The Legacy of Dubnov and Eastern European Jewry in Israeli Scholarship

Abstract

Dubnov’s critique of Zionism does not stem from the foundations of his views; on the contrary, Dubnov’s fundamental assumptions support Zionism in all re spects. It is clear: the “spiritual essence” of the nation of which Dubnov speaks is not some metaphysical “essence” [. . .] it is a mental backdrop that binds the shared lives of the people of the nation [. . .]. This “spiritual essence” requires the existence of a real framework, where each member of the national collective can be “ whole as he is”; that is, the “logical conclusion” of the “spiritual essence” is precisely the “Jewish State.”