Theodor Herzl vs Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hacohen Kook

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Recommended: What does zionism refer to and what role did theodor herzl play in promoting zionist ideas

Theodor Herzl is known as the father of political Zionism. Zionism is a belief that Jews should have a homeland in what is now Israel. Herzl was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1860. When he was eighteen, he and his family moved to Vienna, Austria. In 1884, Herzl received a doctorate of law from the University of Vienna. However, he did not stick with law and became a correspondent for the Vienna newspaper Neue Freie Presse (New Free Press).
In 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus was accused of treason just because he was Jewish. This was a big court case so Theodor Herzl was sent to Paris to cover the case for the Neue Freie Presse. While there, he and the other newspaper correspondents realized how unfair the case was. It was clear that Dreyfus was not guilty and that he was put on trial due to anti- Semitism. Before the Dreyfus Affair, Herzl was a secular Jew who did not strongly identify with his faith. After being in the courtroom, hearing all the Frenchmen screaming “death to the Jews,” He came to the conclusion that the Jews should have a land of their own. When he returned from Paris, Herzl decided to devote himself to create an independent Jewish state.
Herzl believed that the only way to create a Jewish state was through political means. He approached political leaders throughout Europe as well as Jewish financiers in order to seek their support. Although Herzl was turned down many times, he was very resilient and never gave up. After about two years of not being successful, Herzl then decided to write his plan in a pamphlet that he named “The Jewish State.” After this pamphlet was published, many European Jews became interested in what Herzl had to say. One year later, in 1897, the First World Zionist Congress came together in ...

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...His initial meeting with European dignitaries allowed him to spread his message to a much wider audience. Without this work, it is unclear whether the mass immigration of European Jews to Israel would have been as successful. These European Jews became the leaders of the modern state of Israel. Although they may have been followers of different streams of Zionism, Theodor Herzl was the man who gave them that opportunity.

Works Cited

Katz, Lisa. "Theodor Herzl." About.com Judaism. About.com, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
Rachmani, Hillel, Rav. "Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook." Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Jewish Virtual Library, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Schultz, Rachael G. "Religious & Zionist - My Jewish Learning." Religious & Zionist My Jewish Learning. My Jewish Learning, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Spiro, Ken, Rabbi. "Modern Zionism." Aish.com. Aish.com, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

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