Dialogues on Dialogues

Netta Sandler, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in History and minor in Art History

According to the geological principle of uniformitarianism, the past is the key to the future. The study of history is a great reflection of this concept and one that I strive in achieving in my research. The goal of my capstone project, “Dialogues of Zionism and Its Oppositions as
Discussed in the Menorah Journal,” was to reveal past arguments and how similar they are to current-day discussions on Zionism. With the guidance of my mentor, Professor John Dixon, I compiled articles submitted to the Journal that either supported or opposed the creation of a Jewish state and broke down their arguments to relate their modern-day relevance. The Menorah Journal formed as an extension of the Menorah Society, a club started by Jewish students at Harvard University. The Menorah Society later expanded in a network of
clubs in college campuses across the United States and eventually formed the Menorah
Journal, a public space for discussion regarding Jewish life in the modern world. I focused on
the years 1915-1926, as this was when mass Jewish immigration was severely limited and
therefore led to Jewish people to question whether the United States was the best place for
Jews to live. Eventually, this led to talks about creating a separate Jewish state based on all
sorts of factors such as culture, politics, nationalism, and spirituality.
Since there were so many facets of Zionism that I did not expect until I delved into my
research, I struggled to properly simplify the arguments in a way that would make readers who
are not familiar with the topic have an easier time understanding my work. Not only this, but I
was also worried that I would not be able to do this project justice. Zionism has been a heavy
topic for centuries, and has only been gaining traction as current events emerge. Initially, my
goal was to help others see how similar past discussions of Zionism were, but I ended up
learning that they are nearly identical in framework and ideology. Because of this, I worked
really hard to include as many sides of these arguments as well as research from other scholars
to have a well-rounded essay.
I am glad I had the opportunity to work on this project. As someone who hopes to
continue their academic pursuits, this was a great learning opportunity to see what being a
historian entails. Through the progression of my research, more and more questions that I did
not anticipate having began to surface. This led me to expanding my research to include
answers to those questions. Working on a project like this one taught me to be more
open-minded and curious when writing historic essays because it results in a more detailed and
satisfactory paper.