Theodur herzl biography of william hill

Herzl saw the need for encouragement by the great powers of the aims of the Jewish people in the Land. When these efforts proved fruitless, he turned to Great Britainand met with Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary and others. The only concrete offer he received from the British was the proposal of a Jewish autonomous region in east Africa, in Uganda.

TheKishinev pogrom and the difficult state of Russian Jewry, witnessed firsthand by Herzl during a visit to Russia, had a profound effect on him. While Herzl made it clear that this program would not theodur herzl biography of william hill the ultimate aim of Zionism, a Jewish entity in the Land of Israel, the proposal aroused a storm at the Congress and nearly led to a split in the Zionist movement.

While acknowledging that Jews could settle in Jerusalem, the Pope warned that the Church would ensure the presence of churches and priests to baptize Jewish settlers. Although at the time no one could have imagined it, Zionism led, only fifty years later, to the establishment of the independent State of Israel. Herzl met his future wife Julie when he was 26 and she was only 18 years old, in They enjoyed a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship until they married inin an Austrian village on the outskirts of Vienna.

Although he was rarely in the same country as his wife during the later years of his life, she was not willing to consider getting divorced and they stayed together. Herzl died in Vienna of pneumonia and a weak heart overworked by his incessant efforts on behalf of Zionism on July 3, He was just years-old. Julie died three years later at the age of He had a sister, Pauline, who was a year older; she died of typhus on 7 February In his youth, Herzl aspired to follow the footsteps of Ferdinand de Lesseps[ 14 ] builder of the Suez Canalbut did not succeed in the sciences and instead developed a growing enthusiasm for poetry and humanities.

This passion later developed into a successful career in journalism and a less-celebrated pursuit of playwrighting. Inafter Pauline's death, the Herzl family moved to ViennaAustria-Hungary, and lived in the 9th district, Alsergrund. At the University of Vienna, Herzl studied law. After a brief legal career in the University of Vienna and Salzburg[ 20 ] he devoted himself to journalism and literatureworking as a journalist for a Viennese newspaper and a correspondent for Neue Freie Pressein Paris, occasionally making special trips to London and Istanbul.

He later became literary editor of Neue Freie Presseand wrote several comedies and dramas for the Viennese stage. His early work did not focus on Jewish life. It was of the feuilleton order, descriptive rather than political. As the Paris correspondent for Neue Freie PresseHerzl followed the Dreyfus affaira political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from until its resolution in It was a notorious antisemitic incident in France in which a Jewish French army captain was falsely convicted of spying for Germany.

Herzl was witness to mass rallies in Paris following the Dreyfus trial. There has been some controversy surrounding the impact that this event had on Herzl and his conversion to Zionism. Herzl himself stated that the Dreyfus case turned him into a Zionist and that he was particularly affected by chants of "Death to the Jews! This had been the widely held belief for some time.

However, some modern scholars now believe that — due to little mention of the Dreyfus affair in Herzl's earlier accounts and a seemingly contrary reference he made in them to shouts of "Death to the traitor! Jacques Kornberg claims that the Dreyfus influence was a myth that Herzl did not feel necessary to deflate and that he also believed that Dreyfus was guilty.

Rather, it was the rise to power of the antisemitic demagogue Karl Lueger in Vienna in that seems to have had a greater effect on Herzl, before the pro-Dreyfus campaign had fully emerged. It was at this time that Herzl wrote his play "The New Ghetto," which shows the ambivalence and lack of real security and equality of emancipated, well-to-do Jews in Vienna.

The protagonist is an assimilated Jewish lawyer who tries unsuccessfully to break through the social ghetto enforced on Western Jews. According to Henry Wickham SteedHerzl was initially "fanatically devoted to the propagation of Jewish-German 'Liberal' assimilationist doctrine. Above all, I recognized the emptiness and futility of trying to 'combat' anti-semitism.

