In 1898, just a year after the First Zionist Congress, Theodor Herzl, the foremost Zionist leader, visited the Land of Israel for the first and only time, seeking international recognition for the Jewish right to a sovereign state.

His mission –  a crucial meeting with the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was touring the region. At the time, Herzl was considered a minor politician with a crazy idea, while Wilhelm II led one of the world’s most powerful nations. Their meeting symbolized the first international consideration of Zionist aspirations.

Herzl arrived in Israel via the port of Jaffa with a small Zionist delegation and met the German ruler twice, pursuing the Kaiser’s influence over the Ottoman Sultan to support a Jewish state in Israel. The meetings’ importance lay not in their immediate outcomes but in the fact they even occurred. For the first time, the Zionist vision received acknowledgment from a major global leader.

The Most Famous Zionist ‘Photoshop’

Herzel understood the importance of capturing the meeting. This was assigned to David Wolfson however, his photo failed to include Herzl, showing only his leg. Herzl was later added with a photo montage, depicting him in conversation with the Emperor.

Herzl: “In Basel, I established the Jewish state. If I had said that out loud today, everyone would have laughed at me. Maybe in five years, and certainly in fifty years, they will all agree.” May the memory of this great visionary be etched on our hearts for generations and forever.”​

The post Kaiser Wilhelm II visit to Jerusalem Original Le Petit Journal, Printed in paris France November 6, 1898 first appeared on VINTAGE ISRAELI POSTERS.

THIS IS AN ORIGINAL MAGAZINE – Full Magazine 8 pages  Framed

The paper Le Petit Journal was one of the extreme opponents of Alfred Dreyfus, known for denouncing him harshly
Illustrations in color were printed on the first and last pages of each issue depicting, among others, the Dreyfus Affair events. Among the illustrations appears the famous illustration documenting Dreyfus’s degradation ceremony during which his sword was publicly broken. Illustrations by different illustrators: the French illustrator and caricaturist Henri Meyer (1844-1899), Lionel Royer (1852-1926), Damblans (Eugène Damblanc, 1865-1945) and more.

Illustrated supplement to the French magazine, Le Petit Journal, published in France from 1890-1920. The cover illustration is captioned: “Le Traitre, Degradation d’Alfred Dreyfus.” The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal revolving around antisemitism that inflamed late 19th-century France. Alfred Dreyfus was an army captain found guilty of treason in 1894 for selling military secrets. Antisemitic publications used Dreyfus as a symbol of the disloyalty of all French Jews. Emile Zola wrote a letter to protest the verdict, titled J’Accuse, in which he accused the French Army of covering up its unjust conviction of Dreyfus. Zola was charged with libel and the Dreyfus Affair grew into a national political crisis. An Army intelligence officer was found to have forged the document proving Dreyfus’s guilt. But in a second trial, the Army again convicted Dreyfus, who was then pardoned by the president to end the crisis.

The post “Alfred Dreyfus Degradation Ceremony”Original Le Petit Journal, Printed in paris france January 13, 1895 first appeared on VINTAGE ISRAELI POSTERS.