Hermann Schapira

Hermann Schapira ( Zvi Hermann Schapira; * August 4, 1840 in Erswilken / Lithuania; † May 8, 1898 in Cologne) was Heidelberger mathematics professor, a founding member of Choveve Zion in Odessa, participants in the Katowice Conference of 1884 (see at Max E. Mandelstamm ) and Zionist who - died young - the Zionist movement nevertheless gave important impulses.

Hermann Schapira was since 1860 a rabbi in Erswilken, then, after a three year training course at the Commercial Academy in Berlin, a merchant in Odessa, began at the age of 37 years to study mathematics, 1880 Dr. phil., Since 1887 professor of mathematics at Heidelberg.

He opened the first Zionist Congress, two important suggestions:

1) creation of a Jewish Fund for land acquisition and land preservation in Palestine (later realized as a Jewish National Fund JNF / JNF = Jewish National Fund = KKL / KKL = Keren Kayemet Lejisrael which this proposal is based on a similar proposal he made ​​in 1884 );

2) establishment of a Jewish university.

The proposals then penetrated only by - after his death - on the 5th and 11th Congress, di Basel in 1901 and Vienna in 1913.

Hermann Schapira also exerted influence on the development of German ( Cologne ) Zionism: On October 31, 1897 was constituted at the Frankfurt conference as the successor of his time based in Bingen National Jewish Federation of Germany, the Zionist Federation of Germany; this was at the behest of Hermann Schapira: I have ... submitted the request to friends in Cologne, they like their name " National Jewish Association ", which caused quite senseless fury, without bringing any benefit and without, that the expression in contained the sanctionierten from the Congress program, drop than doing it as the "Zionist Association to accept " ( Schapira letter of 15 October 1897 Theodor Herzl ).