Sociology Essays

Sociology Essays: Zionism and Israel

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.

Sociology Essays

• Shame Punishments
• Shaming Offenders
• Sexuality and Society
• Criminology, Women and Crime, Feminist Theorie
• Welfare Regimes
• New Social Movements
• Racism

• Social Psychology
• Healthcare systems, Western Values
• Differences Between Managers and Professional
• Zionism and Israel
• Social Constructionism, Critical Realism
• Identity and Masculinity
• Theories Of Social Movements

Please note: The above essays and dissertations were written by students and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted their work to us.