The whole plan is in its essence perfectly simple, as it must
necessarily be if it is to come within the comprehension of all.
Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the globe large
enough to satisfy the rightful requirements of a nation; the rest we
shall manage for ourselves.
The creation of a new State is neither ridiculous nor impossible. We
have in our day witnessed the process in connection with nations which
were not largely members of the middle class, but poorer, less
educated, and consequently weaker than ourselves. The Governments of
all countries scourged by Anti-Semitism will be keenly interested in
assisting us to obtain the sovereignty we want.
The plan, simple in design, but complicated in execution, will be
carried out by two agencies: The Society of Jews and the Jewish
Company.
The Society of Jews will do the preparatory work in the domains of
science and politics, which the Jewish Company will afterwards apply
practically.
The Jewish Company will be the liquidating agent of the business
interests of departing Jews, and will organize commerce and trade in
the new country.
We must not imagine the departure of the Jews to be a sudden one. It
will be gradual, continuous, and will cover many decades. The poorest
will go first to cultivate the soil. In accordance with a preconceived
plan, they will construct roads, bridges, railways and telegraph
installations; regulate rivers; and build their own dwellings; their
labor will create trade, trade will create markets and markets will
attract new settlers, for every man will go voluntarily, at his own
expense and his own risk. The labor expended on the land will enhance
its value, and the Jews will soon perceive that a new and permanent
sphere of operation is opening here for that spirit of enterprise
which has heretofore met only with hatred and obloquy.
If we wish to found a State today, we shall not do it in the way which
would have been the only possible one a thousand years ago. It is
foolish to revert to old stages of civilization, as many Zionists
would like to do. Supposing, for example, we were obliged to clear a
country of wild beasts, we should not set about the task in the
fashion of Europeans of the fifth century. We should not take spear
and lance and go out singly in pursuit of bears; we would organize a
large and active hunting party, drive the animals together, and throw
a melinite bomb into their midst.
If we wish to conduct building operations, we shall not plant a mass
of stakes and piles on the shore of a lake, but we shall build as men
build now. Indeed, we shall build in a bolder and more stately style
than was ever adopted before, for we now possess means which men never
yet possessed.
The emigrants standing lowest in the economic scale will be slowly
followed by those of a higher grade. Those who at this moment are
living in despair will go first. They will be led by the mediocre
intellects which we produce so superabundantly and which are
persecuted everywhere.
This pamphlet will open a general discussion on the Jewish Question,
but that does not mean that there will be any voting on it. Such a
result would ruin the cause from the outset, and dissidents must
remember that allegiance or opposition is entirely voluntary. He who
will not come with us should remain behind.
Let all who are willing to join us, fall in behind our banner and
fight for our cause with voice and pen and deed.
Those Jews who agree with our idea of a State will attach themselves
to the Society, which will thereby be authorized to confer and treat
with Governments in the name of our people. The Society will thus be
acknowledged in its relations with Governments as a State-creating
power. This acknowledgment will practically create the State.
Should the Powers declare themselves willing to admit our sovereignty
over a neutral piece of land, then the Society will enter into
negotiations for the possession of this land. Here two territories
come under consideration, Palestine and Argentine. In both countries
important experiments in colonization have been made, though on the
mistaken principle of a gradual infiltration of Jews. An infiltration
is bound to end badly. It continues till the inevitable moment when
the native population feels itself threatened, and forces the
Government to stop a further influx of Jews. Immigration is
consequently futile unless we have the sovereign right to continue
such immigration.
The Society of Jews will treat with the present masters of the land,
putting itself under the protectorate of the European Powers, if they
prove friendly to the plan. We could offer the present possessors of
the land enormous advantages, assume part of the public debt, build
new roads for traffic, which our presence in the country would render
necessary, and do many other things. The creation of our State would
be beneficial to adjacent countries, because the cultivation of a
strip of land increases the value of its surrounding districts in
innumerable ways.