Essentially, Herzl believed that Zionism and anti-Semitism had the
same goal; to get the Jews out of Europe. Thus, Herzl thought that
Zionists should befriend and cooperate with anti-Semites. Indeed, he
executed on this strategy himself and spent many years touring Europe,
enlisting the support of powerful anti-Semites for Zionism.
Why did Herzl want anti-Semites to sell-off (liquidate) Jewish
property? A common idea at the time was that rich "Börsenjuden"
(stock-exchange Jews) caused grief by buying and selling stock. Herzl
didn't want the Jews leaving Europe to be accused of being
Börsenjuden.
Here is the full diary entry from June 12, 1895:
On my main tour I shall everywhere invite a small number of the most
respectable (not the wealthiest) men to come to see me, make them
take an oath of secrecy, and reveal to them the plan which I am
going to announce to the Family Council. Then will follow a second,
bigger meeting, the composition of which will be suggested to me by
the first group. To this meeting I shall announce the "outflow" plan
— there is no mention in it as yet of the State — , telling them
only that we are seeking security for our capital and new soil for
our labor. But I must take care in every country not to get involved
in any "secret society" business. Perhaps I shall call in the first
confidants one by one and have them take oaths individually.
Carefully avoid the danger of "secret societies" everywhere. That
is why our official propaganda must be made by the most circumspect
people. We shall cover ourselves by submitting our "secret
instructions" to the governments for their approval.
After all, we want to proceed with the consent of the governments,
but undisturbed by the mobs of parliament and press.
It will, incidentally, spread like wildfire. One of my dreams during
the period of uncertainty was to force Alois Lichtenstein, Schonerer
or Lueger to a duel. If I had been shot, a letter left behind by me
would have told the world that I fell a victim to this most unjust
movement. Thus my death might at least have improved the heads and
hearts of men. But if I had shot my opponent, I wanted to make a
magnificent speech before the assize court, first expressing my
regrets at “the death of an honorable man,” like Mores who had
stabbed Captain Mayer to death. Then I would have gone into the
Jewish Question, making a powerful, Lassalle-like speech which would
have shaken and moved the jury and inspired respect from the court,
leading to my acquittal. Thereupon the Jews would have offered to
make me a member of parliament. But I would have been obliged to
decline that, because I did not want to become a representative of
the people over the dead body of a human being. — And now! I find
that the anti-Semites are fully within their rights.
It would be an excellent idea to call in respectable, accredited
anti-Semites as liquidators of property. To the people they would
vouch for the fact that we do not wish to bring about the
impoverishment of the countries that we leave. At first they must
not be given large fees for this; otherwise we shall spoil our
instruments and make them despicable as 'stooges of the Jews'.
Later their fees will increase, and in the end we shall have only
Gentile officials in the countries from which we have emigrated. The
anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the
anti-Semitic countries our allies. We want to emigrate as respected
people.
The Complete Diaries of Theodor Herzl
Herzl discusses how they, the Zionists, shall win the support of
non-Jews for Zionism. The entry is from June 12, 1895, before the
Dreyfuss affair, which
supposedly had a deep impact of Herzl,4 and before Herzl
founded the World Zionist Organization in 1897. Herzl's
manic-depression may explain why the entry is incoherent and
borderline rambling.1 For example, you can't really avoid
the danger of "secret societies" if you also ask people to take an
oath of secrecy before revealing your plans to them!
Note the paragraph about duelling right before the paragraph about
calling in "respectable, accredited anti-Semites". Duels were common
among European aristocracy and was a means to defend one's
honour. Herzl was somewhat obsessed with the topic and the related
shame in declining duels.
At about the same time as this diary entry was written, Herzl wrote
the play the New Ghetto, a scathing critique of Jewish bourgeois life
in Vienna.5 In it, the Jewish protagonist Jacob Samuel
shamefully walks away from a duel with a non-Jew. Many years later,
the non-Jew continues to bother Jacob, who finally snaps and
challenges the non-Jew to a duel. Jacob is mortally wounded, but has
apparently redeemed himself in Herzl's eyes as his final words are:
"Jews, my brothers, they won't let you live unless you learn to
die!"3 In one of the acts in the New Ghetto, one of the
rabbis even expresses the virtues of anti-Semitism to Jacob:
"Anti-Semitism isn't all bad. As the movement gains force, I witness a
return to religion. Anti-Semitism is a warning to us to stand
together, not to abandon the God of our fathers, as many have
done."2
This explains why he fantasizes about duelling famous anti-Semites,
such as Alois Lichtenstein. He imagines himself restoring Jewish pride
to the Jewish people.2 Note the reference "like Mores who
had stabbed Captain Mayer to death". It refers to a recent duel in
which Mores, a non-Jew, challenged and killed Mayer, a Jew, in the
subsequent duel. In the ensuing court proceedings (duelling was
outlawed at the time), Mores expresses regrets at the "the death of an
honorable man".
My point is that Herzl's relationships with anti-Semites makes more
sense if one understands his infatuation with honour. Herzl's goal
wasn't only to create a safe haven for Jews to escape anti-Semitism,
but also to restore Jewish honor which he believed had been
lost. Herzl appears to have seen anti-Semitism as both justified and
unjust at the same time and his writings are full of negative remarks
and stereotypes about Jews. He even referred to his Jewish detractors
as "Jewish vermin".5 Of course it is hard to make sense of
this; why did Herzl so passionately want to help the Jews if he
despised them? I have no good answer.
Remember that most Jews weren't fond of Herzl either. They saw his
ideas as dangerous lunacy, preferred integration, and wanted to be
seen as equal citizens of the countries they lived in. They rejected
the view, advanced by both Zionists and anti-Semites, that the Jews
were an alien nation embedded among European nations.
This is why Herzl sought alliances powerful anti-Semites. To them he spun
Zionism as a solution to their problem with the Jews and to the
Zionists he spun anti-Semites as useful allies. Furthermore, he
calculated that more anti-Semitism would result in more adherents to
Zionism.
- Famous People with Bipolar Disorder
- Vienna is Different: Jewish Writers in Austria from the Fin-de-Siecle to the Present (p. 66-70)
- Herzl's psychodrama
- However, the view that the Dreyfuss affair made Herzl a Zionist is now
mostly discarded, see 5.
- Theodore Herzl: A Reevaluation.