THEODOR HERZL
The Charismatic Leader
by Derek Penslar
The compelling story of Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), one of the primary leaders of the Zionist movement. Penslar, who teaches Jewish history at Harvard, reveals with thorough research and bright clarity that Herzl was an astonishing talent and a striking physical specimen with a resonant voice. He became a journalist for the Neue Freie Presse, “the most prestigious newspaper in Austria-Hungary,” as well as a successful novelist and playwright; Penslar summarizes much of that work—sometimes excessively so. After reviewing Herzl’s youth, the author focuses on his growing passion for Zionism, rise to fame, access to the principal players in European and Middle Eastern politics, and creation of political groups that elevated Zionism in the world’s consciousness. In 1949, Herzl’s remains were moved from Vienna to Israel, where Mount Herzl now rises over western Jerusalem, featuring the national cemetery. Penslar portrays his subject as a gifted and popular journalist who eventually became the paper’s literary editor and who managed to write prolifically despite his growing commitment to Zionism and the requirements of family. The author paints a painful picture of Herzl’s fraught relationship with his wife, Julie. (It was her family money that funded the freedom Herzl enjoyed.) Penslar also shows that Herzl was not a practicing Jew. Instead, he saw the various threats to Jews in Europe and looked for a place that might accept a mass immigration. He “fashioned himself as a certain kind of Jew—a member of a nation, yet liberal, cosmopolitan, and outward-looking; non-religious but respectful…proud to identify as a Jew in the face of ridicule and hatred.” Although Herzl didn’t live to see his dream realized, he has become a cultural icon—though, as the author notes, his fame is fading among the Israeli young. Penslar does not neglect Herzl’s problems, including a passion for the spotlight. Comprehensive reading, travel, and imagination form a firm foundation for this swift, focused biography.