It usually happens in the midst of election campaigns. Public opinion-makers and leaders from the pre-1948 years are brought back to life in contemporary political discourse. They are quoted at conferences and cited in interviews as though they had just expressed their views yesterday on the main issues of this year's election.
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, one of the most maligned leaders in Zionist history is today a major factor in public discourse. His writings have influenced a wide range of contemporary political leaders from Right to Left.
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The man who was derided as the "fascist from Odessa" and who used to be a political punching bag in the elite circles within the Zionist movement and Israeli society is now, 79 years after his passing, seen in a new light. Today, his teachings, poems, and writings are cherished by a new generation.
Few are the leaders who managed to make their mark years after their death. Jabotinsky was systematically delegitimized in his day. This criticism followed him and his students years after his death.
Jabotinsky dedicated his life and energy for the sake of correcting the historical injustice of the Jewish people's exile from their homeland. He was concerned about the blurring of Jewish identity and tried in every way to instill within the youth a spark of the idea of a return to Zion.
Jabotinsky believed in the ability of the youth to produce that same well-oiled machine which would lead to the establishment of a Jewish state. He founded the Betar movement on this principle.
He saw the need for a productive defense force for both Diaspora Jewry and Jews in the land of Israel. He founded local defense units that provided protection and security for the Jewish people.
As part of the national awakening of Diaspora Jewry, Jabotinsky emphasized the importance of the use of Hebrew, an ancient language that arose from the dust. He saw the establishment of a Jewish state in the territory of the British Mandate as a natural and undisputed right of the Jewish people to return to their homeland.
Prior to the Nazi party's rise in Germany and before the height of anti-Semitism in Europe, Jabotinsky foresaw what was to come. He exhorted the Jews of Europe, "Eliminate the Diaspora or the Diaspora will eliminate you." He referred to the areas in which Jews lived as if a volcano was about to erupt. Jabotinsky called for the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Poland as part of the evacuation campaign.
And the Jews? Mainstream Jewish political groups and journalists of that era launched a fierce attack on the very idea. They said his program for mass immigration would fan the flames of antisemitism. They lashed out at the very idea. They feared even the name of the program – "evacuation" – voluntary mass migration to the land of Israel. What would the gentiles say?
Escalating warnings about Europe's future and the call for immigration mostly fell upon deaf ears. The idea to unite and fight the British occupier was seen as extremist in the eyes of his opponents as were his ideas about nation-building.
Most Jewish community leaders and Zionist politicians of the time denigrated Jabotinsky and drummed into the public consciousness that his views were dangerous. A large share of Diaspora Jewry doubted his warnings and preferred to bury their heads in the sand.
After years of defending his views, Jabotinsky revealed his difficulty in advancing the evacuation program. In one of his lectures on the subject, Jabotinsky thanked the audience in his opening remarks with the following words:
"I thank you for receiving me in such warm welcome precisely at this time when a campaign against me is being waged."
He responded to one of the challenges against his evacuation campaign with:
"There is just one question I would like to ask my critics. Gentlemen, where is your logic? How do you think that we, the fighters for Jewish rights in the Land of Israel, how can you even think that we would give up the rights of the Jews in the exile."
When Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, he was accused of endangering the lives of Israeli soldiers for the sake of gaining political power in the elections. Other Israeli leaders from Jabotinsky's camp have suffered countless false accusations of taking political measures inconsistent with the national interests of the Jewish state.
Today, 71 years since the establishment of the State of Israel, we must look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the same question that Jabotinsky asked – where is our logic? Are we to imagine that a leader who is legitimately elected by the majority will act contrary to the interests of the nation? There is no leader, Right or Left, who does not see in his eyes and his mind the importance of doing what is good for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.
As part of the exemplary society envisioned by Theodor Herzl, we must know how to argue but also how to respect. We can debate and ask pointed questions but we must use logic while respecting the decision of the voters.
As a society, we must take pride in our democracy, one that grants citizens the right to vote and the ability to either replace or re-elect its leaders.
Jabotinsky's leadership qualities combined with Hadar and humility inspired his followers who believed in his cause and were tired of the criticism.
Some 79 years since his passing, we have learned the value of leadership that Jabotinsky advocated. As leaders of the Zionist world and the State of Israel, as citizens, and as opinion-makers, we must find within us the way to know how to judge a leader but also to trust a leader, to demonstrate against him but also to let him lead.
Jabotinsky will be remembered for many generations as one who knew how to stand up to for his ideology and beliefs and as one who was able to clarify his views in the face of constant criticism.
