How far were the Zionist thinkers influenced by the nationalist climate in Europe at that time?
It is not a question of influence, it was precisely the same process taking place. At that period in time there was a tremendous sense of self-determination. The Zionists mistakenly compared themselves to these other nations that were then involved in self-determination and nationalism. The fact that we note that there are some Torah observing Jews that do adhere to Zionism can be explained by the fact that the Zionist denial of who the Jew is not necessarily a physical, technical denial but at times a spiritual denial, so that by postulating that there is something for a Jew other than fulfillment in the Torah but by not trying to uproot It, Zionism was capable of conning a certain number of observant Jews. The thing was not necessarily manifest In action By saying that there is fulfillment for Jews in nationalism they were denying the basic foundation of Judaism. Since they were not doing this in action they were capable of deceiving Torah observers as well. • PH: In the early stages
