Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), founder of the modern Zionist movement, overlooking the Rhine River from
the balcony of the hotel he stayed at during the First Zionist Congress, Basel, Switzerland, 1897. (Getty
Images / Image Bank.)
service system, the coalescence of a culture principally rising from the intellectual ferment
of Eastern Europe, the creation of innovative
kibbutz
(collective) and
moshav
(cooperative)
farming communities, and the construction of a predominantly secular national framework
with major religious aspects. Many other factors from the pre-state, Yishuv years continue to
infl uence Israel long after its establishment.
Consider, for example, the role of religion. To say that Israel is a Jewish state is by no means
merely a declaration of religious identity. It is primarily a declaration of a national identity. The
overwhelming majority of the Yishuv leaders, and later the leaders of Israel, were secular. They
simultaneously recognized the importance of religion in binding together Jews, respected the
