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Author: David B. Starr

Dr. David B. Starr is the Charles R. Bronfman Visiting Associate Professor in Jewish Communal Innovation at Brandeis University. Dr. Starr holds rabbinic ordination from Jewish Theological Seminary, and received his PhD in history and Jewish studies from Columbia University.

This is Only the Fact, But We Have the Idea: Solomon Schechter’s Path to Zionism

April 20, 1997 |David B. Starr

In 1905, after much hesitation, and in spite of significant opposition from lay supporters of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Solomon Schechter declared publicly his allegiance to Zionism. This essay explores his path to that occurrence, and argues that three factors influenced his course of action. First, the events of 1904 and 1905: Herzl's death, the Russian pogroms in the fall of 1905, and the continuing interest in territorialism, all of which suggested a need for leadership and a program that could unify world Jewry.