Zionism, Herzl, and the First Zionist Congress
Lesson Plan by Zion Ozeri and Josh Feinberg

In Basel I Established the Jewish State, Tel-Aviv, 2015 © Zion Ozeri

Take a close look at this photograph.

Discuss:

• What do you see in this photograph?
• How would you describe the setting? What does it make you think of?
• What would you say is the main subject of this photograph? How does the photographer get you to focus your attention on the subject?

The photographer Zion Ozeri took this photograph of a ramp leading down to a parking garage in a busy neighborhood of Tel-Aviv called Basel Square. The garage owner had printed a quote on the side of the ramp by early Zionist leader Theodor Herzl that reads, In Basel, I Established the Jewish State. Basel, Switzerland, was the site of an important meeting of Zionist leaders in 1897 known as the First Zionist Congress.

• Why do you think the garage owner chose to put this quote here?
• Does anything surprise you about the quote or its placement?
• How does it change your understanding of the photograph to know where it was taken and what the quote says?
• Why do you think the photographer chose black-and-white for this photograph? How might the effect have been different in color?

Below is more of the quote by Herzl:

"Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word  which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly  it would be this: At Basel, I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, I would be answered by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, certainly in fifty, everyone will know it." - Theodor Herzl, 1897

Discuss:

• Why do you think Herzl wanted to guard against pronouncing publicly this statement?
• Why do you think he believed that everyone would know it in 50 years?
• How do you think Herzl would react if he saw this photograph?

Read these additional quotes by Herzl:

"No human being is wealthy or powerful enough to transplant a nation from one habitation to another. An idea alone can achieve that and this idea of a State may have the requisite power to do so. The Jews have dreamt this kingly dream all through the long nights of their history. "Next year in Jerusalem" is our old phrase. It is now a question of showing that the dream can be converted into a living reality." - Theodor Herzl, 1896

"If you will it, it is not a dream." - Theodor Herzl, 1902

"I once called Zionism an infinite ideal, and I truly believe that even after we achieve our land, the land of Israel, it will not cease to be an ideal. Zionism, as I see it, entails not only an aspiration for a piece of land legally ours, but also for moral and spiritual integrity." - Theodore Herzl, ca. 1902

Discuss:

• What do you think Herzl meant when he said If you will it, it is not a dream?
• Do you agree that dreams can have that much power? Do you think Herzl really believed that dreaming of something is enough? Did Israel really come into being just from dreaming of it?
• How do you believe that dreams become reality?
• What dreams do you have? How will you make them a reality?
• Herzl mentions the phrase we repeat every Passover: Next year in Jerusalem. What does this phrase mean to you? Why do we continue to say it  especially if we have no intention of visiting or living in Israel?

The book of Psalms, traditionally believed to be authored by the biblical King David, describes a similar feeling of deep longing for the city of Jerusalem.

Psalms 137:5-6
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I set not Jerusalem Above my chiefest joy.

Discuss:

• Why do you think the author uses the image of having their right hand stop working if they forget Jerusalem?
• What might it mean to set Jerusalem above your highest joy?
• Does the feeling of missing something or someone so much that it interferes with your happiness resonate with you? Can you think of any other examples, from your life, or from history?
• For millennia, Jewish grooms have recited this verse before breaking the glass at their wedding. Why do you think that is?

For more information about Theodor Herzl and the early Zionists:

First Zionist Congress & Basel Program (1897) - Jewish Virtual Library - A look at the Congresses
The Zionist Congress - The National Library of Israel
Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) - The Herzl Institute
Theodor Herzl - The National Library of Israel

Follow-up activities:

• Take a photograph that makes a statement by combining images and text in the picture. How does the text reinforce the imagery? How does the imagery support the text?

Optional:

• Consider a dream that you have. Think about the various actions youll need to take to actually achieve this dream. Write a step-by-step action plan for realizing your dream.