The Jews form not merely a religious com munity but also a nation. There are Jews who sever their national bonds and tend towards the 'dissolution of the people of Israel in their non-jewish surroundings. But the large majority of Jews, chie?y, in Eastern Europe, desire ardently to preserve their Jewish national identity. Zionism has no meaning for Jews who favour the melting-pot theory. It is the ideal of those who feel themselves to belong to a Jewish nation.