Today is a wonderful day for the Jewish people of the world. We must rejoice on this wonderful day, the first day of the First Zionist Congress. This day marks a great step forward in our goal of creating the Jewish nation of Israel. For so long I, Theodor Herzl, have pursued this moment; an assembly of 200 of our Jewish brothers from seventeen nations, all united for a single cause.
Our people have an ancient and intimate connection with the land of Israel. Our great prophet, Abraham, lived there nearly 4,000 years ago. He settled in the land then known as Canaan and founded our faith their. Our ancestors lived there for many millennia, and it is time that we take back the land that is rightfully ours! We will no longer have to endure the pogroms and hostilities of the nations of Europe. We shall no longer live as a hated minority, oppressed by other cultures. Israel shall be our home, a place where all Jews are welcome.
I provided the impetus for this congress a year ago when I published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State). In it I presented the just cause and imperative of the Zionist agenda. My writing expressed the desires, hopes and needs of Jews everywhere and it became quite a sensation in the following months, being disseminated
throughout Europe and translated into many languages. I was contacted by many Zionist organizations, and from there we began planning for the congress.So we are here, discussing the needs and objectives of our people as a whole for us today, and the Jewish people for generations to come.The strength of our conviction and purpose is shown in our addressing the Uganda question. The government of Great Britain proposed that we make a Jewish state in Uganda, offering us 15,500 square kilometers of land. After much discussion, we decided to refuse their offer. We decided that the Jewish state must be Israel, for it is our home and native land. And I believe that these three days will bring us much closer to our goal. And I plan to have many more of these in the future. We shall meet once a year every year until our voices are heard. We will not be ignored any longer. Every year we shall become stronger, soon becoming a force that can no longer be overlooked! We shall not let up until we succeed in creating a Jewish state in our Holy Land. For I have said it once, and I shall say it again: it is a land without a people for a people without a land!
