Illusory Diasporas

Written as a memoir, this essay investigates the recent emigration of young Israelis to Germany as a new instance of Jewish diaspora. This group derives its singularity from its members' emigration out of "Zion" to the country most readily identified with the lethal outcomes of Jewish diaspora. The author, who has been based in Berlin since 2010, reflects on the intertwining of her life with the gradual formation of a diasporic community of Israelis in the German capital. Her experiences include the political activism of Berlin-based Israeli citizens who are critical of Israeli policies; emerging cultural initiatives and Hebrew intellectual circles; and the undertaking of Freudian psychotherapy as the patient of another Israeli woman who relocated to the city. The description of Israeli emigrants as a paradoxical group—as a community of outcasts—references a set of autobiographical accounts by authors like Arnold Zweig, who belonged to the community of German Jewish immigrants to Palestine during the British Mandate and who maintained a strong adherence to their European cultural background.