Document Type : Original Independent Original Article
Highlights
Introduction
The historical process through which the Zionist school of thought emerged and Jewish identity was constructed by Theodor Herzl represents one of the most profound and consequential developments in the period following the First World War. This process culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, an event that fundamentally altered the regional dynamics of West Asia and continues to constitute one of the most influential factors shaping the region’s political order. Examining and understanding the mechanisms through which Jewish populations were mobilized around a unified identity and a sovereign political entity is essential for comprehending contemporary Israeli policies, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. In this regard, the Copenhagen School and securitization theory provide a particularly effective analytical framework for explaining these developments. The establishment of Israel, the displacement of millions of Palestinians, successive regional wars with Arab states, the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the persistent refusal to recognize Palestinian statehood, the pursuit of settlement policies, the articulation of destabilizing ideas such as ethnic cleansing, the realization of the concept of a Jewish state, military actions against resistance groups and regional military capabilities, the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, and the elevation of Iran’s nuclear program—along with numerous other policies and practices—can be meaningfully interpreted through the lens of securitization. Recognizing the centrality of securitization within Israel’s decision-making System enables a more systematic understanding of both its past behavior and its prospective future actions. Given the turbulent historical experiences of Jewish communities and their enduring geopolitical and demographic vulnerabilities, securitization has functioned across different historical periods as a dominant strategy for shaping and consolidating Jewish social cohesion. This strategy has not lost its relevance and continues to serve as a foundational mechanism in the construction and reinforcement of collective identity. Accordingly, this study investigates the ways in which securitization mechanisms, at critical historical junctures, have influenced the evolution of Jewish collective identity—both as a response to external threats and as an instrument of internal cohesion—through specific processes and discursive practices. The central hypothesis of this research posits that Zionist leaders and founding fathers, by employing narratives such as the two-thousand-year Jewish diaspora, pogroms, the Holocaust, and antisemitism, have utilized securitization as a strategic tool for identity formation and consolidation. Through a four-stage process—namely, the articulation of a speech act, the construction of an existential threat, the audience’s recognition and acceptance of that threat, and the implementation of urgent, exceptional, or extraordinary political measures—these actors have sought to shape and strengthen Jewish national identity.
Methodology
This study is an applied research project employing a case study design and a deductive research strategy. Given its objective of generating qualitative findings, the research adopts a qualitative methodological approach grounded in theory-driven deductive explanations. Accordingly, with respect to data type and research instruments, the study is qualitative in nature, and the analysis of the collected data is conducted through an explanatory–descriptive (interpretive) method.
Results and Discussion
The four prominent discourses employed by Zionist leaders at different critical historical junctures reveal that all four main components of the securitization framework from the Copenhagen School (speech act, the mental construction of an existential threat, the identification and acceptance of the threat by the audience, and the adoption of urgent or extraordinary political measures) can be identified and disentangled within these discourses. In the pogrom discourse, the writing of books such as Autoemancipation by Pinsker and The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl serve as speech acts. These works articulate the endless suffering of Jews, and the concept that "antisemitism will never leave Europe," which divided the world into two categories: overt and covert antisemites. The keyword “systematic persecution” was introduced to mentally construct the existential threat, which ultimately led to the recognition of this threat by the audience and prompted them to make a collective decision to migrate to Palestine. As a result, political measures such as the purchase of land by the Jewish National Fund, the establishment of the World Zionist Congress, and the securing of political and military support from Britain were adopted as extraordinary or exceptional political measures. In the Holocaust discourse, this same mental construct was used to increase Jewish migration from Europe. As a speech act, the Holocaust narrative was disseminated, and the existential threat was reinforced through cultural production such as books, films, television series, and Holocaust memorial museums. The global recognition of the Holocaust and its potential for recurrence were emphasized, leading to the recognition of the existential threat in the minds of the audience. This culminated in the widespread belief in the "maximum" Holocaust and the popularization of the concept of a "second Holocaust" after Operation Desert Storm (1991). This mental framing led to the adoption of extraordinary political measures, such as protecting the regime as a secure homeland for Jews worldwide, through military actions and the mobilization of resources to prevent reverse migration from the occupied territories. Similar processes can be discerned in the antisemitism and 2000-year Jewish diaspora discourse.
Conclusion
Therefore, this study examines the role of securitization policy, based on the Copenhagen School's securitization theory, as a tool utilized by Zionist decision-makers in their efforts to shape and strengthen Zionist identity. Understanding the position of this policy within the Israeli regime provides deeper insights into the foundation of its foreign policy within the international system, allowing for a more nuanced analysis and interpretation of its subsequent actions. From the inception of the state so far, the Israeli regime has relied on securitization as a central strategy to address internal unity and external policy dynamics. By highlighting vulnerabilities such as demographic diversity (a mosaic population), religious and ethnic diversity, geopolitical sensitivities, the presence of anti-Zionist political culture in the region, and its delicate demographic balance, Israel has employed securitization policies as structural necessities. These have been instrumental in shaping both internal cohesion and foreign policy, solidifying the regime's place within the international system.
