The Jewish State (Der Judenstaat), A New Way of Solving the Jewish Question – by Dr. Theodor Herzl, translated with special permission from the author by Michal Berkowitz. Tushiyah Publishing, Warsaw, 1896 – first Hebrew edition.
First Hebrew edition of Theodor Herzl’s renowned work “The Jewish State”, addressing the Jewish question and the need for a national-political solution. Herzl wrote the book during long nights in his apartment in Vienna, as waves of antisemitism surged all around him – from the Dreyfus Affair in Paris to the pogroms in Eastern Europe. Clinging firmly to his vision and refusing to succumb to the prevailing narrative, Herzl wrote: “No wealthy or powerful individual can transfer an entire people from one place to another. Only an idea can do that. The idea of a state surely has such power; the Jews have dreamed this dream throughout their long exile. Our ancient slogan is: ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ Now we must show that this distant dream can be transformed 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The book is the most foundational historical document in the history of political Zionism.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 “irresolvable antisemitism” in Europe lay in the vision of establishing a sovereign Jewish state, which he outlined here in great detail. He believed that if an international Jewish movement were to be organized, such a state could be established through diplomatic agreements with the great powers. Upon publication, the book caused a major stir. Most public figures – both Jewish and non-Jewish – dismissed it as nonsense, and many harshly criticized it. “No man in Vienna, ” claimed writer Stefan Zweig, “was ridiculed as much as Herzl.” Despite the criticism, the book’s publication quickly led to concrete outcomes, most notably the founding of the First Zionist Congress just one year later. Herzl transformed from a private writer-journalist into the leader of the most influential global movement in 20th-century Jewish history.
“The Jewish State” was published as part of the Sifrei-Am (People’s Books) series by Tushiyah Publishing, in the same year the German edition appeared. Originally, the book was published in a single volume along with Knesset HaGedolah, or, The Second Congress in Basel, edited by Nahum Slouschz. Tushiyah Publishing, Warsaw, 1898. Present copy includes The Jewish State only, without the additional texts or the publisher’s book list that appeared in the combined edition. The “Jewish State” itself is complete, including the rear wrapper.
[1] leaf (title page), 2, IV, 82 pages. Unbound. Stapled. Good condition.
