The Jewish State

Rating:
Summary: "The Shot Heard 'Round the World!"
Review: "The Jewish State," was the means by which author, Theodor Herzl, rallied world Jewry to the cause of establishing a national homeland for his people. Published in 1896, this little pamphlet ignited age-old passions among Jews the world over and began the drive for the establishment of the first Jewish State in 2000 years. By doing so, Herzl set in motion events that monopolize the world's attention today.

In "The Jewish State," Herzl outlines the plan for establishing his state. In a logical, step-by-step process he defines how the land would be colonized, financed, and administered. Palestine and Argentina are suggested as possible sites. However, Palestine emerges clearly as the desired locale for spiritual and emotional reasons. Anyone trying to establish a state could use this pamphlet as a guide. Yasser Arafat should be given a copy!

Emerson said that American colonists fired, "the shot heard 'round the world," at Lexington and Concord. Herzl fired a similar shot by publishing "The Jewish State." He, no less than the colonists, started a revolution by his actions. Both ultimately achieved their goals of establishing a state for their peoples. However, America did not have to endure a Holocaust to facilitate an exodus to our shores; unfortunately, Israel did.

Today, the Jewish State exists in the form of modern Israel. Born out of controversy, this state exists as a prosperous, democratic entity, in the midst of numerically superior and extremely hostile Arab states. Jews have their home, but they have to fight daily to keep them. Is this what Herzl envisioned? Did he do the world a favor by establishing his state? The verdict is still out. One thing is clear. The roots of the current controversy that has American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan can be traced back to Israel, and Israel's roots can be traced to Herzl's pamphlet. Reading, "The Jewish State," is therefore essential to understanding current events. I strongly recommend it to any serious student of Middle Eastern affairs.

Rating:
Summary: Israel's Thomas Paine
Review: Herzl's writings and activity got the push for a Jewish State going. This pamplet is an overly optimistic approach to starting a new Jewish state circa just pre-1900. Very little of Herzl's ideas actually ever came about to fruition from what I understand about history, and its a good thing too, otherwise Israel would probably be communist today.

The further I read, the more sad I became as I considered how only something as horrible as the Holocaust could bring the Jewish population of the world back into their traditional land. However, Herzl's purpose was exactly to prevent persecution of the Jews. The only prophetic thing in this book was his speculation that some Jews would need to go through a little more suffering before they came around to the idea of a Jewish state. No one could contemplate the "Final Solution" however.

Herzl's Utopian-like ideas were interesting solutions to many problems the future nation of Israel would actually face.

You will learn something from this book if you are either a student of History or the Bible, but don't expect a short read.

**UPDATE**
I've upped the book an additional star after I've let it soak into me for a while. The pure historical importance of this document makes it a must read in today's troubled world. I've also thought about how Herzl just let his mind work through all the hoops of creating a new society from scratch, and admire him for putting it to paper.

Rating:
Summary: Israel's Thomas Paine
Review: Herzl's writings and activity got the push for a Jewish State going. This pamplet is an overly optimistic approach to starting a new Jewish state circa just pre-1900. Very little of Herzl's ideas actually ever came about to fruition from what I understand about history, and its a good thing too, otherwise Israel would probably be communist today.

The further I read, the more sad I became as I considered how only something as horrible as the Holocaust could bring the Jewish population of the world back into their traditional land. However, Herzl's purpose was exactly to prevent persecution of the Jews. The only prophetic thing in this book was his speculation that some Jews would need to go through a little more suffering before they came around to the idea of a Jewish state. No one could contemplate the "Final Solution" however.

Herzl's Utopian-like ideas were interesting solutions to many problems the future nation of Israel would actually face.

You will learn something from this book if you are either a student of History or the Bible, but don't expect a short read.

**UPDATE**
I've upped the book an additional star after I've let it soak into me for a while. The pure historical importance of this document makes it a must read in today's troubled world. I've also thought about how Herzl just let his mind work through all the hoops of creating a new society from scratch, and admire him for putting it to paper.

