Up to the 19th century, the remarkable social diversity of the Jews in
Palestine was due to the different religious views they held as well as to the
appearance of new religious groups amongst them. With the spread of secularism
in the 19th century, a
new division emerged, that between the religious and the secular Jews. The same
division also emerged in Zionism, an ideological and social movement that
emerged in the middle of 19th century and gained mass support by its end.
Zionism is usually summarized as the Jewish aspiration to establish a state in
Palestine. However, the Secular Zionists who constituted the majority in the
World Zionist Organization failed to mention either Palestine or Jerusalem as
their prospective state’s location in their writings and diaries. The pioneers
of Religious Zionism, another front within Zionism, had begun to insist on
Palestine long before the Secular Zionists, basing this stance on the Jewish
Scriptures. Despite this, they made concessions and supported the Uganda Scheme
for a while. The present study aims to examine the Religious Zionists’ reasons
for insisting on Palestine, the reasons for the concession they made from this
position, the lessons they drew from its results, and their reactions din this
context to the contemporary developments in the world.
DOCUMENT
IS HERE.
