Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 03/2015

Origins and Evolution of Zionism ·

Liora Halperin

January 2015

Foreign Policy Research Institute

Abstract

One of the key forces in shaping the history of Palestine was the Zionist movement. This movement emerged from and is rooted in political developments in Europe, but it changed and developed as it evolved from a political movement in Europe to a settlement and nation-building project in Palestine. Thus, we need to step outside the physical context of the Middle East to understand a force that ultimately changed the Middle East.