Highlights

In the wake of a financial crisis in 1873, much of the German bourgeoisie blamed the Jews for its newfound financial woes. Although the “[a]ristocrats were . . . as greedy as anyone else . . . in the prevailing myth . . . aristocrats remained great statesmen, valiant soldiers, and devoted public servants. In the aftermath of the crash, popular fury was directed not at them and the government they dominated but at the Jews.”8 ^ref-9276

Herzl’s first encounter with the central idea that would consume his life—the need for a Jewish state—may well have been in the Hungarian Parliament. Győző Istóczy, a Hungarian nationalist and founder of the National Anti-Semitic Party, is said to have proposed that to solve Hungary’s “Jewish problem,” Jews ought to establish a state of their own and go there.13 “Jew, Go to Palestine!” became a slogan of the Hungarian anti-Semitic movement. Ironically, Istóczy’s motto would eventually become Herzl’s, too. ^ref-10134

But Hirsch, who feared for the Jews’ future in eastern Europe, had an alternate solution to the “Jewish problem” in mind. The baron, who had earlier written off Palestine as an impractical option, had already helped finance the relocation of some of Russia’s Jews to Argentina. ^ref-10271

For them, he composed a much more detailed and well-organized exposition of the plan he had already begun writing. It was this version that would become the foundation of his best-known book, The Jewish State. His case was quite straightforward. A Jewish state—in a location yet to be determined, either Argentina or Palestine—would solve the “Jewish problem.” In contrast to what Hirsch believed, Herzl was convinced that the goal was eminently attainable. In fact, he argued, it was in everyone’s best interest that the Jews should secure themselves a state. ^ref-28775

It possessed those who read it no less. A short book of approximately one hundred pages, The Jewish State made Herzl a household name across the Jewish world. Published in February 1896, it caused a stir worldwide. It was printed, translated, and read more quickly and more widely than any other Jewish work of the modern era. “In 1896 alone, it appeared in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian and French. Students, in particular, were enthused by his proposal; almost overnight, the appearance of The Jewish State transformed Herzl from a lone voice into the leader of an international movement.” ^ref-63573

Metadata

Author: Daniel Gordis
ASIN: B01B19O4FA
ISBN: 0062368745
Reference: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B19O4FA
Kindle link

Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn

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