Polskie korzenie Izraela. Z Philipem Earl Steelem rozmawia Natalia Pochroń

Abstract

Renowned historian and researcher of the history of the Zionist movement, Philip Earl Steele, in an interview given to a journalist on March 14, 2022, and published first on the website of the Polish History Museum, talks about the Polish roots of the Zionist movement, as well as the most important figures and events that shaped it. In the conclusion of his talk, Steele emphasizes that “Polish Jews largely shaped the ideology of Zionism. Many of them were inspired by the ethos of the legions or the romantic national uprisings. They saw the rebirth of Poland after the years of partitions as a model for their country’s struggle for independence and were strongly guided by it, even after they left Poland. It is worth emphasizing that the Zionism of Rabbi Kalisher, Ben Gurion, and Nahum Sokolov, among others, did not stem from anti-Semitic experiences or from the hostility that Jews would experience from Poles. On the contrary, they were motivated by love for Zion and the desire to have a state of their own, which was not unusual at the turn of the 20th century, in an era of nationalisms.”