Ze'ev Jabotinsky at 21 - Excerpts from an Anti-Anti-Zionist Article

I present excerpts from Vladimir Jabotinsky's "Science and Common Sense" which the then not yet twenty-two-year-old published in the Odessa News newspaper of September 8, 1902. It very well may be the very first known Zionist statement by the future writer, thinker, public figure and political leader. And it predates his supposed conversion to Zionism as a result of the pogrom in 1903 in Kishinev.

Jabotinsky responds to an anti-Zionist piece by Iosif Menassievich Bikerman (1867-1942) published in the Russkoje Bogatsttwo [Russian Wealth]

Mr. Bikerman's article made a big impression...This is the experience of a real scientific assessment of Zionism...This article has scientifically proven that Zionism is a utopia. "Scientific". 

...Poems of a non-poet are album literature, these are not poems, but rhymes. And in the same way, this scientificity for fifty dollars, the scientificity of one's own home-made dressing, the scientificity arranged for a balalaika, and therefore accessible to the first person you meet - all this is landscape and toilet scientificity, suitable for flirting with young ladies, and not for a weighty conscientious dispute. To think scientifically, one must be a scientist, that is, a producer in the fields of science, and not a simple consumer of its products...enough, in fact, to be afraid of this shout: "Utopia!" Stupid word from the vocabulary of cowards. Much that a hundred years ago seemed like a utopia is now strong and marching, and advancing, and conquering.

...when a mass of people in unison embraces the whole of one ideal, this means that it was not the “feuilletonists” who whispered it to her. The power of things whispered to her. Those ideals that are whispered by the force of things are not utopias. They are a real need. They are the future reality.

...he has only one argument against Zionism:

“World history,” writes Mr. Bikerman, “does not know a case when any group of people — a clan, a tribe, a people, a horde — would have taken it into their heads to create a state one fine morning, and having thought of it, would have created it. Both in ancient and modern times, states were the result of the activity of the human masses, but never served as the goal of this activity.

I.e: “What has never happened before, cannot happen again.” I.e: - All the laws of historical movement are already known to us, and nothing that we have not yet seen and foreseen is not supposed to happen.

I don't think it's scientific...No serious theoretician of history would allow himself to state categorically that what has never happened before will never happen again. Only someone self-satisfied with semi-knowledge, not obliged to cherish either the dignity or the prestige of science, is capable of uttering such prophecies in its name ...

Examples of mass emigration were repeated both in ancient times and in the coming times. Zionism and offers mass emigration.

...Mr. Bikerman also reproaches the Zionists for trying to lure their people along the path of greatest resistance. And this is futile, because an irresistible law of nature tells all energy to follow the path of least resistance. This, of course, is correct. No energy will follow the path of greatest resistance. 

Why did the first Christians in Rome, or the same Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, or the Huguenots in France, prefer persecution and emigration instead of assimilation quietly and calmly, that is, accepting the faith of the strongest? This, of course, does not mean that they all followed the path of greatest resistance, for it is logically unthinkable to follow the path of greatest resistance. It simply means that, for many different reasons, it was easier and more profitable for them to endure persecution, die at the stake, go bankrupt and emigrate than to give in.

You can never know exactly which path at a given moment presents the greatest or least resistance.

...Another thing is purely practical objections to Zionism. They are made without a pretentious tone, they follow from the sober considerations of sane people, and it is pleasant to answer such objections. These objections are often very valid.

Will Turkey give in? Will the powers allow it? Will Palestine provide enough food? Are Jews capable of agriculture?

All these are important and complex questions, and nothing can be said categorically about them, simply because nothing can ever be confidently asserted about the future. But, in any case, there are no less practical arguments for , and good arguments, than against...will the Jews make Palestine a "land of honey and milk," if not, but, in any case, they will make it a livelier, more cultured and, therefore, more profitable region than it is now. 

