When the Jewish State was Almost in Uganda
Upon witnessing the danger and suffering Jews were experiencing from rampant antisemitism, Theodor Herzl proposed a temporary safe haven in Uganda. However, a Jewish homeland in East Africa was heavily opposed by the Zionist Congress.
After much debate, the Seventh Zionist Congress decided against executing the Uganda Plan and Herzl focused his efforts on aiding the future establishment of a Jewish state elsewhere.
Fifty years later, Israel was established, keeping the Jewish State in a place rich with Jewish history, rather than merely in a place of physical safety.
- Zionism
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Examine the meaning behind the term Zionism, from its origins in Jewish history to the complex conversations that surround it today.
This educational resource as a companion resource to the animated video Israel: Home of Hope, narrated by Rabbi Sacks, which explores the connection between the prophet Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones and the creation of the modern State of Israel.
Listen on Apple or Spotify When Israel was created on this exact day 78 years ago, she didn’t come with an instruction manual called “How to Build a Jewish State.” If she had, Jewish educators wouldn’t be grappling today with the tensions between Israel’s Jewish and democratic values, or needing