The Changing Jewish World
Herzl's World

The late nineteenth century was a time of disruptive change. The Industrial Revolution was well under way, as was the Enlightenment. New doors were opening for the Jewish people, and they faced choices like never before. Should they assimilate in order to be accepted? Should they follow the cry of Karl Marx and revolt? Or should they leave Europe altogether and resettle the Holy Land? Rabbi Wein dissects these competing trends amongst the Jewish people, showing how they all came together to shape Herzl’s worldview.

• the Jewish population explosion – on par with Biblical Egypt
• Baron Edmund du Rothschild and the “the Lovers of Zion”
• the anti-Semitism of Karl Marx
• Herzl’s views on mass conversion to Christianity