Jerusalem Recovered: Victorian Intellectuals and the Birth of Modern Zionism

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This work demonstrates that the Balfour Declaration - the British decision to establish a Jewish homeland in postwar Palestine made on November 2, 1917 - was the culmination of over 60 years of active preoccupation with Jewish culture and history among the British elite. Among these activists were the social reformer Lord Shaftesbury, the statesman Benjamin Disraeli, the novelist George Eliot, the archaeologist Charles Warren and the romantic adventurer Laurence Oliphant. This study demonstrates how admiration for Judaism among the British elite influenced their actions and even their view of the world.

Author Bio

MICHAEL POLOWETZKY's first book, A Bond Never Broken (1993), analyzed Napoleon's relations with the French literary community.