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= From the biblical word “Zion”, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael).
* 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.
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