The World Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית), or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland; it changed its name to World Zionist Organization in January 1960.
The ZO served as an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement, which aimed at creating a Jewish State of Israel in the region then ...
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The World Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization (Hebrew: ההסתדרות הציונית), or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland; it changed its name to World Zionist Organization in January 1960.
The ZO served as an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement, which aimed at creating a Jewish State of Israel in the region then known as Palestine. Theodor Herzl, who with Max Nordau and Zvi Shimshi, organized the first Congress, later wrote 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."
When the State of Israel was declared 51 years later on May 14, 1948, many of its new administrative institutions were already...
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