‘Dictate More, for We Should Obey Your Orders!’ Cult of the Leader in Inter-War Hebrew Fascism

Abstract

This article surveys the ideal of the cult of the leader among Revisionist Zionist circles in inter-war Palestine. Relying on the writings of Itamar Ben Avi, Abba Aḥime‘ir, Wolfgang von Weisl, Joshua Yevin, Zwi Kolitz and Abraham Stern, it examines how this leader's cult evolved within the Revisionist movement and what role it played in the Revisionist thought. It concludes by examining this admiration towards national leaders in the context of Robert Paxton's model of generic fascism, demonstrating how this leader's cult can be considered as a ‘mobilising emotion’ of local generic fascism.