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Zionist
Century - Programming and Activities- The Herzl Years
"100 Years of Jewish History"
by Steve Israel
Booklet Three: In and about the Promised Land
Herzl, the Congresses, the Zionist Movement
#2. A Search for Symbols
A. Questions in a Contemporary Context
- 1. Suggest a possible agenda for the First Congress, explaining the
priorities chosen.
- 2. Compare these with items on the Jewish and Israeli agendas today.
- 3. How would you select representation to the First Zionist Congress
and how would this compare with the way you would select them today?
B. Background Text
The Swiss city of Basel agreed to host the Congress for the summer of
1897. All the participants felt that the Congress was successful - history
in the making.
Between 200-250 delegates came from about two dozen countries. Most were
of East European origin, although many were resident in western Europe
by this time. Most participants were liberal, although 11 Rabbis also
came, none of these being major figures.
The first Congress was to be followed by many more, and the feeling of
confidence in the movement grew. In 1898, a competition was proclaimed
for an official movement anthem. The song which later became the Israeli
national anthem - HaTikvah [The Hope] - had been written 20 years earlier
by Imber and set to a folk melody. This was part and parcel for the search
for symbols by and for the movement.
C. Group Projects
- 1. You are asked to compose a Zionist "national anthem".
What ideas would you incorporate into your song? Continue working on
the composition singly or in pairs. Use Hebrew if you can. Choose a
melody you know or compose one yourself.
- 2. You are asked to create a national flag for the Zionist movement.
Discuss the ideas you wish to incorporate and work in pairs to complete
an design.
- 3. One of the types of souvenirs from all the early conferences were
photographic postcards and symbolic line-drawings. Design a series of
postcards, working on one per pair and then write a short message home
to help your friends or family identify with your beliefs, feelings
and experience.
Editors: Michael Toben, Dr. Dov Goldflam, 1992
Internet Version: The Pedagogic Center, 1996
Editor: Gila Ansell Brauner
in conjunction with:
The Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora
Center for Creativity
Director: Chaim Weinreb
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