Rating:
Summary: A book that changed the world
Review: Many books are written. Few really change the world. This one did. It called for the creation of a Jewish state as a way of responding to the persecution the Jews suffered in Europe. Herzl was especially influenced by the Dryefuss trial and reasoned that if the Jews could not be accepted in what was then one of the most enlightened and progressive nations of the world then they would never ever really be accepted. Only a Jewish state in their ancient homeland, would enable them to live in dignity again.
Herzl's vision was as he prophesied realized just fifty years after the book's publication in 1897 when in November 1947 the UN called for partition of Mandatory Palestine into two states , one Jewish and one Arab. The Arabs refused to accept this, opened a war and the Jewish State was not founded in the way Herzl hoped by peaceful means , but rather on the battlefield.
Herzl saw the great need of the Jewish people in his time. He did not necessarily see the shape the state would take. Nor did he understand how difficult the path would be for Israel in the Middle East. The great pain and sadness of it all is that even if the state came as he had predicted in fifty years it did not come soon enough to save the Jews of Europe. Herzl saw the discrimination in Western Europe, and the poverty and oppression Jews faced in Eastern Europe. But his vision did not come soon enough to save the Jews from the horror of the Nazis. Israel has as Herzl hoped ingathered Jews not only from Europe but from close to one hundred nations. It is the only vibrant democracy in the Middle East.
This book will be especially instructive for those who wish to compare the ' dream of the Jewish state' with its reality today.

Rating:
Summary: An explication and delineation for the erection of Israel
Review: This book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the creation of Israel. 'The Jewish State' is written by Theodor Herzl who ultimately believed in the mass migration of the Jewish populace as the only means of survival and solution to the 'Jewish Problem.' Herzl recognized first-hand the increasingly belligerent and anti-semitic sentiments permeating throughout the world. Several locations were meticulously scouted and Palestine was chosen for its bibilical provenance.

Theodor Herzl was not originally a Zionist nor did he ponder the anti-semitic tendencies that was threatening to perpetually relegate the Jews to a proletariat class. When Herzl witnessed the Dreyfus Affair, it finally instilled in him irrefragable proof of everyday anti-semitic sentiments and how it had adversely infiltrated the lives of the Jewish people. Theodor Herzl ultimately came to realize that the 'homelessness of the Jewish people must come to an end' (17). In fact, Herzl later declares in this quasi-manifesto that it was the Dreyfus affair that made him a Zionist (35). He comes to believe that the 'Jewish masses must be organized for the support of the Zionist movement' (49). Additionally, he contends that the 'Jewish question is neither nationalistic nor religious. It is a social question' (31). The vim of this book is in how Herzl meticulously delineates a perennial solution to the Jewish problem. It's one thing to preach diplomacy, it's another to execute a vision.

In brevity, here is Herzl's plan: 'Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest we shall manage ourselves' (92). The conception of this plan was ambitious, the execution monumental in scope, laborious in labor, and I suspect the opposition was plentiful. Nevertheless, in spite of the skeptics and pessimists, a State was erected. An excellent read!

Rating:
Summary: An explication and delineation for the erection of Israel
Review: This book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the creation of Israel. �The Jewish State� is written by Theodor Herzl who ultimately believed in the mass migration of the Jewish populace as the only means of survival and solution to the �Jewish Problem.� Herzl recognized first-hand the increasingly belligerent and anti-semitic sentiments permeating throughout the world. Several locations were meticulously scouted and Palestine was chosen for its bibilical provenance.

Theodor Herzl was not originally a Zionist nor did he ponder the anti-semitic tendencies that was threatening to perpetually relegate the Jews to a proletariat class. When Herzl witnessed the Dreyfus Affair, it finally instilled in him irrefragable proof of everyday anti-semitic sentiments and how it had adversely infiltrated the lives of the Jewish people. Theodor Herzl ultimately came to realize that the �homelessness of the Jewish people must come to an end� (17). In fact, Herzl later declares in this quasi-manifesto that it was the Dreyfus affair that made him a Zionist (35). He comes to believe that the �Jewish masses must be organized for the support of the Zionist movement� (49). Additionally, he contends that the �Jewish question is neither nationalistic nor religious. It is a social question� (31). The vim of this book is in how Herzl meticulously delineates a perennial solution to the Jewish problem. It�s one thing to preach diplomacy, it�s another to execute a vision.

In brevity, here is Herzl�s plan: �Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest we shall manage ourselves� (92). The conception of this plan was ambitious, the execution monumental in scope, laborious in labor, and I suspect the opposition was plentiful. Nevertheless, in spite of the skeptics and pessimists, a State was erected. An excellent read!

Rating:
Summary: A prophecy book
Review: This book is just fundamental for anyone who considers itself a zionist or is interested in zionism. Herzl, considered the "father" of Zionism, exposes his thoughts over the importance of creating a Jewish State.And he goes further, by explaning how this would be done.It's also interesting to know the ideas of a man that, with his politycal zionism, not only created theories but also became an activist of his own idea, leading the way to efective action for establishing the State of Israel.Maybe he was wrong in some ideas, like the "linguistic federation", but this doesn't take his credits.In this book you will understand why people talk so much about him.