Historian: 19th Century European rivalry boosted Zionism
David Meir Levy, a historian interviewed by Israel National Radio’s Tovia Singer, says that competition between Catholic France and Protestant Britain for influence in the Middle East, beginning around the time of Napoleon, ultimately gave Zionism a foothold in Israel that led to the creation of the Jewish State.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=87335
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=87335