To Cast the Jewish People in a European Mould: The Role Models of the Zionist Right

ABSTRACT In the process of nation‐building, national movements often draw inspiration from the experience of other nations. The fascinating case study of the Revisionist movement, dominating the Zionist right from the 1920s onward, allow us to examine precisely how nationalist political movements choose their role models, why they replace them with others, and how they use it to galvanize their ideology and fight off rival ideologies. Analysing four distinct groups and factions within Revisionism, which cast 19 th century Italy, Fascist Italy, Poland, France and USA as their main ideological role models to follow, I claim that the most prominent factors, which led to this variety of role models within the movement are ideology, personal biography, cultural background and generational differences. Together, these factors reveal the deep fault lines in the heart of what seemed to be a unified political bloc.