This thesis examines a cohort of Zionist intellectuals based in and around Ottoman Palestine who advocated for Jewish-Arab integration in the Second Aliyah period, or roughly 1904-1914. In studying individuals who came from diverse linguistic, ethnic, and political backgrounds side by side, this thesis argues that their shared language around Semitic identity and their advocacy around the same set of civic goals suggests a shared worldview and a common understanding of the goals of Zionism as a movement. The existence of such a cohort suggests a re-examination of the nature of the Zionist movement as well as a re-evaluation of Sephardi-Ashkenazi relations in this period. In addition, by studying the discourse around Semitic identity as it was adopted and repurposed by members of this cohort, this thesis argues that late nineteenth and early twentieth century racial categories and theories influenced Zionist thought in complex ways, providing both a sense of evidence for the supposed indigeneity of Jews to Palestine as well as a logical basis for future coexistence with Palestinian Arab Muslims.