Zionism in the Writings of the Romanian Jews Authors in the Interwar. Case Study – E. Dorian, M. Sebastian, U. Benador and I. Peltz.
Zionism in the Writings of the Romanian Jews Authors in the Interwar. Case Study – E. Dorian, M. Sebastian, U. Benador and I. Peltz.

Summary/Abstract: The Interwar was in Romania, as it was in most of Europe, a period of relative peace followed by a deterioration of the situation. Romania was one of the last countries to emancipate its approximatively 700.000 Jews in 1923 and from this point onwards the legislation became increasingly oppressive and anti-Semitic. In these conditions, it’s important to know in what measure Zionism represented a solution for the Romanian Jews. The literature reflects most times not only what a specific group believes about an idea, but also the group itself. Because of this, my study focuses on some of the important Romanian Jews authors like Ury Benador, Isaac Peltz, and Mihail Sebastian. For a more accurate perspective of the reality, the case study will include the diaries of Mihail Sebastian and Emil Dorian. It is important to mention from the beginning that Zionism was not a very important subject in the writings of the mentioned authors, but rather a theme that appeared sporadically and episodically. One of the two main points of the research is whether Zionism became a more popular and viable idea as the Romanian legislation toughened up or did it remain the same taking into consideration the late foundation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the British Mandate of Palestine policy which was against the immigration, not to mention that the land itself was a hostile environment. The other main point of the research is to analyze the arguments of the named authors regarding the creation of a State of Israel, the possible emigration to this newly founded state and if they themselves were supporters of this emigration. Secondary, the research focuses on the Jewish society in Romania as it was seen by the selected authors, taking into consideration that the literature can be a mirror of this society and of the society’s views on the issue; the research is not limited to the Jewish society in Romania, but also the Romanian society as a whole, also as it is seen by the selected authors.

• Details
• Contents