The First Zionist Congress (Hebrew: הקונגרס הציוני הראשון) was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization (ZO) (to become the World Zionist Organization (WZO) in 1960) held in Basel (Basle), Switzerland, from August 29 to August 31, 1897. It was convened[1] and chaired[2] by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionism movement. The Congress formulated a Zionist platform, known as the Basel program, and founded the Zionist Organization. It also adopted the Hatikvah as its anthem (already the anthem of Hovevei Zion and later to become the national anthem of the State of Israel).
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The first Zionist Congress was convened by Theodor Herzl as a symbolic parliament for the small minority of Jewry[3] in agreement with the implementation of Zionist goals. While Jewish majority opposition to Zionism would continue until after revelation of the Holocaust in WWII,[4] some proponents point to several directions and streams of this early Jewish opposition.[5] Typical of this, the Congress, which was originally planned in Munich, Germany, was transferred to Basel by Herzl, because of vocal opposition by both the Orthodox and Reform community leadership.[1][2] The Congress took place in the concert hall of the Basel Municipal Casino on August 29, 1897.
Herzl acted as chairperson of the Congress which was attended by some 200 participants from seventeen countries, 69 of whom were delegates from various Zionist societies and the remainder were individual invitees.[1] Ten non-Jews were also in attendance and were expected to abstain from voting.[1] Seventeen women attended the Congress, some of them in their own capacity, others accompanying representatives.[1] While women participated in the First Zionist Congress, they did not have voting rights; they were accorded full membership rights at the Second Zionist Congress, the following year.[1]
Following a festive opening in which the representatives arrived in formal dress, tails and white tie, the Congress moved onto the agenda.[1] The principal items on the agenda were the presentation of Herzl's plans, the establishment of the Zionist Organization and the declaration of Zionism's goals-the Basel program.[1]
At the Congress, Herzl was elected President of the Zionist Organization, with Max Nordau and Moses Gaster two of the three vice-presidents. Also, an Inner Actions Committee and a Greater Actions Committee were elected to run the affairs of the movement between Congresses.
On the second day of its deliberations (August 30), the version submitted to the Congress by a committee under the chair of Max Nordau, it was stated: "Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law." This gave clear expression to Herzl's political Zionist vision, in contrast with the settlement orientated activities of the more loosely organized Hovevei Zion.[2] To meet halfway the request of numerous delegates, the most prominent of whom was Leo Motzkin, who sought the inclusion of the phrase "by international law," a compromise formula proposed by Herzl was eventually adopted.[1]
The program, which came to be known as the Basel program, set out the goals of the Zionist movement. It was adopted on the following terms:[1]
| “ | Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine. For the attainment of this purpose, the Congress considers the following means serviceable:
1. The promotion of the settlement of Jewish agriculturists, artisans, and tradesmen in Palestine. 2. The federation of all Jews into local or general groups, according to the laws of the various countries. 3. The strengthening of the Jewish feeling and consciousness. 4. Preparatory steps for the attainment of those governmental grants which are necessary to the achievement of the Zionist purpose. |
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The First Zionist Congress is credited for the following achievements:
Theodor Herzl wrote in his diary (September 1, 1897):
| “ | Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word - which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State.[2] If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.[6] | ” |
Subsequent congresses founded various institutions for the promotion of this program, notably a people's bank known as the Jewish Colonial Trust, which was the financial instrument of political Zionism. Its establishment was suggested at the First Zionist Congress in 1897; the first definite steps toward its institution were taken at the Second Zionist Congress in Cologne, Germany in May, 1898.[7] For the Fifth Zionist Congress, the Jewish National Fund was founded for the purchase of land in the Land of Israel and later the Zionist Commission was founded with subsidiary societies for the study and improvement of the social and economic condition of the Jews within the Land of Israel.
The Zionist Commission was an informal group established by Chaim Weizmann. It carried out initial surveys of Palestine and aided the repatriation of Jews sent into exile by the Ottoman Turks during World War I. It expanded the ZO's Palestine office, which was established in 1907, into small departments for agriculture, settlement, education, land, finance, immigration, and statistics. In 1921, the commission became the Palestine Zionist Executive, which acted as the Jewish Agency, to advise the British mandate authorities on the development of the country in matters of Jewish interest.[8]
The Zionist Congress met every year between 1897 and 1901, then except for war years, every second year (1903-1913, 1921-1939). In 1942, an “Extraordinary Zionist Conference” was held and announced a fundamental departure from traditional Zionist policy[9] with its demand "that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth."[10] It became the official Zionist stand on the ultimate aim of the movement.[11] Since the Second World War, meetings have been held approximately every four years and since the creation of the State of Israel, the Congress has been held in Jerusalem. In 2002, the Green Zionist Alliance became the first environmental organization to ever hold a seat at the World Zionist Congress.