Zionism First Midterm

Dreyfus Affair

1894-1906. Was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic and revealed wide spread antisemitism to world. French Jewish officer was accused of selling state secrets to Germany. Imprisoned after being found guilty for five years. After second trial was again found guilty. Jews increasingly identified with global events and were intimately tied with their imagined communities after this event. Some realized that if the progressive French could antisemitic, there was no place that they would escape antisemitism except for their own home state.

Simon Dubnow

A Russian Jew, received a traditional yeshiva education, but dropped out at age 13 to go to a government school. Was possibly the only Jewish thinker to have constructed a coherent historical philosophy, ideology, and political program around diaspora nationalism. Believed that Zionism's goals were a "messianic dream." He also opposed assimilation. He believed that the strength and survival of the Jews would come from their cultural and spiritual strength. He believed they would survive as long as they practiced self-rule and rejected assimilation. Came up with concept of autonomism. Was most active in late 1880s-1900s

Diaspora

A diaspora is a scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller geographic locale. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of a population from its original homeland. In either case, diaspora references the populations of Jewish peoples living outside their homeland of Palestine. Jews living in the diaspora often faced persecution and failed to achieve the assimilation they strived for. This led to Zionism (among many other movements) and the push to go back to a homeland.

Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (National Fund of Israel)

A non-profit organization founded in 1901 by Zionists with the intent to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. It owns a great deal of land in Israel and is one of the reasons that many people do not live on privately owned land. The organization is also responsible for planting over 240 million trees in Palestine. The organization has played a major role in Judea-cizing the land to make it more inclusive for Jews.

Right of Return

A principle in international law which guarantees peoples right of voluntary return to or re-entry to their country of origin or citizenship. It is a hot-button topic between Israelis and Palestinians and has been in many peace talks. Israelis often do not want to recognize this right.

Balfour Declaration

A public statement issued by the British government (written by foreign secretary Arthur Balfour) during World War I (1917) announcing support of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a minority Jewish population. The declaration was the first public support for Zionism by a major political power. Its publication galvanized Zionism.

Jewish Labor Bund

A secular Jewish socialist party in the Russian Empire, active between 1897 and 1920. Jewish peoples were feeling the pain of industrialism and were drawn in by socialist ideals. This party stood in opposition to Zionists. Successful because it demands right to organize Jewish workers. Wanted Jews to achieve equal legal status in Russia.

Hebrew

A semitic language native to the region of Israel. It is a traditional language used by the Jewish people. It is historically of scripture and international communication. Not originally a language of day to day conversation. Called the "Holy Tongue" aka Loyshn Koydesh

Oslo Accords

A set of agreements signed in 1993 by the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization during the Clinton administration. Was one of the only legitimate efforts toward peace. Ultimately failed around 2000.

Zion

A term that often refers to either Jerusalem or the hill on which King David is believed to have conquered and built a fortress on. It came to symbolize the homeland of the Jewish people and was used as the namesake for the movement to re-establish the state of Israel or a Jewish homeland.

Pogrom

A violent riot aimed at the massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly a riot aimed at the massacre or persecution of Jews. These were widespread starting in 1882 after the assassination of Tsar Alexander II and hundreds of Jews were killed.

1905 Revolution

A wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire, some of which was directed at the government. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. Much violence broke out against Jews during this time period - about 57 pogoroms - and the group was blamed for the growing unrest. For many, this revolution was the last straw and inspired sizeable migrations to Palestine. For others, it was a turning point in the Jewish community. A great deal more people became active in politics.

Mendele Mokher Sforim

Also known as "the Book Peddler." Was a Jewish author and one of the founders of modern Yiddish and Hebrew literature. Wrote Shem and Japeth on a train. Helped develop Yiddish from a spoken, slang language to a language that could be used to formally write. Considered the grandfather of Yiddish literature. Wrote most actively from 1860s to 1880s.

