The roots of the Zionist question as part of European policy in the Arab East (1798 - 1840)

Abstract

The first thing that comes to mind when talking about Zionist relations with the Western world is the relations between Israel, the United States of America, and Britain, as these two countries were the biggest supporters of the Jews and Israel from the Balfour Declaration until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. However, in reality, before the establishment of their state, the Jews had very old and strong relations with France, which were rooted in the establishment of the Israeli state. This relationship was no less important than its counterpart with the major countries, Britain and the United States, and perhaps even more important. Thus, we find that the idea of ​​establishing a Jewish state on the land of Palestine did not come without historical preludes, and it did not come from Britain during the Balfour Declaration, as is commonly known, or even from the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897. Rather, we find that Herzl, the founder of the political Zionist movement, used Napoleon Bonaparte's idea of ​​establishing a national homeland for the Jews in Palestine as a historical reference during this conference.

The European role in creating Zionism was much greater, as is evident to us through Zionist writings, as an autonomous movement and a continuation of the nature of Jewish sentiments. Europe was not merely the cradle in which Zionism was born, but rather the cradle without which the Zionist movement would not have existed.