A Liberal Intellectual or Integral Nationalist? Outlines of Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s Intellectual Biography


Abstract

 

Ze’ev Jabotinsky was and still is a controversial figure in academic research. Over the years, various researchers have described Jabotinsky as a hero or a villain. The article deals with the intellectual biography of Vladimir Jabotinsky until the First World War. An attempt was made to trace the intellectual influences that shaped his worldview, and especially his national outlook. The purpose of this article is to present the intellectual influences on Jabotinsky prior to 1914 in relation to his national perception and the question of his labeling. This paper argues that no unequivocal statement about his categorizing can be made, but understanding that the related concepts of Nationalism and Race in his
thought are much more complex than previously described.