Labor Zionism

Also known as Socialist Zionism. Idea came about in the 1860s. It strove to achieve Jewish national and social redemption by fusing Zionism and Socialism. Labor Zionists did not believe that a state for Jews could be achieved by appealing to a more powerful political power, but rather through the efforts of settled working class Jews in Palestine. This idea included the utopian-esque Kibbutzum.

Kibbutz

An Israeli communal or collective farming settlement. The first was established around 1909-1910 on land acquired by the Jewish National Fund. These farms began under Utopian ideals and were the culmination of Zionist and Socialist ideas. It was an attempt inspired by Russian activists to get back to their roots and to be one with nature in a communal setting.

Diaspora Nationalism

Benedict Anderson also called this "long-distance nationalism." Acts as a "phantom bedrock" for people who want to experience a national connection, but who do not actually want to leave their diaspora community. The essential difference between pan-nationalism and diaspora nationalism is that members of a diaspora, by definition, are no longer resident in their national or ethnic homeland. For Jews, this idea arose and gained popularity in the late 1800s. Simon Dubnow and Chaim Zhitlowsky.

Yiddish

Called "Zhargon" which means jargon. A fusion of the Germanic language and Hebrew. It was just a language that people spoke until the Yiddish scholars of the 1880s (Sforim, Aleichem, Peretz.). They experimented with making Yiddish a language that could be formally written and spoken in.

Zionist Congress

Established by Theodor Herzl, it is the supreme organ of the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and its legislative authority. It elects the officers and decides on the policies of the WZO and the Jewish Agency. The first one was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897.

Palestine Liberation Organization

Founded in 1964, this organization is commonly recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." It was founded with the purpose of liberating Palestine through armed struggle. Was considered a terrorist organization by US and Israel through the 1990s and is now widely considered to be the voice of the Palestinian people.

Shoah

Hebrew term meaning "catastrophe." While the Arabic equivalent references the 1948 war, this term references the Holocaust. Much like how Nakba has influenced politics, tensions, and viewpoints to this day, this term shapes Israeli politics and the Jewish desire for such devastation to never happen to them again.

Yiddishism

Is a cultural and linguistic movement which began among Jews in Eastern Europe during the latter part of the 19th century. Some of the leading founders of this movement were Mendele Moykher-Sforim, I.L. Peretz, and Sholem Aleichem. Sought to modernize and formalize the Yiddish language.

Revisionist Zionism

Is a faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism. Ideology was developed by Jabotinsky. Distinguished by its territorial maximalism. They had a vision of occupying the full territory, and insisted upon the Jewish right to sovereignty over the whole territory of Eretz Yisrael (originally encompassing all of Mandatory Palestine).

West Bank

Is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, the bulk of it now under Israeli control, or else under joint Israeli-Palestinian Authority control. The final status of the entire area is yet to be determined by the parties concerned. It is a highly contested area and is home to about 3 million people. It also houses Jerusalem.

Spiritual Zionism

Is a strain of the concept of Zionism that values creating a Jewish state with its own secular Jewish culture and history, including language and historical roots, rather than other Zionist ideas such as political Zionism. Aimed to create a Jewish state, not just a state of Jews. View of a spiritual center in Israel.

Hebrew Labor

Is a term referring to the ideal adopted by some Jews in Ottoman and Mandate Palestine during the late 19th and early 20th (1890-1900) centuries to favor hiring Jewish rather than non-Jewish workers. It stemmed from the nationalist idea that Jews should be rebuilding and cultivating the land to become/reattain its old homeland status. Created the beginning of tensions between Jews and Arabs.

