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By Stuart V. Pavilack
(MAY 13, 2023 / PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE) Just a month ago we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover, the telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and the price of freedom. During the Passover Seder we are charged to help rebuild the land of Israel and to restore the City of Jerusalem. We end each Passover gathering by saying, “Next year in Jerusalem.”
Tomorrow will be the 75th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. On May 14, 1948, the head of the Jewish agency, David ben Gurion, proclaimed the creation of the nation, which was quickly recognized by President Harry Truman. It answered 2,000 years of hope and desires. Imagine how many lives could have been saved if the British would have allowed more immigration to Israel in the 20’s, 30’s, and early 40’s.
What is Zionism? Zion is a biblical name for Israel and Zionism is the movement dedicated to rebuilding it. Those who believe the Jewish people have the right to live in their ancestral homeland in peace are Zionists.
Theodore Herzl is said to be the father of modern Zionism. He first encountered antisemitism in 1882 while studying at the University of Vienna. He began to think about the culture around him and the hatred he saw and concluded the problem was national, not individual.
Herzl proposed that Jews around the world contribute funds to be used to build the state and to help the Jews who would live there. In his 1896 book “The Jewish State,” he wrote of his observations and his ideas for a National Jewish homeland. In his 1902 novel, “Old New Land,” he described the nation he envisioned as a “light unto the nations.”
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