A mental clash gripped Herzl, between the craving for literary success and a desire to act as a public figure. Herzl claimed that these pamphlets resulted in the establishment of the Zionist Movement, and they did play a large role in the movement's rise and success. Beginning in lateHerzl wrote Der Judenstaat The State of the Jewswhich was published February to immediate acclaim and controversy.

The book argued that the Jewish people should leave Europe for Palestine, their historic homeland. The Jews possessed a nationality; all they were missing was a nation and a state of their own. Wherever it does not exist, it is brought in together with Jewish immigrants. We are naturally drawn into those places where we are not persecuted, and our appearance there gives rise to persecution.

This is the case, and will inevitably be so, everywhere, even in highly civilised countries—see, for instance, France—so long as the Jewish question is not solved on the political level. Therefore I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring into existence. The Maccabeans will rise again. Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who wish for a State will have it.

We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity. Herzl began to energetically promote his ideas, continually attracting supporters, Jewish and non-Jewish.

Theodur herzl biography of william hill: Theodor Herzl was the

According to Norman Rose, Herzl "mapped out for himself the role of martyr He proposed that in exchange for Jewish settlement in Palestine, the Zionist movement could work to improve Abdul Hamid II's reputation and shore up the empire's finances. Bernard Lazare harshly criticized this position, arguing that Herzl and other delegates of the Zionist Congress "have sent their blessing to the worst of murderers.

In November they received him with curiosity, indifference and coldness. In London's East Enda community of primarily Yiddish -speaking recent Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Herzl addressed a mass rally of thousands on 12 July and was received with acclaim. They granted Herzl the mandate of leadership for Zionism. Within six months this mandate had been expanded throughout Zionist Jewry: the Zionist movement grew rapidly.

Hechler had read Herzl's Der Judenstaatand the meeting became central to the eventual legitimization of Herzl and Zionism. I said to him: Theodor Herzl to Rev. William Hechler I must put myself into direct and publicly known relations with a responsible or non responsible ruler — that is, with a minister of state or a prince. Then the Jews will believe in me and follow me.

The most suitable personage would be the German Kaiser. The meeting significantly advanced Herzl's and Zionism's legitimacy in Jewish and world opinion. Herzl had earlier confessed to his friend Max Bodenheimer that he "wrote what I had to say without knowing my predecessors, and it can be assumed that I would not have written it [ Der Judenstaat ] had I been familiar with the literature.

Herzl presented his proposal to the Grand Vizier: the Jews would pay the Turkish foreign debt and help Turkey regain its financial footing in return for Palestine as a Jewish homeland. Prior to leaving Istanbul, 29 JuneHerzl was granted a symbolic medal of honor. On 1 March Yousef Al-Khalidithe mayor of Jerusalem, sent a letter to Zadok Kahnthe chief rabbi of France, with the intention to reach Herzl and ask Zionists to leave the area of Palestine in peace.

He also perceived the danger Zionism could expose Jews to throughout the domains of the Ottoman Empire. Kahn showed the letter to Theodor Herzl and on 19 March Herzl replied to al-Khalidi arguing that both the Ottoman Empire and the non-Jewish population of Palestine would benefit from Jewish immigration. As to al-Khalidi concerns about the non-Jewish majority population of Palestine, Herzl replied rhetorically: "who would think of sending them away?

We must expropriate gently the private property on the estates assigned to us. We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it employment in our own country The property owners will come over to our side. Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.

He was elected president of the Congress a position he held until his death inand in he began a series of diplomatic initiatives to build support for a Jewish country. He was received by Wilhelm II on several occasions, one of them in Jerusalemand attended the Hague Peace Conferenceenjoying a warm reception from many statesmen there. His work on Autoemancipation was pre-figured by a similar conclusion drawn by Marx's friend Moses Hessin Rome and Jerusalem Leon Pinsker had never yet read it, but was aware of the distant and far off Hibbat Zion.

