Search

This chapter examines the implication of political Zionism for the immigrants in Israel. One of the salient features of political Zionism is that it purported not to be a nationalist ideology but strove to integrate two value premises. Both sets of premises, the particularistic and the universalistic ones, became fundamental components of the legitimation of the state. In political practice, however, they necessarily crashed. A common conflict between the premises emerged in the conduct of the state towards its Arab subjects.

This chapter summarizes the continuity of the Zionist ideology and the political praxis that refer to territory. The orientations toward a certain territorial expanse constitute the first dimension of territorial behavior. These orientations run along a continuum of the degree of expressiveness. The establishment of village settlements was indeed an aim and an integral part of the process of building the Israeli nation. In the initial stage of Zionist settlement, when the Jewish collectivity did not have enough strength to conquer land, the only way for the acquisition of land was through means of acquiring ownership or exchanging capital for land.