Zionism ‘at the uttermost ends of the earth’: A New Zealand Social History c.1900-1948

Abstract

This thesis is a social history that examines why a tiny Jewish community in the far-flung Dominion of New Zealand should become so engaged in a movement that originated on the other side of the world and why the wider community also embraced Zionism so enthusiastically. Investigation in the nineteenth century reveals New Zealanders highly engaged in an international discourse that traversed nations and empires; the Ottoman and British empires, Western and Eastern Europe and Russia. The thesis tracks the growth of Zionism in New Zealand, with a particular focus on Auckland, then considered the most Zionist community in the country. From the establishment of the first Zionist Societies in 1903 until the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, it weaves together the macro-history with micro-histories and shows how and why the local community engaged politically and practically with the plight of fellow Jews overseas. Through the lens of the New Zealand Jewish community, this thesis examines the way in which the tragic Jewish history, from the pogroms of the 1880s to the Nazi persecution of the 1930s and 40s and the resultant refugee crisis contributed to the growing belief that the establishment of a homeland in (then) Palestine would be the solution to the ‘Jewish Problem’. I have been privileged to access a valuable trove of previously unpublished primary resources, thus enabling a rich analysis of the outworking of a movement in a local setting. Some important and unique stories have been brought to light. The various case studies allow for a in-depth look at how leaders interpreted Zionism for the local community, and how the characteristics of particular individuals contributed immensely to the success of the movement. This thesis discusses the efforts of local Zionists to grapple with the various and divergent ideologies which underpinned their activity. While a great deal scholarship has been undertaken on the topic of Zionism generally, much less attention has been afforded the outworking of the movement in the diaspora. This trans-national, social history is the first scholarly examination of Zionism in New Zealand. It also contributes to New Zealand’s political, war, women’s, philanthropic, religious and imperial histories.