In February 1896 Theodor Herzl published his book ‘The Jewish State’.
He declared bluntly “Palestine is our ever-memorable historic home.”
But Herzl, despite the significant role he played in building the Zionist Movement in later years, was of quite the opposite opinion in earlier years.
In 1893 Herzl, a young Jewish journalist from Vienna was visiting a friend and discussing the Jewish problem.
In Russia especially, but also in Europe, the rise of antisemitism was cause for grave concern and threatened the decimation of the large Jewish communities.
Herzl argued that the solution for the Jews was assimilation.
“Ever heard of Charles Darwin? He puts forward the theory that the species adapts itself. We shall do the same.”
The solution was to live with the Gentiles, imitating their ways and becoming like them.
Once the Jews were like the Gentiles, he claimed, they would be free of the Jewish problem.
It didn’t take long for Herzl to change his mind.
Returning home that evening from his friend’s home he passed a group of hooligans who shouted at him “Pig of a Jew.”
Herzl was shaken, but thought it was not a personal abuse, but was his nose and beard they were sneering at.
“So much for all my fine thoughts about time and liberalism solving this problem.”
It Changed His Mind
While in Paris to report the trial of Captain Dreyfus, Herzl was really shaken by the strength of French hostility, not merely to one Jewish officer, but towards all the Jews.
He freely admitted he had no intention of getting involved in Jewish affairs, but the alarming growth of antisemitism made him change his mind.
In ‘The Jewish State’ Herzl wrote that the Jews had endeavored to merge themselves entirely in the social life of the surrounding communities, but were never left in peace.
“For a little period they manage to tolerate us, and then their hostility breaks out again and again.”
He wrote that the Jews were one people – “our enemies have made us one.”
The distress of the Jews bound them together and being united they suddenly discovered their strength.
“Yes,” he claimed. “We are strong enough to form a State, indeed a model State as we possess all human and material resources necessary for the purpose.”
In the closing sentences of the book, he wrote:
“The Maccabees will rise again. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes.”
Falling on Deaf Ears
Following the publication of Herzl’s book, arguments broke out among the Jews of Europe.
Many Western Jews were totally opposed to the idea a Jewish State. The Chief Rabbi of Vienna, Moritz Gudemann, advocated the mission of Jewry is for the Jews to be dispersed throughout the world.
Distinguished journalist Ahad Ha’am, founder of cultural Zionism, had a vision of a Jewish spiritual center in Israel, a view contrasting with that of Herzl, founder of political Zionism.
And when Herzl approached major Jewish philanthropists in Europe, his request for their support fell on deaf ears.
Herzl was dismayed, yet not defeated. In 1897 he wrote to a friend:
“I am already held by many to be a pessimist who sees and prophesies nothing but evil. So, what good would come of anything I say?”
Herzl, however, was an optimist, and he persevered until, on the morning of Sunday 29 August 1897, the first Zionist Congress opened in Basel.
Is Antisemitism Permanent?
Historians who specialize in the study of antisemitism have similar conclusions about the greatest threat to Jews, wherever they live.
Perhaps one minute we are heroes. The next minute we are villains. Antisemitism has plagued the Jewish people since early biblical times and frequently raises its ugly head.
At times it is dormant, but it never disappears.
In 1946, in a debate in the House of Commons in London, Winston Churchill delivered an address.
One of the comments made is worth thinking about in the light of the current wave of antisemitism.
“I had no idea when the war came to an end, of the horrible massacres which had occurred; the millions and millions that have been slaughtered. That dawned on us gradually after the struggle was over.”
History has proven it is futile to act after an event. Thinking retrospectively is really an excuse for failing to act before an event, not after it.
We face this dilemma right now. Our solemn duty is to tackle antisemitism by using all aspects of social media to remind and inform people who we are and what we do.
What we have produced for the benefit of mankind and the preservation of the world.
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