Zionism is a nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century to espouse support for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. Following the establishment of Israel, Zionism became an ideology that supports "the development and protection of the State of Israel".
The Jewish Agency for Israel, formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO).
The World Zionist Organization, or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the First Zionist Congress, which took place in August 1897 in Basel, Switzerland. The goals of the Zionist movement were set out in the Basel Program.
Mount Herzl, also Har ha-Zikaron, is the site of Israel's national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities, found on the west side of Jerusalem beside the Jerusalem Forest.
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress and World Zionist Organization (WZO), respectively. The World Zionist Organization elects the officers and decides on the policies of the WZO and the Jewish Agency, including "determining the allocation of funds." The first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. Any Jew over age 18 who belongs to a Zionist association is eligible to vote, and the number of elected delegates to the Congress is 500. 38% of the delegates are allocated to Israel, 29% to the United States of America, and 33% to the remainder of the countries of the Diaspora. In addition there are about 100 delegates which are appointed by International Organizations affiliated with WZO.
Gershon Harry Agron was an Israeli newspaper editor, politician, and the mayor of West Jerusalem between 1955 and his death in 1959.
The World Union of Jewish Students is the international, pluralistic, non-partisan umbrella organisation of independent Jewish student groups in 38 countries.
Cultural Zionism is a strain in the concept of Zionism that valued creating a centre in historic Palestine with its own secular Jewish culture and national history, including language and historical roots, rather than other Zionist ideas such as political Zionism. The man considered to have founded the concept of cultural Zionism is Asher Ginsberg, better known as Ahad Ha'am. With his secular vision of a Jewish "spiritual center" in Israel, he confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ha'am strived for "a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews".
The Jewish Territorial Organisation, known as the ITO, was a Jewish political movement which first arose in 1903 in response to the British Uganda Offer, but which was institutionalized in 1905. Its main goal was to find an alternative territory to that of Palestine, which was preferred by the Zionist movement, for the creation of a Jewish homeland. The organization embraced what became known as Jewish Territorialism also known as Jewish Statism. The ITO was dissolved in 1925.
Theodor Herzl was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and political activist who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the Zionist Organization and promoted Jewish immigration to Palestine in an effort to form a Jewish state.
Moisés Salinas Fleitman is a Mexican scholar of developmental and social psychology, a multi-cultural educator, a Zionist political activist, and the former Chief diversity officer at Central Connecticut State University and Rector (academia) at ORT University Mexico.
Joseph Schechtman was a Russian-born Revisionist Zionist activist and author. He was the author of numerous books of history, biography and works on Zionism.
As an organized nationalist movement, Zionism is generally considered to have been founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897. However, the history of Zionism began earlier and is intertwined with Jewish history and Judaism. The organizations of Hovevei Zion, held as the forerunners of modern Zionist ideals, were responsible for the creation of 20 Jewish towns in Palestine between 1870 and 1897.
Alex Bein was a German-Jewish historian and Zionist historiographer best known for his biography of Theodor Herzl.
Alfred Nossig was a Jewish sculptor, writer, and activist in Zionism and Polish civil society. During World War II he was held in the Warsaw Ghetto. He was accused of collaboration with the Gestapo and executed by a resistance organization.
Yaakov Hagoel, is the Chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization. He was formerly acting chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel.
Gusti Yehoshua Braverman is an Israeli activist who is the Chair of the World Zionist Organization's Department for Diaspora Activities. Her previous positions include being the deputy director of the Reform Movement in Israel, and the director of the Tamar Dance Company.
Partners for Progressive Israel is an American non-governmental organization and registered 501(c)3 dedicated to the achievement of a durable, secure, and just peace between Israel and its neighbors, including a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Partners for Progressive Israel is devoted to civil rights in Israel and to human rights throughout the area under Israel’s control, as well as to social justice, equality, religious freedom, and environmentalism. Partners for Progressive Israel seeks to deepen American Jews’ understanding of the complexities of Israeli society in order to enhance their advocacy for a progressive Israel.
Leopold Kessler (1864–1944) was an engineer, newspaper publisher and Zionist. He was instrumental in building many of the institutions that supported the establishment of Israel as a Jewish state.
The Second World Zionist Congress met in Basel, Switzerland on 28 August 1898. and was the second meeting of the Zionist Organisation. The World Zionist Congress brought together delegates from across the world to raise funds, lobby support and create the institutions that would one day form the modern day Jewish State known as Israel, which was established in 1948. The Congress met every year from 1897 to 1901. The main focus of the Second Congress, as set out by its chair, Theodor Herzl, was to engage with Jewish communities in the diaspora and encourage them to adopt Political Zionism.
