Language in Nationalism

This article examines the history of Israel's lingua franca as a constituent of the Zionist project. Based largely on recent scholarship, this work sheds light on the role of language in the educational and political efforts to create a New Hebrew Man who, in contradistinction to the European Jew, was to live ‘as a free man’ in his own land. Reflecting Jewish experience in the Russian Empire, these efforts alienated traditional, particularly non-Ashkenazi Jews. The article addresses the question of the uniqueness of the modern Israeli vernacular that contributes to the historical legitimacy of Zionism and the state of Israel.

Archaeology · Haskalah · Hebrew · Jewish history · Jewish studies · Judaism · Land of Israel · Legitimacy · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · Sociology · State (computer science) · Vernacular · Zionism · Classics · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Jewish Identity and Society · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity