Upon witnessing the danger and suffering Jews were experiencing from rampant antisemitism, Theodor Herzl proposed a temporary safe haven in Uganda. However, a Jewish homeland in East Africa was heavily opposed by the Zionist Congress.
After much debate, the Seventh Zionist Congress decided against executing the Uganda Plan and Herzl focused his efforts on aiding the future establishment of a Jewish state elsewhere.
Fifty years later, Israel was established, keeping the Jewish State in a place rich with Jewish history, rather than merely in a place of physical safety.
Big Ideas
- Israel is in constant tension between balancing pragmatic needs and idealistic values.
- The Zionist movement contained many groups with divergent and competing views about the priorities and values of the future Jewish state.
- Antisemitism often plays a major role in shaping the direction of Jewish history.
Essential Questions
- Is the primary goal of Zionism: to end antisemitism; to provide a safe haven for Jews; to empowerJewish self-determination; to return to our historic roots in the Land of Israel; or something else all together?
- When is it preferable to detour from a goal in service of a greater good?
- How essential is the Land of Israel to Zionism? Can Zionism exist without the State of Israel?
