\nThe First Zionist Congress was born out of a wave of national awakening that swept the Jews of Eastern Europe following the ideas of Theodor Herzl. His book Der Judenstaat<\/em> (\u201cThe Jewish State\u201d) and his failure to enlist Jewish financiers pushed him to establish a political platform.<\/p>\n
In March 1897, a \u201cpreparatory conference\u201d was held in Vienna, where an organizing committee was elected. Herzl insisted on a public congress. At first, he planned to hold it in Zurich, but Russian representatives objected, fearing the congress would be linked to revolutionaries. Munich was then proposed, but rabbis and community leaders strongly opposed it. They feared that declaring \u201ca Jewish nation seeking a homeland\u201d would undermine the loyalty of German Jews to their state. Criticism even appeared in Munich newspapers. Herzl was forced to change course and chose Basel.<\/p>\n
On the Shabbat before the congress opened, Herzl was called to the Torah in the synagogue and later wrote in his diary:<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of respect for religion I went on Shabbat\u2026 to the synagogue\u2026 When I ascended the bimah<\/em>, I was more moved than during all the days of the congress. The few Hebrew words of the blessing choked my throat with emotion\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The Course of the Congress \u2013 Opening Ceremony<\/strong> The event was opened by Karpel Lippe of Romania, the oldest delegate. He spoke three times longer than allotted, but moved the audience when he blessed: \u201cShehecheyanu, v\u2019kiyimanu, v\u2019higiyanu lazman hazeh.\u201d At the end, he handed the chairman\u2019s gavel to Herzl and declared: \u201cThe only thing we need is a homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n When Herzl attempted to begin his speech, the hall erupted in nonstop applause lasting about fifteen minutes. Some even cried out, \u201cLong live the king!\u201d In his address, Herzl said: \u201cWe want to lay the foundation stone for the house that one day will shelter the Jewish people.\u201d He emphasized that \u201cZionism is our return to Judaism even before our return to the Land of the Jews,\u201d and he warned against unorganized infiltration into the Land: \u201cThere is no place in the world where the arrival of Jews will be watched more closely than in their historic homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n His words were again met with thunderous applause. The excitement in the hall was immense. Herzl was unanimously elected president of the congress. After him, Max Nordau spoke, describing the suffering of Jews around the world.<\/p>\n Congress Debates<\/strong> A sharp debate broke out between Hovevei Zion<\/em> activists, who demanded immediate aliyah, and Herzl and his supporters, who first sought international guarantees. The compromise was the Basel Program: \u201cThe aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in the Land of Israel secured by public law.\u201d The wording, crafted by Max Nordau, was intentionally vague to avoid provoking opposition from the Ottoman Sultan.<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, Herzl reassured his confidant Jacob de Haas: \u201cDo not worry. People will interpret this as if we had written \u2018a Jewish state.\u2019\u201d Herzl was careful not to allow public statements that could endanger settlers in the Land of Israel or Jews in Russia. He knew that in the audience there were also czarist police agents and Ottoman informants.<\/p>\n At the conclusion of the deliberations, Herzl declared: \u201cThe First Zionist Congress is hereby closed.\u201d His words were drowned in applause that lasted nearly an hour. Men stamped their feet, women waved handkerchiefs, delegates embraced and kissed. Others broke into singing and dancing on tables and chairs. From all sides came the cry: \u201cNext year in Jerusalem!\u201d<\/p>\n The Results of the Congress<\/strong> At the same time, institutional foundations were laid: the Zionist Organization was established, an 18-member executive committee was elected, and a smaller five-member directorate headed by Herzl. The Zionist Shekel gave every participant the right to vote, thereby creating an organized infrastructure for the movement\u2019s continuation.<\/p>\n The writer Israel Zangwill wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cBy the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. By the river of Basel we sat, and we resolved firmly never to weep again!\u201d<\/p>\n Hayim Nahman Bialik dedicated a poem to the delegates:<\/p>\n \u201cBut even in the darkness, like an undying sun, your memory will remain with your scattered nation.\u201d<\/p>\n And What Can We Learn?<\/strong> Elul \u2013 the month of mercy and forgiveness and return to God; in that year, 5657, it shifted from a month of personal repentance to one of national return. A return that fifty years later became a state in the ancestral homeland.<\/p>\n And as Herzl summed up in his diary, a few days after returning to Vienna:<\/p>\n \u201cIf I were to sum up the Basel Congress in one phrase \u2013 which I must guard against speaking publicly \u2013 it would be this: in Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this aloud today, everyone would laugh at me. Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will agree.\u201d<\/p>\n The First Zionist Congress opened on the 1st of Elul, 5657. Perhaps unintentionally, the date carried symbolic weight, as the traditional month of religious redemption, and marked the transition from individual immigration to a national return to the Land of Israel. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":27574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2277,2276,8,85],"tags":[1555,4914,1614,1760],"class_list":["post-27573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history","category-people","category-politics","category-positive-moment","tag-aliyah","tag-jewish-calendar","tag-jewish-history","tag-zionism"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nOn August 29, 1897, the congress opened in the \u201cCasino Hall.\u201d Present were 208 delegates from 16 countries, dozens of journalists, and many excited onlookers \u2013 both Jews and Swiss non-Jews.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/First_World_Zionist_Congress_delegates.jpg.webp\")
\nThe congress was divided into committees and held plenary discussions chaired by Herzl. On the third day, the main resolutions were adopted: a World Zionist Organization was established with an executive committee in Vienna under Herzl\u2019s leadership; the \u201cZionist Shekel\u201d was introduced \u2013 a voluntary tax of one franc per year; and a representative electoral system was set: one delegate for every hundred shekel-purchasers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/herzlcongress.webp\")
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\nThe First Zionist Congress had immense historical significance. It placed the \u201cJewish question\u201d on the international agenda and gave global resonance to the Zionist movement. For the first time, Jews from Eastern and Western Europe sat together, symbolizing national unity. In Basel, the goal was defined \u2013 a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.<\/p>\n
\nSometimes we do not notice, but a date can carry deep meaning, even without deliberate intent. The expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif in the Gaza Envelope was set for the day after Tisha B\u2019Av<\/em>, the day of the destruction of the Jewish Temple. And in contrast, although Herzl my have had no idea, choosing the 1st of Elul for the First Zionist Congress was profoundly symbolic.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/F29042020OF03_pr.jpg.webp\")