“my heart is certain that the people of Israel will return to fortitude in their land and state”

FIRST HEBREW EDITION of this landmark essay by Herzl on “A Solution to the Question of the Jews.” This is the first appearance of Herzlian Zionist thought before a Hebrew-speaking audience, preceding the publication of Der Judenstaat.

Ha-Tzfirah was the most important Hebrew publication in Warsaw, the center of world Jewry at this date. Herzl submitted this essay to the daily newspaper to promote his ideas among leading European Jews as the publication of Der Judenstaat neared. The editor Nahum Sokolow, the father of modern Hebrew journalism, led the newspaper to prominence among Jewish elites in Poland. He initially opposed Herzl’s Zionism but he soon became one of its greatest supporters. After Herzl’s death, Sokolow became the secretary general of the World Zionist Congress.

Herzl begins, “I turn in my initial words to the free and strong Jews for their opinion. Let them be the first to listen to me, and there may be a day when I hope they will be my beloved and friends. I don’t reveal a new idea. Conversely, this is a very ancient idea. This is a worldly idea whose strength and might are evident in the world, and its days are like those of an ancient nation that never forgot it or forsake it, even during their sufferings and wanderings. This idea is Israel’s hope to establish its status in one of the countries.

“We Jews dreamt this dream during all the long night, the night of inter-generations. Now dawn arose, and we need to expel the slumber from our eyes and turn the dream into the right deed. Although I am not a prophet and do not possess imagination, I fully admit that I hope, and my heart is certain that the people of Israel will return to fortitude in their land and state.”

Herzl goes on to note that Western countries have experienced two contrary developments: the Enlightenment and the rise of antisemitism. He sees the origin of antisemitism in the rise of equal rights for Jews, which exposed them to new expressions of hatred and discrimination. Despite efforts to assimilate, he warns, “In vain, we are loyal patriots in Western countries.” Accordingly, he offers his suggestion: that “great governments in Westernized countries allow us to establish a rule in a place on the planet where people can reside, govern, and develop according to their needs.” To achieve this he advocates the creation of a well-capitalized Jewish Company to organize an orderly exodus over time, taking advantage of new technologies, especially in agriculture, to establish new a new national home.

This long article bears similarities to “A Solution of the Jewish Question” which appeared in The Jewish Chronicle on January 17, 1896. According to Dr. Yoel Wachtel, the translators of the two articles probably relied on copies of the identical German manuscript that Herzl wrote in 1895 as a precursor to the larger manuscript published as Der Judenstaat in February 1896. This translation was probably made by Michel Berkowitz (1865-1935), Herzl’s Hebrew secretary and ardent supporter. He evidently worked from a manuscript written in advance of Der Judenstaat, and not a portion of the book, which was completed later that month and published in February. Later in 1896 Berkowitz translated Der Judenstaat with the title “Medinat Ha-Yehudim” and the subtitle “A New Way in the Solution of the Question of the Jews.”

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