Many self-proclaimed Zionists disagree with each other about fundamental principles. Since it started more than 120 years ago, Zionism has evolved, and different ideologies-political, religious and cultural-within the Zionist movement have emerged. Today, around 43 percent of the world’s Jews live in Israel. The Jewish population in Israel increased from about 500,000 in 1945 to 5.6 million in 2010. This was the largest number of immigrants to arrive in a single year. In 1949, more than 249,000 Jewish settlers moved to Israel. However, by the end of World War II, only about 35 percent of the Jewish population still resided in European countries. Most Jews-about 57 percent of them-lived in Europe in 1939. Another 40,000 made their way to the homeland between 19. About 35,000 Jews relocated to the area between 18. The rise of Zionism led to massive Jewish immigration into Israel. With the end of Great Britain’s mandate in Palestine and the British army’s withdrawal, Israel was officially declared an independent state on May 14, 1948. After the Holocaust ended, Zionist leaders actively promoted the idea of an independent Jewish nation. In the years before and during World War II, thousands of European Jews fled to Palestine or other regions to escape hostility. Most historians estimate that about 6 million Jews were killed in Europe during the Holocaust. Many Jews living in Russia and Europe suffered horrific persecution and death during Russian pogroms and under Nazi rule. Two well-known Zionists, Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, played important roles in obtaining the Balfour Declaration. The text was included in the Mandate for Palestine-a document issued by the League of Nations in 1923 that gave Great Britain the responsibility of establishing a Jewish national homeland in British-controlled Palestine. This letter was published in the press one week later and eventually became known as the “ Balfour Declaration.” In the brief correspondence, Balfour expressed the British government’s support for the establishment of a Jewish home in Palestine. In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote a letter to Baron Rothschild, a wealthy and prominent leader in the British Jewish community. He also formed and became the first president of the World Zionist Organization.Īlthough Herzl died in 1904-years before Israel was officially declared a state-he’s often considered the father of modern Zionism. In 1897, Herzl organized the First Zionist Congress, which met in Basel, Switzerland. A Jewish journalist and political activist from Austria, Herzl believed that the Jewish population couldn’t survive if it didn’t have a nation of its own.Īfter the Dreyfus Affair, Herzl wrote Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), a pamphlet that called for political recognition of a Jewish homeland in the area then known as Palestine. Modern Zionism was officially established as a political organization by Theodor Herzl in 1897. Persecuted Jews who were struggling to salvage their identity began promoting the idea of returning to their homeland and restoring a Jewish culture there. This event, which became known as the “ Dreyfus Affair,” sparked outrage among Jewish people and many others. In one 1894 incident, a Jewish officer in the French army named Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused and convicted of treason. Some historians believe that an increasingly tense atmosphere between Jews and Europeans may have triggered the Zionism movement. Around that time, Jews throughout the world faced growing anti-Semitism. While the fundamental philosophies of the Zionist movement have existed for hundreds of years, modern Zionism formally took root in the late 19th century. The Torah, the Jewish religious text, depicts stories of ancient prophets who were instructed by their God to return to this homeland. Throughout history, Jews have considered certain areas in Israel sacred-as do Christians and Muslims. The name comes from the word “Zion,” which is a Hebrew term that refers to Jerusalem. Simply put, Zionism is a movement to recreate a Jewish presence in Israel.
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