The role of higher education in zionist society

More than 20 years before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Zionist settlement in Palestine had organized two complementary institutions: the Technion in Haifa and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Technion was devoted to training engineers and technical workers while the Hebrew University developed the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and medicine. The literature of the Zionist movement is replete with amateur attempts to catalogue the country’s resources and offer potential colonizers practical information on how to settle the land. It is revealing that perhaps the most successful work of this genre was written ten years after its authors actually immigrated to Palestine. Although the 1902 document emphasized applied sciences and technology, it also discussed the need for Jewish Studies, viewing them as a means for achieving the national revival of the Jewish people. The return of Jews to Zion was more than a question of refashioning national culture and reclaiming the land.