Asta Bidspirit | Judaica / Zionism – Medal

Judaica / Zionism – Medal commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Theodor (Binyamin Ze'ev) Herzl – 1960 – .900 gold, weight 7.8g, diameter 26mm. Obverse: A relief portrait of Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl facing left; the inscription ”Herzl” appears in Hebrew and English, with the years of his birth and death, ”1860–1904,” to the left. Reverse: In the center, a Menorah with lit candles; at the bottom, Stars of David containing the date of the establishment of the State of Israel; olive branches on the sides; and the word ”Israel” at the top. Binyamin Ze'ev Theodor Herzl (May 2, 1860 – July 3, 1904) was a Jewish journalist, jurist, author, playwright, and statesman born in Budapest. He developed the concept of political Zionism and founded Zionism as an organized national-political movement. Within the Zionist movement, the Jewish public in the Yishuv (the pre-state Jewish community in the Land of Israel) and worldwide, as well as in literature, creative arts, and scholarship, he was accorded the title ”Visionary of the State.” From the convening of the First Zionist Congress in 1897 until Herzl's death, the Zionist movement evolved into a dynamic and significant political and practical force. Herzl's ideas resonated with European Jewry and reached Jewish communities across the globe. Mass Jewish support for Zionist ideals spurred waves of immigration to the Land of Israel and ultimately paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.