Trudy Gold
Basel, Herzl and the Jewish State
Summary
After convening the First Zionist Conference in Basel in August 1897, Theodor Herzl wrote in his diary “At Basel I founded the Jewish State". This presentation will examine the factors that made a successful cosmopolitan realise that a new approach to the “Jewish Question” was essential. Trudy also asks, what was the Jewish State that he envisaged?
Trudy Gold
Trudy Gold was the CEO of the London Jewish Cultural Centre and a founding member of the British delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Throughout her career she taught modern Jewish history at schools, universities, and to adult groups and ran seminars on Holocaust education in the UK, Eastern Europe, and China. She also led Jewish educational tours all over the world. Trudy was the educational director of the student resources “Understanding the Holocaust” and “Holocaust Explained” and the author of The Timechart History of Jewish Civilization.
I think it was a kind of Congress Deutsche. It was German, yes, it was German. Of course, it was German. Look, you know, the Technion, they were going to have the language in German. The whole debate is what is the language of the Jews is very, very complicated. If you think about the Hebrew language, language is also, look, the Bundists use Yiddish. The Zionists used Hebrew. It took the creation of the first Hebrew dictionary. It was extraordinary. A language had to be recreated.
I’m not sure, I don’t think so, oh, but no, but don’t forget that the Jews living in the Arab world at this stage were not ill-treated in the main. Islam is fine. The whole issue is Dar al-Islam. Then, of course, this is something else that is never mentioned. When Israel was created you need to look at what happened to the Jews in the Arab world. And this, of course, is my friend, Lyn Julius’ subject. Over a million of them were thrown out. They came to Israel many of them. Some came to the West, but many went to Israel, so.
Yes, they were tragic, weren’t they? There are no Herzl descendants now. One child committed suicide. Another child died in Terezienstad. And his grandson committed suicide. So a tragic, tragic family. Quite often the children of the great, and also his wife was unstable we know that. There are no descendants of the Herzls. Bernadette says, Jewish history must be taught. I couldn’t agree more.