Herzl's philosophical instruction highlighted the weaknesses and vulnerabilities. To Herzl each dictator or leader had a nationalistic identity, even down to the Irish from Wolfe Tone onwards. He was drawn to the mawkishness of Judaism rendered distinctively as German. But he remained convinced that Germany was the centre Hauptsitz of antisemitism rather than France.

In a much quoted aside he noted "If there is one thing I should like to be, it is a member of old Prussian nobility. He fared best with Israel Zangwilland Max Nordau. They were both well-known writers or 'men of letters'—imagination that engenders understanding. The correspondence to Hirsch, who had died inled nowhere. Baron Albert Rothschild had little to do with the Jews.

Herzl was defiant of their social authority. He also shared Pinsker's pessimistic opinion that the Jews had no future in Europe; that they were too antisemitic to tolerate because each country in Europe had tried antisemitic assimilation. In Berlin they said Juden raus in a well worn phrase. Herzl therefore advocated a mass exodus from Europe to the Judenstaat.

Pinsker's manifesto was a cry for help; a warning to others Mahnrufa call for attention to their plight. Herzl's vision was less about mental states of Jewry, and more about delivering prescriptive answers about land. Herzl visited Jerusalem for the first time in October William Hechlernamely public world power recognition of himself and Zionism.

It was a brief but historic meeting. His appearance brought him into close contact with members of the British government, particularly with Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain through whom he negotiated with the Egyptian government for a charter for the settlement of the Jews in Al 'Arish in the Sinai Peninsulaadjoining southern Palestine.

In he wrote a letter to Cecil Rhodesattempting to get his support for Jewish state. Palestine could offer a safe refuge for those fleeing persecution in Russia. Infollowing Kishinev pogromHerzl visited St. Petersburg and was received by Sergei Wittethen finance minister, and Viacheslav Plehveminister of the interior, the latter placing on record the attitude of his government toward the Zionist movement.

On that occasion Herzl submitted proposals for the amelioration of the Jewish position in Russia. The plan became known as the " Uganda Project " and Herzl presented it to the Sixth Zionist Congress Basel, Augustwhere a majority98 abstentions agreed to investigating this offer. The proposal faced strong opposition particularly from the Russian delegation who stormed out of the meeting.

Pius X was respectful towards Herzl, but resolutely refused to support Zionism in any way. Herzl did not live to see the rejection of the Uganda plan. A day before his death, he told the Reverend William H. Hechler : "Greet Palestine for me. I gave my heart's blood for my people. His will stipulated that he should have the poorest-class funeral without speeches or flowers and he added, "I wish to be buried in the theodur herzl biography of william hill beside my father, and to lie there till the Jewish people shall take my remains to Israel.

Despite Herzl's request that no speeches be made, a brief eulogy was delivered by David Wolffsohn. Hans Herzl, then thirteen, who by his father's choice had not been circumcised at birth, and only did so later at the behest of Zionist leaders, read the kaddish. The coffin was draped in a blue and theodur herzl biography of william hill pall decorated with a Star of David circumscribing a Lion of Judah and seven gold stars recalling Herzl's original proposal for a flag of the Jewish state.

Herzl followed his pen-effort by serious work. He was in Constantinople in April,and on his return was hailed at Sofia, Bulgaria, by a Jewish deputation. He went to London, where the Maccabeans received him coldly. Five days later he was given the mandate of leadership from the Zionists of the East End of London, and within six months this mandate was approved throughout Zionist Jewry.

His life now became one unceasing round of effort. His supporters, at first but a small group, literally worked night and day. Jewish life had been heretofore contemplative and conducted by routine. Herzl inspired his friends with the idea that men whose aim is to reestablish a nation must throw aside all conventionalities and work at all hours and at any task.

Inat considerable personal expense, he founded "Die Welt" of Vienna. Then he planned the first Zionist Congress see Basel Congress. He was elected president, and held as by a magnet the delegates through all the meetings. Newlinski's sudden death was an additional misfortune. Rejected by the German government and aware of the poor state of Zionist finances, Herzl almost reached breaking point.

