“HaShkafa” Newspaper Edited by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Announcing for the First Time the Death of Theodor Herzl, in a Notice That Arrived in the Editorial Office Moments Before the Issue Went to Print. Tuesday, 22 Tammuz, 5664, July 5, 1904 – Two Days After Herzl’s Passing.
Coincidentally or not, the main article in this edition discusses the “Jewish State” and negotiations on Jewish settlement in East Africa. Later, in a notice published on the side of the page, it reads:
“Moments before finalizing the edition, two telegrams reached us, and the first page had already been printed. The first from Berlin, sent on Wednesday, July 4, at 10:40 in the morning, stated: ‘Herzl has died, Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda.’ The second from the executive office in Vienna, sent on Wednesday, July 4, at 4:00 in the afternoon, stated: ‘Herzl has died. The time of burial will be announced. The church office.’ Thus, there is no doubt, Dr. Herzl has passed away! At this terrible moment, I have no words. This is a disaster, a tragedy we were not prepared for; this is a mourning for the entire nation, and we mourn with it. I have no words of comfort, neither for ourselves nor for his family. This is not the time to seek reasons for this death… We do not mourn the great deceased himself… but what will be the fate of Zionism? What will be the fate of the nation?…”
Another notice on the last page of the edition, under the title: “Before the Death, ” features a short article where Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda tries to understand why Herzl’s death was not mentioned in other newspapers, quoting various reports about Herzl’s condition, as the realization of his death began to sink in: “And with my own eyes, I saw others weeping. This was the destruction in the midst of the flowing life around. To lose Herzl… it’s too much!…” At the bottom of the same article, it is written: “Jerusalem, the intended eulogy of the honorable Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Spector, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, for Dr. Herzl in the Great Synagogue of the Hurva, was thwarted due to the zealots who planned to cause disruptions during the eulogy. In all the synagogues of the Sephardi community in our city, the prayer ‘El Maleh Rachamim’ was recited on Shabbat for the repose of the soul of the late Dr. Herzl, of blessed memory.”
This is the first and rare issue of “HaShkafa” newspaper in which Herzl’s death was mentioned. In subsequent editions, published in the days following, all the headlines were dedicated to the passing of the herald of Zionism.
[10] pages. Complete edition. Spine reinforced with adhesive tape. Good condition.
