Zionist Book Club – Part 1

Where did Zionism begin?

What did the founders believe?

And how do their ideas speak to us today—after October 7, after hostage square, in a world that feels newly dangerous for Jews?

We’re launching a bold new series to rediscover the foundational texts of Zionism—not as dry history, but as living ideas that shaped the Jewish future and still shape us now.

Led by Executive Director, Joe Roberts, we’ll examine the book that started it all: The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl. In 1896, Herzl wrote that the Jews must “will” their own future—that only by seizing our own destiny could we survive as a people. He wasn’t writing a dream. He was writing a plan. Now, in 2025, we’ll read it together—and ask: what do we will now? Whether you’re steeped in Zionist history or just beginning to ask big questions about Israel, peoplehood, and Jewish purpose—this is the place to be.