The big question mark inserted on April 17,in his diary reflected his state of mind. As a young man in Constantinople he had embraced Islam and later, when appointed professor of Oriental languages at the University of Budapest, had adopted Protestantism. When Herzl met him on June 16,he was 70 years old, not clear about his own identity, whether he was a Turk or an Englishman, but his study of religions had made him an atheist.

Herzl's personality attracted him strongly, and, as events showed, his help to the Zionists was genuine. Beneath his cosmopolitan veneer lurked Jewish sentiments, and Herzl played on them well. On May 8,on his return from Constantinople, he brought good news: the sultan would receive Herzl as a Jewish leader and an influential journalist, though not as a Zionist.

That is a phantasmagoria. Jerusalem is as holy to these people as Mecca is. However weighty the religious motives, what made the Turks so obdurate was the fear of intervention by the Powers. Should the Jews be allowed to immigrate freely, the Powers would seize an early excuse to occupy Palestine by military force. Ahmed Tewfik made little effort to conceal from David Wolffsohn how annoyed his government was with Herzl's The Jewish State and reiterated the standard Turkish position.

That the sultan nonetheless did receive Herzl warmly is not surprising since with Zionism deliberately excluded there was nothing to sour the occasion. The meeting took place on May 17, Before the audience Herzl was presented with the Grand Cordon of the Order of Mejidiye, the highest Turkish decoration, and, after they had met, the sultan gave him a diamond tie pin as a token of personal friendship.

For Herzl the gifts had only a symbolic value. His impression of Abdul Hamid was of "a weak, cowardly, but thoroughly good-natured, man," neither crafty nor cruel, but "a profoundly unhappy prisoner in whose name a rapacious, infamous, seedy camarilla perpetuates the vilest abominations. Herzl thanked Abdul Hamid for his benevolence toward the Jews, which the latter accepted as confirmation of an established fact: his Empire was wide open to Jewish refugees and, among the non-Muslims, they were the most reliable subjects.

This gave Herzl an opening to proffer certain services, quoting the story of Androcles and the lion. Herzl put his finger on the sorest spot of Turkey's body politic and, noting how amused his host was by the parable, asked for permission to make the sultan's pro-Jewish sentiments public from whatever platform and on whatever occasion he deemed fit.

Abdul Hamid, unaware that Herzl had in mind the Zionist Congress, agreed and said that what Turkey needed most was the industrial skill of the Jewish people. He asked Herzl to recommend a financial adviser and promised "permanent protection" to those Jews who sought refuge in his lands. The press, too, presented the audience in rosy colors.

Elated, Herzl hoped to be more successful with Jewish financiers, but was again disappointed. The Rothschilds remained unconvinced. Herzl complained to a friend that had it not been for this "miserable money" he would have been "almost through with the Sultan. In mid-JulyHerzl called at the Yildiz Kiosk for the fifth and last time. Believing the moment propitious, he asked that the Porte should reject French financial assistance and grant a concession for the Jewish colonization of Mesopotamia and Haifa and its environs.

Mesopotamia was merely camouflage for his real ambitions, and Haifa was only a stepping stone. He was careful not to disclose the identity of his "friends" in the world of high finance, and warned that the consolidation of the Ottoman public debt would be a "slow and complicated" process. The fees paid by the Company would be proportionate to the number of immigrants allowed to enter the regions concerned.

Should the sultan make a special declaration, a favorable response throughout the world would follow. It would attract Jewish intelligence, capital, and enterprise, from which the Ottoman Empire as a whole would benefit. Mehmed Said Pasha, the grand vizier, complimenting Herzl on his "humanitarian and commendable" aspirations, assured him that, in principle, the sultan was prepared to negotiate.

