Zionism Varieties

Varieties of Zionism

Introduction to Zionism Varieties

Zionism 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 cultural growth of the Jewish people. Another variety of Zionism was elaborated by A. D. Gordon, who wrote and practiced the “religion of labor,” a Tolstoyan concept that conceived the bonding of people and land through working the soil.

Socialist Zionists tried to give a Marxist justification for Zionism. The Jews needed a territory of their own in which to set up a normally stratified society, where they could then engage in class struggle and thus hasten the revolution. Social experiments in cooperative agriculture led to a uniquely Zionist creation, the kibbutz (Hebrew, “collective”), which provided the political, cultural, and military backbone of the Yishuv (Hebrew, “settlement,” the Jewish community in Palestine) before the state of Israel was established and for many years thereafter.

Religious Zionists saw their goal as steering the Jews’ national regeneration onto more traditional paths, but those religious parties that shared political authority have been criticized for compromising their beliefs in return for the material trappings of power.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Zionism Varieties in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Zionism Varieties