Arendtian Zionism and the statelessness of the Jews at the Shoah

Abstract

The Jewish people were persecuted by the Nazi Reich as a result of an anti-Semitic sentiment that existed long before the Nazi regime. The climate of xenophobia and discrimination against everything that was considered different grew exponentially every day. Many groups persecuted during this period had their rights reduced to nothing, especially during the Nuremberg Laws. This body of law incorporated many of the racial theories based on the scientific racism of Nazi ideology. Arendt's perception of these historical events is indispensable for reflection on the subject and her critique of conservative political Zionism reflects a broader dilemma between nationalism and human rights. The author raises fundamental reflections on the paradox of national construction in the midst of exclusionary structures and the logic of state sovereignty. Arendt's conception and that of other equally important authors on Zionism, aligned with the idea of a binational state and a policy of multiethnic and multicultural cooperation, confronts the logic of traditional nationalism and exposes the weaknesses of nation-states in the universal guarantee of human rights.