The Jewish State

pamphlet by Herzl

Also known as: “Der Judenstaat”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The Jewish State was a pamphlet published in 1896 by Theodor Herzl, a key figure in the Zionist movement. Herzl argued that the "Jewish question" was not social or religious, but a national one that required a political solution. He proposed the establishment of a publicly guaranteed homeland for the Jewish people in the land of Israel.12

Herzl's work was a response to rising antisemitism and aimed to create a political movement for Jewish self-determination. The pamphlet gained support from Zionist societies, particularly in Eastern Europe, and laid the groundwork for the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897. This congress declared Zionism's aspiration to create a homeland for the Jewish people.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Israel
Zionism
Theodor Herzl began advocating a Jewish state as the political solution for both antisemitism (he had covered the sensational Dreyfus affair in France) and a Jewish secular identity. Herzl’s brief and dramatic bid for international support from the major powers at the First Zionist Congress (August 1897) failed, but, after…
Read More
Theodor Herzl began advocating a Jewish state as the political solution for both antisemitism (he had covered the sensational Dreyfus affair in France) and a Jewish secular identity. Herzl’s brief and dramatic bid for international support from the major powers at the First Zionist Congress (August 1897) failed, but, after…
Read More

Theodor Herzl
Conversion to Zionism
…led to Herzl’s famous pamphlet The Jewish State, published in February 1896 in Vienna. The Jewish question, he wrote, was not a social or religious question but a national question that could be solved only by making it “a political world question to be discussed and settled by the civilized…
Read More
…led to Herzl’s famous pamphlet The Jewish State, published in February 1896 in Vienna. The Jewish question, he wrote, was not a social or religious question but a national question that could be solved only by making it “a political world question to be discussed and settled by the civilized…
Read More