The Americanization of Zionism, 1897-1948 (review)

Naomi W. Cohen's The Americanization of Zionism, 1897–1948 seeks to demonstrate that American Zionism was shaped by "the needs of Jews in America (as well as in Europe), the stand of the American government, and the demands of American public opinion" (1). It "does not purport to be a synthetic history of American Zionism," but is rather an examination of "certain significant sub-themes" that "flesh out the American/Zionist nexus" (2). Organized in a semi-chronological and thematic fashion, the book is framed by brief introductory and concluding remarks that cast a broad conceptual net and assert a bold thesis. "The results of Zionist activity," Cohen asserts, "ultimately served to modify the identity of the Jewish community" (217). She further argues that "early Zionist efforts at instilling a national consciousness laid the groundwork that permitted Jewish ethnic loyalties to emerge full blown" in late twentieth-century American life, and that "American Jews made use of Zionism to balance their identities as Americans and Jews" (217).

As evidence in this regard, Cohen marshals eight thoughtful case studies, beginning with an examination of The Maccabaean, the official publication of the Federation of American Zionists. She subsequently considers the ideological clash between Reform Judaism and Zionism; responses to Zionism in "the public square" before and after the Arab riots of 1929; the first attempt to create an American-style Conservative synagogue in Jerusalem; a series of semi-secret negotiations in the 1930s conducted by the American social worker Maurice B. Hexter (representing the American non-Zionist leader Felix Warburg) and Sir John Hope Simpson (representing the British government); the efforts by Zionists to overcome the intransigence of the American State Department during World War II; the activity of the American Jewish Conference; and finally the attitude toward Zionism of Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, the American Conservative theologian and president of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Although each chapter is soundly organized, the book lacks a coherent methodological frame. The net result is that Cohen's thesis does not rest on a systematic argument, but rather a series of snapshots for which there is no overarching or convincing rationale. Other scholars have already covered much of the terrain she ventures upon. Three of the book's eight chapters are drawn from Cohen's previous work, going back to essays she originally published in 1956, 1978, 1988, and 1997. Nor does a comparison of the essays in their original and present forms indicate a serious reconsideration or expansion to include new scholarly approaches and findings.

The volume does feature a bold argument, namely that "without the Americanization of its ideology and politics, Zionism in the United States would have made little headway" (213). American Zionism, Cohen asserts, "can serve as a barometer of the overall condition of the American Jewish minority in any given time period," and "Zionist activities provide an index of Jewish acculturation" (2). But what precisely does Cohen mean by the terms "barometer," "index," and "Americanization"? How does one differentiate between, on the one hand, German Jewish immigrants—who participate fully in America's English-speaking culture, excel in the capitalist system, abandon traditional Judaism to opt for the religious model of American Protestantism, and play active roles in relief efforts aimed at their less fortunate coreligionists elsewhere in the world—and, on the other hand, East European Jewish immigrants—who place a premium on the Yiddish-speaking milieu, belong to labor unions, keep kosher and regularly observe the Sabbath, and contribute their hard-earned pennies to the Jewish National Fund? In another instance, Cohen asserts that the Maccabaean "undeniably planted Zionism in American soil, never to be uprooted" (38). But what about the impact of other Jewish newspapers, notably the pro-Zionist Yiddish dailies of the period—the Yidishes Tageblat, Morgen Zhurnal, and Der Tog—which together had a combined circulation in 1917 of...