author
Theodor Herzl
1860–1904
A journalist, playwright, and political thinker, he helped turn Zionism into an organized international movement. His short life left a lasting mark on modern Jewish and Middle Eastern history.
5 Audiobooks
The Jewish State
by Theodor Herzl
Der Judenstaat: Versuch einer modernen Lösung der Judenfrage
by Theodor Herzl
Herzl-Worte
by Theodor Herzl
L'État juif
by Theodor Herzl
Altneuland : Roman
by Theodor Herzl
About the author
Born in Budapest in 1860, he later moved with his family to Vienna, studied law, and built his career as a writer and journalist. He became best known as the leading figure in modern political Zionism, arguing that antisemitism was a political problem that required a political solution.
In 1896 he published The Jewish State, the pamphlet that made his name famous, and the next year he helped convene the First Zionist Congress in Basel. Through his writing, diplomacy, and organizing, he worked to give the movement a practical program and an international voice.
He also wrote plays and the novel Altneuland, showing that he was as much a man of letters as a political activist. Herzl died in 1904 at just 44, but his ideas and efforts continued to shape events long after his death.