Yossi Goldstein
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195103311
- eISBN:
- 9780199854585
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195103311.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
Zionist historiography is not blessed with an abundance of biographies. However, more than forty biographies and monographs on Theodor Herzl have appeared. Herzl's attractiveness to the biographer or ...
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Zionist historiography is not blessed with an abundance of biographies. However, more than forty biographies and monographs on Theodor Herzl have appeared. Herzl's attractiveness to the biographer or essayist is clear: his Zionist activity and his success in establishing the World Zionist Organization. It is not surprising that the abundance of biographies is matched by a broad range of interpretations of Herzl's life. In 1934 the first edition Alex Bein's biography of Herzl appeared in Vienna and years afterward would be considered the definitive account. According to Bein, Herzl founded Zionism and endeavored to implement its programs almost singlehandedly. One of Bein's innovations was his attempt to furnish psychological explanations for Herzl's behavior. Peter Loewenberg adduced psychological explanations to analyze Herzl's historical developmnet and evoked psychology as his sole analytical tool. Several biographies of Herzl were published including that of Stewart Desmond, Steven Beller, Leon Kellner, Andrew Handler, Jacques Kornberg, and Ernst Pawel.Less
Zionist historiography is not blessed with an abundance of biographies. However, more than forty biographies and monographs on Theodor Herzl have appeared. Herzl's attractiveness to the biographer or essayist is clear: his Zionist activity and his success in establishing the World Zionist Organization. It is not surprising that the abundance of biographies is matched by a broad range of interpretations of Herzl's life. In 1934 the first edition Alex Bein's biography of Herzl appeared in Vienna and years afterward would be considered the definitive account. According to Bein, Herzl founded Zionism and endeavored to implement its programs almost singlehandedly. One of Bein's innovations was his attempt to furnish psychological explanations for Herzl's behavior. Peter Loewenberg adduced psychological explanations to analyze Herzl's historical developmnet and evoked psychology as his sole analytical tool. Several biographies of Herzl were published including that of Stewart Desmond, Steven Beller, Leon Kellner, Andrew Handler, Jacques Kornberg, and Ernst Pawel.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804778732
- eISBN:
- 9780804785006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804778732.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
For reasons only he knew, Nathan Birnbaum resigned as secretary general of the Political Action Committee of the World Zionist Organization in 1899, essentially cutting his formal ties to Theodor ...
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For reasons only he knew, Nathan Birnbaum resigned as secretary general of the Political Action Committee of the World Zionist Organization in 1899, essentially cutting his formal ties to Theodor Herzl's movement. Herzl's charismatic leadership led to the rapid rise of Zionism in central and eastern Europe. No one effectively challenged Herzl in running the movement, and those that rejected his leadership outright, including Odessa Hovevei Zion, Ahad Ha'am (pseudonym for Asher Ginsberg), and Birnbaum himself, had to content themselves expressing their dissenting voices from the sidelines. Aside from personality clashes, Birnbaum's departure could be linked to a transformation in his thinking about Zionism and Jewish nationalism in the years prior to Herzl's arrival. In 1902, he was engaged once again in public debate about the meaning of Zionism and in the controversy surrounding the publication of Herzl's utopian novel, Altneuland. In the midst of this Kulturkampf, the “Ahad Ha'am affair,” Birnbaum became an advocate, participant, and inspiration for the so-called Jewish Renaissance Movement.Less
For reasons only he knew, Nathan Birnbaum resigned as secretary general of the Political Action Committee of the World Zionist Organization in 1899, essentially cutting his formal ties to Theodor Herzl's movement. Herzl's charismatic leadership led to the rapid rise of Zionism in central and eastern Europe. No one effectively challenged Herzl in running the movement, and those that rejected his leadership outright, including Odessa Hovevei Zion, Ahad Ha'am (pseudonym for Asher Ginsberg), and Birnbaum himself, had to content themselves expressing their dissenting voices from the sidelines. Aside from personality clashes, Birnbaum's departure could be linked to a transformation in his thinking about Zionism and Jewish nationalism in the years prior to Herzl's arrival. In 1902, he was engaged once again in public debate about the meaning of Zionism and in the controversy surrounding the publication of Herzl's utopian novel, Altneuland. In the midst of this Kulturkampf, the “Ahad Ha'am affair,” Birnbaum became an advocate, participant, and inspiration for the so-called Jewish Renaissance Movement.
Jan Rybak
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- August 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780192897459
- eISBN:
- 9780191923906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192897459.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The chapter analyses Zionist reactions to the outbreak of the First World War throughout the region. The war challenged traditional strategies and represented a severe crisis, both for the ...
