Der Judenstaat

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For the concept of a national Jewish homeland, see Jewish state.

Der Judenstaat bookcover. 1896

Der Judenstaat (German, The Jewish State) is a book written by Theodor Herzl and published in 1896 in Berlin and Vienna by M. Breitenstein's Verlags-Buchhandlung.

It is considered to be one of the most important texts of early Zionism. As expressed in this book, Herzl envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the twentieth century. He argued that the best way of avoiding anti-Semitism in Europe was to create this independent Jewish state, though not necessarily in the region of Palestine. Herzl also noted the possibility of a Jewish state in Argentina, and was criticized in later years for his investigation of non-Palestinian settlements. Herzl is credited for coining the political term "Zionism", having named the political movement after Mount Zion in Jerusalem, a symbol of the Jewish homeland in Palestine since the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. The movement culminated in the birth of the State of Israel in 1948, though Zionism continues to be connected with political support of the State of Israel.