Reviews
FOREWORD By Dr Motti Friedman Director of the Herzl Museum & Education Center Jerusalem
Theodor Herzl was one of the great personalities of Jewish history. He was born in an era of outstanding European culture and turbulent change. He devoted his short life to achieving the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, a vision he was not to see realized in his time. Herzl’s Journey tells the story of his exhausting travels in an innovative and easy style capturing the charm and excitement of the great cities of Europe including Basel, Paris and of course London and Vienna.
Reading this book about Bernard Zissman’s conversations with Theodor Herzl has given me immense joy. The detailed descriptions of the meetings and events of the time represent an interesting insight into Herzl’s life and achievements. The author’s ability to walk the reader through the corridors of time and events is amazing, and as I read the pages I could picture myself so vividly by the side of Herzl in the restaurant or hotel lobby in Vienna or London, even in the audience of the First Zionist Congress in Basel.
Herzl’s unique characteristics and charisma come alive throughout the book as the reader is given the feeling of actually being a part of the meetings.
Zissman introduces us to so many other characters of Jewish and Zionist history such as Max Nordau, Herzl’s close ally whose addresses inspired Zionist Congresses; the outstanding English author Israel Zangwill; and the wealthy bankers and philanthropists Baron Hirsch and Baron Rothschild. In more recent times, we meet Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, and the legendary prime ministers Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, as the author engages with Herzl capturing inspiring events across two centuries in an enlivening and interesting way.
I am sure that Herzl’s Journey is a valuable asset to our generation. It is an important book which will enable a new and young generation to familiarize itself with Herzl, his vision and achievements. It should be read by everyone with an interest in the history of the region and certainly by every Jew.
Dr Motti Friedman Director of the Herzl Museum & Education Center Jerusalem
