Background to the Growth of the Jewish National Movement in the Late Nineteenth Century

by Nili Kadary

Conceptualization

The preceding units explored the historical forces and events which led to the rise of the Jewish national movement in the late nineteenth century.

1. The existence of a national basis in Judaism and especially the love of Eretz Yisrael which accompanied the Jew through the entire Diaspora.
2. The impact of both the Emancipation and the Haskalah [Englightenment] on western and central Europe on Jewish national consciousness. The fact that the granting of equal rights to the Jews and the Haskalah movement initially delayed the establishment of a Jewish national movement, because its leaders viewed Jewish nationalism as an obstacle to their integration into non-Jewish society.
3. These same factors which delayed the beginnings of Jewish nationalism eventually led to its awakening in the 1880s, following the difficulties facing the Jew in Europe after the Emancipation. This was evident at two levels:
   • a. A personal identity crisis felt by Jews in modern society characterized by nationalism, together with political, cultural and social specificity.
   • b. The growth of modern antisemitism in central and western Europe.
4. A review of the history of the Russian Pale of Jewish Settlement, which held the largest single concentration of Jewish population in the nineteenth century, together with the unique legal features which characterized Jewish life in Russia [juridicial, economic, cultural and social.]
5. The reinforcement of the Haskalah concept and the desire for Emancipation in Russian Jewish society during the period of reforms and benefits under Tsar Alexander II.
6. The explosion of hopes held by Russian leaders of the Haskalah and Emancipation movements after the unprecedented pogroms in southern Russia and in face of the Russian intelligentsia's total indifference to the fate of the Jews.
7. The above factors and events presented European Jewry with a crucial dilemma in respect of their existence and future. This dilemma could be resolved in a number of ways [see following.]
8. The Options [cards for activity]
   • A. Remain in Europe to fight antisemitism and work for emancipation from within the establishment.
   • B. Join the anti-establishment, socialist revolutionary movements to bring down the old world and create a more just one where Jews will no longer suffer discrimination.
   • C. Emigrate to the democratic, egalitarian United States of America, to live as a minority on an equal basis with other minorities.
   • D. Create a Jewish national movement which views in Eretz Yisrael the sole national solution to the Jewish problem.
9. Conclusion: the roots of the Jewish national movement in the late nineteenth century [cards for activity]
   • a. The people's love for their land - the oppressed people's centuries-old longing for and wish to return to their homeland.
   • b. The "new problems" - the difficulties faced by the Jew in the post-emancipation era.
   • c. The impact of the European nationalist movements on the fight for liberation from a foreign power and on the Jewish people's unification and internal consolidation.
   • d. The rise of modern antisemitism in central and western Europe, together with the pogroms in Russia.

   The Jewish national movement offered a solution in the spirit of the liberalism and nationalism of the nineteenth century to all these issues: the liberation of the people of Israel in the land of Israel.

Editor: Yossi Pnini
Internet Version: The Pedagogic Center

This is a summary lesson covering units 1-7 in the original Hebrew language series.
The activity idea has therefore been revised for the Internet edition, so that it will be suitable for a shorter course.

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