Category: Z

Introduction to ZionismZionism, movement to unite the Jewish people of the Diaspora (exile) and settle them in Palestine; it arose in the late 19th century and culminated in 1948 in the establishment of the state of Israel. The movement's name is derived from Zion, the hill on which the…

Zionism Historical BackgroundIntroduction to Zionism HistoryZionism as an organized political movement originated in the 19th century, but its roots go back to the 6th century bc, when the Jews were carried off to captivity in Babylon and their prophets encouraged them to believe t…

Zionism Zionism in the 20th CenturyIntroduction to Zionism in the 20th CenturyThe two greatest achievements of Zionism in this century are the commitment made by the British government in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the establishment of Israel in 1948.During World W…

Precursors of ZionismIntroduction to Zionism PrecursorsIn the mid-19th century, two European Orthodox rabbis, Jehuda Alkalai and Zevi Hirsch Kalischer, adapted the traditional belief in a Messiah to modern conditions by teaching that Jews themselves must lay the groundwork for his …

Varieties of ZionismIntroduction to Zionism VarietiesZionism has spawned a profusion of different ideas and ideologies. The cultural Zionists, whose chief spokesman was the Russian journalist Ahad Ha-am, emphasized the importance of making Palestine a center for the spiritual and c…

The Foundation of the Zionist MovementIntroduction to Zionist MovementIn 1896 Theodor Herzl, a Hungarian born Jewish journalist, published a short book aptly called The Jewish State, in which he analyzed the causes of anti-Semitism and proposed its cure, the creation of a Jewish st…