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Toward an understanding of fundraising, philanthropy and charity in Western Zionism, 1897–1933

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Abstract

Although scholarship on the ‘third sector’ has successfully integrated Jewish history and the contemporary Jewish scene (including the State of Israel) into its overall agenda, the Zionist movement in Western Europe and the United States, before 1933, is largely absent. This is mainly because, almost until the present, spokespersons for the movement have denied that Zionism is a charity. It may seem obvious that Zionism relied on the tradition of Jews giving to charity, yet this fact is barely reflected in the movement's historiography. Zionism's appeals to Western-acculturated Jews show that many characteristics of Jewish philanthropic societies were essential to the life of the movement. This article explores the institutional strategies which drew on the charitable instincts of Zionism's constituents, especially the creation of the Jewish National Fund (1901) and the Palestine Foundation Fund (1921). The prominence of these bodies led to much of the success, as well as the frustrations of the movement, before the Nazi rise to power.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History, Ohio State University, 43210, Columbus, Ohio

    Michael Berkowitz

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  1. Michael Berkowitz
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Berkowitz, M. Toward an understanding of fundraising, philanthropy and charity in Western Zionism, 1897–1933. Voluntas 7, 241–258 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354117

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