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Emotion lies at the heart of all national movements, and Zionism is no exception. For those who identify as Zionist, the word connotes liberation and redemption, uniqueness and vulnerability. Yet for many, Zionism is a source of distaste if not disgust, and those who reject it are no less passionate than those who embrace it. The power of such emotions helps explain why a word originally associated with territorial aspiration has survived so many years after the establishment of the Israeli state. Zionism: An Emotional State expertly demonstrates how the energy propelling the Zionist project originates from bundles of feeling whose elements have varied in volume, intensity, and durability across space and time. Beginning with an original typology of Zionism and a new take on its relationship to colonialism, Penslar then examines the emotions that have shaped Zionist sensibilities and practices over the course of the movement's history. The resulting portrait of Zionism reconfigures how we understand Jewish identity amidst continuing debates on the role of nationalism in the modern world

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a masterful new biography of Theodor Herzl by an eminent historian of Zionism The life of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was as puzzling as it was brief. How did this cosmopolitan and assimilated European Jew become the leader of the Zionist movement? How could he be both an artist and a statesman, a rationalist and an aesthete, a stern moralist yet possessed of deep, and at times dark, passions? And why did scores of thousands of Jews, many of them from traditional, observant backgrounds, embrace Herzl as their leader? Drawing on a vast body of Herzl's personal, literary, and political writings, historian Derek Penslar shows that Herzl's path to Zionism had as much to do with personal crises as it did with antisemitism. Once Herzl devoted himself to Zionism, Penslar shows, he distinguished himself as a consummate leader-possessed of indefatigable energy, organizational ability, and electrifying charisma. Herzl became a screen onto which Jews of his era could project their deepest needs and longings.About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." - New York times "Exemplary." - Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." - New Yorker "Superb." - The Guardian

The life of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was as puzzling as it was brief. How did this cosmopolitan and assimilated European Jew become the leader of the Zionist movement? How could he be both an artist and a statesman, a rationalist and an aesthete, a stern moralist yet possessed of deep, and at times dark, passions? And why did scores of thousands of Jews, many of them from traditional, observant backgrounds, embrace Herzl as their leader? Drawing on a vast body of Herzl's personal, literary, and political writings, historian Derek Penslar shows that Herzl's path to Zionism had as much to do with personal crises as it did with antisemitism. Once Herzl devoted himself to Zionism, Penslar shows, he distinguished himself as a consummate leader--possessed of indefatigable energy, organizational ability, and electrifying charisma. Herzl became a screen onto which Jews of his era could project their deepest needs and longings.--

Jews and the Military is the first comprehensive and comparative look at Jews' involvement in the military and their attitudes toward war from the 1600s until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Derek Penslar shows that although Jews have often been described as people who shun the army, in fact they have frequently been willing, even eager, to do military service, and only a minuscule minority have been pacifists. Penslar demonstrates that Israel's military ethos did not emerge from a vacuum and that long before the state's establishment, Jews had a vested interest in milit

Umschlag -- Titel -- Impressum -- Inhalt -- Kapitel 1: Einleitung -- Kapitel 2: Theodor Herzls Weg -- Kapitel 3: Unser Mann in Paris -- Kapitel 4: Das Organisationsgenie -- Kapitel 5: Der Griff nach den Sternen -- Kapitel 6: Wenn ihr wollt, ist es doch ein Traum -- Kapitel 7: Epilog: Der Blick vom Herzlberg -- Dank -- Abkürzungen -- Abbildungsverzeichnis -- Anmerkungen -- Register.

Wie wurde aus dem Kosmopoliten und assimilierten europäischen Juden der wichtigste Anführer der zionistischen Bewegung? Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) ist als Begründer des politischen Zionismus weltberühmt geworden. Dennoch wirft sein kurzes Leben viele Fragen auf: Wie konnte er gleichzeitig Künstler und Staatsmann sein, Rationalist und Ästhet, strenger Moralist und doch getrieben von tiefen, manchmal dunklen, Leidenschaften? Und warum wurde er von so vielen – auch traditionellen – Juden als Führungsfigur verehrt? Anhand eines umfangreichen Korpus der privaten, literarischen und politischen Schriften zeigt Derek Penslar, dass Herzls Weg zum Zionismus nicht nur vom grassierenden Antisemitismus angetrieben wurde, sondern sich auch aus persönlichen Krisen erklärt. Einmal dem Zionismus verschrieben, zeichnete sich Herzl als vollendete Führungspersönlichkeit aus – voller unermüdlicher Energie, organisatorischem Geschick und mitreißendem Charisma. Er wurde zu einer Projektionsfläche für viele Juden seiner Zeit, für ihre Bedürfnisse und Sehnsüchte.

This collection of essays identifies and discusses the change that occurred about fifteen years ago when Israeli historians began disputing the events surrounding the creation of the State of Israel at the time of the 1948 War. Other related topics are also taken into consideration.