In the steps of Herzl – Basel conference makes Zionist history

In August 1897, about 200 Jews from 17 countries gathered to adopt the Basel programme (later replaced by the Jerusalem programme) stating that “Zionism seeks to secure for the Jewish people a publicly recognised, legally assured homeland in Palestine”.

Fast forward 125 years, and seven times that original number of Jews from many more countries returned to this very spot, including a new generation of those born or living in a sovereign Jewish state restored as a result of that initial declaration.

The conference of 2022, which celebrated the 125th anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s first Zionist Congress, was thus a reinforcement of the importance of Zionism that Herzl had re-awakened in the Jewish spirit after millennia of exile, dispossession, and statelessness.

“Many of us were born into the reality of the state of Israel existing as a sovereign, powerful, Jewish, and value-based entity. But just five generations before, it was a distant dream,” said Yaacov Hagoel, the chairperson of the World Zionist Organization, who hosted the conference.

The two-day conference wasn’t intended to debate policies or ideologies that exist within the wide spectrum of Zionism, but to celebrate the fact that we have this spectrum in the first place alongside a Jewish state to give it life and meaning.

The conference, which took place in Switzerland at Basel’s Congress Center in the centre of the town, contained a remarkable set of speeches, panel discussions, meetings, networking opportunities, a dinner featuring legendary Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard, and a gala event.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was in attendance alongside Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai; former director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen; Jewish Agency Chairperson Doron Almog; former Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon; Baroness Ariane de Rothschild (who lived for a time in South Africa); philanthropist Sylvan Adams; and Israel prize winner Miriam Peretz.

Herzog wrote in an op-ed published in Switzerland for the occasion that said Herzl “left us unfinished business” and highlighted that “one item is still a work in process: the strengthening of Jewish feeling and consciousness” and that we ought to “reinvigorate our sense of shared Jewish identity and destiny”.

“We, Israeli and diaspora Jews, can only do this together,” Herzog said, pointing out that this is the “primary task” of our generation. “It’s also a core mission of my presidency: to strengthen our collective Jewish sense of togetherness. To reaffirm that we all belong to the same family. “The Jewish people are one big family, and being family means regularly checking in with each other,” he said.

Shai said that today, Israel is thriving and leading in many fields. “It’s now time to ask what Israel can do to secure the destiny of the Jewish people and Jewish resilience around the world,” he said.

He reinterpreted a quote from late United States President John F Kennedy, saying, “Ask not what the diaspora can do for Israel – ask what Israel can do for the diaspora.”

This is an important message for Jews in South Africa alongside other diaspora Jewish communities around the world who plan to work ever more closely with Israel to strengthen relationships and partnerships for the benefit of the Jewish people.

The event culminated in a spectacular gala celebration at the Stadtcasino Basel, which was the concert hall venue where the very first congress took place, taking place on the same day, 125 years later. A plaque inside the venue commemorates this startling fact.

Herzl’s presence was palpable throughout the gala. We were entertained by a multimedia spectacle produced by Israeli technology in a full-circle moment of history that recreated scenes from the first congress, alongside Herzl’s dream and the manifold successes of Israel over the decades.

The day after the conference, after a night of revelling, we stood individually on Herzl’s balcony overlooking the Rhine at the Hotel Les Trois Rois in Basel, and dreamily looked towards the future.

We now stride forward as Jews and Zionists with pride, optimism, and hope towards the next 125 years of Israel and Zionism.

Here’s to the next celebration of our eternal people and their enduring Jewish state.

• Rowan Polovin is national chairperson of the South African Zionist Federation.