How
did the Zionist movement succeed in establishing the state
of Israel?
The Zionists aimed to establish a state beyond Europe, and
eventually agreed that the chosen area was to be Palestine.
Zionist attempts to persuade the Ottoman government to allow
colonisation of Palestine came to nothing. However, after
World War One, according to Lughood,
“A new political map was to be drawn in accordance with
the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, and entirely new self-definitions
imposed by the colonial system were to emerge.” Mandated
Palestine was placed under British protection, where it remained
until May 14, 1948. By this time, the Zionists had achieved
their ambition, and the state of Israel was officially in
existence. It was a particular form of Zionists, the ‘Labour
Zionists,’ who vigorously pursued the establishment
of the state of Israel.
How the Zionists succeeded in establishing the state of Israel
will be the subject of this discussion. It should be mentioned
that the method of colonising Palestine was known as ‘settler
colonialism,’ although different forms of colonisation
were attempted at different stages. However, the Zionist determination
in pursuing settler colonialism was a factor in their success.
Settler colonialism shall be described shortly. The Zionists
endured a long process of ‘trial and error’ before
they found feasible methods of sustaining Jewish immigrants
upon their arrival. There were a number of waves of immigration
to Palestine, known as ‘Aliyahs.’ These have briefly
been detailed in Section ‘A’ of the Appendix.
Although there are many issues surrounding the question of
how the Zionists were successful in establishing their state,
it would be inappropriate to consider all of these in detail.
However, there are various key factors which determined the
establishment of the state of Israel, such as the emergence
of the Kibbutz, the Jewish Trade Union, the support of Great
Britain and Arab weaknesses, amongst others. These key factors
can be divided into three categories. These include economic
factors which shall be considered in the first part of the
essay, political factors which shall be considered in the
second part of the essay, and military factors which shall
be considered in the final part of the essay. Following this,
a conclusion shall be drawn.
Before beginning a discussion, however, it is necessary to
briefly consider the concepts of Zionism and Settler Colonialism.
Zionism, according to the Jewish Virtual Library’s definition,
is: “the
national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their
homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land
of Israel.” Zionism emerged in Europe in the nineteenth
century. There are many different forms of Zionism. These
have briefly been outlined in Section ‘B’ of the
Appendix.
It is the Labour Zionist movement that is of the greatest
concern when considering how the Zionists successfully established
the State of Israel. Labour Zionism arose in order to meet
the challenges facing the Zionist movement, for example, ensuring
economic viability in Palestine. Labour Zionism was founded
by Nachman Syrkin and Ber Borochov, who inspired the first
Labour Zionist party, Poalei Tziyyon, in 1906. Labour Zionists
helped provide practical plans for settlement in Israel, as
will be highlighted at a later stage.
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