The Anglo-American Support for Zionism: Israel from Emergence to Empowerment

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the British and American foreign policies towards Zionism from the very earliest times before and after the birth of the Zionist movement moving by the Israeli statehood to the nowadays Anglo-American-Israeli relations. It tries to explore why only the United States and Britain did assist the Zionists and kept supporting them until today. Besides, it examines the characteristics of such support that was unprecedented in history. As Jews were persecuted and hated all over the world, they found a window of hope in the British and American political arena. Therefore, adopting a historically oriented qualitative method focused on politics, culture and religion, this research investigates the reasons that shaped the British and American foreign policies, which began with sympathy and ended with a blind and costly support. Gradually, this work traces back the history of Jews, and then follows the Zionists’ rise in influence starting with Britain that hosted the Zionist project to, finally, handing it to the U.S. This research provides a clearer understanding on how religion, culture and history shaped the British and the American foreign policies towards Zionism and Israel