The Doctrine of Beitar

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organically to consider the Jewish-problem as less important than all other problems of the world. For one with such a feeling, even the redemption of the world is nothing but a despicable lie, as long as the Hebrew people do not have an independent land like all other peoples. A world in which the Hebrew people has no Hebrew state is a world of robbers and thieves. A slaughterhouse, which has no right to exist. If even all other problems have already found their best solution, if they even prove to me, that for the sake of fulfilling Zionism it is necessary to "delay" the world's redemption for a whole generation or for a hundred years or for several hundred years—, fine, let them delay it, let the world wait, because we too are part of "the world," no less important and holy than the other parts awaiting redemption.—Such a feeling cannot be instilled in a person; either it exists in him or it does not. It can happen, that a person believed for several consecutive years that it exists in him and therefore considered himself a Zionist; this can happen especially after the "Balfour Declaration," when Zionism is in fashion, and the street tells itself that it will be realized quickly and for a great bargain. But then one sees the difficulties, it ceases to be in fashion, and the person "who thought himself a Zionist" comes to realize that he was mistaken, and that he can exist without the redemption of Israel, and that it is quite enough for him to liberate the rest of the world. If so — let him go in peace, and better sooner. Herzl said: "We lose those whom in losing we lose nothing at all." There was a time, in the seventies, when they were "leaving" in droves. Almost every young man accepted to the Reali-Gymnasium was a sure candidate for spiritual apostasy; and we overcame that as well – thanks to God, to BILU, to Herzl, to Nordau, and also to the latest reinforcement in Tel-Aviv – let us not be tempted by "the leaving." We are immeasurably richer than we tell ourselves. And I say to all the ideologies, to every Zionist youth association: Open wide the exit doors. And I say especially to all the hesitant ones: Look into your soul, maybe there, maybe Zionism is not the sole fulfillment of your soul, as it ought to be? If this is the case, my dear friend, do not waste another moment, go, go in peace, go and do not worry about us, – we will survive without you as well.

However, the young man who wrote the aforementioned letter belongs to a different type; they say that his case has, in fact, become a characteristic daily fixture, yet inwardly he has not given up on Zionism.