Land and Power: The Zionist Resort to Force, 1881-1948

by Anita Shapira, William Templer (Translator)

Overview

The book traces the history of attitudes toward power and the use of armed force within the Zionist movement from an early period in which most leaders espoused an ideal of peaceful settlement in Palestine, to the acceptance of force as a legitimate tool for achieving a sovereign Jewish state.

"[A] classic... This brilliant intellectual history by a distinguished Tel Aviv University scholar shows how the exilic Jewish aversion to Machtpolitik shriveled in the crucible of state-building. Mainstream Zionism, which never saw itself as a movement of European usurpers, evolved what Shapira calls a 'defensive ethos' under British rule that skirted both compromise and confrontation with the Arabs. It hoped to dull enmity by offering Palestine's Arabs everything as individuals but nothing as a people. But when the proto-intifada of the Arab Revolt erupted in 1936, a new 'offensive ethos' recognizing the inevitability of an Arab-Jewish clash and the legitimacy of the sword gained ground among Mandate Palestine's Jews. Shapira's lucid, searching book — a model of historical curiosity and craft — is indispensable for anyone seeking to understand modern Israel, whose sense of its own power coexists painfully alongside a sense of fearful victimhood." — Foreign Affairs

"Shapira succeeds... in presenting more than a one-dimensional intellectual history of the Zionist movement... Displaying her skills as a serious historian and a fine writer, Shapira offers a nuanced and even-handed examination of a variety of elements within the Jewish community based on a rich selection of original sources." — The Historical Journal

"A rich and sophisticated work that nicely complements more conventional political-historical studies of the Arab-Israeli conflict... Shapira sifts through a vast body of material, ranging from essays, poems, and memoir literature to the unpublished minutes of political party and youth group meetings. Shapira interprets these sources with sensitivity and insight. Shapira writes with power, compassion, and warmth... a landmark book that is an outstanding contribution to the history of Zionist political thought and culture." — American Historical Review

"This is a superb book. It is a well-researched, detailed, and scholarly account that provides new and valuable insights into the dilemma posed by the formation and elaboration of a more forceful Israeli military posture." — The Historian

"Shapira's powerful, well-written... lucid intellectual history of a segment of the Zionist movement... is fascinating and easy to read... highly educational." — Journal of Economic History

"Anita Shapira provides an excellent analysis of the different debates within Zionism during the pre-state period... Altogether, this is an intellectual history of the Zionist Movement well worth reading. It is meticulously researched and analysed, incomparable in terms of depth, and essential for anyone with an interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Zionism and contemporary Jewish history." — The English Historical Review

"[A] comprehensive political history of pre-1948 Palestine... The book is lucidly written, well researched, based on extensive primary and secondary resources. The translation from the Hebrew edition by William Templer is outstanding... this is perhaps the most conceptually sophisticated and thematically integrated work on the Yishuv recently written... Land and Power is a significant and an excellent contribution to our understanding of Zionism and the Yishuv." — Shofar

Product Details

BN ID:	2940161067901
Publisher:	Plunkett Lake Press
Publication date:	06/07/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1940, Anita Shapira arrived in Palestine in 1947, and grew up in Tel Aviv. She studied history and Jewish history at Tel Aviv University, earning her Ph.D. in 1974 under Professor Daniel Carpi. Her dissertation, “The Struggle for Hebrew Labor, 1929-1939,” indicated her interest in the history of the Labor Zionist movement, which was to be a continuing focus of her research. Shapira became an assistant professor at Tel Aviv University in 1969 and a full professor in 1985. She was dean of its Faculty of Humanities (1990-95), held the Ruben Merenfeld Chair for the Study of Zionism (1995-2009), was head of the Chaim Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism and Israel (2000-12), and was a director at the Israel Democracy Institute (2008-13).

Shapira also was a member of the Planning and Budgeting Commission of the Council for Higher Education in Israel (1985-89), chaired the board of Am Oved publishing house (1987-90), was president of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (2002–08) and has been a board member of the Zalman Shazar Institute since 1988. She founded the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies and was its first director (1996–99). She is academic co-editor of Yale University Press’s biography series “Jewish Lives” and of the Journal of Israeli History, and served on the editorial board of the Jewish Review of Books.

Shapira’s books include a biography of Zionist socialist leader Berl Katznelson, which was so widely acclaimed when it appeared as the first academic biography published in Israel that Shapira became overnight a famous scholar in Israel; Land and Power: The Zionist Resort to Force, 1881-1948 and biographies of Palmach leader Yigal Allon, of the revered writer Yosef Hayyim Brenner, who was murdered by Arab assailants at the age of 40, and of David Ben Gurion; all were also published in English. She also wrote Israel: A History, a comprehensive book on the history of Israel. She won many prizes, including the Israel Prize in 2008. She was elected to the Israeli Academy of Science in 2021.