r/JewsOfConscience • u/AutoModerator • 10d ago

AAJ "Ask A Jew" Wednesday

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

Please remember to pick an appropriate user-flair in order to participate! Thanks!

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u/valonianfool Anti-Zionist 10d ago

I know the idea that the modern nation state of Israel is the same as the ancient Kingdom of Israel is completely ridiculous, but since religious zionists incl Christians use the argument that both the Quran and Torah mention "Israel" and agree that "the land belongs to the Jews" I still want to ask in what way ancient and premodern kingdoms and civilizations differ from modern states. 

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u/specialistsets Non-denominational 10d ago

"Israel" is a biblical name for Jacob, the Jewish people have been called and have called themselves "Israel" (from "Bnai Yisrael", children of Israel or Israelites in English) since long before the terms "Jew" or "Judaism" existed. Thus, the land became known in Jewish culture and thought as "Eretz Yisrael" (The Land of Israel) for thousands of years. In traditional Judaism it is considered a great mitzvah to live in the Land of Israel, which is why hundreds of thousands of non-Zionists live there today. During the British Mandate, "Eretz Yisrael" was the official Hebrew name alongside Palestine in Arabic and English. Upon declaration of statehood they chose "Medinat Yisrael", State of Israel, to mean "a state for the People of Israel in the Land of Israel".

Religious Zionists don't believe they are resurrecting or continuing an ancient "Kingdom of Israel" as there is no inherent theological significance to that. They believe that the establishment of a modern Jewish state in the Land of Israel is divinely ordained and will hasten the coming of the messiah, culminating in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

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u/valonianfool Anti-Zionist 10d ago

Is there any theological significance to a jewish state in historic Palestine for Christians?

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u/specialistsets Non-denominational 10d ago

I don't know enough about that type of Christian theology to answer. But I can definitely say that any Jewish messianic theology that relates to the Land of Israel is completely unrelated to anything Christian, and any similarities are coincidence.