88 Friday, December 3, 1982 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS A Chronology of Zionist Congresses, 1897-1978 World Zionist Press Service The First Congress - Basle 1897. Theodor Herzl founded the World Zionist Organization and the First Basle Program stated: "Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law." The means of obtaining this goal were also defined. The Con- gress represents the initia- tion of political Zionism, a landmark in the history of the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael. The Second Congress - Basle 1898. Herzl called on the Zionists to conquer the communities" - i.e. to intensify work in the Dias- ; pora. With the establish- : ment of the Jewish Colonial Trust, the struggle between "political" and "practical" Zionists was narrowed. • The Third Congress - Basle 1899. Herzl's at- tempts to gain a "charter" of international recognition clashed with the demands of the practical Zionists for immediate settlement ac- tivities: Herzl concentrated almost exclusively on polit- ical activities. The Fourth Congress - London 1900. Herzl chose London because he believed that England "will under- stand our aspirations." The persecution of Jews in • Romania emphasized the need for an urgent Zionist solution to the Jewish ques- tion. The Fifth Congress - Basle 1901. Younger dele- gates opposed Herzl's con- centration on political ac- tivities. The Congress es- tablished the Jewish Na- tional Fund (Keren Kayemet Lelsrael) for the redemption of land in Eretz Yisrael. The Sixth Congress - Basle 1903. Herzl's last Congress was stormy and tragic. The Kishinev pog- rom in Russia gave rise to suggestions for temporary solutions, including Uganda in East Africa. The proposal was overwhelm- ingly rejected but Herzl suc- ceeded in maintaining the •unity of the WZO. A year later Herzl died. The Seventh Congress - Basle 1905. Under the presidency of Max Nordau the Uganda scheme was fi- nally rejected in favor of set- tlement in Eretz Yisrael and its immediate vicinity. The Eighth Congress The Hague 1907. The keyn- ote was set by Chaim Weiz- mann who proposed a "synthetic Zionism" merg- ing political work with practical efforts in Eretz • Yisrael. The WZO's Pales- tine office under Arthur Th Ruppin was founded in Jaffa in 1908. The Ninth Congress - Hamburg 1909. Figures like Ussishkin, Weizmann and Sokolow opposed the leadership of Wolffsohn who had replaced Nordau. They objected to the "commer- cial" approach to settlement activities, evaluating them only by the economic effi- ciency. They were sup- ported by representatives of the workers, appearing at Congress for the first time. The 10th Congress -- Basle 1911. Brought total victory to "synthetic Zionism." A whole session, led by Ussishkin, was con- ducted entirely in Hebrew and relations with the Arabs were raised by S. Kaplansky. The 11th Congress - Vienna 1913. Practical Zionism in Eretz Yisrael was discussed in some de- tail. Weizmann and Us- sishkin suggested the estab- lishment of a Hebrew Uni- versity in Jerusalem. Bialik made an impressive ape- pearance at Congress. The 12th Congress - Carlsbad 1921. Following crucial developments like the Balfour Declaration, the proposed British Mandate and the Bolshevik Revolu- tion, the Zionist center had been transferred to England and Weizmann was elected president of the Zionist Organization. He called upon the Jewish people to assist in building Eretz Yis- rael, and the Keren Hayesod had been founded in 1920. American Zionists came to the fore. Represen- tatives of the workers in Eretz Yisrael were elected to the Executive which was now situated in London and in Jerusalem. The 13th Congress - Carlsbad 1923. With the Mandate established, the Zionist Organization be- came officially the Jewish Agency for Palestine charged with "assisting in the establishment of the Jewish National Home." The proposal to include non-Zionists in the Agency caused a bitter debate and the idea was implemented only in 1929. It was resolved to open the Hebrew Univer- sity in Jerusalem. The 14th Congress - Vienna 1925. There was a great deal of discussion on the correct way to build Eretz Yisrael with much support for private enterprise as against Labor settlement. David Ben- Gurion spoke on the role of the workers in Eretz Yis- rael. The 15th Congress - Basle 1927. Economic crisis President Zalman Shazar of Israel, at left, is shown speaking at the 28th Zionist Congress in 1972. Seated next to him is Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, and at right are Prime Ministers Golda Meir and David Ben-Gurion. and unemployment in final decision was held in Palestine occupied the dele- abeyance. gates. Harry Sacher The 21st Congress - emerged as a forceful per- Geneva 1939. The British sonality. anti-Zionist White Paper The 16th Congress - imposed the harshest possi- Zurich 1929. Herzl was ble restrictions on immigra- eulogized on the 25th an- tion and land purchase. Re- niversary of his death. Per- solving the fight the White sonalities like Albert Eins- Paper and with the World tein, Leon Blum and War impending, Weizmann Sholem Asch joined the closed the Congress with new, enlarged Jewish the words, "I have no prayer Agency. Two Mizrachi and but this: that we will all two Labor representatives meet again alive." were elected to the Zionist The 22nd Congress - Executive. The 17th Congress - Basle 1946. Following the Basle 1931. Weizmann's war and the Holocaust, policy of maximum coopera- Congress resolved "to estab- tion with the British was at- lish a Jewish Common- tacked following the 1929 wealth integrated into the Arab disturbances and the world democratic negative attitude to structure," rejecting the Zionism of the Mandatory cantonization of Palestine authorities. The re- and the British proposal for visionists demanded defin- a London conference on the ing the final aim of Zionism future of Palestine (the lat- as a Jewish majority and a ter led to Weizmann's res- Jewish state. The rejection ignation from the of this concept led presidency). The Re- Jabotinsky