But when the actual situation was considered, Said was decidedly negative: Turkey feared complications with the Great Powers, and even Haifa could not be conceded, since it was strategically important. Turkey was Herzl's main stumbling block. His policy toward it was based on give and take, but this principle proved unworkable, since the funds with which he hoped to restore Turkish solvency were denied him, and the sultan refused to issue a declaration that could have stirred the Jewish masses and warmed the hearts of Jewish financiers.

Nor was it likely that Herzl would have been more successful had the necessary resources been placed at his disposal. The sultan was not in the habit of selling his land and limiting his sovereignty voluntarily. Fear of political complications, real and imaginary, should the Jews be allowed to establish themselves in Palestine, weighed far more heavily with the Turks than financial benefits, however alluring.

In the circumstances, it was only the combined pressure of the Powers that could have forced Turkey to make certain concessions. It was therefore an illusion to expect that friendly advice by the kaiser to the sultan would be sufficient to put Herzl's charter company into operation. Herzl did not lose hope. Some day, when the Turks were in dire need, they would become more amenable.

In the meantime, he shifted his efforts to Britain in the expectation that it would allow him to establish a Jewish colony under its protection somewhere in the neighborhood of Palestine.

Theodur herzl biography of william hill: Leader of political Zionism; born

His eyes had been turned to England since Initial reactions to his ideas reinforced his belief that London should be one of his main bases. Gladstone, the former prime ministerliked Herzl's The Jewish Statewhile Bishop Wilkinson thought that Zionism was a practical proposition. Yet, for all the sympathy that Herzl gained, no practical results ensued.

It was not until that negotiations with the British government began in earnest. With Palestine barred, Herzl hoped to acquire at least a staging post in its neighborhood; a foothold in Cyprus, in the Sinai Peninsula, or in the El-Arish area. Joseph Chamberlainthe colonial secretary, who met him on October 22 and again on October 23,thought Cyprus impracticable, but agreed that in the El-Arish area, or in Sinai, which was uninhabited, a self-governing Jewish colony could be founded, provided Lord Cromer, the British agent in Cairo, approved.

To Herzl this was no mean achievement, and two days later he told Lord Rothschild enthusiastically that, should the plan materialize, "a refuge" and "a home for the hard-pressed Jews" would be created, while England would increase her influence in the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean and rally "ten million" friends to her side. The plan did not materialize.

The sultan, who exercised at least nominal sovereignty over Sinai, objected; so did the Egyptian government. In the spring ofChamberlain offered instead the Guas Ngishu plateau near Nairobi in East Africa — not "Uganda," as Chamberlain and others later inaccurately called it — for a Jewish settlement under the British flag. Herzl thought it politically imprudent to reject it, since the very fact that a Great Power was negotiating with him amounted to a de facto recognition of his movement.

He considered the offer primarily in political terms. Rather than impede, it might bring the realization of his ultimate goal nearer. For him it was merely a ploy to obtain British recognition of the Zionist movement and recognition of the Jews as a people, and to bring Britain gradually to the conclusion that only in Palestine would the "Jewish Problem" be solved.

In a letter dated June 7,Greenberg wrote:. It seems to me intrinsically there is no great value in East Africa. It will not form a great attraction to our people for it has no moral or historical claim. But the value of the proposal of Chamberlain is politically immense if we use it to its full. An essential of this is, I submit, that the Agreement that we get from the British government should be as well a definite declaration of its desire to assist our people.

It matters not if East Africa is afterwards refused by us — we shall have obtained from the British government a recognition that it cannot go back on and which no other British government will ever be able to upset. Everything after that will have to start from that point — the point of recognition of us as a Nation. It also follows naturally that if it is found that East Africa is not good, they will have to make a further suggestion and this will … gradually and surely lead us to Palestine.

Responding, Herzl insisted: "We must obtain from the British government recognition of us as a nation [ eine nationale Anerkennung ], and the Charter should include the following phrase: ' Bildung einer Colonialgesellschaft fuer die juedische Nation' [creation of a Colonization Company of the Jewish People]. Greenberg was sorry to hear that the East Africa plan provoked some opposition.

