The Jewish State

Categories: History, Politics & Social Sciences

In 1896, Viennese journalist Theodor Herzl published a short pamphlet arguing that antisemitism would not disappear and that Jews needed a state of their own. The proposal launched modern political Zionism. Herzl sets out practical plans for a society and a company to organize migration, buy land and build the new country's economy and institutions. The book shaped the First Zionist Congress the following year and remains a founding text in the history of Israel.

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• Balaji Srinivasan: “A very important reference that I think is much more important to me than Snow Crash… is Der Judenstaat by Herzl, which translates as The Jewish State, and that led to the foundation of Israel.”