Portrait: Theodor Herzl, father of modern political Zionism

25 August 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  18 minutes

Theodor Herzl © Alberto Fernandez Fernandez

Theodor Herzl © Alberto Fernandez Fernandez

Theodor Herzl was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine in an effort to form a Jewish state. Though he died before its establishment, he is also known as “Visionary of the State” of Israel/”The prophet” of Israel. Herzl is specifically mentioned in the Israeli Declaration of Independence and is officially referred to as “the spiritual father of the Jewish State”, i.e. the visionary who gave a concrete, practicable platform and framework to political Zionism. However, he was not the first Zionist theoretician or activist; scholars, many of them religious such as rabbis Yehuda Bibas, Zvi Hirsch Kalischer and Judah Alkalai, promoted a range of proto-Zionist ideas before him. Herzl Day is an Israeli national holiday celebrated annually on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Iyar, to commemorate the life and vision of Zionist leader Theodor Herzl.   read more…

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