Political Zionism

Led by Theodor Herzl. This Zionist Organization approach aimed at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine. Included initial steps to obtain governmental grants from the established powers that controlled the area. Was more focused on simply getting a state for Jews, not so much making the state a "Jewish state"

Aliyah (1st through 4th)

Literally means "to ascend." Meant in senses of Jerusalem is on a hill and ascending to a higher plane by immigrating. Describes waves of immigration to Israel. First through fourth took place from 1881 to 1928. First and second encompassed ideas of Russian youth populism. Romantic ideas of living in communal agricultural settlements. Goal was the rebuild societies and create utopian worlds. Third wave is further imbued with nationalist ideals. Sees many farms being staffed by Arab labor and wants Hebrew labor. Tensions begin in 1890s and 1900s as Jews bring imperialist ethos and sense of superiority. Fourth aliyah is drastically different. It consisted of older Jews who owned their own shops and businesses. They were less idealistic and came from larger parts of Eastern Europe. Some violent militaristic Revisionist Zion groups (Betar) were founded in this time.

Nakba

Means "catastrophe." It references the 1948 War and the following expulsion of Arabs from Palestine. For many, this "catastrophe" still continues to this day and it shapes relations between Jews and Arabs in the region. This word is not accepted by most Israeli Jews and is denied.

Moses Hess

Most active in 1860s. A Jewish French philosopher, most well known for his being a founder of Labor Zionism and developing socialist theories of history predicated on racial struggle. Published Rome and Jerusalem: The Last National Question. Book calls for for the establishment of a Jewish socialist commonwealth in Palestine. Inspired many future Zionists.

Chaim Zhitlowsky

Most active in 1880s-1900s. He was a Jewish socialist and political thinker. He was an ideologist of Yiddishism and Jewish Diaspora nationalism. He accepted three realities: 1. Jews are a diasporic people. 2. Jews are a nation united by Yiddish. 3. Jews are mostly of working class, especially in the Russian empire, and need revolution. He believed that Yiddish and socialism were the keys to uniting the Jewish people.

Ahad Ha'am

Most active in 1880s-1900s. Was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers. He is known as the founder of cultural/spiritual Zionism. Had secular vision of a Jewish "spiritual center" in Israel and confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ha'am strived for "a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews" Believed that simply moving the Palestine was not enough. He believed it was essential to revive the culture of Judaism in Palestine and in diaspora.

Tsar Nicholas I

Nicholas I was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. Imposed enlightenment on Jews. More focused on industry and science than religion. Imposed draft. Abolished Kahal system. Secular education for Jewish children.

Theodor Herzl

One of the fathers of modern political Zionism. He formed the World Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish migration to Palestine in an effort to form a Jewish state. Organized Zionist Congress. Was inspired by the Dreyfus Affair. Wrote a pamphlet about a proposed Jewish state. Though he died long before its establishment, he is generally considered a father of the State of Israel, formed in 1948. He also championed the Uganda Plan. Was most active in late 1880s-1900s

Kishinev Pogrom

Pogrom in the Moldavan town of ___________ in 1903. Violence stemmed from an anti-semitic newspaper that claimed that Jews had killed two children in order to use their blood in the preparation of the matzo for the Passover. The violence killed almost 50 people and severely wounded about 100. The event was described by outside sources as peasant against money lender and religion was claimed to not be an issue.

Hibbat Zion

Refers to a variety of organizations which began in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire and were officially established as a group at a conference led by Leon Pinsker in 1884. These groups are considered the forerunners of the modern Zionist movement. Aimed to promote Jewish migration to Palestine.

Post-Zionism

Refers to the opinions of some Israelis, diaspora Jews and others, particularly those in academia, that Zionism has fulfilled its ideological mission with the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948. These opinions believe that the Zionist ideology should therefore be considered at its end. Ideology arose in the 1990s and is closely associated with the New Historians.

New Historians

Term was coined in 1988 by Benny Morris. Are a loosely defined group of Israeli historians who have challenged the traditional versions of Israeli history, including Israel's role in the Palestinian Exodus in 1948 and Arab willingness to discuss peace. Other notable figures include Michel Ben-Josef Hirsch and Avi Shlaim.

