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<xml><p>From: wmcguire@world.std.com (Wayne McGuire)
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To: talk.politics.<ent type='LOC'>mideast</ent>
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Subject: The End of <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> (Yet Another Failed <ent type='ORG'>Messianic Movement</ent>)
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Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, <ent type='GPE'>Brookline</ent>, MA
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Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1993 21:17:49 GMT
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Lines: 239</p>
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<p>With all due humility and modesty I want to announce that the
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post below is probably one of the most important posts you'll
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ever read in talk.politics.<ent type='LOC'>mideast</ent>. There, that should take care
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of the levity for the day.</p>
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<p>It is a message I posted to someone on another network, and sums
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up a whole lot of reading and thinking I've been doing about the
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<ent type='LOC'>Mideast</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> for a few years now. Previous discussions here
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in TPM, particularly interactions with ardent pro-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>
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partisans, helped clarify my thoughts.</p>
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<p>For a number of years now I've been noticing with increasing
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attention the remarkable resemblances between <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> and earlier
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episodes of messianic (and always disastrous) outbursts in <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
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history, but wasn't quite prepared to make the leap that <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>
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as a whole fit the model. I thought that the dangerous messianic
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elements were mostly on the religious right, and could be safely
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isolated. But the more I read, the more I realized that
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messianism permeated the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i left as much as the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i
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right, and that the entire <ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> enterprise is fundamentally
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messianic in its outlook and foundations.</p>
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<p>The collapse of Communism (the 20th century's premier secular
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messianic movement), the failure of the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i kibbutz
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movement, the rush to proclaim <ent type='PERSON'>Menachem Schneerson</ent> the Messiah,
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the rise of Kahanism, and an unceasing succession of blunders by
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the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i government starting in the 1973 war and continuing
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most recently in the <ent type='PERSON'>Demjanjuk</ent> fiasco have all combined to lead
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me to the conclusion that something is so seriously awry with the
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<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> experiment that it does in fact exhibit all the traits of
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previous failed messianic movements in <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> history.</p>
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<p>What really confirmed me in this conviction was reading five
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books one after the other, and digesting all the information
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interactively and seeing all the implications:</p>
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<p><ent type='GPE'>Golan</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Matti</ent>. With Friends Like You: What <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is Really Think
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About <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>The Free Press</ent>, 1992. Translated
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from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin.</p>
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<p>Leibowitz, <ent type='PERSON'>Yeshayahu</ent>. Judaism, Human Values, and the <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
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State. <ent type='GPE'>Cambridge</ent>, MA: <ent type='ORG'>Harvard University Press</ent>, 1992.</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Roth</ent>, Philip. Operation Shylock: A Confession. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent> &
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Schuster, 1993.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Segev</ent>, Tom. The Seventh Million: The <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is and The Holocaust.
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<ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: Hill and <ent type='ORG'>Wang</ent>, 1993.</p>
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<p>Sicker, Martin. Judaism, Nationalism, and <ent type='ORG'>the Land</ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>.
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<ent type='GPE'>Boulder</ent>, CO. Westview Press, 1992.</p>
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<p>Earlier here I tried to stimulate, without success, some serious
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discussion about four of the books. If you want to get an idea of
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how I reached my conclusions, try reading them and do some
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creative thinking about what you've read. Attached below the post
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is a longer list of books which collectively provide an
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articulate explanation of why <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>'s future is bleak indeed.</p>
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<p>If you want the really short course, just read the <ent type='PERSON'>Martin Sicker</ent>
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book. Surveying thousands of years of failed messianism in a few
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hundred pages is a real education, and puts mere decades of
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<ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> into perspective.</p>
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<p>I can imagine the howls of outrage or mirth the assertion that
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<ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> is defunct will arouse, but that is entirely predictable
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and not interesting. I am not particularly motivated to debate
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the subject one way or the other, although I will read with
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curiosity valuable insights, as opposed to polemics, anyone might
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contribute to my, ahem, prophetic, shall we even say, messianic
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pronouncement. For me, the essential debate is over. All the
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angry back and forth that is going on here and elsewhere about
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who is right and wrong concerning this and that incident between
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<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> and its neighbors is just so much noise and is missing the
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big picture. Trying to figure out what is going on in the <ent type='LOC'>Mideast</ent>
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and the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>-<ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> conflict was for me an exercise in solving a
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knotty and fascinating intellectual problem. Once the problem is
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figured out, it no longer excites one's attention.</p>
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<div>----------------------------------------------------------------</div>
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<p>[Post to Mary Weiss]</p>
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<p>I've radically changed my views about <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> and the <ent type='LOC'>Mideast</ent>
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conflict since we last chatted. Back then I was advocating
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positions, with my usual visionary foresight, that have been
