That the Zionist movement, established in Europe during the 19th century as a secular response to the persecution of European Jews is frequently ignored. What is also ignored was the search, by the leadership of the Zionist movement, for a European colonial-imperial ally with the aim of establishing a Jewish state somewhere in the world (within the sphere of that colonial empire!). This included overtures toward the major colonial empires of the time such as Britain, Russia, and Turkey.