Herzl
Aug 2012 · Jewish Thinkers Book 6 · Halban Publishers
eBook
176
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn more
About this eBook
Theodor Herzl (1860—1904) was the Paris correspondent of the Austrian Neue Freie Presse when he took a momentous decision in June 1895: he would bring about the creation of a state for the Jews. In his attempt to realise this dream, he became the greatest figure of modern Jewish history and is today seen as the father of the State of Israel. The catalyst for Herzl's 'conversion' is usually seen as the Dreyfus affair, which made him realise the impossibility of Jewish existence in Europe. The truth is more complicated and perhaps more dramatic, involving Herzl's background in the context of central Europe's Jewish bourgeoisie, the explosion of anti-Semitism in fin de siècle Paris and Vienna, and not least Herzl's own personal frustrations and dreams. Once decided, his 'state of the Jews' was to be not only the solution to the physical threat to the Jews, but it would also liberate them from their ghetto existence, and provide them with the 'inner freedom' which, from personal experience, Herzl thought they lacked. Herzl's state was to be a model, liberal society, at the forefront of human progress, integrated and at peace with the world community. A century later, this may look naïve - yet, in his vision, Herzl very much speaks to the present age.
About the author
Steven Beller is a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University, Washington D.C. , and a former Research Fellow in History at Peterhouse College, Cambridge .
Rate this eBook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Centre instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
