Reform Judaism and the anti‐Zionist persuasive campaign, 1897–1915

This article examines the anti‐Zionist response to Zionism between 1897 and 1915 from the perspective of nativism. To members of the Jewish establishment, Zionism represented a foreign influence attempting to undermine the established order. The Jewish establishment felt threatened by the movement in two ways. First, they perceived that the advocacy of Zionism by a minority faction within the Jewish community would impugn the patriotism of all American Jews in the eyes of the non‐Jewish majority. Second, they regarded Zionism as an obstacle to the successful integration of Eastern European immigrants. In addition, this case study points to two other major conclusions: (1) the article underscores the difficulties of drawing “meaningful distinctions between campaigns”; and “movements”; and in treating movements as a “unique”; rhetorical concept; and (2) the article emphasizes how nativist discourse promotes acculturation, and how it may become a tool within inter‐ethnic rivalries.

Key concepts:

• Zionism
• Nativism
• movements
• campaigns
• and Judaism