Editing Zionism (section)

=== Forerunners of Zionism ===
{{See also|Aliyah#Middle Ages}}
The forerunners of Zionism, rather than being causally connected to the later development of Zionism, are thinkers and activists who expressed some notion of Jewish national consciousness or advocated for the migration of Jews to Palestine. These attempts were not continuous as national movements typically are.{{sfn|Penslar|2023|p=25}}{{sfn|Shimoni|1995|loc=Chapter 2}} The most notable [[Proto-Zionist]]s were thinkers such as [[Judah Alkalai]] and [[Zvi Hirsch Kalischer]] (who were both rabbinical figures).{{sfn|Dieckhoff|2003|loc=Political Beginnings of Zionism}} Their idea of Jews as a collective was strongly tied to religious notions distinct from the secular movement referred to as Zionism that developed at the end of the century.{{sfn|Penslar|2023|pp=27–29}}

In contrast, [[Moses Hess]], who is regarded as the first modern Jewish nationalist, advocated for the establishment of an independent Jewish state in pursuit of the economic and social normalization of the Jewish people.{{sfn|Sela|2002|loc=Zionism}} Hess believed that emancipation alone was not a sufficient solution to the problems faced by European Jewry.{{sfn|Shimoni|1995|loc=Chapter 2}}

Christian restorationist ideas promoting the migration of Jews to Palestine contributed to the ideological and historical context that gave a sense of credibility to these pre-Zionist initiatives.{{sfn|Shimoni|1995|loc=Chapter 2}} Restorationist ideas were a prerequisite for the success of Zionism, since although it was created by Jews, Zionism was dependent on support from Christians, although it is unclear how much Christian ideas influenced the early Zionists. Zionism was also dependent on the thinkers of the ''[[Haskalah]]'' or Jewish enlightenment, such as [[Peretz Smolenskin]] in 1872, although it often depicted it as its opponent.{{sfn|Penslar|2023|p=27|ps=, "The Zionist movement was created by Jews, but from the start it was dependent on support from the Christian world. Restorationism was therefore a prerequisite for the success of Zionism. It is harder to establish, however, whether Christian ideas influenced the nineteenth-century Jews who championed a return to the Land of Israel. It is difficult indeed to trace any such external influences...it may be that direct influence was scant or nonexistent but that the men were all influenced by the dynamic spirit of the age..."}}