Sir, - My response to Gershon Baskin's title question "Is my Zionist dream dead?" as well as to his other dramatically impassioned statement,"I want to know if my Zionist dream has any validity anymore," is to say that perhaps his dream always suffered from his expanded interests in solving all of the demographic, social, religious and political problems of the Middle East and regrettably left little room for the Zionist component.
The Zionist dream, from its very ancient beginning to the present day, always had its primary concern and focus on the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland. This longing and dream resulted in the reality of sometimes a trickle, and sometimes in serious numbers, Jews from all over the globe throughout the centuries making their way home, and at no time was that homeland bereft of a Jewish presence. The authentic Zionist dream therefore, is one that began well over 2 millennia ago and is decidedly different than Baskin's which is a product of the 20th century.
In modern times the dream was expanded to include the idea of a political homeland for the dispersed and persecuted Jewish people. This concept was given legal expression and substance by the Balfour Declaration and the San Remo Conference which granted a mandate to Great Britain for its establishment. The mandate included both sides of the river Jordan, and though it has been treacherously violated, it has never lost its validity. There is no mention of a political entity for the Arabs in the geography of the Mandate.
Baskin's distorted dream leads him to extreme and perverted conclusions related to the P.A.-Israel conflict. Although he proclaims his honest desire to know the ultimate outcome of the conflict, he constantly manages to conclude that Israel is the side that deserves to be blamed. In statements such as "Of course they will be loyal to their own people when their own state is fighting against them" he seems to justify any Palestinian misbehavior as being the result of Israel's mistreatment. I too in all honesty would like to know, if any of Baskin's real or imagined concerns can explain the atrocity of the massacre of the Fogel Family, or can justify the continued glorification of terrorists.
Zev Chamudot
Petach Tikva
