The father of the modern political Zionist movement is considered to be Theodor Herzl, the Austro-Hungarian journalist who was born in the city of Pest in modern day Hungary. However, the actual term “Zionism” was coined in 1890 by the writer and Jewish thinker, Nathan Birnbaum.

The modern Zionist movement was mainly constructed by secular Jews largely as a response to anti-Semitism in Europe and also in the Muslim-Arab World. For many ordinary Jews, the return to Zion had a long and deeply rooted religious aspect. In Jewish literature, sayings, prayers and songs, the links to Jerusalem, Zion and the Land of Israel are everywhere. The Jewish festivals, calenders, traditions and religious laws all have as their basis, the seasons and conditions of the Holy Land. Every Passover, Jews pray towards Jerusalem.

The Land of Israel was and is the only place that a Jewish homeland can be built. Here too, was a place where Jews could gain a sense of self-determination, self-defence and rejuvenate their language and culture.

The first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897, which also marked the birth of the World Zionist Organization. There the members officially called for the restoration of the Jewish national home in Palestine for the first time. As Theodoe Herzl, the organiser of the meeting would later write in his diary:

“If I were to sum up the Congress in a word – which I shall take care not to publish – it would be this: At Basle I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today I would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

There are a number of different strands of Zionism including Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Christian Zionism and Reform Zionism, but all hold vital the original Zionist values.