 | Palestinophilia: Encyclopedia II - Palestinophilia - Palestinophilia as a precursor of Zionism
Palestinophilia - Palestinophilia as a precursor of Zionism
Martin Perez quotes Derek Penslar's expression "an inchoate Palestinophilia" to describe the relation between early efforts by Alliance Israelite Universelle to establish agricultural schools and self-sufficient communities in the region through education and professional development of 1870s and political Zionism:
The first truly practical Zionist enterprise in Palestine was established in 1870, long before the First Zionist Congress, when French Jews opened an agricultural school at Mikve Israel. These Frenchmen did not consider themselves Zionists. Nor did the others who, with funds and aggressive technical assistance from imported European experts, followed this "productivisation" paradigm. Their motive, Derek Penslar has written, was not precisely Zionism, but "an inchoate Palestinophilia." But this sentiment quickly became a transformatory Zionist program: working the land was not simply an economic activity, it was also moral regeneration.[1]
Leon Poliakov traces the appearance of the term in the last quarter of the 19th century Russian Empire, referring to traditional religious pilgrimage among aged diaspora Jews who made aliyah to be laid to rest in the Land of Israel:
At the same time (in the 1880s), "Palestinophilia", a new term which Theodore Herzl would change into "Zionism", enkindled many young hearts. Tens of Palestinophilic societies, such as Bilu or Hovevei Zion were born, and their most determined members travelled to the Promised Land in order to make it flourish, to "live there, not die."[2]
According to V.A. Dymshits, "As for Jewish Nationalism, having come into existence at a fairly late stage, it took at once the shape of Palestinophilia, and then Zionism, i.e. it was built around rejecting the nation as it was in favor of the nation as it should be, as well as rejecting Yiddish in favor of Hebrew."[3]
Other related archives1870, 1870s, 1880s, 1967, 19th century, 20th century, Alliance Israelite Universelle, Bilu, Edward Said, First Zionist Congress, Foreign Office, French Jews, Hebrew, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hovevei Zion, Johns Hopkins University, Land of Israel, Leon Poliakov, Mikve Israel, Nationalism, Palestinian, Palestinian Arab, Palestinian Jew, Promised Land, Russian Empire, Six Day War, State of Israel, Theodore Herzl, Yiddish, Zionism, aliyah, anti-Semitism, diaspora, pilgrimage, region of Palestine
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Palestinophilia as a precursor of Zionism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
