thumb|260px|Theodor Herzl
'''Theodor Herzl''' (hebrejsky: בנימין זאב הרצל,‎ ''Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl''; maďarsky: ''Herzl Tivadar'') (* 2.&nbsp;května 3.&nbsp;července židovský novinář, nejvýznamnější představitel sionismu a „duchovní otec“ Státu&nbsp;Izrael.

== Život ==
Narodil se do zámožné budapešťské makléřské rodiny, kterou však v roce burzovní krach. Vystudoval práva ve Vídni a oženil se s dcerou ropného magnáta, což mu umožnilo, aby se dále věnoval své novinářské činnosti, zejména psaním Židy v důsledné asimilaci a z jeho představ se zrodil například plán dohody s antisemitismu, a za oplátku by Židé dobrovolně konvertovali ke Francii, kterou sám spatřoval za vzor kosmopolitismu, rozpoutala tak enormní antisemitská kampaň, co by vedlejší produkt vykonstruované Dreyfusovy aféry, jej zděsila a šokovala. V okamžiku, kdy byly Dreyfusovy strhávány důstojnické výložky a byla provolávána smrt Židům, si Herzl poznamenal do svého deníku: „Tento moment byl pro mne prozřením.“ O půl roku později dokončil bibli sionismu, knihu Židovský stát (Der Judenstaat). Ta se ještě za jeho života dočkala vydání v osmdesáti cizých jazycích.

=== Židovský stát (Der Judenstaat) ===
thumb|Židovský stát (Der Judenstaat)
Herzl vyjádřil ve své knize přesvědčení, že problémy Židů nesouvisí s jejich individuálními problémy, tj. postoji či konkrétními jednání, ale s problémy národními. Domníval se, že rozdíl mezi Židy a ostatními národy spočívá také v neexistenci vlastního státu. Z tohoto přesvědčení vyšel s teorií, že poté, co bude vytvořen židovský stát a Židé tak přestanou být výjimkou, budou okolním světem přijmuti.

Přijetí jeho knihy však nebylo moc vlídné. Vlivní Židé ji odmítli, stejně tak ortodoxní i reformovaní Židé. Mezi zastánce Herzlových myšlenek však patřili zejména východoevropští Židé, kteří neměli možnost západní Evropy a tak pro ně bylo zřízení židovského státu jediným východiskem. Jelikož byli Židé, kteří podporovali jeho myšlenky převážně chudí, nazýval je Herzl svou „armádou žebráků.“ Ve své knize Herzl píše:

Ve své knize přednesl velkorysé a ve své době neuvěřitelně revoluční myšlenky. Své dílo navíc neustále revidoval a vylepšoval. Mezi jeho plány patřilo vytvoření aristokratického řízení státu po vzoru Benátek, v čele státu měl pak jako první volený dóže stanout člen rodu Rothschildů a baron Hirsch se měl stát viceprezidentem. V nově vzniklém židovském státě měly být podle jeho představ mezinárodní divadla, koncertní kavárny, třídy typu Champs-Élysées a také luxusní náměstí po vzoru Piazza San Marco. Ve svém propracovaném plánu navrhl i korunovační obřad. Mimojiné také prosazoval zavedení všeobecného rovného volebního práva a štědrý systém sociálního zabezpečení.

=== Rodina ===
Rodina Theodora Herzla vymřela brzy po jeho smrti. Herzlova manželka, která trpěla psychickou labilitou, zemřela tři roky po jeho smrti. Jejich dcera Pauline zemřela roku sebevraždu. 
thumb|Čestná stráž před Herzlovou rakví v Jeruzalémě.
=== Smrt a pohřeb ===
Theodor Herzl se nedočkal odmítnutí plánu vytvořit židovskou národní domovinu v Ugandě. Umírá z přepracování na selhání srdce ve věku 44 let v Edlachu, v Dolních Rakousích. Uskutečnění svých vizí se nedočkal. Ve své závěti si vymínil co nejlevnější pohřeb bez řečníků a květin a doplnil: „Přeji si být pohřben v hrobce vedle svého otce a ležet tam dokud mé ostatky nepřenese židovský národ do Palestiny.“<ref>'Nekrolog', ''The Times'', 7. července 1904; str.10; číslo 37440; sloupec B.</ref> V roce Vídně do Herzlově hoře (pojmenovaná na jeho počest).

