Most Jews today love and support Israel, but do we understand the founding vision of the Zionist project? Or the great debates that shaped the emergence of the Jewish state? In this course, we will return to some of Israel’s founding figures to explore the many meanings of Zionism: Is Zionism meant to save the Jews from physical destruction or to renew the Jewish spirit? What is the relationship between Zionism and Judaism? How has the meaning of Zionism changed from the first Zionist Congress to the present day? Through essays and speeches by figures such as Theodore Herzl, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Ahad Ha’am, and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, we will probe how different views of Zionism shape the past, present, and future of Israel.
Daniel Gutkind
Daniel Gutkind graduated with honors from the University of Chicago, where he studied Economics and Fundamentals: Issues and Texts. He received the Jamie Redfield Award for Excellence in Fundamentals, awarded to the student who has earned the highest honors scholastically in the Fundamentals program. Daniel has taught and co-taught courses for the Tikvah Online Academy on Zionist intellectual history, money and morality, and the American economy. He has also led Tikvah reading groups at the University of Chicago and Oxford.
