Herzl: Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State

In a similar vein, Herzl called on the Rothschilds to summon a family council to discuss his ideas, but received no reply. Herzl was a well-known Viennese journalist and not particularly noteworthy playwright when in he published The Jewish State. That made him if not the first, at least the most successful early Zionist.

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Jews were not now said to be stealing Christian children; rather, they were taking Christian capital giving an idea of what mattered most in the 19th century. Herzl covered the Dreyfus case as a journalist in Paris; initially he believed that Dreyfus was guilty. It was Austrian politics, not a French miscarriage of justice, which moved Herzl towards Jewish separatism, Avineri explains, with a rather more complex story than the one the professor tells us is taught to Israeli schoolchildren.

Political liberalism had ended official anti-Jewish discrimination in Austria and widened the national franchise; but, to the horror of liberals like Herzl, anti-Semitic demagogues were elected. It seemed that the more democratic Austrian society was, the more anti-Semitic it became.

The Dig by Cynan Jones. Story of the Jews. The birth of a nation. Later his solution was a national home for the Jews, but what kind of home would that be?

Fired by such fantasies, and with considerable nerve, Herzl negotiated with ministers as if he were a diplomat from another state. The diary source is rich, however.

It shows a state of mind which was not unequivocally devoted to the present location of the Jewish homeland. For example Shlomo empahsizes how little effect the Dreyfus trial really had on Herzl's eventual decision to write Der Judenstaat. Shlomo also comprehensively covers all of Herzl's many failures, leaving the reader curious as to how Herzl was able to maintain such optimism dep Clearly Shlomo Avineri did a lot of research before writing this book.

Shlomo also comprehensively covers all of Herzl's many failures, leaving the reader curious as to how Herzl was able to maintain such optimism depite all of the events that did not swing in his favour. Sep 06, Rafael Suleiman rated it really liked it. A very good history of the formation of the Jewish state.

Jan 17, Bob rated it really liked it Shelves: I found this a very interesting read. Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism is not generally well known. While those who know something about the history of Zionism have heard of him, I was surprised when talking to others about the book how few had really heard the name before.

Avineri has a good writing style which made somewhat dry material a little more interesting. The times were hard in the latter part of the 19th century for Jews in Europe. While Jews have throughout history been seen as sc I found this a very interesting read. While Jews have throughout history been seen as scapegoats when things go wrong, Jews had been accepted reasonably well. That is until xenophobia started. As the great empires formed, people started to identify themselves as part of countries rather than as religions.

But Jews continued to want to remain as they were and not assimilate. This made them targets once again in history. The time was ripe for change.

Herzl was a reporter - fairly well known in Jewish circles. He was also an aspiring novelist and playwright. It was not clearly explained his motivation, other than the terrible porgrams happening in eastern Europe, just why he began a political course.

But, according to Avineri, he built alliances and networked with political leaders all over Europe. Interestingly, the definition of Zionism defined by Herzl is very different than what we think of today. Zionism was the idea of a return of the Jews to what was known as the British colony of Palestine. At the time, it was under the weak influence of the Ottoman Empire.

The concept was to build a utopian society, free and open to everyone. And, while a Jewish state, it would openly welcome all people of all faiths as equals. They would transform the desert into gardens and farms, build great universities and become the envy of the world. The society would be so admired there would be no need for an army of any kind.

Interesting how some things change. While I personally think some of this has come true, Herzl was naive to think that the world would accept a Jewish nation, when they would not accept them within their own borders. This was a great read, and one I would recommend if you have interest in learning about the early concepts that formed the modern state of Israel.

In the s, prompted by simmering anti-Semitism in Europe, Theodor Herzl elevated his vision of founding a Jewish state from dream to reality. Born into an assimilated Jewish family, he was raised and educated in Vienna.

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A brief spell practicing law proved sufficient impetus to change his career path to writing and journalism. The experience, along with h In the s, prompted by simmering anti-Semitism in Europe, Theodor Herzl elevated his vision of founding a Jewish state from dream to reality.

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The experience, along with his own intensive deliberations, showed him the need for establishing political, economic, and legal institutions, not simply encouraging willy-nilly emigration to Palestine from Russia and Europe. Read the entire review at http: Reviewed by Jane Manaster I've read most biographies of Theodore Herzl, and this one translated from the Hebrew added a new dimension to my knowledge, as it focused on the political and historical backdrop of Herzl's visionary idea and creation.

It also explored the public relations aspect of Herzl's accomplishments, and how he understood the use of media in a very effective way. By the time he died very prematurely at age 44 , Zionism was "on the map" of the world, primarily due to his singular energy, brilliance, an I've read most biographies of Theodore Herzl, and this one translated from the Hebrew added a new dimension to my knowledge, as it focused on the political and historical backdrop of Herzl's visionary idea and creation.

By the time he died very prematurely at age 44 , Zionism was "on the map" of the world, primarily due to his singular energy, brilliance, and determination. Dec 31, John rated it it was amazing. A well-crafted, incisively-written book. It was certainly enlightening reading for me. Review by Micah D.

Halpern for the Jewish Book Council.