Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 18:2 (Fall 2014)
Article: Has The Modern State Of Israel Solved The Jewish Question?
Author: Michael D. Stallard

JMAT 18:2 (Fall 2014) p. 28

Has The Modern State Of Israel Solved The Jewish Question?

Mike Stallard

Seminary Dean
Professor of Systematic Theology
Baptist Bible Seminary
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Introduction

Sometimes, the obvious truth needs to be said out loud once again. Political and theological shackles sometimes cloud one’s observations in a direction that is untenable and at times shocking. With this in mind, this article seeks to highlight the details of the “New Anti-Semitism” primarily for conservative, Bible-believing Christians who need to be aware of these developments. The truth lies before the world in almost every newspaper issue as the current political nation of Israel is attacked from all sides. Revealing the facts honors those who are persecuted.

Perspectives On The Jewish Question

Theodore Herzl And The Modern Zionist Movement

Just what is the “Jewish Question”? In 1896 Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, couched the definition in terms of persecution:

The Jewish question still exists. It would be foolish to deny it. It is a remnant of the Middle Ages which civilized nations do not even yet seem able to shake off, try as they will. They certainly showed a generous desire to do so when they emancipated us. The Jewish question exists wherever Jews live in perceptible numbers. Where it does not exist, it is carried by Jews in the course of their migrations. We naturally move to those places where we are not

JMAT 18:2 (Fall 2014) p. 29

persecuted, and there our presence produces persecution. This is the case in every country, and will remain so, even in those highly civilized—for instance, France—until the Jewish question finds a solution on a political basis. The unfortunate Jews are now carrying the seeds of Anti-Semitism into England; they have already introduced it into America.1

Later Herzl goes on to describe the conundrum in even starker terms:

Everything tends, in fact, to one and the same conclusion, which is clearly enunciated in that classic Berlin phrase: “Juden Raus” (Out with the Jews!)

[S]hall [sic] now put the Question in the briefest possible form: Are we to ‘get out’ now and where to?

Or, may we yet remain? And, how long?”2

Herzl’s analysis revolves around the dilemma of assimilation. If Jews kept their unique customs and emphasized their ethnic identity, they were persecuted. If Jews tried to assimilate to the cultures around them, they were persecuted. What way existed to move out of the cir...