== Sionistický kongres ==
První sionistických kongres svolal Theodor Herzl do švýcarské 29. srpna Světové sionistické organizace. Byly založeny finanční instituce jako např. Židovský národní fond, který za peníze ze sbírek vykupoval půdu v Palestině.

Do své smrti v roce Druhé světové války se jich pak konalo ještě patnáct. Tři z nich se konaly v Československu, ve městech Karlovy Vary (1921 a 1923) a Praha (1933).

== Politika ==
Herzl se domníval, že otázka vzniku židovského státu je nezbytně nutné konzultovat a řešit společně s evropskými mocnostmi. Ne vždy trval na vytvoření židovského státu na území Palestiny. Za teoreticky přijatelná místa považoval neobydlené části Argentiny, Ugandy. Myšlenka návratu Židů na Sijón však nakonec převládla. 

Jako politický vyjednavač působil Herzl pragmaticky, vizionářský a také působil aristokratickým dojmem. Nosil bezvadně padnoucí redingot, bílé rukavičky a pečlivě vykartáčovaný cylindr. Věděl, že aby prosadil svou myšlenku v období, kdy bylo tisíce nepříjemných mezinárodních problémů, bude třeba aktivně se zapojit do vysoké politiky. O vzniku židovského státu jednal s nejdůležitějšími hlavami států, jako byli německý císař, britský premiér, ruský Piem X. Při svých jednáních pragmaticky jednal i s antisemity, o kterých věděl, že jeho plán podpoří, protože se budou chtít zbavit židovské populace ve své státě.

== Dílo ==

thumb|250px|Theodor Herzl, in his middle age.
'''Theodor Herzl''' (,  ('''Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl''')) (Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist who founded modern political Zionism.

Herzl was born in Pest (today the eastern half of  Budapest, then a separate city) to a German-speaking family originally from Zemun (now in Serbia but then in Austria-Hungary). When Theodor was 18 his family moved to Vienna. There, he studied law, but he devoted himself almost exclusively to journalism and literature, working as a correspondent for the ''Neue Freie Presse'' in Paris, occasionally making special trips to London and Istanbul. Later, he became literary editor of ''Neue Freie Presse,''and wrote several comedies and dramas for the Viennese stage.

As a young man, Herzl was engaged in a ''German unity under the motto ''Ehre, Freiheit, Vaterland'' ("Honor, Freedom, Fatherland"), and his early work did not focus on Jewish life. His work was of the feuilleton order, descriptive rather than political. 

