This course is no longer offered

10313 Religion and Nationalism in the Zionist Movement: 1881-1912

Credits: 3 advanced credits in Modern History of the Jewish People

Prerequisites: 24 credits, including History of Zionism: 1881-1914. Students must also fulfill all English requirements.

The course deals with two parallel phenomena in the Zionist movement: the cooperation achieved for the first time between orthodox Jews and the Maskilim (Enlightened) within the Zionist movement; and the conflicts, controversies and disputes concerning the place of religion in the Zionist movement as they emerged in the Hibat Zion (Love of Zion) movement and in the Zionist movement between 1881 (the year the first Hibat Zion associations were established) and 1912 (the founding of Agudat Yisrael). The materials include a collection of annotated sources, an introduction, and a study guide explaining how to analyze a source and how to write a short seminar paper (7-12 pages long).

Topics: The first sparks of controversy; Ultra-Orthodox and Maskilim at the beginning of the Hibat Zion movement; The conflict escalates: 1890-1896; The era of Herzl: From the first to the fourth Zionist congress; Continued struggles concerning culture; Trivial issues: 1905-1909; The “Feuchtwanger Affair” and the “Brenner Affair”: A war of cultures.