3/11/02 - Herzl and Pinsker: Profound Influences on Zionism - By M. Asinoff

3/11/02 - Herzl and Pinsker: Profound Influences on Zionism - By M. Asinoff

Leo Pinsker was born in 1821, in Russian occupied Poland. His dad was a Hebrew Scholar who taught him more than most children there. This and his ability to assimilate among Russian Jews very well helped him get into a Russian high school. His dad instilled a value of education in him. So he studied law on his own, before entering The Moscow University of Medicine.

Upon graduation he returned to Odessa where he became a leading physician in the community and was decorated by the Czar, Nicholas I for helping soldiers with Typhus. He became a Zionist in 1881, ten years before his death. He believed Jews would eventually get the religious freedom they yearned for when the Czar lost power and a constitutional monarchy gained it. But he became even more dismayed with Russia than his colleagues after the pogroms (mob attack against Jews).

He was interested in Jewish affairs and chose to go beyond the "enlighteners", whose teachings said those Russian things such as language should dominate ever aspect of life, even religion. This was unacceptable to Jews. It eventually caused attacks against them in Odessa during Easter, in 1881. [i]

Pinsker felt they needed Palestine as a homeland because they were a minority everywhere and had to suppress their religion/assimilate into the various cultures they lived in due to anti-Semitism. His pamphlet was greeted with indignation in many circles. The orthodox felt he lacked religion and the liberals attacked him as a traitor to the faith. His followers were semi-modernized, Russian Jews. But by 1884 he founded the Hibbot Zion movement.

Then he wrote that the essence of the problem lies in the fact that Jews are a distinct element in the nations in which they live. And their Judaism prohibited assimilation. He felt they needed a homeland like other peoples to physically unite/bond. A homeland would permit them to share a common language, culture, history, patriotism, sense of purpose and goal like other nations.

He felt that since the Jews never had any of these things many of them were apathetic toward it. He said that many were thrilled just to live in peace. To others the concept of freedom of worship was a luxury to some it was an unattainable dream. Knowing all this he wanted to stir Jews to rise up and believe that they had the right to a homeland and everything that came along with it. He felt that this gave their lives deeper meaning/sense of purpose.

But this did not stop him from trying to include Judaism into a liberal Russia. He preached that there must be "new remedies and ways" and anonymously published his views in -a German pamphlet. [ii]

Theodor Herzl was also a founding father of Zionism. He was born in 1860, in Budapest, Hungary. His dad was in the clothing business. Like most of his peers he attended a local school and received a decent education.

Although his family still had some old Jewish customs, they were primarily assimilated into the Hungarian culture. He studied literature in college, when living in Vienna and led a fairly calm life, maintaining a low profile. He entered Roman Law School in 1878 and joined the Vienna Bar in 1884.

While attending school he read a lot, wrote a few brief plays and many essays. [iii] But his sense of righteousness made him a Jewish advocate. He saw anti-Semitism was rampant in Europe. And just could not ignore it. He felt he must do something because he saw himself as their leader. So he put his morals in writing and published a newspaper. [iv]

After unsuccessfully appealing to the small group of rich Jews in Eastern Europe for aid he targeted the masses with his newspaper. This was not easy, especially since the idea of a Palestinian state being a homeland for the Jews meant different things to different people. Some wanted a Utopia. Others envisioned a theocracy. Being a very pragmatic and accepting man he wanted it to be a Democracy where Jews lived in peace here and worshiped freely, without fear of persecution. He soon realized that was impossible for Eastern European Jews.

He wanted Jews to be able live in peace anywhere. And not be forced to live in ghettos and pay extra taxes to the King, simply because they were Jews. The government could not protect them. It remained neutral out for fear of alienating the masses and creating dissention among supporters.

He felt that Jews needed a man like him to help unite & organize them & wondered what would become of them without his vision to guide them. Everyone knew previous plans to deal with them failed for various reasons. They considered becoming peasants. But that concept was flawed from the start because within the next generation or two peasants be virtually extinct. He also thought if everyone let the Jews live in peace they’d assimilate into mainstream society within a few generations. But he knew that was “mission impossible”.

Besides, in his heart & soul he knew it’d never happen. He thought the next best thing was to move the Jews from Europe to Palestine. So they could set up a homeland where they could live in peace. He wanted to see them move gradually over the years in order of need. The most- dire would go first. Once there, they could begin to build infrastructure for the society they’d create. He thought that there should be agencies to help organize this. It seemed obvious that they would need order & structure if they even had a chance of pulling it off.

Comparison/Contrast of Both Men

Pinsker was of Eastern European decent. He was also very well educated, a fairly successful attorney and a mench (good person). There’s no doubt he cared about people, especially Jews and wanted to see them live and prosper in peace. But knew that wasn’t going to happen in Eastern Europe. So he became involved in Zionism.

This was his way of helping Jews create a new sense of identity. The current one was that- of second- class citizen to be persecuted for seeking equality under the law. He wanted them to have something everyone else took for granted: freedom of worship.

His problem was that despite his pure motives he was not an effective leader. God did not give him that gift. So he could not motivate/inspire people to believe in or follow him/his cause.

This was compounded by a lack of specific, detailed planning. It’d take a lot of that in order to win people's minds. Without it he couldn’t persuade them that his ideas work, or that Palestine could be the Jews' national homeland. No one believed it could be a refuge where they’d live and worship in peace, much less be accepted as individuals a people. The inability to sway the masses led to apathy, lack of credibility and disbelief by most Jews. His dream was at a standstill. By 1896 it was dying very slowly. And he couldn’t do anything about it.

Who knows what would have happened if Herzl didn't come along when he did. He had just what the "dr. ordered": a "prescription" for the right "medicine", a "colonic" to revitalize the movement.

It was a little like Pinsker was Moses, Herzl was Joshua and the floundering movement was the Jews wandering in the Sinai Desert on their way to the Promised Land. Moses brought the Jews out of Egypt and into the desert and Joshua guided them the rest of their journey into the Promised Land.

Herzl had a very pragmatic view of life in Europe for Jews today & in the future. And knew it was not-pretty. So he devised a detailed plan for migrating Jews into Palestine from Europe. He also created a detailed plan as to who would go there & when. And what needed to be done upon arrival. No one could argue with his reasoning. His plans were very good. He knew that it would take considerable time too. So he factored a reasonable time into his plan too. His common sense dictated to him that it would take years.

It was this common sense that was so instrumental in his ability to sway people. This combined with a little bit of logic was able to go the Jericho mile in gaining credibility for him/his plan. They were both instrumental to the eventual creation of Israel's status as the free/independent nation that will live forever. Jews owe a big debt of gratitude to both men. They should be revered as heroes!

Works Cited

1. The History of Zionism,p. . Laquer, Walter. Schocken, N.Y., N.Y., 1976.

2. The Auto-Emancipation, p. . Germany, 1882.

3. The History of Zionism, p. . Laquer, Walter. Schocken, N.Y., N.Y., 1976.

4. The Judenstat, p. . Herzl, Theodor. 1896, Germany.