Role of Theodor Herzl in Jewish Culture - Research Paper Example

?Insert Insert Grade Insert Insert Significance of Theodor Herzl within the context of Jewish culture in Central EuropeIntroduction Zionist culture came about in Central Europe before the First World War. The main aim of this culture was to establish a state for the Jews. This was because the assimilation of the Jewish people had failed, and Theodor Herzl, who was the founder of the Zionist movement, felt that the only solution was to resettle the Jews in their Israel land (or any other land) in order to preserve their cultural identity. He did this by organizing meetings meant to ensure the unity of the Jews. He also met leaders from Europe to try and negotiate the Jewish resettlement. Herzl also wrote articles to try to pass out information to the Jews and the European leaders about his Zionist beliefs. Herzl did not gather much support, but the resettlement of the Jews in their land could be accredited to his struggles. This paper discusses the works of Theodor Herzl to bring out his significance in the Zionist culture. Discussion It is important to note here that Theodor Herzl was first opposed to Zionism; he had accepted assimilation. Then what changed his mind? It was the prosecution of Dreyfus in 1894 that led Theodor Herzl to change his mind and support Zionism. Dreyfus was convicted of treason in France, and without any evidence, he was condemned to death. Theodor Herzl believed that Dreyfus was sentenced to death unfairly just because he was a Jew. Following the conviction of Dreyfus, several anti-semantic rallies were organized in Europe. This made Herzl discover that the Jews were greatly discriminated. This was just one Jew who had been unfairly convicted. Herzl concluded that the rights of the Jews were not respected in their land of domicile. Theodor Herzl wanted the Jews to live in a culture where they enjoyed equal human rights and got on well with other societies. Due to the events that were occurring, he believed that this could not be achieved through assimilation. He observed that the Jews were willing to be assimilated, but it is the majority societies who were not willing to assimilate them. The other countries treated Jews as being anti-social, in connection to which Herzl claimed the anti-social nature of the Jews was due to several years of oppression. The achievements of the Jews in science and commerce were not recognized. He claimed intermarriage would not be a solution because the citizens of majority society would not accept to marry the people they regarded as anti-social. The Jews would not also have an opportunity to rule because they would not be voted in. He opposed the view that hostility towards the Jews would reduce; in fact, he said it would increase. He said the more the Jews stayed in foreign lands, the more they would be oppressed. If they could not assimilate them, then, he believed, they should have formed their own state that had its own cultures. In his writings, Theodor Herzl brought out a plan for the exodus of Jews to the Holy Land. He projected the social structure of this land. He advocated for formation of nationwide cooperatives whose productive processes would be commonly owned; abolition of competition; and removal of the state and invention of new modes of production (Zilbersheid 83). This, he believed, would ensure that the welfare of the Jews was taken care of. The only way to achieve this was through the resettlement of the Jews in their own land. His writings are significant here because it raised a spirit of liberation for the Jews. By forecasting how their land’s culture would be, more and more Jews were expected to accept Zionism as their only liberation. Theodor Herzl was very passionate in his works and put them in a way that led people to accept Zionism. One example is when he went to the Jews tycoons (Edmund de Rothschild and Maurice de Hirsch) to seek aid for the Jewish people; he portrayed himself as a beggar humbly seeking aid for the Jewish citizens. He always sought financial aid from the rich Jews. He was advocating for a culture of unity where all Jews would come together and assist those Jews in misery to come out of the same. The rich tycoons could not have been suffering, but that did not matter – what was important was the liberation of the Jews out of their misery in foreign lands. He also put his work in the form of playwright, the Jewish State. He says here that the Jewish should not continue to be scattered but they should be gathered. The Jews should return and live in their land. He quotes Palestine as their ancestral land and informs the people that they were granted the right to return to their promised land two thousand years ago. He also said their sacred location was Jerusalem. This location became a place for pilgrimage, and Jews went there to complain about the destruction of the holy land. This clearly indicated that the Jews were not begging to resettle in the Arab land, but they were claiming their rightful place. By his works, Herzl invoked cultural identity among the Jews in Europe. They knew that they had an ancestral land, which they could associate with. They did not belong to the Diaspora countries. When Herzl held the first Zionist conference in 1897, he claimed that this was where he created the Jewish state. He claimed that his dream may not be realized by then, but it would be realized in fifty years to come. This prophecy came true in 1948, when the Israel state was declared. His movements that rallied the Jewish to the Zionist culture, a culture calling for establishment of the Jewish state, hastened the pace for creation of the Jewish state. He clearly indicated to the world where the Jews ought to be resettled, and the Jews also knew where their ancestral land was. Hertz also tried to convince the anti-Semitic countries that the solution to the hatred expressed towards the Jews could be solved through resettlement of Jews in Palestine. He said Palestine could not oppose their settlement there because they were a minority nation. Herzl also sought international support. He sought the assistance of Britain. He wanted Britain to help him establish a Jewish state in Palestine under the British protectorate. The Jewish State was liked by the former British Prime minister, Gladstone, while Bishop Wilkinson thought Zionism was a very practical idea. Zionism also got friendly comments from the British media, but no practical results came from the British government. In 1902, Herzl began negotiations with the British Government. They failed to accept his suggestion of resettling the Jews in Palestine. He opted for El-Arish Area, Sinai Peninsula, or a foothold in Israel. All these suggestions