July 3 1904 – 20 Tammuz 5664
Theodore (Benjamin Ze’ev) Herzl, visionary of the Jewish state and founder of the Zionist Organization, died in Vienna aged just 44. Herzl’s death, less than a decade after he published The Jewish State, took Jews world-wide by surprise and plunged them into mourning. Bedridden in his final days, Herzl knew full well his end was near. He told his friend William Hechler, “Greet Palestine for me. I gave my heart’s blood for my people.” The last words he spoke concerned the Jewish homeland, echoing the biblical account of Moses’ final days; “My people are good and excellent men. They will see the Land and possess it… the Jewish National Fund must purchase the three plots!”
Herzl asked to see his mother, and expired soon afterwards. In his will he asked to be buried quietly, next to his father in Vienna, until the Jewish people could bring his coffin to the Promised Land. 45 years passed before his wishes were carried out, a year after the State of Israel was established, and he was re-interred in an impressive state ceremony in Jerusalem, dedicating the National Leaders’ section of the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, the hill that bears his name.
Herzl’s funeral in Vienna
Sam Diamond, Israel Government Press OfficeHerzl’s coffin arrives at the airport in Lydda, 1949