==Zionist leader==
left|thumb|Theodor Herzl

It is widely believed that Herzl was interested by the anti-Semitic incident in France in which a French Jewish army captain was falsely convicted of spying for Germany. Herzl had been covering the trial of Dreyfus for an Austro-Hungarian newspaper. He also witnessed mass rallies in Paris following the Dreyfus trial where many chanted "Death To The Jews!", and in June, 1895, he wrote in his diary: "In Paris, as I have said, I achieved a freer attitude toward anti-Semitism... Above all, I recognized the emptiness and futility of trying to 'combat' anti-Semitism."<!-- Please bring sources for this claim
However,in recent decades historians have downplayed the influence of the Dreyfus Affair on Herzl, even terming it a myth. They have shown that, while upset by anti-Semitism evident in French society, he, like most contemporary observers, initially believed in Dreyfus's guilt and only claimed to have been inspired by the affair years later when it had become an international cause celebre. Rather, it was the rise to power of the anti-Semitic demagogue Karl Lueger in Vienna in 1895 that seems to have had a greater effect on Herzl, before the pro-Dreyfus campaign had not really emerged. Around this time Herzl grew to believe that anti-Semitism could not be defeated or cured, only avoided, and that the only way to avoid it was the establishment of a Jewish state.--> In ''Der Judenstaat'' he writes: 
<blockquote>"The Jewish question persists wherever Jews live in appreciable numbers. Wherever it does not exist, it is brought in together with Jewish immigrants. We are naturally drawn into those places where we are not persecuted, and our appearance there gives rise to persecution. This is the case, and will inevitably be so, everywhere, even in highly civilised countries - see, for instance, France - so long as the Jewish question is not solved on the political level. The unfortunate Jews are now carrying the seeds of anti-Semitism into England; they have already introduced it into America."<ref>Herzl, 'Der Judenstaat', cited by C.D. Smith, 'Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict', 2001, 4th ed., p.53</ref>
</blockquote>
From April, 1896, when the English translation of his ''Der Judenstaat'' ("The State of the Jews") appeared, Herzl became the leading spokesman for Zionism. 

thumb|right|A plaque marking the birthplace of Theodor Herzl, [[Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest]]
Herzl complemented his writing with practical work to promote Zionism on the international stage. He visited Zionists of the East End of London. Within six months this mandate had been approved throughout Zionist Jewry, and Herzl traveled constantly to draw attention to his cause. His supporters, at first few in number, worked night and day, inspired by Herzl's example. 

In June of 1896, he met for the first time with the Sultan of Turkey, but the Sultan refused to cede Zionists, saying, "... if one day the Islamic State falls apart then you can have Palestine for free, but as long as I am alive I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land."<ref>Sultan Hamid's quote is based on Theodor Herzl's own account. Hamid's statement is quoted and embellished in the 1924''. [http://www.clashofcivilisations.com/html/soa.html]: "I am not going to give one inch of Palestine to the Jews as Palestine is not mine to give but it belongs to the ''Ummah'' and ''Ummah'' have shed blood to defend this land but if one day the Islamic State falls apart then you can have Palestine for free but as long as I am alive I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land I will not allow any carving up while we are alive!!!!!"</ref>

In 1897, at considerable personal expense, he founded ''Die Welt'' of German emperor on several occasions, was again granted an audience by the Ottoman emperor in Jerusalem, and attended The Hague Peace Conference, enjoying a warm reception by many other statesmen. 

In 1902&ndash;03 Herzl was invited to give evidence before the British Royal Commission on Alien Immigration. The appearance brought him into close contact with members of the British government, particularly with Egyptian government for a charter for the settlement of the Jews in Al 'Arish, in the Sinai Peninsula, adjoining southern Palestine.

On the failure of that scheme, which took him to St. Petersburg and was received by Uganda Project," before the Sixth Zionist Congress (Basel, August 1903), carrying the majority (295:178, 98 abstentions) with him on the question of investigating this offer, after the Russian delegation stormed out. 

In 1905 after investigation the Congress decided to decline the British offer and firmly committed itself to a Jewish home land in the historic Land of Israel.

==Death and burial==
250px|right|thumb|Honor guard stands beside Herzel's coffin in Israel
Herzl did not live to see the rejection of the Uganda plan; he died in Edlach, Lower Austria in 1904 of heart failure at age 44. His will stipulated that he should have the poorest-class funeral without speeches or flowers and he added, "I wish to be buried in the vault beside my father, and to lie there till the Jewish people shall take my remains to Palestine".<ref>'Obituary', ''The Times'', Thursday, July 07, 1904; pg. 10; Issue 37440; col B.</ref>  In 1949 his remains were moved from Vienna to be reburied on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

