Hovevei Zion
Movement of the 1880s and 1890s, strongest in Russia and Romania, that promoted Jewish settlement in Palestine before Herzl's political Zionism
| Hovevei Zion
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Movement for Jewish settlement in Palestine (Ḥibbat Zion) |
| Founded | 1881–82 |
| Location | Russia, Romania, Western Europe, the United States |
| Key people | Leon Pinsker; Samuel Mohilewer; Moshe Leib Lilienblum |
Hovevei Zion (also Chovevei Zion, "Lovers of Zion") were the groups of the Ḥibbat Zion ("Love of Zion") movement, which promoted Jewish settlement in Palestine, especially agricultural settlement, from the early 1880s.[1] The Encyclopaedia Judaica describes Ḥibbat Zion as "the intermediate link" between the forerunners of Zionism and the political Zionism of Theodor Herzl and the First Zionist Congress in 1897, and as "the first mass movement to provide Herzl with wide popular support".[2]
Aims and activity
The first Hovevei Zion groups were set up in 1881–82. Some concentrated on philanthropy and others on emigration to Palestine.[1] The Encyclopaedia Judaica says the movement's declared aim was "to solve the problem of the abnormal Jewish life in the dispersion by a return of the Jewish people to Ereẓ Israel, settlement on the land on a large scale, and attaining the recognition of the major powers for this purpose". In practice, after the Russian pogroms of the early 1880s, the groups concentrated on encouraging emigration and settlement rather than politics, since conditions in Russia did not allow open political activity.[2]
The encyclopaedia says the groups' efforts "turned de facto into philanthropic activity of limited scope", and that without the help of Baron Edmond de Rothschild it is doubtful they could have kept the first settlements going.[2] Hovevei Zion also asked Baron Maurice de Hirsch to support the movement, but he refused.[3]
The Odessa Committee
In Russia the groups sought a legally recognised national framework. The authorities insisted that it be a charitable body, and early in 1890 it was approved as the Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Eretz-Israel, known as the Odessa Committee. The Jewish Virtual Library says it had about 14,000 sympathisers in Russia in 1892, and that its leaders included Rabbi Samuel Mohilewer, Moshe Leib Lilienblum and Leon Pinsker.[1]
Relations with Herzl
After Herzl published Der Judenstaat in 1896 and the World Zionist Organization was founded, most branches of Hovevei Zion joined the new movement.[1] The Encyclopaedia Judaica says Herzl at first called the small-scale settlement work "infiltration". The Western European groups reacted to him with reserve, while most of the Eastern European groups joined him but kept supporting practical settlement. This was the root of the split between "political" and "practical" Zionists, which lasted until "synthetic Zionism" took hold after David Wolffsohn resigned as president of the World Zionist Organization in 1911.[2] Hovevei Zion in Russia also clashed with Rothschild over his system of patronage in the colonies.[4]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jewish Virtual Library, "Zionism: Hovevei Zion", accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Getzel Kressel, "Ḥibbat Zion", Encyclopaedia Judaica, via Encyclopedia.com, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Jewish Virtual Library, "Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831–1896)" (source: Gates to Jewish Heritage), accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "Rothschild, Baron Edmond James de", Encyclopaedia Judaica, via Encyclopedia.com, accessed 25 October 2026.