First Zionist Congress Convened in Basel
August 29–31, 1897 · 19th Century
The First Zionist Congress convened in Basel, Switzerland on August 29–31, 1897, with approximately 208 delegates from seventeen countries attending. Theodor Herzl organized the congress, which adopted the Basel Program declaring Zionism's goal to establish a legally recognized Jewish home in Palestine. The congress founded the World Zionist Organization with Herzl as president. At the time, tens of thousands of Jews lived in Ottoman-controlled Palestine. The congress created the political framework that led to Israeli statehood fifty-one years later.
Key Figures
Theodor Herzl
Locations
Basel
Topics
Ottoman EmpireJudaismZionismantisemitism
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Herzl's 1897 Congress created the organized political movement whose lobbying directly produced the 1917 Balfour Declaration Balfour Declaration Pledges Jewish National Home in Palestine
Theodor Herzl covered the Dreyfus trial as a journalist; the public antisemitism he witnessed radicalized him to organize political Zionism The Dreyfus Affair
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