You Don't Want It - You Don't Need It

Translation / Interpretation / Caption Text / Source
Sighting: Tel Aviv - 2011Hebrew translation: You don't want it, You don't need it...Curator's note: This graffiti stencil features a sardonic take-off of political Zionism's foundational motto, originally articulated by Theodor Herzl (shown): "If you will it, it is no dream."This slogan encapsulates the core Zionist view that a Jewish state would come into existence and flourish only as a reflection of Zionism's sheer determination to overcome all obstacles and will it into being.The graffiti artist's reversal of Herz's original phrasing evinces the emergence of a contemporary, and perhaps seditious, Israeli counter view. DJW