Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish national movement advocating Jewish self-determination in the historic Land of Israel. It helped bring about the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Theodor Herzl: The Austro-Hungarian journalist and political activist who became a leading founder of modern political Zionism. His 1896 pamphlet and diplomacy helped turn Zionism into an organized political movement.
Chaim Weizmann: A Zionist leader and chemist who became the first president of Israel. His diplomacy helped secure the Balfour Declaration and international support for Zionism.
First Zionist Congress: The 1897 gathering in Basel that established the World Zionist Organization and adopted the Basel Program. It formalized a shared political platform and an international organizational structure.
Labor Zionism: A Zionist current that combined Jewish national self-determination with socialist ideals and organized labor. It became a dominant force in the institutions that built Israel.
Israeli Declaration of Independence: The 1948 document proclaiming the establishment of the State of Israel. It marked the achievement of Zionism’s central political goal.
Der Judenstaat: Theodor Herzl’s 1896 pamphlet proposing a publicly secured homeland for Jews. It set out the political case that shaped early Zionist organizing.
David Ben-Gurion: A leading Labor Zionist who became Israel’s first prime minister. He led the political institutions that declared and governed the state in 1948.
Balfour Declaration: A 1917 British government statement supporting a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. It gave Zionist state-building a major diplomatic endorsement, while also promising protection for non-Jewish communities.
Revisionist Zionism: A Zionist current founded by Ze’ev Jabotinsky that demanded a more assertive campaign for Jewish statehood. Its stance on territory and force contrasted with Labor Zionist strategies.
1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight: The mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 war, remembered by Palestinians as the Nakba. It is a central consequence of Israel’s establishment and a defining dispute in Zionism’s history.

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