Ha'am

A critique of Herzl's position, written as Ahad Ha'am in the form of a letter to a Jewish journal.

The Jewish Chronicle, February 1896
To the Editor
I write in response to Dr. Theodore Herzl’s “A Solution of the Jewish Question” that appeared in your journal January last. With all due respect to Dr. Herzl, I cannot claim to agree with his response to the Jewish Question. Herzl could not possibly have properly answered the Jewish Question, if for no other reason than he is incorrect in his belief of what the Question is. The Jewish Question is not one, as my dear Herzl would have it believed, of individual Jews struggling against Antisemitism. The problem is far greater, and thus cannot be resolved, as Herzl would have it be, by those Jews who have been worst treated coming to a would-be Jewish nation. The problem is not of Jews, but of Judaism.
The Jewish Question is not a material one, and thus cannot be solved by a Jewish state. Such a solution may appeal to those Western Jews who wish to create for themselves a Western nation. But Jews once had a state in Zion, and even then did the Romans seek to infiltrate and diffuse their culture. Such would be the case in a Jewish state of today. I fear the “Israel” Dr. Herzl seeks would soon cease to be Jewish, instead resembling any other European nation.
Even if such a state were formed, it will never be that all Jews come to live there. Judaism will always exist in Diaspora; thus, we must find a way to solve the Jewish Question in Diaspora. And, as the problem is a spiritual one regarding the condition of Judaism, the solution must also be spiritual. Thus, I propose using Hibbat Zion, our historic love of Zion, to strengthen the will and resolve of Jews throughout the Earth. Rather than immediately seeking a state, I propose the creation of a Jewish community in Zion. This community will be a beacon, encouraging Jews throughout the Earth to hold fast to Jewish unity and giving spiritual strength to Jews in all material conditions. It is towards this aim that I believe Dr. Herzl’s proposed Society of Jews must work.
Ahad Ha’am