Jewish nationhood went through constant change from
its early inception some time around 1800 BC. At a time when most of what
was the civilized world then, was divided into vast empires, the early
Jews stemmed out of one man's conversion to a new faith: Monotheism. This
man, Abraham, concluded a Covenant with an invisible God by which his
children and his children's children will be forever obliged to work this
God and obey him and for which they will inherit a chosen land named
Canaan. Thus began a journey of immeasurable proportion, both physical and
spiritual, and Abraham's descendants became a nation of twelve tribes.
They went into bondage in Egypt, were saved by a chosen prophet, Moses,
who reiterated the covenant in an historical event on Mount Sinai. This
was the final stage in establishing a modern nation, a Chosen People, who
conquered the chosen land and founded a godly kingdom for the glory of
God.
The Jewish kingdom existed as long as the people and
the kings obeyed God. Once they sinned they were punished by destruction
and exile, redeemed and punished again by almost 2000 years of exile.
Zionism, the modern Jewish version of its nationhood
sprang out of secular principles: the idea of a Jewish nation based on a
common History and the idea of its right to a Jewish state. Can this
modern nation be reconciled with the former Jewish idea of nationhood
based on the Covenant? Can a Jewish secular state exist and thrive, facing
enormous challenges both from the outside and within, and guarding its own
identity and a democratic form of government? In the context of the
present debate regarding Israel's borders and its security, these
considerations are, and should be, brought in their historical
prospective.