...Whether the Jews are capable of agriculture, whether the soil of Palestine is capable of producing cereals in sufficient quantities - all questions could be answered only with numbers in hand. I can only remind you that in Finland there are completely bare cliffs where people have applied black soil and live on the fruits of this black soil. It is possible to adapt, not immediately, of course, but after two or three generations, to everything, not only to agriculture. Especially the Jews, who have long proved their ability to adapt to any, even the most incredible conditions of existence.

One can laugh at the money game with the term "scientific"; practical arguments should be thoughtfully and seriously considered and argued, but against the third category of objections raised by Zionism, one can only protest indignantly and uncompromisingly.

...Is nationalism regressive? To love one's nationality more than all other nationalities is as natural as to love one's mother more than all other mothers. Just as a person has the right to protect and develop his individual characteristics, so the nation has the right to cherish its national characteristics. 

– Zionism distracts the Jews from universal cultural work, from concern for the interests of all mankind.

It is a strange claim that all people must work in the same field. One can be a friend of all mankind, but work for the good of one nationality, because the good of one nationality is part of the good of mankind. Does Zionism dream of tearing the Jews away from spiritual affinity with Europe? Zionism wants to give the Jews a place where they can maintain this intimacy, develop it, enjoy it - only without being humiliated, without enduring persecution, without the risk of losing their national identity.

One can argue against Zionism—find it unworkable or undesirable. But to speak of its reactionary character, to see in its leaders traitors to the ideals of the common human good, is not to argue, but to dishonor, to dishonor crudely and frivolously the dream born of all the sobs, of all the sufferings of the Jewish people; it means to invite people to your shop not by washing, but by rolling; this means responding with a curse to the tearful prayer of the tormented Ahasuerus and slandering and slandering his centuries-old reserved ideal.

Ideals stand above ignorance and are not afraid of slander.

And Jabotinsky applying himself just a half year later: 

On Zubatov, Czarist Russian police administrator.

I decided to update this with excerpts from a second article published in June 1903

Kadimah 

I know three objections to Zionism...The third objection is:

“Your movement is calling people back to fanaticism, to misanthropy, to tribal enmity."

I consider this objection embittered, and I usually do not answer it, but fall silent and mournfully look at the one who threw this untruth to me, and I marvel, saddened, at his anger.

Strange outrage. You can be distrustful of what you find unrealizable; but indignation against someone else's ideal is understandable only when this someone else's ideal is the ideal of violence, enslavement, outrage. Meanwhile, whatever the fate of Zionism in the future, it carries in any case the noble ideal of emancipation. Where does this bitterness, this rage come from, and not from strangers or reactionaries; and from the side of blood brothers and people who boast of an advanced way of thinking?

...There is nothing else to justify all the passion of these unrighteous attacks; because on our part we have not deserved them in any way, and have always been and conscious of ourselves as honest friends of progress, freedom of spirit and brotherhood; and from the moment our movement emerged in an enlightened milieu, its motto has been Kadimàh , a beautiful and deep word that means "to the east" and at the same time "forward"...

...We are told:

“Your movement did not spring from any positive striving. It is caused by anti-Semitism: since it is difficult for Jews in the Diaspora, you want to take them to Palestine. This means that all this was not started at all in order to create a new nest of culture. Your chain is negative, not positive: flight, not striving. First of all, you need a shelter, an almshouse, a fortress, where you would be sheltered from malice, and not a factory for the production of new values. Compassion drives you, not a burst of creativity. Choose for yourself any motto you like: "pity", "intercession" - but not the word "forward". Running was never moving forward.

Well, that's right. Running was never moving forward. Flight is backward movement. Flight is the last concession. Whoever runs has already given up. Whoever runs, he already thereby says: I refuse to fight. I no longer defend what I undertook to defend. I cede to you what I wanted to consider my property.

Flight is a movement backwards and cannot be anything else, because in it lies the concession of the very principle for which the struggle was waged. This is the main thing. Without the element of concession, there is no escape. If I made a mistake with the door and ended up in someone else's apartment, then, noticing the mistake, I apologize and leave; but this is not an escape, because I had no intention of taking possession of this strange apartment. But if I deliberately burst into it in order to take possession of it, and were forced to abandon this goal and leave, then my departure would be a real flight; for he is a fugitive who, yielding to force, renounces the principle for which he stood up.

