Made in Hungary

Shadai is the publisher and editor of Judapest.org, an online and offline community in Budapest aiming to uncover the relevant, the stimulating and the cool in the “Hungarian Jewish Experience”.

Hungarian Jews and Zionism: now that’s an explosive bunch! You see, we’ve been on the cutting edge of both fierce Zionism and vehement Anti-Zionism at a time. Two of the most important visionaries of Modern Zionism were actually Hungarian Jews: Theodor Herzl (né: Herzl Tivadar on the square in Pest where now the mighty Dohany Synagogue stands) and Max Nordau (né: Südfeld Simon Miksa), the Man Who Should’ve Won the Mustache Contest. Nordau and Herzl together founded the World Zionist Organization in 1897 and had a vision to establish not just a new-old homeland but also a New Culture for the Jews. On the other front, some other Hungarian Jews had also left a memorable imprint: Neturé Karta, the most notorious Anti-Zionist splinter-haredi group also have all their roots in Hungary. Their “forefather”, Chájim Joszéf ben Ávráhám Sonnenfeld was born in a small stetl in the year of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

So what came out of this mixed heritage for us, Hungarian Jews living in the 21st Century in a united and free Europe? And what do we have to say about Israel, Zionism and post-Zionism today? Well, our “radical” heritage has mostly mellowed out and today many Hungarian Jews probably share my perspective about “Israel at 60” which I should sum up in three points:

1. Most Jews living in Hungary (and I guess this goes for most Diaspora Jews) no longer feel that they are the lone sentinels working on behalf of a lonely and fragile Israel. We perceive Israel to be indeed strong: she is widely recognized, independent and economically very potent with a technological edge that places it in the club of countries that really count. Some conflicts and disagreements aside Israel is actually entering into ever greater partnership with the EU, which itself is a major stakeholder in the future of a successful Israel - in a successful region. Since the fall of Communism, Eastern Europe is also in active partnership with Israel - and not just in diplomatic arena (but also economic, cultural etc.)

2. Not only Israel but we have also become a lot stronger - after “60 years”: we don’t really need any paternalistic nurturing from Israel (or the US for that matter) any more. In many ways, Jewish culture in Europe is flourishing: we have not only successfully revived and reconstructed much of our heritage but we’re also becoming increasingly a future-oriented community. We have succeeded in transgressing our role of being the “guardians” of a static and finalized pre-WWII heritage. We have moved beyond the status of being the museum keepers of world Jewry. In gradual ways, many of us are able to create a relevant and forward looking Jewish culture that thrives on diversity and pluralism.

3. So I guess both of us - Israel and the European Diaspora - have grown up, in many ways. Therefore, our objective should be to create new “synergies” (even if it is such an overused buzzword) between Israel and the Diaspora. After all, many of the most wonderful and most lasting things happened to the Jewish people in the “Diaspora Experience”: the giving of the Covenant and the lasting miracle of Sinai, the Talmud and the culture of an ongoing dialogue, Rashi and Maimonides, Hassidism and Reform, Woody Allen and the Hebrew Hammer, and yes, even “Zionism”, this idealistic construction of faith, humanism and human will. It happened in the Diaspora.

So I believe that Israel can be at its best if it is in fruitful dialogue with the Diaspora: with a constant exchange of ideals, new concepts and most important, an ongoing dialogue on how being Jewish can be relevant and enriching to our lives.

Happy Birthday Israel: we’re really proud to see you at this age and looking forward to the next six decades! See you soon!

The 60 Bloggers project is co-production of Jewlicious.com and the Let My People Sing Festival. It is published daily for 60 days to celebrate Israel’s 60 birthday.