Theodor Herzl Essay

What is Zionism and what part did Theodor Herzl play in this movement? Zionism is defined in Webster Dictionary as a movement reestablishing, now for supporting, the state of Israel. “Zionism was the attempt to reshape different relations and activities constituting a renewed, territory-based, and politically safe Jewish community” (Zilbersheid 1). In other words, this was a revival of the Jewish people based on territory. It was Theodor Herzl’s and his utopian vision that founded and led this Zionist movement.

Herzl was born in the year 1860 in Budapest, Hungary to a Jewish family. He studied law in Vienna where he joined a fraternity that required a rejection of all things Jewish. This did not agree with Herzl’s beliefs and he resigned

He believed that the Jewish flag was a powerful symbol. “He stated that flags build nations and that people live and die for a flag” (McKay 724). He spent time traveling and discussing his plans with the officials of Europe as he sought their support to secure the territory he needed to establish the Jewish state. He used his own money to create the World Zionist Organization. He has been described as, “the first Jewish statesman since the destruction of Jerusalem” (McKay 724). He sought to give the Jewish people a country of their own where they could regain respect. In an interview with Baron de Hirsch, Herzl closely imitated Moses in the bible as he exclaims that he will go to the German Kaiser and ask him to “Let our people go” (Friedman). He was confident that he could win over the German Kaiser and that he would agree to it. The place that seemed suitable for this Jewish State was Palestine. Herzl found most of his success in Britain. He led the Zionist movement until his death in 1904 at the age of 44. “He paved the way for the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which solemnly pledged British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine” (McKay