were objected to. Instead, they offered Uganda as an alternative resettlement for the Jews. Herzl agreed to this against his will. This was because he believed that the ultimate solution to Jews suffering was their resettlement in Palestine, but he accepted the Uganda option because he believed this would lead him to the realization of his ultimate goal. He wanted the British government to recognize his Zionism movement and sought recognition of Jews as sovereign people and acknowledgement that only Palestine resettlement would solve the Jewish problem. The Jews objected to the plan to be resettled in East Africa. This greatly distressed Herzl because he wanted them to accept the offer so that he could win further sympathy from Britain. This would have enabled him to convince Britain to resettle the Jews in Palestine. Herzl also negotiated with the Russian government, and in 1903, he received a letter from the Russian Prime Minister committing to help him resettle the Jews in Palestine. This letter motivated Herzl because it had given hope for his ultimate desire of settling Jews in Palestine. One would think that he now severed links with Britain; he did not do so because he believed the Jewish problem was an international problem that could not be solved by one state. Herzl presented these two commitments to the members during a Zionist congress. Some were skeptic about Britain’s commitment because it did not mention Palestine, but Herzl said it was written in invisible ink that will be seen later. This meant that soon the British would acknowledge the need to resettle the Jews in Palestine. All these endeavors did not yield fruits for Herzl, but he still continued with his struggle to win international favor. This portrays his significance in ensuring that the dream of Zionists was achieved. He negotiated with all countries possible for the common good of all Jewish citizens. He put the plight of Jewish citizens on the world political map. His views that Israel land was in Palestine greatly contributed to the resettlement of the Jews in Palestine. His initiation of the Basel first Zion conference was a clear indication that he was the one who brought to the limelight of the Jewish and the international community the need to resettle the Jews in their land. He wrote many articles that gave a new impetus to Zionism. These articles provided information to the international community of the need to resettle the Jews and also raised the spirit of the need of unity among the Jews to fight for their rights. He did also take some practical steps by seeking the assistance of crowned heads, presidents, and diplomats in his program. He also sought the assistance of influential Jewish citizens who could access the great political power to assist him to pass the message to the leadership. These visions of Herzl were not successful in his lifetime, but the events that followed his death led to the realization of his Zion dream. After his death, the years that followed created great divisions among the Jews. Some supported the rebirth of the Jewish state while others opposed it. Sephardic Jews reacted neutrally to the Zionist ideals because they lacked a leader to spearhead the Zionist visions. This shows how significant Herzl was to the movement. Ashkenazi Jews, who were the majority living in central Europe, rejected the project of the Zionists to create a Jewish state. Some accused Herzl of being an agent of British colonization while others blamed his Zionist activities for having heightened anti-Semitism that led to further discrimination of the Jews. The Zionist ideologies lost support in the early 20th century. However, the Jews would come to remember Herzl ideologies in the 1930s, when the Jews were subjected to racist atrocities by the German government. The racial evils became common in Germany leading to about 12% of the Jews migrating to Palestine before the start of the Second World War (Zoltan 204). This is what Herzl had foreseen in his Zionist vision, i.e. that the Jews discrimination would increase and not reduce in the years to follow. Had the Jews supported him wholly, then they would have secured international sympathy that could have necessitated their being resettled earlier. The racial atrocities were also perpetuated in the Soviet Union, and more Jews continued to migrate to Palestine, which they believed was the land promised to them by the Almighty God. Hence, it can be seen that it was Herzl who had predicted that the Jews would be resettled in Palestine. We can now analyze the significance of Herzl based on his achievements that have been discussed above. Herzl is the founder of the Zionist movement. This is a movement that advocated for the resettlement of the Jews in a Jewish state. He saw the plight of his people and discovered that assimilation would not work. This movement was not wholly supported by the Jewish people themselves. It also received resistance and criticisms from the other European powers. Friedman (73) described Herzl as a leader who had no supporters and a statesman who had no state. All the achievements made were accredited to his own determination to free the people of Israel. He made his own initiatives to meet the leaders of the world and try to convince them to the creation of the Jewish state. Indeed, it is through these initiatives that the world came to realize the plight of the marginalized Jew citizens. He had requested that the Jews be relocated to their own land because assimilation had failed; his views were not taken seriously, but later the Jews were persecuted to a point of being taken to the land that Herzl had been fighting for them to be resettled. In fact, it is his teachings and activities that led to Jews opting to be resettled in Palestine. Undeniably, it can be said that if the Zionist movement could have retained the tempo it started with, then the Jews would not have been persecuted. He advocated for the rights of Jews, and in order for governments to avoid a Jew revolution under Zionism, they tried to treat these citizens a bit better. Conclusion Several events occurred including the First and the Second World Wars, leading to the resettlement of the Jews in Palestine, but it was the efforts of Herzl and his Zionist movement that can be said to be of great significance to the resettlement of the Jews in Palestine. Works Cited Friedman, Isaiah. “Theodor Herzl: Political Activity and Achievements.” Israel Studies, 9.3 (2004): 46-79. Print Zilbersheid, Uri. “The Utopia of Theodor Herzl.” Israel Studies, 9. 3 (2004): 80-114. Print Zoltan, Kalmar. “Theodor Herzl’s National Answer to the Misery of the Jewish People.” European and Regional Studies Journal, 1. 2 (2010): 197–209. Print Read More