to leave the visionists returned to the Zionist Organization in WZO. 1935. The 23rd Congress - The 18th Congress - Jerusalem 1951. Following Prague 1933. The Nazis had won power in Germany. The Congress saw the continua- tion of the bitter debate be- By DR. DAVID GEFFEN tween the Revisionists and World Zionist Press Service Labor, with the latter win- JERUSALEM - "We ning increasing strength on shall be very stupid to shut the Executive. The 19th Congress - our eyes to the fact that un- Lucerne 1935. Ben-Gurion less something unforeseen increasingly became the occurs Zionism is a force central figure in the Zionist with which We shthl have to Executive and Weizmann reckon. We may regret it resuming the presidency. and undoubtedly it will re- Discussions centered on tard our progress as a world Diaspora Jewry, the build- religion, but there it is and ing of Palestine, Hebrew it will require our attention culture, the JNF and Youth for some time to come." In this fashion Clifton Aliya. Harby Levy concluded his The 20th Congress - evaluation of the first Zurich 1937. The British Zionist Congress in an Peel Commission proposed editorial written in Sep- partition. This was not offi- tember 1897 in the Jewish cially rejected by the Con- Comment of Baltimore. gress, though opinions dif- Editor of that newspaper, fered between the Zionist and a Reform rabbi by parties and within them. A training, Levy was never very pro-Zionist during his lifetime, which even encompassed the estab- lishment of Israel. Yet in 1897, in ari almost prophetic manner, he sensed that the Congress marked a turning point. Levy's views opposed most of the reports which appeared in the American Jewish press. the establishment of the state, all Zionist Congresses were to meet in Jerusalem's Binyanei HaOoma (Con- vention Hall). The main theme was the status of the Zionist movement after the establishment of the Jewish state. The essential clause in the Jerusalem Program, accepted in 1951, was that "the task of Zionism is the consolidation of the state of Israel, the ingathering of the exiles in Eretz Yisrael and the fostering of the unity of the Jewish people." In 1952, the Knesset ac- cepted the special status of the WZO and afforded it of- ficial recognition. The 24th Congress - Jerusalem 1956. Aliya, set- tlement and fund-raising were discussed, as well as Israel's security situation. Nahum Goldmann was elected president of the Zionist Organization, an office vacant since 1946. The 25th Congress - Jerusalem 196.0. Ben- Gurion's sharp criticism of the WZO was discussed as well as aliyg, absorption and Jewish culture and education in the Diaspora. The 26th Congress - Jerusalem 1964. Goldmann coined the phrase "facing the Diaspora," believing that the aims of Zionism were to assure the survival of the Jewish nation in the Diaspora with the assis- tance of the state. The reso- lution spoke of the unity of the nation, the mutual commitment of all its parts, their common responsibil- ity for its historic fate and the decisive mission of the state of Israel in assuring its future. Moshe Sharett, who was chairman of the Jerusalem Executive, died shortly after the Congress. The 27th Congress - Jerusalem 1968. The first Congress held in reunited Jerusalem after the. Six- Day War concentrated on aliya and absorption. The 1968 Jerusalem Program, which is the official pro- gram of the WZO to this day, was accepted. Louis Pincus was re-elected chairman of the Executive. The 28th Congress - Jerusalem 1972. The mem- bership drive preceding the Congress elections revealed that there were nearly 900,000 organized Zionists all over the world. Israeli delegates represented the strength of the various Zionist parties in the Knes- set. The Sephardi and Oriental communities had about 90 delegates and ob- servers and Jewish students and Zionist youth move- ments were also well repre- sented. The problems dis- cussed were Jewish educa- tion, youth work, aliya, so- cial and ethnic gaps in Is- rael and the housing prob- lem and the struggle of Soviet Jewry for aliya. A resolution stating that Zionist leaders who failed to settle in Israel after two terms of office should not be re-elected was declared un- constitutional. The 29th Congress - Jerusalem 1.978. Partici- pants included non-voting representatives 'of the var- ious streams in Judaism, like the Conservative and Reform Jews. Once again the Sephardim were active in the Congress work. The debates revolved around the obligations of Zionist organ- izations and individuals, with the resolutions defin- ing the Zionist commitment including aliya and educa- tion. Another resolution was passed on religious pluralism. The peace plan with Egypt was also endorsed. American Press React ion in 1897 The Jewish Messenger of New York stressed, "Herzl had failed to elicit the coop- eration of more than a cor- poral guard . . . and the movement had no chance." Herzl himself was "off the track" and Nordau guilty of "degeneracy." The Israelite of Chicago opined that the Zionist were followers of hypocrisy in that"they belie their entire history." The Yiddish Tegeblatt emphasized that both Or- thodox and Reform rabbis opposed the movement so it had to fail. "A Zion," the paper wrote, "restored by purchase or force, would be in opposition to the spirit of Judaism. Zion will be given to us by Him who deprived us." Heading its stor, "A Jewish State Impossible," the New York Times reacted on Sept. 10, 1897 to the Congress by printing excerpts from a paper by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of the Reform movement. In his presenta- tion, Wise had made the point that the "Judaic na- tion and Judaic nationality had been extinct for 1800 years." He stressed that "though hope to return to Israel was in the soul of the Jews there never has been an earnest will manifested in people to return to Palestine and es- tablish a government of their own." His conclusion was that all the various 19th Century revolutions had freed the Jews and "cured them of their homesickness for Judea." A Portrait of THEODOR HERZL