7. Year 1897: Zionist Congress in Basel
September 4, 1897. El Pensamiento Gallego, page 2.
tr. Galician Thought, traditionalist Catholic daily, published in Santiago de Compostela.

Zionist Congress in Basel

The sessions of the Zionist congresss in Basel (Switzerland) have started.

Israelites are called Zionists because they are descendants of Zion (Jerusalem).

The goal of this congress is to initiate a movement to procure, with the guarantees of international law, a fatherland for all Israelites who do not wish or can not live in their present milieu.

Two hundred individuals from Europe and America attended the first session.

Mr. Hertz (sic) the Congress president propounds in a pamphlet entitled The Jewish State the foundation of two societies. One, the Society of Jews, will have, so to say, a purely moral and intellectual personality whereas the other, the Jewish Company, will be a financial and industrial society.

The Israelites in favour of the kingdom of Israel will of course rally round the Society of Jews, and if the world powers are disposed to grant the Jewish people sovereignty over a neutral territory, said society will select the country where a territory will be purchased.

Once the territory has been ceded—whether in Argentina or in Palestine is still unknown—the duty of all society members will be to get rid of all their non-portable assets and to congregate in the new Zion.

This is Mr. Hertz's project who in his pamphlet covers and resolves in great detail all the difficulties that might be encountered.
September 5, 1897. Gaceta de Galicia, year XXVII, number 203, page 3.
tr. Galicia Gazette, published daily in Santiago de Compostela.

Protestant temple of Jerusalem

Madrid, 4, 5:00 PM. The Emperor of Germany will travel to Palestine next March to inaugurate the Protestant temple of Jerusalem.
September 7, 1897. El Lucense, year XIV, number 3802, page 2.
tr. The Lugonian, Catholic daily published in Lugo with ecclesiastical censorship.

The comic search for a Jewish homeland

As a comic sidenote, if this section of the newspaper admits of one,1 the funniest is the fanciful creation of the Israelite kingdom.

First the Republic of Argentina was deemed a proper site, Baron Hirsch aspiring to become today's Maccabean. The Government of Buenos Aires did not want to dump the looming cargo of Jews on the Pampas, so the Banking monarchs next tried to purchase Palestine from Sultan Abdul-Hamid. Two hundred Jewish notables advocated this project at the Congress of Basilea. The famous Max-Dordau (sic) the great observer of utopians and the unbalanced, seeing that this project suits his investigations, has pledged to follow it and observe all its phases.

1 As a comic sidenote, if this section of the newspaper admits of one - The section was titled, "Catholic World."
September 14, 1897. Gaceta de Galicia, year XXVII, number 209, page 2.
tr. Galicia Gazette, published in Santiago de Compostela.

The Pope and Palestine

Le Temps affirms that His Holiness has written a letter via diplomatic pouch to the Emperor of Turkey urging him with singular force to cede not Palestine to the Jews, for they purport to resurrect the Hebrew nationality of Jerusalem via that scheme.
September 21, 1897. El Lucense, year XIV, number 3813, page 2.
tr. The Lugonian, Catholic daily published in Lugo with ecclesiastical censorship.

The Pope and the Zionists

The Daily News asserts that the Pope wishes to confer with Monsignor Benetti the apostolic delegate in Turkey in order to obstruct the projects of the Zionists envisaging the creation of the Israelite kingdom in Palestine.

As we have said elsewhere the Holy See has no part in this affair, one that seems chimerical to all sensible people.