Theodor Herzl

Founder of modern political Zionism.

Life

Viennese journalist

Herzl was born in Budapest, studied law in Vienna, and later became the Paris correspondent of the Vienna Neue Freie Presse. He witnessed the wave of antisemitism around the Dreyfus Affair in France and was deeply shaken.

The Jewish State

In 1896 he published The Jewish State, arguing that the Jews should establish a state of their own. In 1897 he convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, founded the World Zionist Organization, and lobbied figures such as the Ottoman sultan and the German Emperor.

Basel Congress

He died of heart disease in 1904, aged only 44.

Legacy

Herzl is regarded by Israel as the father of the nation; the realization of his vision brought long-term conflict with the Palestinian Arabs.

Major works & achievements

• The Jewish State
• Altneuland (The Old New Land)

Did you know? After the Basel Congress he wrote in his diary: "In fifty years, everyone will see it." Israel was founded fifty-one years later.

Key dates

• 1894Reports on the Dreyfus affair
• 1896Publishes The Jewish State
• 1897Convenes the Basel Congress
• 1904Died