1897 August 29, FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS (Basel, Switzerland)
Was convened by Theodore Herzl and Max Nordau. It was represented by a hundred and ninety-seven delegates. Herzl put forth his Basel Program, whose aim was "the establishment of a Jewish Homeland in Eretz Israel secured by public law". The congress endorsed the founding of the Zionist Organization later known as the World Zionist Organization, along with other permanent institutions. It also endorsed the Zionist congress as a national assembly representing the entire Jewish people. The congress transformed the Zionist movement into an official political movement.
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