Building the Impossible Dream: The History of Zionism

75 years after its founding, the establishment of the State of Israel remains one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern era. Never before had a people dispersed throughout the world, deprived of sovereignty for millennia, at times targeted and slaughtered, returned to its ancient homeland to build a thriving country. Who were the great leaders and thinkers that helped craft a modern Jewish nationalism? What moved them to build a new Jewish state for a people so long deprived of self-determination? How did the political situation of the Jewish people—in Russia, Europe, and the Middle East—change and evolve, and how did the Zionist founders and the new Israeli patriots interact with world leaders and confront their enemies, both on the battlefield and in the political arena? In this limited-series podcast, released in time for Israel's 75th birthday, historian Dr. Daniel Polisar weaves together the political, cultural, and religious history of the Zionist movement, illuminating the spirit of modern Jewish nationalism and the unfolding (and miraculous) meaning of modern Israel.