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adopted by the current <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i government. I was slightly ahead
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of my time. Now I believe--make that KNOW--that <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> may well
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prove to be the greatest calamity for <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> in world history to
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date, and will most certainly fail as a movement and a physical
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state. <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> may not even last out the decade. <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> will come to
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regret the day that <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> was ever founded. It doesn't matter
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what policies <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> adopts--left, right, center, whatever. <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>
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will be weeping and gnashing their teeth over the fact that they
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foolishly saddled themselves with the need to support and defend
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a physical <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> state in the middle of a region which hates
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that state. All the old anti-<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> arguments that <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>
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themselves hashed over before the founding of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> are going to
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come to the surface again, and the original <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> anti-<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent>s
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are going to look like prophets. <ent type='PERSON'>Theodore Herzl</ent> will come to be
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seen as notorious a failed prophet as <ent type='PERSON'>Karl Marx</ent>.</p>
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<p>The reason? <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> is a false messianic movement, a well-known
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phenomenon in <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> history. It is built on air, fantasies, and
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intoxication, not solid ground. These messianic splurges always
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end up in catastrophes for <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, and <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> looks like it will
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be the granddaddy of all these fiascos, for hundreds of reasons
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which I could document for you at length. But you know the main
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reason yourself if you examine your heart: ask yourself why you
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don't live in <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>. Then you'll know why so many <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> want to
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leave <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>.</p>
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<p>Trust me, <ent type='PERSON'>Marty</ent>, it is over. Sometime during the last year or
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two, deep in the secret soul of <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, of history, of the world,
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<ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> died, expired. <ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent>s will continue to go through the
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motions, engage in angry and self-destructive arguments with
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fellow <ent type='NORP'>American</ent>s and others who criticize <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>: you know the
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whole drill. But at the core, the ball game is over. The more
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that <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> get locked into the position of defending a state they
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don't want to live in, and don't even believe in, the more pain
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and difficulty they are going to cause themselves.</p>
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<p>The best advice anyone could give to <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> who really cares about
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them--not all of them, to be sure, but some of them--is to begin
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to make preparations now for dissolving the state of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> that
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are maximally advantageous for <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is and <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> in general. Once
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that is accomplished, then sit down and figure out why you keep
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getting suckered in by self-destructive messianic movements, and
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then fix the problem through some form of cultural self-analysis
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and psychotherapy. Then get on with doing what you do best in a
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modern pluralistic society like the U.S.--make art, make science,
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make products, make friends, be happy, be self-fulfilled, etc.,
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and just generally get on with making productive lives free of
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the need to pursue a collective or ethnocentric messianic mission
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of any kind, divine or secular.</p>
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<p>If this doesn't happen, it seems certain that <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> will be
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heading for a mess that is beyond your wildest dreams. Those who
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will be taking the deepest pleasure in <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>'s continued
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existence will be the world's most virulent anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semites</ent>.</p>
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<p>I know you won't believe a word I am saying, and will react
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defensively, but that's ok. I know what I know. And I only say
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something like this with the utmost gravity and care, after a
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tremendous amount of reading, thought, and conversation. I know
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what I am talking about, and I came to these conclusions very
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reluctantly, in fact resisted them with all my might, since they
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are so disturbing. I mainly want to get this statement down on
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the public record somewhere, in part for the ego gratification of
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being recognized as one of the first people to figure this out.
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Once you get a handle on the key features of false messianism, of
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any messianism for that matter, and do a match against all the
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developments that have been going on <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> virtually since it's
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founding, the truth becomes crystal clear. The coming collapse is
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visible in <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>'s every action and word.</p>
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<p>One important point to keep in mind is that people who have been
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bitten by the messianic bug NEVER know when the house is about to
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cave in: that is one of the key traits of messianism: it destroys
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your ability to read objective reality clearly. The mind of the
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messianist--whether that of one of the leaders of the revolt
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against <ent type='GPE'>Rome</ent>, or one of <ent type='PERSON'>Sabbatai Sevi</ent>'s followers, or one of Karl
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Marx's disciples, or <ent type='PERSON'>Menachem Schneerson</ent>'s, or <ent type='PERSON'>David Koresh</ent>'s, is
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clouded by a kind of drug which is able to ignore or distort
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every fact relevant to his or her true situation. All messianists
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are essentially mad, at least for the duration of their fever.
