Concluding Reflections

From Zionism’s beginning, the legitimacy of establishing the Jewish national homeland in Palestine was understood to be challenging and provocative. The opening sentence of the program endorsed at the Zionist Organization’s founding conference in Basle, Switzerland in 1897 forthrightly stated its goal: “Zionism seeks to secure for the Jewish people a publicly recognized, legally secured homeland in Palestine.” The delegates deliberated whether to state this goal publicly. They were aware that there were reporters present and were concerned about the effect of stating their intentions. Some thought that steady and persistent practical work in organizing settlement and building an organization would achieve the desired result without making manifest the ultimate objective. Most argued that Zionism needed a forthright approach to address the issue of legitimacy. There was a sense of mistrust and reluctance to rely on the goodwill of a patron no matter how enlightened and sympathetic. It was in this context that the majority added a key German word to the initial draft: öffentlich or “openly” that became “publicly” in the English translation. They finally decided unanimously to promote overtly the establishment of a Jewish entity in Palestine.