Page "Jewish religious movements" Paragraph 41

The issue of Zionism was once very divisive in the Jewish community.

Non-Zionists believed that Jews should integrate into the countries in which they lived, rather than moving to the Land of Israel.

The original founders of Reform Judaism in Germany rejected traditional prayers for the restoration of Jerusalem.

Also, the view among Reform Jews that Judaism was strictly a religion and that Jews should be loyal citizens of their host nations led to a non-Zionist, and sometimes anti-Zionist, stance.

Orthodox non-Zionists believed that the return to Israel could only happen with the coming of the Messiah, and that a political attempt to re-establish a Jewish state was contrary to God's plan.