Der Judenstaat

The Jewish State. Attempt at a modern solution of the Jewish question is a book by Theodor Herzl, with which he tried to show a Jewish response to the then so-called Jewish question. It was published in 1896 in Leipzig and Vienna in the M. Breitenstein 's Verlags- bookstore after Cronbach had rejected a publication in Berlin, Duncker & Humblot. Herzl wrote it under the influence of the Dreyfus affair; he finished the manuscript on 17 June 1895.

Characteristics

" The Jewish State " is not a religious work, it has rather modern Judaism significantly influenced politically by laying the foundation of political Zionism. For Herzl, a Jewish state was both necessary because of the world's existing anti-Semitism, on the other hand, because religion had lost by the consequences of the Enlightenment and the emancipation of their identity- and federative nature of Judaism.

Herzl saw his work not as a utopia but as a pragmatic approach to the creation and preservation of a " Jewish state ", which the " Jewish question " was answered.

Content

After introductory sentences Herzl defined until the problem of the Jewish question. The nuances of anti-Semitism are countless:

" In Russia, Jewish villages were plundered, Romania kills you a few people, in Germany one beats it by occasionally, in Austria the anti-Semites terrorize the whole of public life, in Algeria occur Wanderhetzprediger in Paris unbuttons the so-called better society to which Cercle close off against the Jews. "

He then discards the previous steps to solve the problem, in particular the attempt to settle Jews as farmers in other countries. One must move with the times, the peasantry was dying out, attempts to return to the old social structures were in vain.

The reason for the growing anti-Semitism in his view, he sees the lack of social mobility, which is caused by discrimination against Jews.

" The causa remota is occurred in the Middle Ages loss of our assimilability, the causa proxima our overproduction of average intelligence who have no drain down and not rise up [ ... ]. We will proletarianised downward toward revolutionaries, are the officers of all revolutionary parties, and at the same time growing up our terrible power of money. "

A total sociological assimilation declines from Herzl, however, because the Jewish people historically personality too famous and despite all the humiliation was too high. She is too valuable to the downfall. Apart from that is an assimilation only be possible if you could the Jews once for two generations in peace. However, this would not happen, after which the pressure press them back on the old trunk, the hatred of their surroundings make them again to strangers.

In the next chapters Herzl discusses the options Argentina or Palestine, and discusses the organization of state education. He wants to set up to a society that Jewish Company that buys the required countries. He estimated an amount of 1 billion gold marks. He also mentions the construction of workers' housing, the introduction of labor services, unskilled workers, and details such as the introduction of the 7- hour day in the form of a four-divided 14 -hour shift operation in which two 3.5 hours of focused work with the same time for rest, family and training alternate. The " protection force " should be 10 percent of male immigrants.

After treatment of the difficult path of fundraising Herzl describes the character of the Jewish state. Herzl hovered there still quite a heterogeneous entity in which it should be possible for anyone to take the traditions and customs of his local group. This is easier to accomplish, the problem of integration in an unfamiliar environment.

The Constitution of the State should be quite flexible and modern by Herzl. The parliamentary monarchy and aristocratic republic he held it generally for the best forms of government, joined former form but due to lack of historical attachment options immediately as ridiculous. A kind of aristocracy was but in the social- mobile company with many opportunities for advancement in his view, the best solution referenda as the basis for legislation he refuses, " because in politics there are no simple questions that can be answered only with yes and no. Also, the crowds are worse than the parliaments subjected every heresy, inclined to each strong Schreier. Before the assembled people can do neither external nor internal politics. "

In addition, there was the problem of different languages. Since most Jews, to which Herzl had contact were either in German or at least via the Yiddish had a link to the German language, he said, German could quickest and easiest common language of the Jews.

"We can not talk to each other but Hebrew. Who of us knows enough Hebrew to demand in this language a train ticket? "

Another important point was to him the question of religion. Herzl did not want to give rise theocratic " velleities our clergy. We will know they hold in their temples, as we shall keep our professional army in the barracks. " Herzl thus represented in this point a secular position, with strict separation of religion and state.

That there could possibly be problems with the local Arab population in the wake of the mass immigration of Jews in an Arab inhabited land and the establishment of the State of Israel, Herzl hidden in his remarks from largely. For coexistence with other peoples and religions Herzl only results from: " And it adds that even other faiths, Anders National dwell among us, and we will grant them honorable protection and equality before the law. "

Even details such as the flag of the future state held Herzl important as a symbol of identification. He envisioned it before a white flag with seven golden stars, which should represent the seven hours of work. " Because the signs of labor, the Jews go to the new land. "

Expenditure

• If you want, it is not a fairy tale. Old New Land / The Jewish State. Edited by Julius H. Schoeps. Athenaeum, home soil in 1985, ISBN 3-7610-0384-6.
• The Jewish State. With an afterword by Henryk M. Broder. Olive Tree Publishing, 2000. ISBN 3-927217-13-1 (previously ISBN 3-9800983 -2-X ).
• The Jewish State. Text and materials. Edited by Ernst Piper. Philo Verlagsges., 2004. ISBN 3-86572-365-9 or ISBN 3-8257-0365-7.
• The Jewish State. Attempt at a modern solution of the Jewish question. Manesseplatz -Verlag, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-7175-4055-6 ( ISBN 3-7175-8133-3 previously ).

Translations

• Yiddish: Löbel Taubes (1863-1933) was since 1891 the Hebrew- Yiddish Halbmonatsschrift " Ha -Am " in Kolomea / Galicia out ( edited by David Isaac Isaiah silver Busch, born 1854, died 1936); in it he brought the end of 1896 a Yiddish transcription of Herzl's " Jewish State "; a Yiddish translation was first published in 1899/1900 in Russia ( translated by Samuel Bramberg )
• Hebrew: Michaël Berkovitz ( first translation ), then by Asher Barash (second translation )
• English: Sylvie d' Avigdor, Nutt, London, 1896
• Russian: Samuel ( Lwowich ) Klatschko ( 1851-1914 )

Quote Herzl 1903

"It is wonderful how little our so vielverurtheilte movement is known opponents and indifferent. Who knows - Jew or Christian - loves it. He would a Higher for everything unresponsive man. My Jewish state is long outdated. I wrote it in Paris [ ... ] and at that time did not know much from the Jewish. I was a Judaism Alienated, a Boulevardier. A rabbi I am not now, and in the temple, I 'm just in Basel on Saturday the Congress week. There I greet the God of my fathers, more than my own. Because with my God I can run and prescribed prayers even without a rabbi. My Jewish state took me only to the Zionists who were there before me and I had not known before. I was one of isolated and my words were erfahrungslos and irresponsible. Better you could teach from my utopian novel Old-New Land about the whole thing. I wrote from 1899 to 1902, even as a leader of the movement. Thus I was forced to some ménagements. Artistically, the book is not worth much, though it has cost me a lot of effort [ ... ] You see, I've been slaving myself for almost eight years as a dog, I have sacrificed a large pile of money, of course, also work for nothing, did taunt me u can throw. having Koth, & I am still so warm for the cause, as the first day and uninterrupted. "