Essential papers on Zionism

de Jehuda Reinharz, Anita Shapira

Zionism, more than any other social and political movement in the modern era, has completely and fundamentally altered the self-image of the Jewish people and its relations with the non-Jewish world. As the dominant expression of Jewish nationalism, Zionism revolutionized the very concept of Jewish peoplehood, taking upon itself the transformation of the Jewish people from a minority into a majority, and from a diaspora community into a territorial one. Bringing together for the first time the work of the most distinguished historians of Zionism and the Yishuv (pre-state Israeli society), much never before translated into English, this volume offers a comprehensive treatment of the history of Zionism. The contributions are diverse, examining such topics as the ideological development of the Jewish nationalist movement, Zionism and the diaspora, Zionist trends in the Land of Israel, relations between Jews, Arabs, and the British in Palestine, and Zionism as a movement of cultural renaissance.