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עמוד:11
In the late 1800 s , Theodor Herzl , a Hungarian-born Jewish writer and journalist , became enraged by the treatment of European Jews . He believed that the Jews must have a homeland of their own and that they should reclaim Zion , the Land of Israel . In 1897 , Herzl organized the First Zionist Congress , which brought together Jewish leaders from around the world . He was elected president of the newly created World Zionist Organization . Herzl dedicated the rest of his life to Zionism—the commitment to creating and supporting an independent Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael . As the popularity of the Zionist movement grew , thousands of Jews from Russia , Poland , and Germany came to the Land of Israel , which was then called Palestine . These early pioneers , or h . alutzim , left their homes to build new lives in a faraway land that was filled with swamps and malarial disease . They wanted to build a nation that would prosper and live peacefully with its neighbors . Can you imagine leaving your family and friends , and the only home you’ve ever known , to settle in a new land thousands of miles away ? Why do you think the h . alutzim were so determined to build the Land of Israel ? Theodor Herzl ( 1860–1904 ) was the father of the Zionist movement . He coined its slogan : “ If you will it , it is no dream . ” Barely 50 years after the First Zionist Congress , Herzl’s dream became reality .
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