Herzl and Kaiser Wilhelm II Meeting in Jerusalem

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.”​