Theodor Herzl is known as the father of modern Zionism and a patriarch of the State of Israel. In his book, Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), Herzl lays out a plan for how this state would come to be and what it would look like. But was he right? What did Herzl miss?
What He Got Right:
"“Wherever the moderns appear with our inventions, we transform the desert into a garden.”
David Ben Gurion famously wanted to "make the desert bloom", and Israel has been working hard as a nation to do just that ever since. From irrigating to farm in the Negev and building cities like Beersheba to bring beauty into what could have been left as barren land.
What He Got Wrong:
“The seven-hour day is the regular working day."
The standard workweek is 42 hours in Israel today, which, for a 5-day work week, adds up to 8.4 hours a day. Even working 6 days a week, Israelis still work for about 8 hours a day.
"I would suggest a white flag, with seven golden stars."
Herzl imagined that the flag's white background would represent the new life of the country, while the stars would represent his dreamed 7-hour workday. While he ~technically~ got the white background right, he certainly didn't predict the tallit-style design with he Magen David we know today.
“We cannot converse with one another in Hebrew. Who amongst us has a sufficient acquaintance with Hebrew to ask for a railway ticket in that language? Such a thing cannot be done.”
Well... I guess lots of us proved Herzl wrong on this one! Herzl wanted everyone to keep their languages to never lose sight of the connection to their native lands. But ever since Eliezer Ben Yehuda, Herzl's vision has been overshadowed by the triumphant return of our ancient language.
Still Up for Debate...
“We shall keep our priests within the confines of their temples in the same way as we shall keep our professional army within the confines of their barracks.”
Shas, the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party that is most commonly elected to Knesset, has a rabbinical spiritual leader of their party. UTJ's entire platform is based on Jewish values and religious practice in Israel. While it's true that the Chief Rabbis of Israel are not members of Knesset, with both of these parties being elected year after year, is it still true that Israel's religious mission has been kept to the synagogues and away from the legislature? Should it be?
"But no member of the Jewish State will be oppressed... Hence I include to an "Aristocratic republic."
While Herzl's vision of an aristocratic republican government in Israel did not come true, his idea rationalizing it was well-meaning. In Israel's current parliamentary democracy (however functioning it may be at the moment...), the idea is to represent all the voices of the people. But is this happening? With the Joint Arab List never joining a government and nearly always being excluded from talks, is it fair to say that their voices are heard? And on the flip side, with a coalition always needing to be in charge, are the minority parties' voices heard? Though it's clear his exact vision isn't executed today, I believe that it's unclear whether or not Herzl's central message is represented today.
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