A fascinating essay on Israeli student group Im Tirtzu [If You Will It]: The Second Zionist Revolution:
A newspaper distributed to passersby describes the vision of the movement, which claims to have 1,000 dues-paying student members and more than 6,000 participants in its symposia, demonstrations and community projects. Under the rubric of “strengthening the values of Zionism and Judaism within Israeli society,” the movement declares: “As the current standard-bearers and followers of Zionism, the national movement of the Jewish people, we hold our right to an independent sovereign state in the Land of Israel, with unified Jerusalem as its capital, as a natural, inherent right that cannot be contested? [from English-language Web site: www.imti.org.il].”
It’s depressing to read the militancy shown by these young Jews in Israel to loudly and proudly shove racist Zionism in the face of anybody who cares (or doesn’t). A desperate ideology constantly feels the need to justify its existence.