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Zionism and the Biology of the Jews

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

Raphael Falk
Raphael Falk
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Abstract

Whereas eugenics aspired to redeem the human species by forcing it to face the realities of its biological nature, Zionism aspired to redeem the Jewish people by forcing it to face the realities of its biological existence. The Zionists claimed that Jews maintained their ancient distinct “racial” identity, and that their regrouping as a nation in their homeland would have profound eugenic consequences, primarily halting the degeneration they fell prey to because of the conditions imposed on them in the past. Some Zionists believed in a Lamarckian driven eugenics that expected the “normalization” of Jewish life styles to change their constitution. Others believed that transforming conditions would shift selective pressures exerted on the Jewish gene pool.

Type
Historical Perspectives
Information
Science in Context , Volume 11 , Issue 3-4 , Autumn-Winter 1998 , pp. 587 - 607
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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