The History of Zionism

Ethnicity, Nationalism and the origins of Zionism

Herzl After the first Congress

Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly, it would be this: “ At Basel, I founded the Jewish State .

If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter.

Perhaps in 5 years, certainly in 50 everyone will know it ”

“

Herzl

”

s Diary

”

, 3 September 1897

Zionism

Definition -

Zionism

= Yisrael).

From the biblical word "Zion", often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Eretz 

Encyclopedia Britannica

: A Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine , the ancient homeland of the Jews 

The Basel Program

( program determined by the first Zionist Congress in Basel in August 1897) : Zionism strive to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.

Two Fundamental Problems



Are the Jews a Nation or a Religious/Cultural Group ?

 The Right of the Jews to the Land – Do they have a right to establish a homeland in Palestine?

Are The Jews a Nation Or a Religious/Cultural Group?

“

Yom Kippur

, ” 1878

Maurycy Gottlieb

Nation and Nationalism

► Nation: a named human population ( “ The French People ” , “ British ” ) possessing a myth of common descent, common historical memories, elements of shared culture, an association with particular territory and sense of solidarity.

►

Nationalism

the nation unit ’ – An Ideology which requires political independence, self determination within s own territory. It holds that political and national unit should be identical.

(

Anthony D. Smith,

Nations; The Ethnic Origins of G. Simony, The Zionist Ideology )

Nationalism and Nations

 Primordial and perennial phenomena  Modern and even an invented phenomena

Nation and Nationalism

 “ I am driven to the conclusion that no ‘scientific definition’ of nation can be devised; yet the phenomenon has exited and exits. All that I can find to say is that a nation exists when a significant number of people in a community consider themselves to form a nation, or to behave as if they form one ” Hugh Seton-Watson

Ethno-symbolic hypothesis Anthony Smith

 Ethnicity  Ethnicism  Nationalism

Ethno-Symbolic hypothesis

 Ethnicity – The mere presence of ethnic attributes such as consciousness of common origin (

whether mythic or actual

) religion and territory (or association with territory)

Ethno-Symbolic hypothesis

 Ethnicism – A state of mind, the conversion of such attributes of ethnicity into highly ranked attributes/values

Ethno-Symbolic hypothesis

 Nationalism – Aspires to political self determination for the ethnic group in its own land

THE DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

May 14, 1948

The right to the land

From:

ISRAEL THE DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF

"

The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people

. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

” “After being

forcibly exiled

from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their dispersion and

never ceased to pray and hope for their return

to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

“ “Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment,

Jews strove

every successive generation to

re-establish themselves

in their ancient homeland.

” in

Main Zionist

’

s Argumentations Regarding the Right to the Land

1. The Land of Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and National identity was shaped.

2. They were forcibly exiled from their country 3. Nevertheless while in exile they pray and did not lose faith and hope to return and to restore the sovereignty

4. Despite all manner of restrictions, and persecution and insecurity, Jews continued to maintain some presence in Palestine and Jews as groups and Individuals never ceased to return.

5. Since the destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth by Rome it became a backward province of successive empires, but never been an “indigenous statehood” and until the 20 century the Jews were the only people who regarded Palestine as their homeland

The Divine Promise

And the lord appeared unto Abram and said unto him. I am God Almighty …I will established my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout the generations for the everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee …the land of Canaan for the everlasting holding: and I will be their God (Gen 17:1 7,8)

Israel ’s Ancient History – From Kingdom to Destruction and Exile

The First Temple built

 1000 BC

Isreal ’s tribes became a monarchy

(According to the bible: Kings Saul, David and Salomon). First Temple built  925 BC —

and Israel Partition of ancient Israel into the Kingdoms of Judah

 722 BC - Assyrians invaded northern kingdom –

The end of the Kingdom of Israel

. Part of the population was deported to the eastern frontier of Assyrian. many people fled south to Judah who became much more populated

 587 BCE

Judah fell to the Babylonians, Temple destroyed, Main Babylonian exile begins

. Large part of the population of Judah (the upper and the middle class was deported) to Babylon. Part of the Jewish population fled to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia – the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora  537 BCE After the overthrow of Babylonia by the Persian Empire, in the Persian ruler

Cyrus the Great gave the Jews a permission to return to their native land

. A post exiled Jewish community was established in Judah comprised of 125,000 to 130,000 souls  516 BCE