He ascribed it to misunderstanding. At the moment, the most pressing problem is recognition of Jews as a people by one of the Great Powers. We shall thereafter be able to rally our people and unite them under your banner. The opposition to whom Greenberg referred included Max Nordau, Herzl's close friend and collaborator. Nordau had claimed that the area in East Africa was unsuitable for "theodur herzl biography of william hill" and Jewish refugees would prefer to migrate to America or Europe instead.

Herzl had no difficulty in convincing Nordau. Negotiations with the British government, Herzl elucidated, were tactical; they would bring the realization of Zionism sooner than all Baron Edmond de Rothschild's colonies. Moses also reached the Land of Canaan in a roundabout way. Nordau was converted and henceforth supported Herzl wholeheartedly.

It was at that time that Herzl received a letter from Vyachelslav Plehve, the Russian minister of the interior, with whom he had been negotiating. The letter is dated August 12, and is of outstanding importance. Plehve promised, on behalf of the czarist government, that Russia would intervene with the sultan in favor of the Zionists and would assist them in the organization of massive Jewish immigration and settlement in Palestine with the ultimate objective of creating there a Jewish state.

Both in its phrasing and in its implications, Plehve's letter was of far greater moment than the British one. Sir Clement Hill of the Foreign Office referred to "the establishment of a Jewish colony" in East Africa, which would enable the settlers to observe "their National customs. The British document is tentative and guarded in its language, while the Russian one refers clearly to "moral and material support" on practical issues.

The motives are also different. That of the British government was primarily humanitarian, while that of the Russian government was shaped by domestic considerations. It reflected also the general line of Russian foreign policy aimed at the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. By fostering the separatist aspirations of the non-Turkish nationalities, Russia hoped not only to weaken Turkey from within, but also to emerge as the champion of those struggling for liberation.

Plehve's letter served as the theodur herzl biography of william hill of Herzl's diplomacy. With such a diplomatic breakthrough, was there any point in continuing negotiations about East Africa? Considering Herzl's political Weltanschauungit should not be too difficult to answer the question. The reason was that the British letter contained the key phrase that was missing from the Russian one; i.

This was important not only as a matter of principle, but also out of regard for practical politics. Herzl realized, long before the principle of self-determination became standard currency in international relations, that only nations were entitled to claim a territory. Moreover, support by only one Power was insufficient; only pressure by a Concert of Powers would have the desired effect on Turkey.

Such a combination did in fact emerge during the conferences in London in —13 following the Balkan Wars. However, by then Herzl was no longer alive. Moreover, Herzl's basic concept was that the "Jewish Problem" was an international problem which should be solved internationally, not by one single Power. Hence, the importance of bringing England into the picture.

The storm that erupted during the Sixth Zionist Congress was unforeseen. The response of the Zionist Executive, to whom Herzl brought Sir Clement Hill's letter of August 14,for approval, was positive, even enthusiastic. When one of the few skeptics pointed out that Palestine had not been mentioned in the British letter, Herzl replied that it was written in "invisible ink," which, within several months, would become readable.

In his opening address to the Congress on August 23,Herzl assured the delegates that he had no other objective in mind than Palestine. The speech was greeted with great enthusiasm. Years later, Weizmann acknowledged in his Trial and Error that the British letter had reestablished the national and juridical identity of the Jewish people.

The acrimonious controversy that ensued was largely due to a misunderstanding. Partly it was Nordau's fault for coining, in his otherwise brilliant speech, the term ein Nachtasyl a night shelter. The atmosphere became explosive, laden with emotion. The exchange turned into a debate among the deaf. Diplomatically discreet, Herzl was wary of revealing his true motives.

There was also another reason for his reticence. Suffering from a serious heart condition, he was unable to take an active part in the discussions. The Congress thus resembled a boat rocked in high seas deprived of its navigator. The opponents, the Neinsagers Nay sayerswere under a misapprehension. It was not the choice between "Zion or Uganda" that had been put on the agenda.

