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Chapter 2: A Gift From The Almighty

(Taken From "A History of Zionism", Devon Harrington, Cambridge University Press, 1970)

By 1896, Theodore Herzl was quite well known in the West, and he had imbued the Zionist movement with real energy. However, outside of the Jewish community, his ideas had gained little traction. Notables mouthed vague statements of support, and many supposed that a Jewish state was a good idea, but it seemed as if none of the Great Powers were willing to get behind it.

So it was a great surprise when, in September of 1896, Sultan Abdul Hamid II made his historic offer. Not only would he allow Jewish settlement in the Holy Land in return for 150 million pounds, he would grant Herzl the position of Governor of the Jerusalem Mutasifarrate [1], which would be endowed with special privileges. In particular, it would be the local government that would choose how to collect the jizya tax from the Jewish populace. That would allow Herzl to calibrate the impact on the Jewish community.

Originally, the Sultan intended to simply give Herzl the existing territory, but Herzl was insistent that Haifa, the Galilee, and especially the Jewish religious center of Tzfat be included. Herzl pointed out that this was the most economically productive region of the Holy Land, and would be essential to strengthening the territory as a whole. The Sultan accepted his argument mostly because with the jizya, he would gain more tax from a Jewish Galilee than a Muslim one [2].

There was, of course, a price to pay. In addition to the 150 million pounds, the Sultan wanted Herzl's allegiance. He had no interest in allowing an independent Jewish state. As much as Herzl dreamed of Jewish sovereignty, he understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime offer. What he wanted was a place in the world where the Jews would have a home. He had even considered other possible homelands, with the likely result that the resulting Jewish homeland would be under the rule of a non-Jewish power. This arrangement, with what amounted to Jewish self-rule in the Holy Land, was a gift from the Almighty.

He accepted the Sultan's offer, and on November 3, 1896, Theodore Herzl was formally named Governor of the Jerusalem Mutasifarrate. Herzl immediately departed Istanbul for Jerusalem, arriving on November 8. The former Austrian journalist was now a provincial governor of the Ottoman Empire.

The first months of Herzl's administration were chaotic. He had no direct experience with political administration, although he was likely better educated about the current state of affairs in Jerusalem than his predecessor. So he turned to his fellow Zionists for help. Herzl had already been planning a World Zionist Congress for sometime in 1897. He had envisioned that it would be held somewhere in Europe, perhaps Basel or Vienna, or maybe New York. Now, it would be held in Jerusalem [3].

Holding the conference in Jerusalem proved quite the challenge. The city lacked great hotels, casinos, theaters, or opera houses, the sort of buildings normally used to host a conference. A location outside the Ottoman Empire was out for political reasons. Herzl did consider changing the location to Istanbul, but decided against it. Instead, he chose an open air venue: the Mount of Olives. The local climate would be quite suitable, and it offered a wonderful view of the city [4]. he anticipated only a few sessions that would require such a large space. The numerous yeshivot (Jewish religious academies) in the Old City would work fine for the smaller "working groups" that would handle most of the Congress' actual business.

The agenda, of course, was quite different. Instead of trying to win support for the idea of a Jewish state, Herzl needed to assemble both the personnel and the resources to organize his new administration and the settler project. A key objective was recruiting talented individuals to fill government posts, none more important than the Baron Rothschild...




[1] The Jerusalem Mutasifarrate already had a unique structure, established by Abdul Hamid in the 1870s.

[2] For the most part, this corresponds with the borders of the OTL modern State of Israel minus the Golan Heights while including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. There are a few minor differences in the north, along with one major one: Aqaba is included. The historical Jerusalem Mutasifarrate did not include the Galilee or Haifa.

[3] IOTL, the First World Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland.

[4] IOTL, the spot Herzl adopted is today a gorgeous lookout point, favored by Jewish tour groups. The famous cemetery lies below the lookout.