A magisterial biography of Israel’s first president.
In Chaim Weizmann: A Biography, Jehuda Reinharz and Motti Golani show how Weizmann, a leader of the World Zionist Organization who became the first president of Israel, advocated for a Jewish state by gaining the support of influential politicians and statesmen as well as Jews around the world. Beginning with his childhood in Belorussia and concluding with his tenure as president, Reinharz and Golani describe how a Russian Jew, who immigrated to the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century, was able to advance the goals of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist Organization. Weizmann is also shown as a man of human foibles—his infatuations, political machinations, and elitism—as well as a man of admirable qualities—intelligence, wit, charisma, and dedication.
Weizmann, who came to the UK to work as a biochemist, was in regular communication with British political figures, including prime ministers Arthur James Balfour, David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Ramsay MacDonald. He also met presidents of the United States from Woodrow Wilson to Harry Truman. His success in earning the support of British political figures helped lead to the Balfour Declaration, which advocated for a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.
As the authors show in this authoritative account of Weizmann’s life, Weizmann was guided by the belief that “Zion shall be redeemed in justice,” a phrase that recurs often in his writings.
In Chaim Weizmann: A Biography, Jehuda Reinharz and Motti Golani show how Weizmann, a leader of the World Zionist Organization who became the first president of Israel, advocated for a Jewish state by gaining the support of influential politicians and statesmen as well as Jews around the world. Beginning with his childhood in Belorussia and concluding with his tenure as president, Reinharz and Golani describe how a Russian Jew, who immigrated to the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century, was able to advance the goals of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist Organization. Weizmann is also shown as a man of human foibles—his infatuations, political machinations, and elitism—as well as a man of admirable qualities—intelligence, wit, charisma, and dedication.
Weizmann, who came to the UK to work as a biochemist, was in regular communication with British political figures, including prime ministers Arthur James Balfour, David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Ramsay MacDonald. He also met presidents of the United States from Woodrow Wilson to Harry Truman. His success in earning the support of British political figures helped lead to the Balfour Declaration, which advocated for a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.
As the authors show in this authoritative account of Weizmann’s life, Weizmann was guided by the belief that “Zion shall be redeemed in justice,” a phrase that recurs often in his writings.
820 pages | 2 color plates, 26 halftones | 7 x 10 | © 2024
The Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry
History: European History, Middle Eastern History
Reviews
Table of Contents
Preface: Toward a Weizmann Biography
Chapter 1: Eastern European Beginnings
Chapter 2: On the Path to Leadership
Chapter 3: Conflicting Loyalties
Chapter 4: The Uganda Controversy
Chapter 5: New Beginnings
Chapter 6: Synthetic Zionism as Zionist Credo
Chapter 7: Failed Professorship
Chapter 8: The Great War
Chapter 9: Acetone in Service of Two Nations
Chapter 10: Between Exile and Redemption
Chapter 11: From Letter to Balfour Declaration
Chapter 12: Laying the Cornerstone
Chapter 13: The Road to San Remo
Chapter 14: The Break with American Zionism
Chapter 15: Lobbying for Palestine
Chapter 16: Labor Pains
Chapter 17: If We don’t Have America
Chapter 18: Lewis and Buffy
Chapter 19: The Third Era of Zionism
Chapter 20: On the World Stage
Chapter 21: A Place of His Own
Chapter 22: The Valleys and the Hills
Chapter 23: War Again
Chapter 24: Zionism of the Weak
Chapter 25: A Golden Autumn
Chapter 26: “You May View the Land from a Distance”
Chapter 27: The Death of Memory
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Chapter 1: Eastern European Beginnings
Chapter 2: On the Path to Leadership
Chapter 3: Conflicting Loyalties
Chapter 4: The Uganda Controversy
Chapter 5: New Beginnings
Chapter 6: Synthetic Zionism as Zionist Credo
Chapter 7: Failed Professorship
Chapter 8: The Great War
Chapter 9: Acetone in Service of Two Nations
Chapter 10: Between Exile and Redemption
Chapter 11: From Letter to Balfour Declaration
Chapter 12: Laying the Cornerstone
Chapter 13: The Road to San Remo
Chapter 14: The Break with American Zionism
Chapter 15: Lobbying for Palestine
Chapter 16: Labor Pains
Chapter 17: If We don’t Have America
Chapter 18: Lewis and Buffy
Chapter 19: The Third Era of Zionism
Chapter 20: On the World Stage
Chapter 21: A Place of His Own
Chapter 22: The Valleys and the Hills
Chapter 23: War Again
Chapter 24: Zionism of the Weak
Chapter 25: A Golden Autumn
Chapter 26: “You May View the Land from a Distance”
Chapter 27: The Death of Memory
Notes
Bibliography
Index