Arab dignitary reveals Herzl’s letter at World Zionist Conference

Not only was Ahmed Obaid AlMansoori the first prominent Muslim Arab personality to participate at the World Zionist Conference in Basel, Switzerland, this week, he also revealed that he had a rare letter handwritten and signed by Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism.

This revelation occurred this week at the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress held by Herzl himself.

AlMansoori, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is the founder of the Crossroads of Civilisation Museum and the first Holocaust Memorial Gallery in the Arab world. He’s a former member of the UAE Federal National Council, a national quasi-parliamentary body.

In the authenticated letter, written in 1897, 125 years ago, Herzl writes that he cannot accept a prospective applicant to the Zionist organisation that he had established, days before its first congress in Basel.

During those years, Herzl was extraordinarily busy promoting his Zionist vision and the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people.

AlMansoori acquired the letter in 2016 in Vienna, and has since displayed it in his museum in Dubai. It forms part of a collection of historical Jewish documents and items presented to the many visitors to the museum each year.

“Jews have always been an important part of the Middle East. I’m committed to telling the story of the Jewish people and of Zionism to the Arab world,” said AlMansoori.

He has dedicated his life to advancing peace and promoting the story of the Jewish people as an indigenous part of the Middle East.

Yaakov Hagoel, the chairperson of the World Zionist Organization, said of AlMansoori, “Herzl never dreamed that the day would come that a brave Arab leader would participate in a Zionist Conference together with thousands of Jews from all over the world whose goal is to strengthen and develop the independent and sovereign state of Israel”.

AlMansoori started his museum as a private collection in his own home in 2006 before going public five years later at the Emirati government’s request.

Now, the award-winning museum is located at the Royal House on the main road in the historical area of Dubai.

It has housed historical Jewish documents, letters, and coins since its establishment – long before the signing of the Abraham Accords peace treaties.

AlMansoori has dedicated a significant portion of his museum to exhibiting the rich history of the Jewish People in the Middle East, emphasising that Jews are an indigenous and important part of the region.

“It’s of upmost importance that the young generations of the Middle East learn about Judaism, Zionism, and Israel,” said AlMansoori. “This will strengthen peace, not only between Israel and the UAE, but in the entire region.”

On Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2021 and following the peace treaties signed between Israel and the Arab states, AlMansoori took his commitment to promoting Jewish-Arab relations even further by founding the first and only Holocaust Memorial Gallery in the Arab world.

It has grown into an international hub for Holocaust commemoration events and ceremonies; a centre for advancing peace, tolerance, and Jewish-Arab solidarity in the Middle East; and an important place of gathering for the Emirati Jewish community.

“It’s important that we live side-by-side with mutual respect for one another, understanding the history and values of each nation and its people,” said AlMansoori.

During the World Zionist Conference this week, businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams gave a speech about promoting Israel and the Jewish world through major cultural and sporting events.

Since making aliya in 2016, the Canadian-born Adams has not only brought the first three stages of the 2018 Giro d’Italia Grand Tour bicycle race to Israel, but also managed to get Madonna to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019. He co-founded the Israel World Tour cycling team, and brought big football games and judo grand slams to the country.

“I want to emphasise that Israel belongs to all Jews: Israeli born or Israeli immigrants such as my wife and myself, but also to each and every Jew in the diaspora. Israel belongs to all of us,” said Adams.

“But with my projects, I’m not trying to convince the haters and the antisemites. Rather, I’m speaking to the apolitical silent majority, in their living rooms and on their mobile phones. I’m on the offensive side of the field, and this is where we can score goals with the silent majority.”

Israeli businessman and philanthropist Haim Taib, the founder and president of Mitrelli Group, also spoke at the conference. His message was about Zionism’s new global mission and the work his organisation does in Africa devising and carrying out holistic infrastructure development projects for African nations.

“I see clearly the chain that connects the Zionist narrative, our work in Africa, and improving social welfare in Israel,” said Taib, born in Jerusalem in 1960 to Jewish-Tunisian immigrants. “From my point of view, this is the mission of universal Zionism. Tikkun olam in the name of Israel and the Jewish people, for a better world.

“After realising the Zionist dream of a strong, democratic, and liberal Jewish state, Zionism’s new mission must be desire and action for a better world. Herzl himself wrote, ‘Zionism isn’t only the desire for a promised land for our people, but also an aspiration for a moral and spiritual wholeness.’ I believe, therefore, that the role of Jewish leadership today is to bring about tikkun olam wherever we can make a difference.”

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