ZIONISM AND ANTISEMITISM CLASS OUTLINE READING: ANITA SHAPIRA PRESENTATION: Theodor Herzl’s Conversion to Zionism ZIONISM: A RESPONSE OR A FOLLOW UP? “THE JEWISH QUESTION” ANITA SHAPIRO the founder of the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies Ruben Merenfeld Professor of the Study of Zionism the head of the Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism at Tel Aviv University Land and Power: Berl: The Biography of a Socialist Zionist, The Zionist Resort to Force, 1881-1948 Berl Katznelson, 1887-1944 SHAPIRO’S ANTISEMITISM AND ZIONISM Ahad Ha-Am: “Anti-Semitism begat Herzl, Herzl begat the Jewish state, the Jewish state begat 'Zionism,' and Zionism - the Congress.” What is the link between anti-Semitism and Jewish national movement? relation between anti-Semitism and Zionism accepted that Jews are a foreign element for Zionists, “the Other” were neither the anti-Semites nor the Arabs – but the “Diasporic Jew” different understanding why there is a Jewish problem (what caused it) differed in the solution to the Jewish question WHAT IS ZIONISM “the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel” “Jews are a people or nation like any other, and should gather together in a single homeland” “Zionism is the national revival movement of the Jewish people. It holds that the Jews have the right to self- determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.” ZIONISM: A HISTORICAL OUTLINE return to Palestine / living in Diaspora actual movement only in the second half of the 19th century why now? what triggered Zionism? two theories: Anti-Semitism Assimilation (or the lack of it) Do these theories make sense? term coined in 1890 author Nathan Birnbaum pamphlet Die Assimilationsucht (1884) periodical Selbst-Emancipation! (1884- WHAT IS 1894) ZIONISM attaching importance to culture (importance of Yiddish) left Zionism to become a promoter of Jewish cultural autonomy in the Diaspora THEODOR HERZL born 1860 in Budapest later moves to Vienna, receives a doctorate of law Paris correspondent of the Vienna newspaper Neue Freie Presse 1896 Der Judenstaat 1902 Altneuland convened the 1st Zionist Congress (Basle, Switzerland) died in Vienna in 1904 We are a people — one people. We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national communities in which we live, seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted us. In vain are we loyal patriots, sometimes superloyal; in vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens; in vain do we strive to enhance the fame of our native lands in the arts and sciences, or her wealth by trade and commerce. In our native lands where we have lived for centuries we are still decried as aliens, often by men whose ancestors had not yet come at a time when Jewish sighs had long been heard in the country. […] Oppression and persecution cannot exterminate us. No nation on earth has endured such struggles and sufferings as we have. Jew-baiting has merely winnowed out our weaklings; the strong among us defiantly return to their own whenever persecution breaks out. […] Wherever we remain politically secure for any length of time, we assimilate. I think this is not praiseworthy. […] Palestine is our unforgettable historic homeland. […] Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who will it shall achieve their State..