Israeli leaders began to pay serious and concerted attention to Asia in the
form of a twelve- nation Asian tour undertaken by Moshe Sharett, the
former prime minister.^61
However, before examining the yishuv contacts with the Indian na-
tionalists, one has to examine the obstacles before the yishuv leadership.
Unlike other territorial nationalist movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America, Zionism was not just about a nation becoming a homeland— it
was about creating a homeland for a dispersed nation. Bringing the Dias-
pora to their ancestral home was the central pillar of Zionism. Even if
Zionism could provide the necessary ideological zeal for Jewish emigra-
tion to Palestine or aliya, operationalizing such an ambitious plan was
truly herculean.
Herzl was clear that without an international guarantee Zionism
would have remained a messianic cult without a messiah. The Zionists,
who were soliciting the support of all the major powers in Eu rope, found
in Great Britain their principal benefactor. The Balfour Declaration of
1917 and the granting of a Mandate for Palestine made Great Britain the
main partner in the Zionist enterprise in Palestine. Since the Jewish
national- home project depended heavily upon the cooperation and sup-
port of the imperial power, the Zionists could not even dream of being
anti- British. Rather than perceiving this as a collaboration with imperial-
ism, one has to see the Zionist alignment with the British as a tactical
move toward the realization of their larger po liti cal aspirations. As the
Revisionist tactics highlighted, the Zionist- British cooperation was not
written in stone. Simply put, at least in the initial years the Zionists could
not have fought the British and still hoped for a Jewish homeland. The
Zionist demands for po liti cal support from Indian nationalists, therefore,
could not be accompanied by any reciprocal gesture.
Even without the imperial dimension, India was less attractive for the
Zionist struggle. Zionist interests were focused on countries that enjoyed
signifi cant clout internationally, and their po liti cal activities were focused
on these centers of international economic or po liti cal power. Though
London was more forthcoming than the rest, during the run up to the
Balfour Declaration, the Zionists worked with other powers, including
France, Germany, Rus sia, and even the Ottoman Empire.^62 During the
interwar period, the United States emerged from its self- imposed isola-
tion and began playing an active role in international politics. This re-
sulted in the gradual shift of the nerve center of Zionist diplomacy from
Eu rope to the United States. This is not to suggest that they ultimately
the congress party and the yishuv 57