(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה' אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃
(1) Then HaShem said to Avram,
“Go forth from your land and from the place of your birth and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing.
(יב) אַשְׁרֵ֣י הַ֭גּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־ה' אֱלֹקָ֑יו הָעָ֓ם ׀ בָּחַ֖ר לְנַחֲלָ֣ה לֽוֹ׃
(12) Happy the nation whose G-d is HaShem, the people G-d has chosen to be G-d's own.
Zach Schaffer
Zionism did not create a nation out of the Jewish people.
It did not create Jewish national identity.
It did not create the notion of peoplehood.
What it did so was to reinvigorate the national soul of the Jewish people.
It reminded the Jewish people that while we were a nation in memory, we could also be a nation in reality.
It cultivated a state in which to house the nation.
It translated an age-old utopian dream into a cultural movement and a political reality.
The Jewish people have always been a nation. Zionism only reminded us of this fact and re-actualized it.
Yoram Hazony, The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul
Thus, the Jewish empowerment entailed in creating a Jewish state was not merely a matter of guaranteeing external, physical security of the Jews. Ultimately, its aim is to provide an internal security of the soul, which is the indispensable precondition for the emergence of a noble, uniquely Jewish character and civilization.