Theodor Herzl, radicalized by the Dreyfus Affair,…
1896 CE
He believes that even if Jewish separateness in religion and social custom are to disappear, the Jews will continue to be treated as outsiders.
Thus, he argues, if Jews are forced by external pressure to form a nation, they can lead a normal existence only through concentration in one territory.
His pamphlet Der Judenstaat ("The Jewish State") proposes that the Jewish question is a political question to be settled by a world council of nations.
He calls for the establishment of a Jewish state in any available territory—citing Palestine and Argentina as possible destinations—to which the majority of European Jewry will immigrate.
The new state will be modeled after the post-emancipation European state.
Thus, it will be secular in nature, granting no special place to the Hebrew language, Judaism, or to the ancient Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Another important element contained in Herzl's concept of a Jewish state is the enlightenment faith that all men—including anti-Semites—are rational and will work for goals that they perceive to be in their best interest.
He is convinced, therefore, that the enlightened nations of Europe will support the Zionist cause to rid their domains of the problem-creating Jews.
Consequently, Herzl actively seeks international recognition and the cooperation of the Great Powers in creating a Jewish state.
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