Ask Haviv Anything 112: Why the world Is obsessed with Zionism, with Alana Newhouse
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May 3, 2026 
Alana Newhouse, writer and founder/editor of Tablet magazine, explores her essay 'Zionism for Everyone' and presents Zionism as a social technology for building meaning and cohesion. She discusses why Western societies project anxieties onto Zionism. Conversation covers post-nationalism's failures, nation-building examples, and how distinct national culture restores agency in a tech-flattened world.
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Zionism As A Social Technology
- Alana Newhouse suggests Western obsession with Zionism reflects envy: other societies feel unmoored and see Jews as having something they lack.
- She frames Zionism as a social technology that builds meaning, cohesion, and a forward-looking national project.
Postwar Internationalism Flattened National Agency
- Newhouse argues post-war Western diagnosis blamed nationalism for atrocities and instead flattened identity via internationalism.
- That flattening sought commonality to prevent harm but removed particularistic tethers that build social cohesion and agency.
The Three Pillars That Power Zionism
- Zionism combines cultural particularity, ruthless pragmatism, and forward-thinking idealism to create a dynamic national project.
- These three elements together—distinct culture, daily hard work, and future vision—are rare but produce sustained national energy.
