The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism from Jabotinsky to Shamir!

The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism from Jabotinsky to Shamir is a 1984 book by the American Trotskyist Lenni Brenner. It is a highly critical account of the development of Revisionist Zionism. The name of the book is a reference to an essay written by Ze’ev Jabotinsky in 1923.[1]

What is Revisionist Zionism? Answer: Genocidal Israel Today

Revisionist Zionism [1] (Hebrew: ציונות רוויזיוניסטית, romanized:Ṣiyyônût Revîzyônîstît) is a form of Zionism characterized by territorial maximalism. Revisionist Zionism promoted expansionism and the establishment of a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan River.[1] Developed by Ze’ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s, Revisionism advocated a “revision” of the “practical Zionism” of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann, which was focused on the settling of Eretz Yisrael (ארץ ישראל, ‘[the] Land of Israel’) by independent Jewish individuals. Differing from other types of Zionism, Revisionists insisted upon the Jewish right to sovereignty over the whole of Eretz Yisrael, including Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan. It was the main ideological opponent to the dominant labor–socialist Labor Zionism.[2] Revisionist Zionism has strongly influenced modern right-wing Israeli parties, principally Herut and its successor, Likud.

What is Jabotinsky?

After World War I, Jabotinsky was elected to the first legislative assembly in the Yishuv, and in 1921 he was elected to the Executive Council of the Zionist Organization (known as the World Zionist Organization after 1960). He quit the latter group in 1923, thanks mainly to differences of opinion with its chairman, Chaim Weizmann. In 1925, Jabotinsky formed the Hatzohar, the Union of Revisionist Zionists, in the World Zionist Congress to advocate his views, which included increased cooperation with Britain on transforming the entire Mandate for Palestine territory, including Palestine itself and Transjordan, on opposite sides of the Jordan River, into a sovereign Jewish state, loyal to the British Empire. To this end, Jabotinsky advocated for mass Jewish immigration from Europe and the creation of a second Jewish Legion to guard a nascent Jewish state at inception. Jabotinsky wished to convince Britain that a Jewish state would be in the best interest of the British Empire, perhaps even an autonomous extension of it in the Middle East.

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References

[1] Revisionist Zionism - Wikipedia

[2] The Iron Wall: Zionist Revisionism from Jabotinsky to Shamir - Wikipedia

[3] Schechtman, The Jabotinsky-Slavinsky Agreement, Jewish Social Studies, October 1955, p.301.