What had been proposed was the dispatch of a Commission of Inquiry to East Africa. The Commission was to report back to the Congress, the Organization's sovereign body, for further reflection. Herzl anticipated that the report would be negative, as it was crystal clear to him that the Jews would not go to Africa in any case. The purpose of the exercise was to elicit from the British government yet another area of settlement and bring it gradually to the conclusion that there was no alternative to Palestine.

In retrospect, all the controversy was irrelevant, because the subject matter became unreal.

Theodur herzl biography of william hill: Throughout the year , a number

After Chamberlain's resignation as colonial secretary in mid-Septemberthere was an appreciable diminution in interest in the Uganda project. Alfred Lyttleton, his successor, showed no enthusiasm for it, while the Foreign Office, largely on account of strong objections raised by the British governor in Kenya, became decidedly reserved. As soon as rumors spread of a possible influx of Jews, the white settlers in Kenya protested against the very idea of Jewish settlement.

Embarrassed, the Foreign Office offered Leopold Greenberg another territory for settlement in Somali or in Tanaland, which, on all counts, was unsuitable for Europeans. Herzl did not shed any tears, but greeted the news with undisguised satisfaction. In a circular letter to the members of the Zionist Executive, he declared that the East Africa project was dead.

Simultaneously, he advised Greenberg to continue his pourparler with the Foreign Office. This Greenberg did with consummate skill. The results were spectacular. On December 14,Greenberg met Lord Percy, the newly appointed under-secretary of state. Percy was a humanist and a philosemite. Sensing that settlement in Africa would not attract Jews, he asked Greenberg pointedly: "Was there any serious attempt to acquire Palestine?

On the basis of what you told me, it ought to be the most desirable goal. In spite of ill health, Herzl continued his diplomatic tour de force. On September 5,briefing Plehve on the proceedings of the Congress, he reiterated his argument that a massive and continuous emigration of Jews from Russia — "an emigration without the right of return" — would be possible only in the direction of Palestine.

East Africa would attract only a few thousand proletarians. Hence, it lay in Russia's interest to support Zionist aspirations. And to Count zu Eulenburg, the German ambassador in Vienna and the kaiser's confidant, he confessed, "I will gladly let Wilhelm ii have the glory of placing himself at the head" of the Concert of Powers on the Zionist question.

Although Sir Clement Hill's letter was as generous as it [was] wise we stubborn Jews are more attached to the sand and chalk of Palestine" than to East Africa. This line of reasoning dispels any lingering suspicion that Herzl had abandoned Palestine in favor of East Africa, for it appears that his main purpose was not necessarily to obtain the East Africa concession, but to ease Germany's or any other Power's task in gaining Palestine for the Zionists.

East Africa was only the diplomatic stepping stone to the main goal. That there was no substitute for Palestine is also clear from Herzl's letter to Izzet Bey, which was his last contact with the Sublime Porte:. A territory we can find elsewhere. We have found it. You have undoubtedly read in the papers that the English government has offered me a territory of 60,—90, square leagues in Africa, a rich, fertile country, excellent for our colonization.

But nevertheless, I come back once more to my plan for finding the salvation of the Jewish people among the brothers of our race and our coreligionists who live under the scepter of the Caliph, bringing to them what we have … the spirit of enterprise, industry, economic progress. With no satisfactory response from Constantinople forthcoming, Herzl continued to consolidate his position among the Powers in the hope that they would exert concerted pressure on Turkey.

His achievements in the Italian and Austrian capitals were noteworthy. Victor Emmanuel iii of Italy received Herzl graciously on January 23, Italy had no "Jewish Problem," but Zionism had its positive attractions. Palestine "will and must get into your hands," the king told Herzl. Wait until you have half a million Jews there! Plehve's letter, in the king's opinion, represented "a great success.