But the Jews did not then come to the lands of the diaspora in order to take possession of them or establish themselves in them. We did not even come - we were squeezed into these lands. Nineteen centuries of our history are not about what we did, but about what others did to us. Others squeezed us into Spain, forced us out of Spain and squeezed us into the east of Europe; we walked where we were pushed, and stopped when the inertia of the push stopped. Some stopped in Holland, others only in Romania; but neither one nor the other came there on purpose for the purpose of capturing or settling down. Falling from exhaustion on Romanian soil, they did not say to themselves: I want and will live here! They said: I can't go any further; I will stay here - maybe they won’t torture me here as much as in the land of Sepharad ...

We came to the countries of the diaspora, not having the goal of establishing ourselves. In our movement then there was no purpose at all, there was only a reason .

And now we see that we made a mistake with the door and got to the wrong place, where our place is, and we want to leave. This is not an escape, because when we came to these lands, we did not bring any goal with us, and now we must not give up any goal.

However, no. We brought one chain with us: the preservation of our nationality, which was then symbolized for us in religion. Spain offered us equality for apostasy; but we preferred torture and exile. So, coming from Spain, we wanted to remain Jews. This was our only goal. We carried this single goal through the fire and water of our long history. And we do not abandon this goal: we are faithful to it today more than ever: for this we want to leave forever from foreign cities, in order to remain Jews!

We have not given up or yielded in what is and has been the goal of our historical struggle; therefore our campaign will not be an escape, but a triumph. But fugitives will be those who yielded and surrendered, those who could not bear the constraints and ceased to be Jews; preaching of renunciation, calls for apostasy, invitations to humble yourselves in spirit and become Germans or Frenchmen, since it is difficult to remain Jews—this is what will truly be stigmatized with the name of cowardice and flight.

And so we come to the main point - to apostasy. Flight is apostasy. And if we needed only flight, then we would preach not Zionism, but apostasy .

The masses under the influence of the current influence are always directed along the path of least resistance. Anti-Semitism represents a strong external pressure: but in order to be saved from it, there is no need to colonize Eretz-Yisrael. There is a path much less difficult - the path of apostasy. Escape is the path of least resistance. Change your faith, and today you will acquire all rights before the law, and tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, with the help of mixed marriages, you will be recognized as your own and by society. If this merging takes time, then, in any case, it will be easier for you than buying out abandoned land and creating a new homeland on the ruins ...

Anti-Semitism could not give rise to Zionism. Anti-Semitism could only give rise to the desire to flee from persecution along the path of least resistance - that is, apostasy. But in order for a call to national self-consciousness and revival to sound instead of preaching apostasy, something was needed besides anti-Semitism, an internal stimulus, an internal and positive imperative was needed. This imperative lies in the life-giving instinct of national self-preservation, which has given us the strength to pass through the order of history.

The Arab fell asleep under a bush. At dawn he was bitten by a flea. From the bite he woke up, saw the dawn and said:

Thanks to this bug. She woke me up; now I will perform ablution and get to work.

But when he began to perform ablution, the flea bit him a second time. Then the Arab caught her and strangled her, saying:

“It is evident that you were proud of the fact that I praised you; and indeed, you helped me wake up: but not by your prodding will I pray and work ...

Here is the role of anti-Semitism in the Zionist movement. We do not deny that he helped us wake up. But only. If, on waking up, we straightened up, washed ourselves with fresh water and set to work, it was not for the sake of the miserable insect that woke us up, but for the sake of the life instinct that is inherent in us.

If we wanted to flee, we would call for apostasy; if we needed an almshouse, we would call for apostasy, because apostasy is easier and more likely to save our skins. But it is not we, but our opponents who preach this easy way of renunciation; we Zionists reject capitulation and call for the hard work of creation . We call the Jewish people to historical creativity . Pointing to the east, we do not say to the people: run, hide from persecution in this hole; we point to the east and proclaim "forward": Kadimàh .

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