Cultural Zionism Today

There can be no doubt with regard to the formative influence that Ahad Ha’am’s cultural Zionist ideology exercised in the Yishuv and in the Diaspora in the first half of the twentieth century. More recently, however, its influence has waned. The question of whether Ahad Ha’am’s conception of the Jewish people and its cultural identity is still serviceable or is in fact detrimental has been raised in two recent books by Israeli authors. In the Diaspora, there are no comparable signs of interest in evaluating the continuing importance of his message.