The conversation was short but productive. The minister promised Herzl that he would write to the Italian ambassador at Constantinople and ask him to proceed jointly with the Russians. Herzl was an Austro-Hungarian citizen and also enjoyed the confidence of successive prime ministers, Count Kazimierz Badeni —97 and Ernst von Koerber —4but it was not before the autumn of that he could rely on his own government's support.

Koerber was impressed by Herzl's achievements in Russia and assured him of his interest. Initially, the latter was skeptical, but Plehve's letter made all the difference. Since Russia was in "theodur herzl biography of william hill," he too could reach agreement with Herzl. Though strongly critical of antisemitism, he thought Herzl's project so praiseworthy that every government should support it financially.

When the question was discussed on an international plane, "there must be no theodur herzl biography of william hill or half-way measures. If it were a question of only one or two hundred thousand Jews, the Great Powers could not be stirred into action. But they could if [they] asked Turkey for land and legal rights for 5—6 million Jews. This was more than Herzl had dared to hope.

However, Goluchowski declined Herzl's suggestion to take the lead in the matter; the moment was inopportune. It would be better if England took the initiative. The foreign minister's reluctance to take the initiative arose from the need to keep in step with Russia. Sincethe two countries had had a secret agreement under which they undertook to maintain the status quo in the Balkans.

This was qualified by Article III, which specified that, should circumstances change, the contracting parties would act together. The Turkish provinces in Asia were not mentioned in the text, but it could be assumed that the principle in Article iii applied there as well. This explains the change in Austria's attitude toward Herzl following the revelation of Plehve's letter.

But, in spite of the professed status quo principle, the long-term policy of the two Powers was aimed at the gradual dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. A Jewish Palestine, with a Jewish population of five to six million, could have fit well within this pattern. The sultan's suzerainty over Palestine a formula advanced by Herzl did not matter, since it was meant to be only nominal.

Moreover, Goluchowski hoped that, if London committed itself to the Zionist cause as the Italians had already donethis might revive the tripartite Mediterranean Agreement. It would be safe to say that had Herzl remained alive, he would have traveled to London, not in connection with the East Africa project but to disclose to Lord Percy the Goluchowski proposal for creating a Concert of Powers in support of the Zionist aspiration.

Criticism, nonetheless, did not abate. It was not until mid-April two and a half months before Herzl's death that the leading opponents, the Neinsagersadmitted during the meeting of the Executive that they were mistaken and expressed their unswerving confidence in Herzl. The shifts of emphasis in Herzl's diplomatic activity from one capital to another gave the impression at the time that his policy was inconsistent, if not contradictory; but this was not so.

His strategy was multilateral, though evolving in response to opportunities rather than by design. His basic principle was that the "Jewish Question" was an international one and should therefore be tackled within the framework of international law. He strove to gain recognition and support from all the Powers concerned; which one was to take the lead was of secondary importance.

Herzl died on July 3,at the age of His premature death robbed the Zionist movement of a leader of international caliber. He had become a legendary figure in Jewish history, even in his own lifetime; what he accomplished did not make Zionism poorer, but rather made Jewry richer. Herzl was a statesman without a state, a leader without a people to support him.

If he impressed monarchs, ministers, and intellectuals, it was thanks to his own qualities. He aroused both admiration and opposition, but nobody could ignore the magnetism of his personality, his intelligence, his sincerity, and his idealism. A liberal and a great European, he became the foremost exponent of Jewish nationalism, which was neither chauvinist nor escapist, but an endeavor to restore Jewish honor within a normal national environment.

Herzl was the founder of political Zionism. He turned a mystique, a dream, into a political factor. The movement that he brought into being became the most dynamic force in modern Jewish history. He founded its organ, Die Weltits financial arm, the Jewish Colonial Trust, and the Zionist Congress, which became the embodiment of Zionist parliamentarianism.

Like any great man of history, he foresaw what was going to happen.