251 Cal, Social, and Intellectual Change". Another Book, One That

BOEKBEOORDELINGEN/REVIEWS 251 cal, social, and intellectual change". Another book, one that might set out to explore the "lived religion" of those who plied their faith in the villages, - - schools, hospitals and, yes, the pulpits of faraway places, would doubt- less cast quite a different light on a movement in which they, as much as mission administrators and governors-general, were the significant movers and shakers. William R. Hutchison, Cambridge, MA HERSHELEDELHEIT/ABRAHAM J. EDELHEIT,History of Zionism: A Handbook and Dictionary. Westview, Boulder, CO 2000, xvii + 653 pp. ISBN 0813329817. The story of Zionism is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary national revival movements of the modern era, one which continues to draw pas- sionate support, vehement opposition, and no small number of scholars seeking to make sense of it all. Given that Zionism is integrally linked to the disparate histories of modern Europe and the middle-East, and given the extent to which its political and religious ramifications continue to be felt throughout the world, the writing of a reference book on this subject is surely a considerable undertaking. Hershel and Abraham Edelheit, a father and son team, have devoted the past decade to producing a number of bibliographies and reference books on modern Jewish history, the Holocaust, and various aspects of Zionist and Israeli history. The volume under review attempts to extend and broaden this scholarly agenda, and while it is, in parts, a thorough, insightful, and informative work, it is also a volume that is fraught with problems. Although the task that the authors have undertaken would try the ablest and most industrious scholars, the work they have published falls short of what such a work could and should be. This text is divided into two sections. The first section, taking up about a third of the volume, is a broad survey of Zionist history and thought, introducing the reader to important events, personages and ideas, as well as to various scholarly debates concerning their interpretation. This section is clear and functional, offering balanced perspective and sound judgment on issues that remain difficult and controversial. The presentation is occa- sionally marred by an apologetic tone, but the stated aim of synthesizing the available scholarship and presenting the reader with an accessible overview is effectively realized. Perhaps the weakest part of this survey is the section depicting the historical background against which the Zionist movement appeared, wherein the authors make a number of statements that are either incorrect or overly simplistic. On pp. 18 and 19, for example, David Friedlander is listed as one of three leaders of the Reform movement, where in fact he played no leadership role whatsoever. Then, as the authors discuss the emergence of the Jewish problem', they explain the 252 historical demonization of the Jews in terms of Christian societies "seeking a scapegoat for their imperfections", while a little further on, as the authors point to growing fears of 'Judaization", they describe an interest in pro- tecting European society and a return "to the old pagan Nordic values". In both instances the issues involved are far more complex than the authors acknowledge, and one would have hoped for a more sophisticated and nuanced handling of the historical phenomenon they seek to address. This reviewer would have also liked to see more attention to the depth of Jewish opposition to Zionism as well as a clear statement explaining why this study does not extend itself beyond 1948, but the editorial choices made by the Edelheits are fair and can certainly be justified. The second part of this work, dubbed a "Dictionary of Zionist Terms", likewise has its strengths and weaknesses. The entry for "Publications", for example, provides a descriptive list of Zionist newspapers, newsletters, and magazines from almost thirty countries, along with a separate list of anti- Zionist publications. The entry "Organizations" is even more exhaustive, covering 50 countries and extending over fifty-eight pages. There are, admit- tedly, some curious editorial choices in this entry. One may wonder why the Zionist movements of China and the Dominican Republic warrant more attention than the far more active Jewish communities of Canada; one may note that Revisionist Zionist organizations are listed separately from other Zionist organizations, as if the ten-year Revisionist split from the World Zionist Organization (in the 1930s!) has never been resolved; and one may puzzle over the listing of international organizations under International (inserted alphabetically between Hungary and Iran) rather than placing these on a separate list. But whatever questions may arise, entries of this sort or others, including "Aliyah Bet", "Gentile Zionists", "Partition Plans", and "Territorialism", gather together useful and interesting information that would not otherwise be readily accessible. That said, the valuable aspects of this section are unfortunately over- whelmed by its rather peculiar idiosyncrasies. It is not at all clear why a dictionary which includes entries for "Armistice Agreements" and the World Wars is titled a "Dictionary of Zionist Terms" (emphasis mine). It is also not clear how these and other entries fit with the book's stated aim of defining terms "related to Zionism and Jewish nationalism as viewed from the perspective of participants, opponents, and eyewitnesses", when in fact the book is neither interested in oral history, nor, as might be inferred, in any kind of post-modern exercise subjecting the study of national movements to the construction of personal narratives and experiences. What one finds, rather, is that the authors are enamored of Zionist nicknames and code words of the most obscure sort, which turn up in the form of dozens upon dozens of main entries. That Ze'ev Jabotinsky derisively referred to David Ben-Gurion as Ben-Bouillon in internal Revisionist Party correspondence after 1934 might be material for book-length study of Jabotinsky and his .

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