==Family==
Herzl's grandfathers, both of whom he knew, were more closely related to traditional Judaism than his parents, yet two of his paternal grandfather's brothers and his maternal grandmother's brother exemplify complete estrangement and rejection of Judaism on the one hand, and utter loyalty and devotion to Judaism and Eretz Israel. Herzl's paternal grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl, reportedly attended the Sephardic Zionist Rabbi Semlin, Serbia, and the two frequently visited. Grandfather Simon Loeb Herzl "had his hands on" one of the first copies of Alkalay's 1857 work prescribing the "return of the Jews to the Holy Land and renewed glory of Jerusalem." Contemporary scholars conclude that Herzl's own implementation of modem Zionism was undoubtedly influenced by that relationship.<ref>[http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~peters/oriental.html Oriental Zionism of Arab-born Jews, One thousand years before Theodore Herzl]</ref> Herzl’s grandparents' graves in Semlin can still be visited.<ref>[http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=129 European Jewish Congress - Serbia]</ref>
Alkalai himself, was witness of rebirth of Serbia from Otoman rule in early and mid 19th century and was inspired by Serbian uprising and re-creation of Serbia.

Jacob Herzl (1835-1902), Theodor's father, was a highly successful businessman. Herzl's mother, Jeanette (née Diamant) was a handsome and wise woman. She took pride in her son, but did not have a successful relationship with her daughter-in-law.<!--http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/print.asp?id=1165--> Herzl had one sister, Pauline, a year older than he was, who died suddenly on February 7, 1878 of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest<ref></ref><ref></ref>. The remains of Herzl's parents and sister were re-buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

In 1889 he married Julie Naschauer, daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman in Vienna. The marriage was unhappy, although three children were born to it. Herzl had a strong attachment to his mother, who was unable to get along with his wife. These difficulties were increased by the political activities of his later years, in which his wife took little interest.<ref>[http://www.wowessays.com/dbase/ae4/smr275.shtml Theodor Herzl] on WowEssays.com</ref>

All three children died tragically. 

Pauline suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. She died in 1930 at the age of 40, apparently of a morphine overdose. 
Hans, a converted Catholic, committed suicide (gunshot) the day of sister Pauline's funeral.<ref name="aish63">[http://www.aish.com/literacy/jewishhistory/Crash_Course_in_Jewish_History_Part_63_-_Modern_Zionism.asp Crash Course in Jewish History Part 63 - Modern Zionism]</ref> He was 39.  
In 2006 the remains of Pauline and Hans were moved from Bordeaux, France, and placed alongside their father.<ref>Herzl's children to be disinterred on Tuesday in Bordeaux, France http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/764120.html</ref>, <ref>Fulfilling Historical Justice: Herzl's Children Come Home http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Home/About/Chairman/Archive/2006/sep25.htm
</ref>.

The youngest daughter, Trude Margarethe, (officially Margarethe, 1893-1943) married Richard Neumann. He lost his fortune in the economic depression. He was burdened by the steep costs of hospitalizing Trude, who was mentally ill, and was finding it difficult to raise the money required to send his son Stephan, 14, to a boarding school in London. After spending many years in hospitals, Trude was taken by the Nazis to Theresienstadt where she died. Her body was burned.<ref name="aish63" /> 

Trude's son (Herzl's only grandchild), Stephan Theodor Neumann (1918-1946) was sent to England, 1937-1938, for his safety, as rabid Austrian anti-Semitism grew. In England, he read extensively about his grandfather. Stephan became an ardent Zionist. He was the only Herzl to be a Zionist. Anglicizing his name to Stephen Norman, during WWII, Norman enlisted in the British Army rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Artillery. In late 1945 and early 1946, he took the opportunity to visit the British Mandate of Palestine "to see what my grandfather had started." He wrote in his diary extensively about his trip. What impressed him the most was that there was a "look of freedom" in the faces of the children, not like the sallow look of those from the concentration camps of Europe. He wrote upon leaving Palestine, "My visit to Palestine is over... It is said that to go away is to die a little. And I know that when I went away from Erez Israel, I died a little. But sure, then, to return is somehow to be reborn.
And I will return."