Yes—Pinsker was a great man in his day; he was one of the “precursors”
of Zionism—so much even the new Zionists admit. And when they have
occasion to recount the history of the Zionist idea to non-Zionists,
they begin, in the most approved scientific manner, with the “embryonic”
period. Here they commend in one breath all the worthy men who came
before the birth of Zionism and prepared the way for it, not forgetting
Pinsker and other leaders of the _Chovevé Zion_ who were contemporary
with him. But all this is for them simply by way of introduction to the
main theme, which enters with the year 1896—the year when Herzl revealed
himself in his pamphlet _Der Judenstaat_. Here they draw a line, as who
should say, “Thus far the embryonic period of Zionism, the period of its
preparation for birth. Now behold Zionism itself in all its glory and
magnificence.”
How is it, then, that many people have now suddenly remembered that
Pinsker died ten years ago, on the 21st of December; and that in so many
places there have been prayers recited for the peace of his soul, and
memorial addresses delivered in his honour, on this sad anniversary?
Truth to tell, it is only because the work of the “petty colonisation”
movement still maintains its existence, and there is still a Society
which works for the support of the colonies. For that reason, and for
that reason alone—because he stood at the head of those who worked for
the Palestinian Colonies, and afterwards of the Society formed for their
support—Pinsker is remembered by his colleagues, the original _Chovevé
Zion_ of his own country, whose privilege it was to know him personally
and to work with him. It is they who have made the anniversary a matter
of public interest. If not for this, the new Zionists, whose calendar
begins with the birth of political Zionism, would not have remembered
the man who, fifteen years before Herzl, worked out the whole theory of
political Zionism from beginning to end, with a logical thoroughness and
an elevation of style unequalled by any subsequent work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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