Max Nordau: Difference between revisions

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== Nordau and Zionism ==

Nordau, who was far from Judaism, became interested in the Jewish problem when hatred of ~~Israel~~ (anti-Semitism) increased in Europe in the late 19th century. During the [[Dreyfus trial]], he worked as a clerk in Paris, and like his friend [[Herzl]], he saw anti-Semitism in its rampant form. Nordau was also among the first to read the manuscript of Herzl’s “The Jewish State.” Nordau was enthusiastic about Herzl’s ideas and devoted himself to the service of the Zionist movement. He drafted the “Basel Plan” at the First Zionist Congress (1897), and from then until his death was one of the central figures of the Zionist movement. He sided with [[political Zionism]] and demanded full political rights over the Land of Israel for the Jewish people. However, in 1903 he supported the [[Uganda Plan]], which Herzl had put forward. After Herzl’s death, Nordau did not agree to succeed him as president of the Zionist movement (partly because he was married to a Christian woman) and supported the position of David Wolfson. Nordau served as Wolfson’s political advisor, just as he had been Herzl’s advisor.

Nordau, who was far from Judaism, became interested in the Jewish problem when hatred of Jews (anti-Semitism) increased in Europe in the late 19th century. During the [[Dreyfus trial]], he worked as a clerk in Paris, and like his friend [[Herzl]], he saw anti-Semitism in its rampant form. Nordau was also among the first to read the manuscript of Herzl’s “The Jewish State.” Nordau was enthusiastic about Herzl’s ideas and devoted himself to the service of the Zionist movement. He drafted the “Basel Plan” at the First Zionist Congress (1897), and from then until his death was one of the central figures of the Zionist movement. He sided with [[political Zionism]] and demanded full political rights over the Land of Israel for the Jewish people. However, in 1903 he supported the [[Uganda Plan]], which Herzl had put forward. After Herzl’s death, Nordau did not agree to succeed him as president of the Zionist movement (partly because he was married to a Christian woman) and supported the position of David Wolfson. Nordau served as Wolfson’s political advisor, just as he had been Herzl’s advisor.

After World War I, [[Ḥaim Weizmann]] (then serving as president of the World Zionist Organization) invited Nordau to come to London and serve as his political advisor. However, after a while, Nordau left this position because he opposed the official position of the Zionist leadership. He demanded that half a million Jews be immediately brought to Israel, to settle them on the land and integrate them into the economy of the country (which was already under British Mandate rule), and thus “to conquer Israel for the people of Israel.” In this way, he hoped to advance the great danger that, in his opinion, hung over the Jews in Europe. However, the Zionist leadership saw Nordau’s plan as an unfulfilled dream and his position was undermined. He died in Paris, and according to his will, his remains were transferred to the old cemetery in Tel Aviv, on Trumpeldor Street. Towns, institutions and streets in Israel bear his name.