Leading Israeli scholar with a major re-evaluation of Zionism

In this original and wide-ranging study, Gabriel Piterberg examines the ideology and literature behind the colonization of Palestine, from the late nineteenth century to the present. Exploring Zionism’s origins in Central-Eastern European nationalism and settler movements, he shows how its texts can be placed within a wider discourse of western colonization. Piterberg revisits the work of Theodor Herzl, Gershom Scholem, Anita Shapira and David Ben-Gurion, among other thinkers influential in the formation of the Zionist myth, to break open prevailing views of Zionism. He demonstrates that it was in fact unexceptional, expressing a consciousness and imagination typical of colonial settler movement. Shaped by European ideological currents and the realities of colonial life, Zionism constructed its own story as a unique and impregnable one, in the process excluding the voices of an indigenous people— the Palestinian Arabs.

“This thoroughly researched and engaging book provides an intellectual, cultural and literary fulcrum from which Zionist ideology and practice can be read afresh. …This book is essential reading for everyone who is interested in the history of Zionism as well as the history of nationalist movements.” — Yehouda Shenhav, Professor of Sociology, Tel-Aviv University

“The Returns of Zionism is a sharply critical intellectual and literary history of the Zionist movement and … the State of Israel. The book represents a milestone in the study of Zionism. … A magnificent accomplishment of original research and far-reaching historical reinterpretation.” — Avi Shlaim, FBA, St. Anthony’s College, Oxford

Gabriel Piterberg teaches history at UCLA, and has taught at St Antony’s and Balliol Colleges, Oxford. His previous books include An Ottoman Tragedy: History and Historiography at Play. He writes for the New Left Review and the London Review of Books.