timothy_doekhie's review
4.0
"The Maccabeans will rise again. The jews who wish for a State shall have it. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, maginified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity."
Well damn.
This essay written by Dr. Theodor Herzl lead to the establishment of the State of Israel, this is a must-read for anyone discussing Israel and the I/P conflict.
It's bizarre how this essay was published in 1896 as it seems to predict the Holocaust or a similar event, Herzl's hypothesis was that anti-semitism would be the main motivator for Jews to want to emigrate to this new Jewish state and he was right.
What I didn't expect to find in this essay was a fierce defence of a monarchal government system with good arguments and it was a nice surprise.
Of all the things Herzl got right, he did get one thing wrong. That the Jews wouldn't unite behind Hebrew as the language for the new Jewish state, I however think he would be glad to be proven wrong on this subject.
It's a shame Theodor Herzl never saw his dream come to fruition, but his ideas set forth in this essay caused the foundation of the world's only Jewish state.
Well damn.
This essay written by Dr. Theodor Herzl lead to the establishment of the State of Israel, this is a must-read for anyone discussing Israel and the I/P conflict.
It's bizarre how this essay was published in 1896 as it seems to predict the Holocaust or a similar event, Herzl's hypothesis was that anti-semitism would be the main motivator for Jews to want to emigrate to this new Jewish state and he was right.
What I didn't expect to find in this essay was a fierce defence of a monarchal government system with good arguments and it was a nice surprise.
Of all the things Herzl got right, he did get one thing wrong. That the Jews wouldn't unite behind Hebrew as the language for the new Jewish state, I however think he would be glad to be proven wrong on this subject.
It's a shame Theodor Herzl never saw his dream come to fruition, but his ideas set forth in this essay caused the foundation of the world's only Jewish state.
bradley_jf's review
3.0
This is essential reading for anyone that's interested in understanding the causes of the problems in the modern Middle East. It is the first expression of Zionism and the ideas it expresses led directly to the founding of Israel. You can see the ideological roots of the Jewish Agency, Jewish National Fund and Histadrut in this text.
That being said, it's also one of the most poorly written works I've read, though the author admits the work is repetitious and not really that great in the conclusion. The main objective, he says, was to open a conversation about the Jewish question, which he most certainly did. So, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking to do casual reading.
That being said, it's also one of the most poorly written works I've read, though the author admits the work is repetitious and not really that great in the conclusion. The main objective, he says, was to open a conversation about the Jewish question, which he most certainly did. So, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking to do casual reading.
danivacap's review
4.0
Leído para realizar un ensayo sobre el conflicto, y la verdad me ha conmovido muchísimo este escrito.
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