Settler-Colonialism and Empire-Building in Palestine/Israel, 1920–1956

As Israel is engaged in one of the bloodiest chapters of its history, this article delves into the economic and political discursive structures of the Zionist project. Critically using settler-colonial theory and V.I. Lenin’s analysis of European imperialism, I argue that imperialism and empire-building were not forces external to Zionism but internal to its ideological and economic practices. By analyzing the way capital was transferred to pre-1948 Palestine, building it into a “pure colony” and a future metropole, and studying two discursive moments—the writings of the right-wing Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion—I show how small empire building was part of Zionist/Israeli thought and practice. JEL Classification : B30, F50