Knesset

The Israeli parliament. It is the unicameral national legislature of Israel and is responsible for passing laws, electing the President & Prime Minister, and supervising the government. Was conceived in 1949 and replaced the state council that had governed since Israel's independence.

Partition of Poland

The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place towards the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years. Resulted in many Jews being absorbed into the Russian empire, drastically increasing Jewish population and heightening the Jewish question.

Yishuv

The small Jewish population and settlements of Jews in Palestine before the founding of Israel. It is the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine (so pre-1948 Jews).

Occupied Territories

These are two Palestinian areas that are occupied by Israel. The two areas are Gaza and the West Bank. Both are home to a combined 5 million people. They are highly contested areas and have been since they were occupied during the Six Day War of 1967. The West Bank includes the holy city of Jerusalem.

Sabra

This term first arose in the 1930s. It was used to reference a Jew born in Israel, specifically a second generation Jew. Draws its name from a hardy cactus. It was used by the Zionist movement to celebrate the "New Jew" who emerged in the Holy Land. These people were typically members of Kibbutzum or laborers of the land.

Palestine

Two different understandings of the term: 1. The historic territory before 1948 that is typically understood as the homeland of the Jews. 2. The modern state and the area around it. It is a region in the Middle East that is highly contested, particularly the regions of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.

Y.L. Peretz

Was a Yiddish language author and playwright from Poland. First Yiddish work appeared in 1888. Wrote Bontsche the Silent. In this work he provided a social criticism for the humbleness/meekness of the Jewish people due to oppression. Considered "Godfather" of Yiddish. Occupies position because he fully aligns himself with pro-Diaspora nationalism and ideals of Zhitlowsky & Socialism.

Sholem Aleichem

Was a leading Yiddish author and playwright. Published most frequently in the 1880s and 1890s. Devoted to both Yiddishim and Zionism.

Autonomism

Was a non-Zionist political movement that emerged in Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century (1880s-1900s). One of its major proponents was the historian and activist Simon Dubnow, who also called his ideology folkism. Believed that the future survival of the Jews as a nation depends on their spiritual and cultural strength and in developing "spiritual nationhood." Jewish communities must maintain self-rule and reject assimilation. Autonomists often stressed the vitality of modern Yiddish culture.

Leon Pinsker

Was a physician who favored assimilation until moved by the 1871 Odessa pogrom and the wave of violence in 1880s. He was a Zionist pioneer and activist, and the founder and leader of the Hibbat Zion (Lovers of Zion) movement. Particularly active in the 1880s. He essentially gets the ball moving. Created term "Judeaphobia." He wrote the pamphlet "Auto-Emancipation" and argued that anti-semitism would not disappear until Jews had a state of their own.

Uganda Plan

Was a plan in the early 1900s to give a portion of British East Africa to the Jewish people as a homeland. It drew support from Theodor Herzl, a prominent Zionist, as a refuge for European Jews facing antisemitism. Was never really viewed as a viable option but represented the feasibility of actually creating a Jewish state and its worldwide influence.

Pale of Settlement

Was a western region of Imperial Russia with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed and beyond which Jewish permanent residency and in a certain period even temporary stay was mostly forbidden. Jews here faced persecution, pogroms, and harsh restrictions.

Tsar Alexander II

Was the Emperor of Russia from March 2nd, 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. His assassination triggered many pogroms. Was considered Great Emancipator. Revoked many of the harsh measures put in place by Nicholas I.

Basle Program

Was the first manifesto of the Zionist movement, drafted between in August 1897 and adopted unanimously at the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland. Stated: "Zionism seeks to secure for the Jewish people a publicly recognized, legally assured homeland in Palestine"

First Zionist Congress

Was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. 208 delegates and 26 press correspondents attended the event. It was convened by Theodor Herzl. The Congress formulated a Zionist platform, known as the Basel program, and founded the Zionist Organization.