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After every messianic binge comes the vicious headache: what the
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hell were we up to?</p>
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<p>What is the essence of messianism? Eventually your bullshit
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catches up with you.</p>
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<p>It wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference, by the way, if
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the <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent>s in the region had welcomed the state of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> with
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open arms. In fact if that had been the case, <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> would have
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gone under much sooner. The <ent type='LOC'>Mideast</ent> wars, with their effect in
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uniting <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is against a common external enemy, have served as
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a distraction to keep <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is from dealing with their underlying
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internal problems, all of which revolve around the
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self-destructive tendencies inherent in all forms of messianism.</p>
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<p>At some point the leaders of world <ent type='ORG'>Jewry</ent> are going to sit down
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and ask--if they haven't already--on the whole is the state of
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<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> a net positive or a net negative for the world's <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>? Is
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it improving our health, wealth, reputation, peace of mind,
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physical security, and good relations with our neighbors, or is
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it damaging them? If <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> has become a significant net
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negative, and there is no realistic prospect of improving the
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situation, is there any point in continuing to maintain it, or
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like a business gone permanently bad, should we just put it to
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rest and get on to more fruitful matters?</p>
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<p><ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>, just like Communism, and for much the same reasons, is
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intellectually, morally, spiritually, psychologically,
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ideologically, and economically bankrupt.</p>
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<p><ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>, like Communism, attempted to build a society in a
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top-down fashion by imposing a rigid ideology and theory on an
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unmalleable physical situation. Successful nations grow
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organically from the bottom up, emerging naturally from and
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cooperating with the facts on the ground.</p>
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<p>All successful enterprises are fundamentally pragmatic and
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bottom-up. All messianic movements in the world are doomed to
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failure because they are top-down and over-ideological in their
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essential nature. The curse of messianism is the curse of
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ideology and theory on a megalomaniacal scale.</p>
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<p>This ideology is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and
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gone to meet its maker. This is a late ideology. It's a stiff.
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<ent type='PERSON'>Bereft</ent> of life, its rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to
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the perch, it would be pushing up the daisies. It's rung down the
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curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-ideology.</p>
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<p>In any case, enjoy the laugh--I can't guarantee I'll find the
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time to participate in this conference at any length to provide
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the long version of these insights. But after you laugh, give a
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little serious thought to what I am saying. I just may be right.</p>
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<p>Wayne</p>
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<div>----------------------------------------------------------------</div>
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<p>Reading List
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************</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Avineri</ent>, Shlomo. <ent type='PERSON'>Moses Hess</ent>: Prophet of Communism and <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>.
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<ent type='GPE'>New York</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>London</ent>: <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent> University Press, 1985.</p>
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<p>Friedman, <ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent> I. The False Prophet: Rabbi <ent type='PERSON'>Meir Kahane</ent>: From
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<ent type='ORG'>FBI Informant</ent> to <ent type='ORG'>Knesset</ent> Member. <ent type='GPE'>Brooklyn</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>Lawrence Hill Books</ent>,
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1990.</p>
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<p><ent type='GPE'>Golan</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Matti</ent>. With Friends Like You: What <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is Really Think
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About <ent type='NORP'>American</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>The Free Press</ent>, 1992. Translated
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from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin.</p>
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<p>Harkabi, <ent type='PERSON'>Yehoshafat</ent>. <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>'s Fateful Hour. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: Harper &
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Row, 1988.</p>
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<p>Leibowitz, <ent type='PERSON'>Yeshayahu</ent>. Judaism, Human Values, and the <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
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State. <ent type='GPE'>Cambridge</ent>, MA: <ent type='ORG'>Harvard University Press</ent>, 1992.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Leshem</ent>, Moshe. Balaam's Curse: How <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> Lost Its Way, and How
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It Can Find It Again. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent> and Schuster, 1989.</p>
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<p>Lustick, Ian S. For <ent type='ORG'>the Land</ent> and the Lord: <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Fundamentalism
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in <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>Council on Foreign Relations</ent>, 1988.</p>
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<p><ent type='PERSON'>Roth</ent>, Philip. Operation Shylock: A Confession. <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: <ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent> &
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Schuster, 1993.</p>
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<p>Scholem, Gershom. <ent type='PERSON'>Sabbatai Sevi</ent>: The Mystical Messiah. Princeton,
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<ent type='GPE'>New Jersey</ent>: <ent type='ORG'>Princeton University Press</ent>, 1973. Translated by R. J.
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Zwi Werblowsky.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Segev</ent>, Tom. The Seventh Million: The <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>is and The Holocaust.
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<ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>: Hill and <ent type='ORG'>Wang</ent>, 1993.</p>
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<p>Sicker, Martin. Judaism, Nationalism, and <ent type='ORG'>the Land</ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>.
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<ent type='GPE'>Boulder</ent>, CO. Westview Press, 1992.
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</p></xml>
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