Israel's Socialist Roots

By Aviva Cantor

... collectivist experiments were supported by mainstream Zionist bodies for two major reasons: 1) ... a plurality of [World Zionist Organization] voters ... were in the Socialist Zionist camp.

2) ... the scarcity of resources and difficulties of the climate did not attract private capital. ...

Socialist Zionists succeeded ... in the creation of a Jewish state. They did not succeed in creating a socialist Jewish state. ... The question of why Israel became the first socialist society to make a peaceful transition to capitalism ... involves many factors which need to be explored and understood.