Editing Isaac Isaacs (section)

==Later life and death==
Isaacs was 81 when his term ended in 1936, but his public life was far from over. He remained active in various causes for another decade and wrote frequently on matters of constitutional law. In the 1940s he became embroiled in controversy with the Jewish community both in Australia and internationally through his outspoken opposition to [[Zionism]]. His principal critic was [[Julius Stone]].<ref>Julius Stone, "Stand up and be counted!" An open letter to the Rt Hon Sir Isaac Isaacs on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Jewish National Home, 1944.</ref> Isaacs was supported by Rabbi [[Jacob Danglow]] (1880–1962) and [[Harold Boas]]. Isaacs insisted that Judaism was a religious identity and not a national or ethnic one. He opposed the notion of a Jewish homeland in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Isaacs said "[p]olitical Zionism to which I am irrevocably opposed for the reasons which will be found clearly stated, must be sharply distinguished from religious and cultural Zionism to which I am strongly attached."{{sfn|Isaacs|1946|pp=7–8}}

Isaacs opposed Zionism partly because he disliked nationalism of all kinds and saw Zionism as a form of Jewish national chauvinism—and partly because he saw the Zionist agitation in Palestine as disloyalty to the [[British Empire]], to which he was devoted. Following the [[King David Hotel bombing]] in 1946, he wrote that "the honour of Jews throughout the world demands the renunciation of political Zionism". 
Isaacs's main objections to Political Zionism were:

# "A negation of Democracy, and an attempt to revert to the Church-State of bygone ages.
# Provocative of anti-Semitism.
# Unwarranted by the Balfour Declaration, the Mandate, or any other right; contrary to Zionist assurances to Britain and to the Arabs and in present conditions unjust to other Palestinians politically and to other religions.
# As regards unrestricted immigration, a discriminatory and an undemocratic camouflage for a Jewish State.
# An obstruction to the consent of the Arabs to the peaceful and prosperous settlement in Palestine of hundreds of thousands of suffering European Jews, the victims of Nazi atrocities; and provocative of Muslim antagonism within and beyond the Empire, and consequently a danger to its integrity and safety.
# Inconsistent in demanding on one hand, on a basis of a separate Jewish nationality everywhere Jews are found, Jewish domination in Palestine, and at the same time claiming complete Jewish equality elsewhere than in Palestine, on the basis of a nationality common to the citizens of every faith."{{sfn|Isaacs|1946}}

Isaacs said "the Zionist movement as a whole...now places its own unwarranted interpretation on the Balfour Declaration, and makes demands that are arousing the antagonism of the Muslim world of nearly 400 millions, thereby menacing the safety of our Empire, endangering world peace and imperiling some of the most sacred associations of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Besides their inherent injustice to others these demands would, I believe, seriously and detrimentally affect the general position of Jews throughout the world".{{sfn|Isaacs|1946|pp=8–9}}

In his later years, Isaacs became embroiled in legal battles with Edna Davis, the wife of his brother John. He forced her out of the family home, reclaimed her wedding ring, and finally had her declared a [[vexatious litigant]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Keith|last=Mason|author-link=Keith Mason (judge)|title=Lawyers then and now|publisher=Federation Press|date=2012|page=157}}</ref>

Isaacs died at his home in [[South Yarra]], Victoria, in the early hours of 11 February 1948, at the age of 92. He was the last surviving member of [[Alfred Deakin]]'s 1905–1906 Cabinet. The Commonwealth government accorded him a state funeral, held on 13 February, and he was buried in [[Melbourne General Cemetery]] after a synagogue service.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2737418 |title=Death of Sir Isaac Isaacs in Melbourne. |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=12 February 1948 |access-date=19 May 2014 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>{{sfn|Cowen|1993|p=257}}