Book Review: Herzl’s Vision by Shlomo Avineri

About:
Herzl’s Vision: Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State by Shlomo Avineri is a biography of the father of modern Zionism. The book was published in Israel several years ago and now has been translated into English.

• 288 pages
• Publisher: BlueBridge
• ISBN-10: 1933346981

My rat­ing for Herzl’ Vision — 5

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Thought:
Herzl’s Vision: Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State by Shlomo Avineri is a thought provoking biography of Herzl, disregarding much of the political propaganda surrounding his ideas and concentrating on the man himself. The book itself is short, but packed with information about Herzl’s work.

I was actually surprised to learn that Herzl cemented himself as a leading force in the Zionist movement in only 9 years, which is the time the book covers. In an aberration from conventional teachings, Mr. Avneri refutes that Herzl’s evolution of thought was not, as taught, out of the Dreyfus affair (which he covered as a reporter) but a gradual process.

Herzl realized that after Centuries of anti-Semitic discrimination and the rise of anti-Semitics in the crowd of educated professionals, the only solution to the “Jewish question” (man, do I hate that phrase) is not assimilation, but a Jewish country. Herzel viewed Zionism in a universal, all encompassing sense before the movement was hijacked by opportunists and ideological extremists.

Herzl viewed Zionism as the best of capitalism and socialism, a capitalist state with social justice, his ideas are interesting and relevant, while the author makes the reading engaging. This book is very interesting, informative and thought provoking to students of Jewish and/or Zionist history.

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
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