Home and Diaspora

I found the discussion of home and whether or not one feels at home particularly interesting in light of the research I have been doing in relationship to Zionism, anti-Zionism, and diaspora for my final project. One of the books I am reading, New Jews: The End of the Jewish Diaspora, examines the ways in which Jews in the United States no longer identify with the diaspora and how places like Los Angeles and particularly New York City have become major Jewish centers in the United States, American Jewish "homelands" so to say. 

What is interesting is the way in which the authors of New Jews present the notion of NYC as a Jewish homeland as a contemporary idea. However, in my research for my final project I have found that references to the United States as Israel by anti-Zionist Jews existed in the early 1900s. A prominent slogan of the anti-Zionists was, "America is our Palestine. Washington is our Jerusalem" (Cohen, 1951, p. 375 in Fishman, 1998). 

Zionists argued for a "negation of the diaspora" by establishing a Jewish homeland. However, early anti-Zionists argued that American Jews were already home as American citizens. Interestingly, they also criticized Zionism as being racist.

Some Orthodox Jews, mainly Haredi, see the diaspora or exile as something that we are not supposed to "negate" and reference the three oaths in the Talmud. This is a religiously-based issue with Zionism arguing that we cannot forcefully take the Holy Land and that it is only through the coming of the Messiah, that Jews are reunited with this "home."

This is a cut and paste of the text of the Three Oaths in Hebrew and English translation:

The context of the Talmudic dialogue containing the Three Oaths is a discussion in which attempts are made to defend Rav Zeira's desire to leave Babylonand go to the Land of Israel. It begins on Ketubot 110b and continues on 111a (where the Three Oaths are plainly conveyed). The Gemara quotes R. Yossi ben R. Chanina:

ג' שבועות הללו למה אחת שלא יעלו ישראל בחומה ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל שלא ימרדו באומות העולם ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את אומות העולם שלא ישתעבדו בהן בישראל יותר מדאי.

"Why/What are these Three Oaths? One, that Israel should not storm the wall RaShI interprets: forcefully}. Two, the Holy One adjured Israel not to rebel against the nations of the world. Three, the Holy One adjured the nations that they would not oppress Israel too much"."^[1]

So, I suppose this all brings me to the personal question of am I home? In a religious sense, no, not entirely. Not until the Messiah comes. But in a socio-cultural sense...yes, of course I am home. My home is the location of my family.