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The chapter analyses Zionist reactions to the outbreak of the First World War throughout the region. The war challenged traditional strategies and represented a severe crisis, both for the international Zionist movement, which fell apart and took new shape, and for local branches, drained of many of their members who were now in uniform. Zionists had vastly differing expectations of the war, which changed as the front moved eastwards and the Central Powers conquered much of Poland and the Baltic. As part of this German conquest of the East, several German Zionist activists travelled the region and tried to establish themselves as a leading force amongst East European Jewry. Their perception and representation of East European Jewry related to the type of nation-building they wanted to implement there. This project, which was fundamentally a ‘civilizing mission’, played out differently in the varying German occupation regimes of the Generalgouvernement Warschau and Ober Ost, and had profound impacts on local communities and activists, as well as on subsequent events. The chapter details the specific impact of the war on East-Central European Jewish societies, analysing the different occupation regimes and their diverse policies towards the Jewish population. It also demonstrates how Zionist concepts of nation, civilization, and modernity were adapted to local conditions and the immediate struggle for survival.Less
The chapter analyses Zionist reactions to the outbreak of the First World War throughout the region. The war challenged traditional strategies and represented a severe crisis, both for the international Zionist movement, which fell apart and took new shape, and for local branches, drained of many of their members who were now in uniform. Zionists had vastly differing expectations of the war, which changed as the front moved eastwards and the Central Powers conquered much of Poland and the Baltic. As part of this German conquest of the East, several German Zionist activists travelled the region and tried to establish themselves as a leading force amongst East European Jewry. Their perception and representation of East European Jewry related to the type of nation-building they wanted to implement there. This project, which was fundamentally a ‘civilizing mission’, played out differently in the varying German occupation regimes of the Generalgouvernement Warschau and Ober Ost, and had profound impacts on local communities and activists, as well as on subsequent events. The chapter details the specific impact of the war on East-Central European Jewish societies, analysing the different occupation regimes and their diverse policies towards the Jewish population. It also demonstrates how Zionist concepts of nation, civilization, and modernity were adapted to local conditions and the immediate struggle for survival.
Mira Katxzburg-Yungman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781874774839
- eISBN:
- 9781800340367
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781874774839.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
In February 1912, thirty-eight American Jewish women founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. This has become the largest Zionist organization in the diaspora and the largest ...
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In February 1912, thirty-eight American Jewish women founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. This has become the largest Zionist organization in the diaspora and the largest and most active Jewish women's organization ever. Its history is an inseparable part of the history of American Jewry and of the State of Israel. Hadassah is also part of the history of Jewish women in the United States and in the modern world more broadly. Its achievements are not only those of Zionism but, crucially, of women, and this book pays particular attention to the life stories of the women who played a role in them. The book analyses many aspects of the history of Hadassah. The introductory section describes the contexts and challenges of Hadassah's history from its founding to the birth of the State of Israel. Subsequent sections explore the organization's ideology and its activity on the American scene after Israeli statehood; its political and ideological role in the World Zionist Organization; and its involvement in the new State of Israel in medicine and health care, and in its work with children and young people. The final part deals with topics such as gender issues, comparisons of Hadassah with other Zionist organizations, and the importance of people of the Yishuv and later of Israelis in Hadassah's activities. It concludes with an epilogue that considers developments up to 2005, assessing whether the conclusions reached with regard to Hadassah as an organization remain valid.Less
In February 1912, thirty-eight American Jewish women founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. This has become the largest Zionist organization in the diaspora and the largest and most active Jewish women's organization ever. Its history is an inseparable part of the history of American Jewry and of the State of Israel. Hadassah is also part of the history of Jewish women in the United States and in the modern world more broadly. Its achievements are not only those of Zionism but, crucially, of women, and this book pays particular attention to the life stories of the women who played a role in them. The book analyses many aspects of the history of Hadassah. The introductory section describes the contexts and challenges of Hadassah's history from its founding to the birth of the State of Israel. Subsequent sections explore the organization's ideology and its activity on the American scene after Israeli statehood; its political and ideological role in the World Zionist Organization; and its involvement in the new State of Israel in medicine and health care, and in its work with children and young people. The final part deals with topics such as gender issues, comparisons of Hadassah with other Zionist organizations, and the importance of people of the Yishuv and later of Israelis in Hadassah's activities. It concludes with an epilogue that considers developments up to 2005, assessing whether the conclusions reached with regard to Hadassah as an organization remain valid.
