HISTORY 244 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Dreyfus Affair, Satan, World Zionist Organization
Outline: A Tale of Two Nationalisms -- Zionism
I. Jewish Ties to Palestine
● Arose in response to changing
● Form of nationalism
● Unique bc the large amount of jews that lived outside of palestine
○ Didn’t all live in compact territory
○ Built on very ancient ties
● Controlled by jews for 13 thousand years
● For centuries jews would face jerusalem and pray for a return
● Jews all maintained a sense of communal identity
○ Children of israel
○ Precursor to modern nationalism
II. Zionism's 19th Century European Origin
● Although jews prayed three times a day for a return to jerusalem
○ Very few actually moved
● Pre modern jews believed the return had to await the end of time and the coming
of the messiah
● The modern political movement of zionism was secular and not religious
○ Focused on this world, not what's to come
○ Sought the return to israel now
○ Derived from Knowledge of modern european culture
● Departure from traditional jewish beliefs
● Responded to jews deteriorating condition in eastern europe
● 1850- most lived in eastern europe
○ austrian -hungarian empire and russia
● Jews always despised and marginalized
● Enjoyed protection from the throne
● Empire- collection of diverse people and diverse ethnicities
● People outside nation, not entitled to protection
● Vulnerability compounded by rapid economic growth in mid and late 19th century
● Urbanization and industrialization left christian peasants exposed to
● Many men lost the security provided by traditional community society
● Nationalisnm encouraged people to restore dignity and worth by targeting people
outside the nation who were considered inferior
● Target for nationalism
○ Always stigmatized on religious ground
■ Jews killed jesus
Social tension from rapid economic change
■ Jews escaped from the ghetto into the modern market place
seemed to highlight the worst features of modern capitalism
■ Everything that was rotten and unnatural
■ Anti-capitalist and anti-modernist resentment
● Large mobs in paris screamed “death to the jews”
○ Demoralized jews that assumed that if they were patriotic enough theyd
eventually be accepted into the national community
○ These were fantasies
● Many nationalists began to define jews on racial terms
○ Racial and genetics were now evoked
○ Jews could never escape their roots
● Assumed that vast majority of people despised them
○ Much like blacks
○ Only solution -concluded by some jews-
■ To leave gentile europe and return to ancestral home in palestine
■ Only if they had land of their own could they cease to be despised
■ Achieve dignity
■ Only chance to become true nation like other nations
● Birth of zionism most closely related to Hertzl
○ Austrian jew
○ Advised jews to become catholic
○ Became disslusioned
○ Affected by dreyfus affair
○ Devoted the life of his short life ot created a jewish refuge in palestine
○ 1896- book called “the jewish state”
○ 1897- first zionist congress in switzerland where he founded the Zionist
Organization
■ To gather all the world’s jews to return to their ancient home
III. Diplomacy and Settlement Before World War I
● Zionist tried to get support from the Sultan
● Turned to germany and britain but had little success
● Bought land and settled in palestine bit by bit
● Jews from europe to palestine in 5 ways (alliah)
● Greatest appeal to poor jews
● 1881-1904- 20 thousand jews fled from to palestine
● 1905-1914
○ More secular
Document Summary
Outline: a tale of two nationalisms -- zionism: jewish ties to palestine. Unique bc the large amount of jews that lived outside of palestine. Controlled by jews for 13 thousand years. For centuries jews would face jerusalem and pray for a return. Jews all maintained a sense of communal identity. Although jews prayed three times a day for a return to jerusalem. Pre modern jews believed the return had to await the end of time and the coming of the messiah. The modern political movement of zionism was secular and not religious. Focused on this world, not what"s to come. Derived from knowledge of modern european culture. Responded to jews deteriorating condition in eastern europe. Empire- collection of diverse people and diverse ethnicities. People outside nation, not entitled to protection. Vulnerability compounded by rapid economic growth in mid and late 19th century. Urbanization and industrialization left christian peasants exposed to. Many men lost the security provided by traditional community society.
