Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people through the colonization of Palestine, a region in the Levant roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism, and of central importance in Jewish history. Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in Palestine with as much land, as many Jews, and as few Palestinian Arabs as possible. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism became Israel's national or state ideology.
This is a partial timeline of Zionism since the start of the 16th century.
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. The World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) aims to connect, represent, and empower Jewish students globally, promoting the unity and participation of these students in advancing the Jewish people's aspirations, continuity, and cultural heritage.
Cultural Zionism is a strain of Zionism that focused on creating a center 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 founder of Cultural Zionism is Asher Ginsberg, better known as Ahad Ha'am. With his secular vision of a Jewish "spiritual center" in Eretz Israel/Palestine, he confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ha'am strove 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 Scheme, but only 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, lawyer, writer, playwright 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. Due to his Zionist work, he is known in Hebrew as Chozeh HaMedinah, lit. 'Visionary of the State'. He is specifically mentioned in the Israeli Declaration of Independence and is officially referred to as "the spiritual father of the 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, historian, and author. He played a significant role in the establishment of the World Union of Revisionist Zionists and the New Zionist Organization alongside Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Schechtman authored numerous works on Jewish history, Zionism, and population migrations, including The Arab Refugee Problem and European Population Transfers, 1939–1945. His studies on population transfers, described as "pioneering" in defining guidelines for such movements, have been both influential and controversial. He emigrated to the United States during World War II, continuing his advocacy and scholarship while working with organizations such as the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
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.
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. Other Jews later accused Nossig of collaborating with the Gestapo.
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 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 Zionism.
