Canaanism: The Search for an Alternative Identity to Zionism in Israel

Öz

Zionism, as Israel's founding ideological movement, aimed to construct a national identity through the Jewish religious tradition while presenting itself as a form of secular nationalism. This paradox—the incorporation of religious elements into a secular identity—has shaped the core "Traditionalist-Secular" divide in Israeli politics and emerged as a significant obstacle to forming a coherent nation-state identity. The official conception of Israeli identity has consistently reflected tensions between tradition and modernity, fostering the development of dissenting political positions from the state's early years. One notable response was the Canaanite movement, developed by a group of artists and intellectuals in the 1930s. Led by poet-journalist Yonatan Ratosh, the movement, known as the "Young Hebrews," critiqued Zionism's vision of identity and proposed an alternative nationalist discourse. Highlighting the distinction between Jewishness and Hebrewness, the Canaanites argued for the institutionalization of Israel as a secular nation-state. They posited that national identity should be rooted not in the religious affiliation of Jewishness but in the ethnic and geographical identity of Hebrewness. This study examines the contradictory nature of Zionist national identity and the critical nationalist response articulated by the Canaanite movement.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Canaanism
• Zionism
• Young Hebrews

Kenancılık: İsrail’de Siyonizme Alternatif Bir Kimlik Arayışı

Öz

İsrail’in kurucu fikir hareketi olarak Siyonizm, seküler bir milliyetçilik biçimi olarak Yahudi dinî geleneği üzerinden ulusal bir kimlik inşa edilmesini hedeflemiştir. İsrail siyasetindeki temel “Gelenekselci-Laik” ikiliğini de şekillendiren bu paradoksal durum –seküler bir kimliğin özünü oluşturan dinî ögeler meselesi– tutarlı bir ulus-devlet kimliği oluşturulmasının önündeki en önemli engellerden biri olmuştur. İsrail’de iktidarın resmi kimlik tahayyülü her daim geleneksel ile modern arasındaki bu kırılmadan izler taşımış ve bu durum, henüz erken devirlerden itibaren muhalif siyasal pozisyonların oluşumunu beraberinde getirmiştir. Bunlardan biri de 1930’lu yıllarda, İsrail’de bir grup sanatçı-entelektüel tarafından geliştirilen Kenancılıktır. Kendilerini “Genç İbraniler” olarak adlandıran ve başlarını şair-gazeteci Yonatan Ratosh’un çektiği bu grup, İsrail’de kurucu Siyonizm’in kimlik tahayyülünü sert bir şekilde eleştirerek yeni bir milliyetçi söylem biçimi ortaya koymuştur. Yahudilik (Jewish) ile İbranîlik (Hebrew) arasındaki farka dikkat çeken Kenancılar, İsrail’in seküler bir ulus-devlet olarak kurumsallaşması gerekliliğini ifade etmiş ve ulusal kimliğin temelini de dinî bir aidiyet olan Yahudiğin değil, etnik ve coğrafî bir aidiyeti ifade eden İbraniliğin oluşturduğunu ileri sürmüşlerdir. Bu çalışmada, Siyonizm’in inşa ettiği ulusal kimlik anlayışının çelişkili karakteri vurgulanarak, buna eleştirel bir milliyetçi pozisyondan yanıt veren Kenancı hareketin bir incelemesi yapılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kenancılık
• Siyonizm
• Genç İbraniler

Kaynakça

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