CLASS 6 | The Birth of Zionism
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CLASS 6
The Birth of Zionism
Goals (students will be able to):
• Identify key dates in the building of the State of Israel
• Understand Britain’s role in the founding and building of the State
• Identify the values that formed the foundation of the State
• Explain the events of the Dreyfus Affair and its impact on the Zionist
movement
• Understand the concept of “aliyah”
Intro
(1 minute)
In previous classes we learned about the historical significance of the State of Israel and its
connection to the Jewish people. Today we will take a journey to examine the building blocks
that created the State of Israel.
The Origins of Zionism
Question: How do you define Zionism? Is there only one definition?
“Zionism is nothing more — but also nothing less — than the Jewish people’s sense
of origin and destination in the land linked eternally with its name”.
— Abba Eban, former Foreign Minister of Israel & Ambassador to the U.N.
“The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Eretz­ Israel secured
by law.”
— Max Nordau, vice-president of the First Zionist Congress
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CLASS 6
How did the Zionist movement begin?
Many Jews rejected traditional religious life and fully embraced secularism in the hopes of becoming fully integrated citizens with European national identities. This created a tension between
Jews’ personal and public lives. Some Jews, feeling as though they were never fully accepted
by their neighbors, especially following the financial crisis of the late 19th century in Europe,
sought refuge. Pogroms and persecutions in Russia and Eastern Europe also made life intolerable
for Jews as they fled to other parts of the world. Zionism emerged as a result of Jews learning
to deal with this tension between their Jewishness and their desire to fit in with their secular
societies.
The earliest proponents of Zionism argued that the only solution to the challenges faced by
Jewish communities was for the Jewish community to be reconstructed in Eretz Yisrael — the
land in which Jewish identity originally developed and which already had such a central place in
Jewish collective consciousness.
Note to Teacher: In Russian, the term “pogrom” means “to wreak havoc,
to demolish violently.” Historically, the term refers to violent attacks by local
non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other European
countries. For additional information see:
http://tinyurl.com/pogroms10
In 1862, Moses Hess argued in his book, “Rome and Jerusalem,” that Judaism was not a religion; rather Jews were a separate nation that had a component of a unique religion. Therefore, as
a nation, the Jews should organize politically and socially to establish a Jewish state in Palestine
which would also function as the spiritual center for the Jewish religion. By the 1870s, associations had been established with the purpose of encouraging Jewish immigration to Palestine.
Organizations such as Hibbat Zion and Bilu, with the funding of Baron Edmond de Rothschild,
helped to create a national infrastructure in Palestine, which encouraged even more waves of
immigration.
Note to Teacher: There were many different strains of Zionism that emerged
from the initial ideology: Political, Cultural, Religious, Labor, Revisionist, etc. Each
strain had its own leaders, proponents, vision for the movement, and ideas of how
to accomplish its goals and vision. 2
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Play “The Birth of Zionism”
Discussion
CLASS 6
(16 minutes)
(7 minutes)
Discussion: Which points in the film were new information for you?
• Israel was developed as a secular (non-religious) nation, though it was
rooted in Jewish Biblical values .
• Jews most often settled on and purchased land that was considered
Possible
Answers
uninhabitable.
• The cultivation of land by Jews led to Arab immigration.
• Aliyah was permitted under the Balfour Declaration, the League of
Nations, and the British Mandate .
• Even early aliyah led to bouts of Arab aggression.
• In 1922, the Palestine mandate was split into two, and Transjordan
was given to the Arab population.
• Haj Amin al-Husseini was a leader of the Palestinian national
movement and a close ally of Hitler during WWII.
Question: Many claim that Jewish immigration led to a foreign presence occupying Israel.
Based on the information provided in the film, what are the arguments for saying that Jewish
immigration was legitimate?
Answer:
• Jews were moving back to their ancestral Homeland.
• Jewish immigrants settled on unoccupied land and land that they purchased.
• The Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations made a Jewish Homeland legal
under international law.
• Originally, the British set aside the entire Palestinian Mandate as a Jewish Homeland.
• Later, they used Transjordan, 80% of the designated Jewish Homeland, to form the
Arab countr y of Jordan.
