A. D. Gordon’s Green Zionism

Abstract

The article seeks to identify A. D. Gordon’s thought as a distinctive type of ‘green’ Zionism. As opposed to the common tendency in Gordon scholarship to focus on symbolic aspects of his conception of ‘nature’, the analysis here focuses on its concrete values. Refocusing the analysis on biophysical ‘nature’, suggests that very much like contemporary environmental thinkers, Gordon sought to shift the ontological and ethical weight from the human realm to the interrelationship between the human and the non-human environment. Yet, unlike present-day environmentalists, Gordon anchored this shift in a comprehensive theory of nationalism. The Jewish nation he believed must transform its characteristic alienation from nature into an avant-garde force that will leads the human effort to rehabilitate the relationship with the natural world. In broader terms, my analysis calls for a reassessment of Gordon’s relationship to Zionism and indicates that while he shared the Zionist desire to return the Jewish people to Eretz Israel, he was highly critical of the widespread Zionist view of the land as a readily available resource for use by the Jewish nation. The analysis thus identifies an eco-nationalist approach underpinning Gordon’s critique of the utilitarian, statist and militaristic bent of the Zionist movement. It suggests that Gordon saw these trends as indicative of an ill-intentioned drive to subjugate and exploit the natural environment. To rectify this, Gordon developed an eco-Zionist ideology which held that the primary means for Jewish national revival is the protection and conservation of nature in Eretz Israel.