The Jewish State (Der Judenstaat), A New Solution to the Jewish Question, translated with special permission from the author by Michl Berkowitz [Berkovitz]. “Tushiyah” Publishing, Warsaw 1896 – First Hebrew Edition – complete copy. Bound with: The Third Basel Congress by S. Rozenfeld, “Tushiyah” Publishing, Warsaw 1899.
At the beginning of the book, a handwritten dedication by Eliezer Frishman “a native of Roteve, ” who writes that he obtained the book from the Zionist Association, and adds: “As a token of love I give this book Medinat HaYehudim (The Jewish State) to my dear friend Mr. Rashi; may G-d grant that soon the matter will turn out for the good, to establish a Hebrew center in our Holy Land, 13 Menachem Av 1899 of our bitter exile, your friend Eliezer Frishman, a native of Roteve.” (The recipient of the book is R. S. Yudelovitz, as appears from the ink stamp on the title page of “The Third Basel Congress”).
First Hebrew edition of Theodor Herzl’s famous book addressing the problem of the Jews and the need for a political-national solution. Herzl wrote the book during long nights in Paris, while waves of antisemitism were erupting all around him – from the Dreyfus Affair in Paris to the pogroms in Eastern Europe. Herzl, who adhered to his vision and refused to submit to the accepted narrative, wrote: “No human being, rich or powerful, can transfer an entire people from one place to another. Only an idea can accomplish this. The idea of the State certainly possesses such power; the Jews have dreamed this dream throughout the long exile. Our age-old slogan is ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ Now we must show that this distant dream will be translated into a clear and brilliant idea” (The Jewish State). The book is the most foundational historical document in the history of political Zionism. Herzl argued that the solution to the “insoluble antisemitism” in Europe lay in the vision of establishing a sovereign Jewish state, which he outlined in detail in his book. He believed that if an international Jewish movement were organized, such a state could be established on the basis of political agreements with the great powers. Immediately upon its publication, the book caused a great סערה. Most public figures, Jews and non-Jews alike, regarded it as nonsense, and many sharply criticized it: “No man in Vienna, ” claimed the writer Stefan Zweig, “was subjected to as much ridicule as Herzl.” Despite the background noise, the publication of the book quickly led to practical results in the form of the founding of the First Zionist Congress about a year after its appearance, and Herzl was transformed from a private writer-journalist into the leader of the most influential global movement in Jewish history of the century.
The Jewish State: [1] leaf (front wrapper), [2], IV, 82, IV (“About several books published by ‘Tushiyah’”) pages. [2] pages.
The Third Basel Congress: 33 pages.
Original half-leather binding. 18 cm. Light stains. good – very good condition.
