Some years before the 1896 appearance of Theodore Herzl
Der Judenstaat, Joseph Marco Baruch (Istanbul, 1872–Florence, 1899) articulated his own brand of Zionism. His life and work provide alternative Jewish geographies for the study of Zionism that complicate established categories, such as the
cultural/East
and
political/West,
a binary that also posits Jewish identity and political action as disjoined spheres. Neither premise applies to the work of Joseph Marco Baruch. Conceptually, his social vision juxtaposed
realpolitik and a national-historical Jewish identity, and his activism was well received in European and Mediterranean circles. As in all similar movements, Zionism was shaped by power struggles between leaders and ideologues; biographical contrasts between Theodore Herzl and Joseph Marco Baruch draw attention to personal privilege and its role in influencing the institutional course of Zionism at a critical historical juncture. The case of Joseph Marco Baruch invites discussion of the early 1890s as an important, but overlooked, period in the development of political Zionism.
Paula Daccarett: I would like to thank the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry and Brandeis University GTR grants for the funds that allowed me to undertake research at the Central Zionist Archives, the Machon Ben Zvi, Hebrew University and the Machon Jabotinsky. Special appreciation is in order for Prof. Eugene Sheppard and Sylvia Fuks Fried at the Tauber Institute for their warmth and encouragement of this project. They, alongside Prof. Benjamin Ravid, provided feedback and editorial magic on earlier drafts. Prof. Tony Michels and Prof. Kenneth Stow offered unflagging assistance and support that pulled me out of numerous dead ends on final drafts. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this article and the attendants at the 2003 WJSA Conference for valuable input.