Politics: Emancipation & Political Zionism

Jews lived in Judea for thousands of years, but even after the exile, they were still set apart from other societies. That changed in the 19th century, when Jews were offered the political equality they had hitherto been denied. But with those liberties came a question: what is to become of Jewish identity in the modern world? Many argued that Jews would have to give up their distinctive identity to make full use of their new freedoms. It was this problem that political Zionism sought to solve, and it is this tension that Dr. Wilf probes in this first episode.