It's been ages since a truly unifying Zionist dream captured our collective imagination – especially one that seems utterly impractical. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently epitomized this lack of vision when he dismissed any notion of re-establishing the Jewish Gush Katif settlements bloc in southern Gaza.
We've lost sight of how much we need these seemingly impossible dreams. They once set our hearts racing and, more importantly, became our reality. These visions serve two crucial purposes: they inspire us and provide a necessary counterweight to Palestinian rhetoric. For nine months now, they've been uniting around their own "dreamy," sick, and catchy slogan, which they consider realistic: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Millions worldwide, from Gaza City to London and Paris, have been chanting this mantra since the war began. Its implication is clear: the elimination of Israel and its Jewish population. The world has grown disturbingly accustomed to this rhetoric.
We could use a "killer" dream of our own (in the positive sense of the slang) right about now. The very soul of Israel, its existence, and certainly its foundation, lie in such seemingly unrealistic visions. Over the years, thanks to dreamers, visionaries, and passionate believers, these fantasies have become our lived reality. When these aspirations align with leaders who respect reality but aren't constrained by it, our nation leaps forward.
Even today, we'd benefit from such audacious dreams and leaders who remember that in our 76 years as a state, the abnormal has often become our normal. It's one of the secrets to our existence here. To a large extent, we are, almost by definition, an irrational phenomenon. One could cite countless examples of this, from pivotal historical moments to everyday miracles. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu, who recently deemed returning to Gaza "unrealistic," is well aware of this paradox.
Netanyahu knows there's no connection between realism and Theodor Herzl's grand vision of a Jewish state. Unlike many, he's familiar with the often-forgotten second half of the visionary's famous quote: "If you will it, it is no dream. And if you do not will it, a dream it is, and a dream it will stay."
When will Hamas truly feel defeated?
Herzl was just the beginning. If David Ben-Gurion, Israel's 1st Prime Minister had only considered realistic factors, he probably wouldn't have declared statehood. The entire Zionist enterprise – gathering scattered people to their ancestral homeland, then dominated by an Arab majority – defies conventional logic.
Before our War of Independence, when our situation seemed even more precarious than today, who would have imagined that the cities of Lod, Ramle, Beit She'an, Acre, Ashkelon, and Ashdod would become thriving Jewish cities? Were our victories in '48, '67, and '73 considered realistic at the time? Before the Six-Day War, who dared dream of a unified Jerusalem, with Jewish access to the Western Wall, Temple Mount, Rachel's Tomb, Hebron, and the Cave of the Patriarchs?
Even Netanyahu, who recently championed realism regarding Gaza, has made bold, seemingly impractical moves throughout his career. These include his current diplomatic maneuvering to prevent the Palestinian Authority from entering Gaza, the ground operation in Rafah, and the hostage rescue missions.
If millions in Gaza, Nablus, Tulkarm, and among the Palestinian diaspora believe they'll one day build homes on Israel's ruins, why should we dismiss the far more positive and constructive vision of reviving Jewish life in Gaza and Gush Katif as mere fantasy?
This stance isn't just ethically questionable; it's strategically short-sighted. The only outcome Hamas will truly consider a defeat (as I argued back in November) is the permanent loss of territory. Military occupation is temporary; settlement is permanent and lasts for generations.
This is how victorious nations have always operated. It's how the sense of defeat was cemented for Palestinians and Arabs after 1948 and 1967. It's how many Egyptians felt after peace with Israel, when they regained their sacred Sinai down to the last inch.
The power of audacious visions lies in seizing opportunities. After the Six-Day War, some ministers proposed returning the West Bank for peace and retreating to the '67 borders. Others challenged this pragmatic approach through pioneering settlement efforts. The result? Today, half a million Jews live in Judea and Samaria, with another quarter-million in formerly divided parts of Jerusalem.
Daring to dream
Even within Jerusalem, dreamers and realists clashed. Thanks to the former, we now have a foothold in the City of David, Jerusalem's ancient heart. After a 50-year struggle, Jews now pray regularly in the Temple Mount area with official sanction. Despite alarm bells from pragmatists, neighborhoods like Har Homa, Pisgat Ze'ev, Ramot, Ma'ale Zeitim, and Givat HaMatos now stand proud in Jerusalem. Jews live in all quarters of the Old City, and soon, God willing, Atarot in northern Jerusalem will mark the capital's new frontier.
Netanyahu himself, despite his recent pragmatic stance on Gaza, has pursued seemingly unrealistic goals throughout his career. His current efforts to prevent a Palestinian state in Gaza, his insistence on the Rafah operation, and the hostage rescue missions all belong to the realm of audacious dreams. History will remember these favorably, even as it grapples with his ultimate responsibility for the failures leading to October 7.
Like much in Zionism, the settlements of Gush Katif – which Yitzhak Rabin promoted and Ariel Sharon dismantled – blended opportunity-seizing with dreaming against the odds. The debate over realism transcends timing; it's a clash between those focused on the immediate present and those who dare to envision a bolder future. Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, and Menachem Begin all belonged to the latter camp.
Don't get me wrong – we shouldn't pursue a policy solely on visions and dreams. But we must give these aspirations a central role in shaping reality, not automatically bowing to current constraints. This applies to the hostage crisis and the war against Hamas as much as anything else. The balance between pragmatism and vision should evolve with circumstances, but the Zionist project must always retain a healthy dose of the seemingly irrational and abnormal. As diplomat and thinker Yaakov Herzog (uncle to President Isaac Herzog) once put it: "Israel is a state infused with faith, and faith is embedded in its very foundations... it exists as a paradox. For Israel, 'normalcy' has proven meaningless."
