For at least two thousand years Jews were dispersed all over the world. Some of them inevitably assimilated with other nations. Yet many kept their identity as a nation by staying loyal to their religious faith and by their desire to survive as one people preserving common racial features and cultural traditions. Some European anti-Jewish tendencies and the suspicious attitude to Jews in oriental cultures contributed to their solidarity.
For centuries Jews cherished the idea of returning to their native land. But it was only in the 19th century that the idea developed into a political movement called Zionism. At first the movement was not very popular among Jews. There were supporters, but most rabbis considered the concept of restoring Israel possible only after the coming of the Messiah.
The movement started in Russia and spread to other countries. The idea was elaborated first in the book by German socialist Hess who tried to prove that the Jews could create a socialistic state in Israel. Much more popular was another book by Z. Pinsker called "Auto-Emancipation" and published in 1882. The book revealed the fact that the lack of Jewish own state accounts for social and psychological discomfort experienced by them. Under
the influence of this publication clubs and study groups appeared in Russia, Where Jews were mostly persecuted.
During World War 2 Great Britain began to speak officially for Zionism. The British Government issued a Declaration in which it expressed appreciation of the establishment of a national home for Jews in Palestine. The Declaration emphasized that England is ready to protect the political status and the rights of Jews in Palestine. At the same time the British promised not to harm non-Jewish Communities. The promise was not properly kept. The modern Arab-Israel conflict originates; to much extent, from that distant time. After World War1 the British reigned in the Middle East and their policy was not consistent. They dominated Arabs and at the same time were suspicious of Zionists settlers. Later they tended to favor Arabs and at the same time encouraged Jews to settle down in Palestine. These contradictory tendencies could be probably explained by the Jewish political pressure. On London and the League of Nations.
The basis for mature political Zionism was created by Herzl, who wrote the work "Jews' state" in 1896. He was a recognized author who summarized and explained the ideas of early Zionists to thousands of German-speaking Jews. In 1897 the first international Zionist Congress was
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