The Zionist Ideas
The establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the leaders and thinkers who helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism for a people so long deprived of self-determination? What moved them? What were their political teachings and key disagreements?
This course is a four-part exploration of the writings, legacies, and debates of Zionism’s early thinkers. We will study the teachings of Theodor Herzl, Micha Josef Berdichevsky, Ahad Ha’am, Isaac Jacob Reines, Abraham Isaac Kook, and other representatives of modern Jewish nationalist thought. In doing so, Dr. Gordis will help us see how the founding disagreements within Secular Zionism, Religious Zionism, and Ultra-Orthodoxy can shed light on the spirit of Jewish nationalism and the internal conflicts Israel still faces today.
Meet the Instructor
Daniel Gordis
Shalem College
Dr. Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College. The author of twelve books, Gordis is a regular columnist for Bloomberg Opinion.
Gordis’s history of Israel, Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn, received the 2016 National Jewish Book Award as “Book of the Year.” Ambassador Dennis Ross, reflecting on the book, wrote, “When I am asked ‘Is there one book to read about Israel?’ I now have an answer.”
Gordis’s most recent book, We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel, was published in 2019. Dr. Gordis and his wife live in Jerusalem.
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