historic memories and so forth. In fact, they adopted the whole
philosophy of the “skyward soaring” school, only adding a few misplaced
“political” phrases for form’s sake. But after the Seventh Congress,[62]
when the doubters had left the organisation and the “Zion-Zionists” were
left to themselves, with nobody to ask awkward questions, they reverted
to their old tactics; and now once more they dangle before the people
the old promises of “an end to _galuth_.” Meanwhile, however, a general
movement for liberty, affecting all the nations in the Empire, arose in
the land of our exile[63]; and in our own midst new propagandists began
to hold out to the people new promises and to speak to it in a new
language, which the masses found very agreeable. And so the Zionists
began to change their tune, so as to win over the masses. “Political
work in the Diaspora?—Of course! It is an essential part of Zionist
work. Revolution? Why, who so revolutionary as the Zionists?
Socialism?—The very basis of Zionism!” And not alone that, but even the
Palestinian work, to which in the end the Zionists returned, after they
had awoke from the dreamland of diplomacy, took on a new epithet:
“_real_ work in Palestine.” The public must understand that Zionists are
not “reactionaries” pursuing a “spiritual” will-o’-the-wisp, but genuine
“realists,” and their work in Palestine is “real” work. But if at the
Eighth Congress the opponents of “real” work (there are still such among
Zionists) propound their doubts again, and demand an explanation of the
value of such work from the point of view of the ingathering of the
exiles and the redemption of the people, then, I fear, the champions of
“real” work will be compelled once more to have recourse to the “spirit”
in order to justify their “realism.” For the fact is that all work in
Palestine, of whatever kind, _material or spiritual_, so long as it is
properly done, is “real” (that is, calculated to achieve its object and
in harmony with actual conditions) only from the point of view of the
spiritual redemption, because whatever strengthens our material and
spiritual position in Palestine is a source of added strength to our
corporate national spirit, and therefore brings us nearer by much or by
little to our spiritual goal. But as for the redemption of the people
and the end of _galuth_—that “real” goal is no more brought nearer by
all this “real” work than we get nearer to the moon by jumping.
Thus Zionism is always running after the masses—and the masses run away
from it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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