Zionism

The Zionist movement took shape in the late nineteenth century with a bold aim: to build an independent Jewish nation that governed itself. Its supporters, in the end, carried out a change that reshaped Jewish society, the place of Jews among other peoples, and the tension between religious and secular convictions.

This book completes David Vital's three-volume history of Zionism, the most detailed account so far of how the movement rose and took hold. The earlier volumes, The Origins of Zionism, which covers 1881 to 1897, and The Formative Years, which carries the story to 1906, earned the 1983 Kenneth B. Smilen/Present Tense Literary Award and the Jewish Chronicle/Wingate Award.

The final volume focuses on the years just before World War I. At that point Zionist leadership was uncertain, the hopes it offered to the impoverished and persecuted Jews of Europe had shrunk considerably, and the movement seemed to be in decline. Vital examines the causes and effects of that slump, along with the sudden and surprising recovery during the war. He also challenges popular myths about British policy toward Zionism under Lloyd George and Balfour, and he throws light on the radical character of the movement and the commitment of its followers.