The Ideology of British Zionism between the World Wars (1919–39)

Abstract

This article investigates the fundamental ideological complexion of British Zionism during the inter-war years (1919–39). It examines the ways in which Anglo-Zionists framed and negotiated the tension between British citizenship and identity and the demands of Jewish nationalist ideology, and explores the ideological responses of Zionists to the ideals of pioneering, aliyah [immigration to Palestine] and personal Zionism. Analysis of the journals, pamphlets and books published by the movement and its activists indicates that British Zionism was driven by its attachment and desire to contribute to the Jewish National Home in Palestine. Yet Anglo-Zionist ideology was also driven by local concerns, articulating a radical new form of anti—assimilationist, nationalist identity for the Jews of Britain.