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It was January 5, 1895 and a young journalist, Theodore Herzl, was assigned to report on the ceremony that publicly stripped French Captain Alfred Dreyfus of his military rank prior to being sent to Devil's Island to live out the sentence of his court marshal.
Anti-Semitism in Europe in the late 1800's and prior was not a new concept or reality for Jews. However, the blatant anti-Semitism that took place with the Dreyfus Affair had a profound impact on Theodore Herzl and how he viewed himself and the role of Jews in Europe at that time. Compelled by the events of the Dreyfus Affair, Herzl published The Jewish State in 1896.
The idea of The Jewish State was, as Herzl phrased it, “a very old (idea) – it is the restoration of the Jewish State…The world resounds with outcries against the Jews, and the outcries have awakened the slumbering idea.“
Jewish leaders before Herzl were numerous who had called for the return of the Jews to Palestine. But what was different about The Jewish State was that it pushed for the formation of a political movement to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
The Jewish State was simple in its approach. In summary, there is a Jewish Question and there needs to be a Jewish Plan. Herzl realized the “gravity of the situation of the Jews. Wherever they (Jews) lived in perceptible numbers, they are more or less persecuted.“
The solution…”we are a people – one people” that is in need of a homeland. As Herzl stated, “the creation of a new State is neither ridiculous nor impossible. We have in our day witnessed the process of connection with nations which were not largely members of the middle class, but poorer, less educated, and consequently weaker than ourselves. The Governments of all countries scourged by anti-Semitism will be keenly interested in assisting us to obtain the sovereignty we want.”
The first Zionist Congress was convened by Herzl in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. From that Congress forward, preparations were made for the long journey forward for the creation of a Jewish homeland. In a little more than 50 years after the first Zionist Congress, the movement that Herzl had put forth to the Jews of Europe would become a reality when the State of Israel declared its independence as the Jewish state in 1948.
The Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland was established in 1899 to campaign for a permanent homeland for the Jewish people. At that time, Palestine was a distant and neglected province of the Turkish Empire with a Jewish population of approximately 50,000. Herzl was working towards obtaining permission for Jews to settle in Palestine but had reached deadlock in his negotiations with the Sultan. In the United Kingdom, the leaders of the Jewish Community had not shown support to the Zionist Movement and it was left to the few committed members of the Zionist Federation, men and women of faith and vision who were convinced that history and truth were on their side to support Herzl. It was from this narrow base that the Zionist Federation became the centre of which Chaim Weizmann and his small band of British Zionists waged their struggle for a Jewish State. In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was communicated to Lord Rothschild and the letter from the British Foreign Secretary concluded "I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation".
During the next 30 years London became the centre of the World Zionist Movement. In the Zionist Federation's home at 77 Great Russell Street the Jewish Agency established its main political office and conducted government negotiations whilst the Zionist Federation secured Jewish and general support as well as financial assistance for the movement. Among others, it was the leadership of the Zionist Federation who founded WIZO, UJIA, JNF and Youth movements. After the establishment of Israel, many of the graduates of the Zionist Federation became leaders in the new State. In 1954 the Zionist Federation via the Zionist Federation Education Trust (now known as Scopus) created a network of Zionist Day Schools to educate Jewish children in the spirit of Zionism. The Zionist Federation Education Trust set up 14 schools with over 5000 pupils. The British Zionist Federation was also the first in the world to set up its own office in Israel to assist in the integration of British Olim. The Zionist Federation today represents the UK Zionist Movement more than 120 organisations, and over 50,000 affiliated members.