4 3 4 D O C . 4 3 8 M E S S A G E
Enlivened by the mysticism of Zionism, they perhaps will finally be able to ful-
fill the responsibilities that are their duty and that the honorable endeavor and unit-
ed labors of Israel demand. Only at this price will those among them who are of the
view that it is impossible for people of all nations to live without bonds of brother-
hood be able to spread words of wisdom, which are more necessary today than ever
before, in a useful way.
Therefore, I cannot regard the Zionist movement as a tumor on the tree, with poi-
sonous fumes that destroy the joy of thinking and of life.
A Jew who strives to steep his mind in the humanist ideal can declare himself a
Zionist without contradiction.
What one must be thankful for to Zionism is the fact that it is the only movement
that has given many Jews justifiable pride, that it has given back to a race in despair
the necessary faith, and, if I may express myself thus, has given a weakened nation
new nourishment.
Zionism is in the process of creating in Palestine a center of Jewish intellectual
life, and one will have to be forever grateful to its leaders for that. The existence of
this moral homeland will have the result, I hope, of giving a nation that does not yet
deserve to perish a boost in vitality. I have been able to observe the first manifesta-
tions of this moral
restoration.[5]
That is why I believe that I can assert that Zionism, a seemingly nationalistic
movement, is, in the final analysis, an important service to humanity.