Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism who turned Zionism into an international movement and inspired Jews with his words “Im tirtzu, an zo agadah—if you will it, it is no legend,” wrote in Der Judenstaat (“The State of the Jews,” published in 1896) Jews should leave Europe and move to Palestine. He believed if Jews left other countries antisemitism would end. He wrote, “Therefore, I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring into existence. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our home.”
Herzl proved to be partially correct. While “a wondrous generation” of Jews did “spring into existence,” we are still looking forward to the day when antisemitism will cease.
Herzl saw Israel as a nation that would share its progress with the world. He concludes Der Judenstadt with the following words: “The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, we reach powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity.”
In Daniel Gordis’s “Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn” (which I highly recommend), Gordis points out Menachem Begin’s first act as prime minister in 1977 was to instruct an Israeli vessel to save dozens of Vietnamese boat people after ships from other countries ignored them. They were without drinking water and floating hopelessly.
In response to praise from President Jimmy Carter, Begin noted, “We have never forgotten the lot of our people, persecuted, humiliated, ultimately physically destroyed. Therefore, it was natural that my first act as Prime Minister was to give those people a haven in the land of Israel.” Today Israel is often among the first countries to bring humanitarian aid (such as setting up life-saving field hospitals) to victims of natural disaster and war.
While Herzl was not a religious man, he clearly saw the State of Israel and the people of Israel to be an or lagoyim, a light unto the nations, words that we trace back to the biblical prophet Isaiah.
Rabbi David Woznica
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