Jews in Mandatory Palestine and Additional Phenomena of Atypical Settler Colonization in Modern Time

Abstract

In considering the settler societies and economies of the modern era, two types of colonization are commonly identified: one consists of the colonial settlements in America and Oceania, and the other, of the African settler colonies. This broad view of the settlement phenomenon allows for settler societies that differ from Europe’s typical colonialist variety, and may thus be distinguished as atypical. This chapter focuses on such atypical settler societies, dwelling first and foremost on the Jewish settlement in Mandatory Palestine, one prominent colonization enterprise of the 20th Century. It broadens the notion of settler colonization beyond common perceptions, highlighting historically diverse cases where the creation of distinct, largely self-ruled, settler communities have been perceived to be a practical solution to the problem of otherness. The chapter reveals that it was the analogies between Mormonism and Zionism which were most conspicuous in the practice of their guided settlement. Keywords:atypical settler societies; Jewish settlement; Mandatory Palestine; Mormonism; settler colonization; Zionism