alt Hacker NewsI don't think the "homeland" idea could have come from anywhere but religion. For one thing, there's a three (?) thousand year precedence.
I don't think the "homeland" idea could have come from anywhere but religion. For one thing, there's a three (?) thousand year precedence.
Of course there could be, and Hertzel writes about it explicitly - the idea that Jews need a homeland because antisemitism makes it impossible for them to live within another people.
In regard to religion itself, like the other post said, he couldn't really care less and even advocated for Jews to convert to Christianity at a time, seeing it as another solution to the discrimination they're facing: "I see myself as an average modern Jew and I'm not afraid from the idea of a formal conversion to Christianity. I have a son, and I'd prefer converting today and not tomorrow so that his membership will start earlier and I can save him from the troubles and discrimination he'll face as a Jew".