Kafka's Zionism

“Under ‘Kafkaesque’ Pressure, Heir to Kafka Papers May Yield Them”
Ethan Bronner
A5

This article makes only small mention of Israel and Zionism. It mostly revolves around a debate about whether Kafka’s papers, which are in the hands of a resident of Tel Aviv, belong in Jerusalem or elsewhere. Mark Gelber, a professor at Ben Gurion University, says they should be in Israel.

Bronner writes, “This is far from a universal view, however. To many, Kafka’s novels and stories of existential despair written in German seem more consciously worldly than linked to any nationalist movement.”

Bronner’s choice of words here is interesting – “universal,” “worldly” – as is his dismissive tone about “nationalist movements[s].” For how can the claims of a narrow “nationalist movement” match those that are “universal” and “worldly.” What is striking is how the same language that is used to berate Jews in general – their lack of universalism and their concern for particularism – are at play here. Zionism is a mere “nationalist movement,” not a movement of national liberation or a remarkable ideology geared to restoration in a homeland.

In fact, Bronner should have said that some disagree with Gelber rather than state that Gelber’s view is not “universal” – few, if any, views are.

Kafka’s stated opinions on Zionism and collective identification with Jews are characterized by the ambivalence that makes his writing unique. His actions, however, speak clearly. He learned Hebrew, and according to his last lover, in whose arms he died, he wanted to move to Israel.

These facts are moving and say a great deal about the power of Zionism. For if the writer most identified with alienation in modern canon dreamed of aliyah, then Zionism is one of the most relevant movements for humankind.

Abes