A History of Zionism

Rating:
Summary: Richard A. Macales, columnist, "Mac's Facts"
Review: As one of the century's great historians, how fortunate we are that the German-born Laqueur spent his formative scholarly years in Eretz Israel as a journalist and researcher. This landmark work is very sympathetic to religious Orthodoxy and its significant relationship in the evolution of modern political Zionism. Its strength is in the study of religious and political Zionism within the European milieu.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: If you must read only one book on Zionism, let this be it. Walter Laqueur, internationally renowned historian, has created a masterpiece that has stood the test of time (it was originally written over 30 years ago!), and has become one of the standard works on the subject, alongside Shlomo Avineri's The Making of Modern Zionism and Hertzberg's The Zionist Idea.

The book is exactly what it says it is-a history of Zionism from the French Revolution to the establishment of the State of Israel, making use of a wide range of primary and secondary sources in various languages.

Laqueur gives a rich and penetrating description of the Jewish communities in both Western and Eastern Europe, describing the various forces that tugged at the Jews during this period - anti-semitism, an increased desire to assimilate on the one hand and a growing sense of self-pride in Jewish heritage on the other. It was against this background that Zionism burst onto the scene in the late 19th century.

Laqueur gives an interesting, at times funny and at times tragic, of the Zionist movement and its members as they struggled to achieve their goals of Jewish self-determination in the former Land of Israel against great odds, sometimes achieving great success (the Balfour Declaration), and sometimes facing disasterous crises (the Holocaust and the destruction of European Jewry). Laqueur demonstrates that all this was done while the Zionists were a minority, with a largely indifferent and even hostile Jewish community in some countries (especially in Britain and Germany, although they enjoyed widespread support in Eastern Europe), refusing to foot the bill for what seemed a fantastic project at the time.

The book is divided into three sections-the first describing the background to the appearance of the Zionist movement and its activities until between the two World Wars.

The second section gives a description of both the various trends in the Zionist movement (Revisionist and Socialist), as well as the obstacles they faced, such as Arab opposition to Zionism (in the chapter 'The Unseen Question') as well as those who objected to Zionism in principle, and forsaw a different future for the Jews and saw Zionism as hampering it.

The third section covers the rest of the story, as it were, until the establishment of the state.

In sum, this book is an informative, well-written and fair-minded work on a sensitive subject, written by a master scholar.

I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive history
Review: Laquer's History of Zionism is an indispensable work about the origins of the Jewish state. Wherever you stand on Israel, here is a thought provoking and well-researched text that is definitive on the subject. If you are someone who dislikes Israel, you should at least read it to understand how Israel developed and learn about Zionist self-perception.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive history
Review: Laquer's History of Zionism is an indispensable work about the origins of the Jewish state. Wherever you stand on Israel, here is a thought provoking and well-researched text that is definitive on the subject. If you are someone who dislikes Israel, you should at least read it to understand how Israel developed and learn about Zionist self-perception.