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Activity
CLASS 6
(5 minutes)
Give “Handout I – The Balfour Declaration” to the students.
ASK a student volunteer to stand in front of the class and read the Declaration aloud.
DISCUSS the importance of British recognition of the right to a Jewish State and the impact this
Declaration had on the founding and history of the State of Israel.
After reading the Balfour Declaration, brainstorm responses to these two points:
A. What were the British motivations for issuing the Balfour Declaration?
• The British needed to secure post-war control of Palestine , which
was strategically impor tant as a buffer to Egypt and the Suez
Canal.
• They wanted to win suppor t for Britain among American
and Russian Jews , whom they saw as influential in their own
governments .
• The British government and its people had general sympathies for
the plight of European Jews .
Possible
Answers
B.What were the problematic elements for the Jews in the Balfour Declaration?
Answer:
• The British didn’t have control of Palestine yet; the Turks were still in control.
• No timetable for implementation of the promise.
• Pre-existing “non-Jewish communities” (presumably Arab) were living on-site.
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Activity
CLASS 6
(11 minutes)
Today we will be reading an article about the trial of Alfred Dreyfus in France in the late
1 800’s.
Question: Does anyone know anything about the Dreyfus Affair?
Answer: It was a scandal that began in 1894 when a French-Jewish soldier named
Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused of treason, convicted, and sentenced to life
impr isonment. When new evidence surfaced identifying the real culprit, military officials
suppressed it and fabricated false documents. Dreyfus underwent a very public court case
with much anti-Semitism expressed by the attending crowds.
Discussion: Can anyone think of why the Dreyfus trial is relevant to the founding of a Jewish
State?
GIVE “HANDOUT II – THE DREYFUS AFFAIR” to the students.
ASK student volunteers to read the article and then DISCUSS.
While Dreyfus was eventually released, a Jewish-Hungarian reporter named Theodore
Herzl noted the anti-Semitism and injustice revealed during the court case. Soon afterward,
Herzl wrote the book “Der Judenstaat” (The Jewish State, 1 896) and founded the World Zionist
Organization.
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CLASS 6
Discussion: What is the connection between the Dreyfus Affair and Herzl’s dream of a Jewish
State?
• Herzl wanted to create a countr y where Jews would always be safe
and welcome , and that would ser ve as a haven from antiSemitism.
(This became especially impor tant with the events of the Holocaust
during WWII.)
• Herzl’s vision was that, with the creation of a separate State for
Possible
Answers
Jews, the world would recognize the Jewish people as akin to any
other nation, and world anti-Semitism would end. Is that what
happened?
• A Jewish State would have the power to influence world opinion
about the Jews and to champion the Jewish cause internationally.
Quiz
(10 minutes)
Give “Handout III – The State is Born” to the students.
Allow them 5 minutes to write the answers, and then go over each question one by one,
asking students to show hands for the answers they chose.
APPENDIX I contains the answers to the student handout. The Answer Key should not be given
to the students, but it can be used by the teacher to assist the students. Explain why the answers
are incorrect or correct. It is important to review each possible answer, as students can learn as
much from an incorrect answer as from a correct one.
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CLASS 6
Activity:
A. Divide the class into groups, and give each group one of the following sets of primary sources:
•The Balfour Declaration (November 1917)
•The League of Nations British Mandate for Palestine (June 1922)
•The United Nations Par tition Resolution (November 1947)
B. After students read the documents, have them pay particular attention to the following issues:
•Who issued each of these documents , and why did they have the authority to do so?
•What goals did each of the documents endorse?
•What land was promised or recommended in each of the documents? How and why
were they different?
Resources:
1) Arab - Israel Conflict: Primary Source Documents - http://www.historyteacher.net/Arab-Israeli_Conflict.htm
2) Why I Am a Zionist - http://giltroyzionism.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/why-i-am-a-zionist-2008/
3) A Line in the Sand - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9279ad20-cd6c-11e0-b267-00144feabdc0.
html#axzz2YYrerOXx
4) The History of Israel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5fct53p7nI
5) Mandate for Palestine: Legal Aspects of Jewish Rights - http://www.mythsandfacts.org/conflict/mandate_for_
palestine/mandate_for_palestine.htm
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