Second temple built

Second Temple

 331 BCE - Defeat of The Persian Empire by Alexander the Great.

Judah part of the new empire

 323 BCE – Death of Alexander. The division of the empire between Alexander ’s generals  174-163 BCE –

Judah part of the Seleucid Empire

(established by Seleucus, one of the Generals)

attempts to impose the Greek culture (Hellenization) on the Jews instead of Judaism

The Borders of the Hasmonean Kingdom

 168-142 BCE

The Maccabee Rebellion

(Hanukkah Festival)  140-37 BCE -

Kingdom Hasmonean

 63 BCE -

Judah The Roman Empire enforced its rule on

made it a Roman province  66-73 CE-

Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire

. The destruction of the Second Temple. It is estimated that over 100,000 Jews were killed, and nearly 100,000 were taken to Rome as slaves. Many Jews fled to countries around the Mediterranean  132-135 -

the Bar-Kochba revolt

began led by Simon bar Kokhba . 135 the revolt was crushed.

The end of Jewish Sovereignty.

 The

Roman Suppress

any remnants of Jewish Sovereignty changing the name of the whole country to

Palestine

. From now on it will be referred by all its future rulers as part of Syria, called

Syria-Palestine

. (After Philistines mentioned In the Bible, the area inhabited by them was known as

Pleshet,

in cities along the coast (Gaza Ashkelon Ashdod)   (330 –640 CE) -

Empire) rule

(638 –1099 CE)

Byzantine (Eastern Roman Arab (Islamic) Caliphate rule

Hope of Redemption In the Land of Israel

By the Rivers of Babylon

, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion …,

If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand

forget its skill; Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don't remember you, if I don't prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy".

The Messiah

"The anointed King is destined to stand up and restore the Davidic Kingdom to its antiquity, to the first sovereignty. He will build the Temple in Jerusalem and gather the strayed ones of Israel together “ 

יפ לע ףאו חישמה תאיבב המלש הנומאב ןימאמ ינא ." אוביש םוי לכב ול הכחא הז לכ םע , " המהמתיש

 "I believe with full faith in the coming of the Messiah. And even though he tarries, with all that, I await his arrival with every day"

Jewish Wedding

Symbols of the Zionist Movement and the State of Israel

Theodore Herzl – The visionary of the Jewish state The Menorah Ancient Seven Armed Candelabrum The Flag of Israel

The Menorah Ancient Seven-Armed Candelabrum

The Menorah on a Hasmonean coin from the 1st century BC

.

The Menorah on the Arch of Titus, Rome About 70 AD

Language



The revival of the Hebrew Language

The prefix ‘re’, : ‘

re

building ’, ‘

re

newing ’,

The Tallit and the Flag

A man wearing a prayer shawl

Festival of Weeks

Emancipation

“ But, they say to me, the Jews have their own judges and laws. I respond that is your fault and you should not allow it.

We must refuse everything to the Jews as a nation and accord everything to Jews as individuals.

We must withdraw recognition from their judges; they should only have our judges. We must refuse legal protection to the maintenance of the so-called laws of their Judaic organization; they should not be allowed to form in the state either a political body or an order.

They must be citizens individually

. But, some will say to me, they do not want to be citizens. Well then! If they do not want to be citizens, they should say so, and then, we should banish them. It is repugnant to have in the state an association of non-citizens,

and a nation within the nation

. . . . In short, Sirs, the presumed status of every man resident in a country is to be a citizen.

Clermont –Tonnerre, "Speech on Religious Minorities and Questionable Professions" (The French National Assembly 23 December 1789)

Responses to European Emancipation ASSIMILATION REFORM TRADITION German-Jews Christian-Converts Haskallah Eastern Haskalah Ultra Orthodox Modern Orthodox Reform Judaism Conservative Judaism Western Haskalah

The Ultra-Orthodox attitude

The Exile is the punishment of god. It will end by a miracle redemption and the coming of the messiah . He will come if people will continue to pray and to observe Jewish laws and tradition

Haskalah ( Sekhel) ,

learnedness scholarliness, enlightenment  Mskilim- enlightened, learned, scholarly  Haskalah movement advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies and Jewish studies in a modern way

Precursors of Zionism

 A person who expressed ideas that precede in time the emergence of social movement aroused by much the same ideas

Common denominator of the Zionist Ideology

–

4 propositions

 Definition of the Jews as social entity (ethnic group)  Diagnosis of the perceived problematic situation of the Jews   Advocacy of a solution proposals of means for attaining this solution