Zionist Culture and West European Jewry before the First World War

Although a 'longing for Zion' has always existed in Judaism, Zionism's call for the return of the Jews to Palestine is a distinctly modern phenomenon. This book investigates the way in which Zionism was received by bourgeois west European Jews from 1897 to 1914, with regard to the movement's approach towards those who were not seen as potential immigrants to Palestine. The author shows that Zionists were able to 'nationalise' parts of western Jewry by drawing on the liberal view of nationalism which had spawned Jewish emancipation, which enabled them to become part of the imagined nation without overriding their European loyalties. Further, it is shown how aspects of Jewish culture - notably zedakah, or giving to charity - were reformulated toward the goals of building a Jewish nation and a national culture.

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Product details

• Date Published: March 1993
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9780521420723
• length: 274 pages

• dimensions: 236 x 160 x 25 mm
• weight: 0.58kg
• contains: 39 b/w illus.
• availability: Unavailable - out of print October 2004