A constitution was made and it was decided to hold congresses at regular intervals. It states that the object of Zionism is to establish for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law. Here they repeated the aloud the Hebrew verse, " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." The congress drew up a public declaration of its aims and ideals which became known as the Basle Program. It was held in Basle and was the first time that Jewish leaders met collectively to decide on a common political program to solve the 'Jewish problem'. It was in 1897 that Theodor Herzl summoned the first Zionist Congress. Chamberlain was so impressed with Herzl that he took up the question with the Cabinet and began to consider the various political aspects of the question. He made contact with Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary in Mr Balfour's administration. Herzl began to realize that only one country would do something practical in regard to the Jewish question and that was England. He felt that the liberal governments that were so popular in Europe would not last long and would eventually be replace by tyrannical leaders who would be worse than the aristocratic royal rulers and parliamentary governments that were popular at this time. For this purpose he approached the wealthy and leading members of the various Jewish communities. He realized that the acquisition of the then barren territory of Palestine from the Turks would be required to fulfil this dream. He put all of his energy, his intellectual abilities, and selfless passion to the cause of Zionism and rapidly became the acknowledged leader of the Zionist movement. He held long conversations wit the Pope, the Sultan of Turkey, the British Colonial Secretary, Chamberlain, and many other notables. With this foundation he continued to speak to leading members of various governments. Through friendships and acquaintances he brought his case before the leading members of the Royal House of Baden and obtained their support. From this point Herzl became enthused with the Zionist causes and subsequently abandoned most of the other life pursuits that most men seek. He began to write in this vein and shortly came into contact with other Zionist leaders and joined with them. He saw that as the only means by which the Jews could gain the respect of the nations of the world. He became obsessed with a vision of a liberated people living in their own land. It was here that he began contemplating a solution to the ancient 'Jewish problem'. It was at this point that Herzl began to see Dreyfus more as a symbol of the entire Jewish people who are surrounded by hatred and anti-Semitism than as an isolated mistrial. Here was a solitary Jew who was innocent yet was being opposed by all the power of the French government who were determined to prove him guilty. He was a Jew of impressive appearance but of the most assimilated type having had no interest in the Viennese Jewish community.Īs the case proceeded and the injustice of the methods used by the government unfolded, it became more apparent to impartial outsider observers as well as Herzl of the unfairness of this case. He was well connected and occupied a high position on the editorial staff. Amongst the special journalists sent there was Theodor Herzl, who in his late thirties came from Vienna to represent the Neue Rreie Presse. Journalists from the leading newspapers of Europe were sent to France to cover this remarkable case. Amongst those on Dreyfus' side were the great Émile Zola, the great French writer, Georges Clemenceau, a renowned French statesman, physician, and journalist Jean Jaurès, a leading French Socialist leader. The French Government was convinced of his guilt and succeeded in arousing the French popular opinion not only against Dreyfus, but against the Jews in general. It was a sensational trial which brought out a tremendous anti-Semitic reaction in France. The Dreyfus case and the Zionist MovementĬolonel Alfred Dreyfus was a French staff officer and a Jew who in the fall of 1894 was accused of treason on behalf of the German government.
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