it's probably worth embracing.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Double. -- restless_nomad
Argh ! Didn't get flagged and I missed it.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:34 AM on October 18, 2018
posted by ChuraChura at 8:34 AM on October 18, 2018
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posted by jedicus at 8:26 AM on October 18, 2018