MERCAZ USA Newsletter — Winter 2009-2010

MERCAZ Contest Celebrates Herzl Birthday

In their ongoing efforts to link the Jews of the Diaspora to the people and state of Israel, MERCAZ USA, MERCAZ Canada and Women's League for Conservative Judaism sponsor a biennial essay contest for teenagers, with winners receiving scholarships for movement-sponsored trips and study programs in Israel.

In 2010, the contest will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism. However, this time, the focus for the essays will be on Herzl's vision of the Jewish state, as expressed in "Altneuland", his utopian novel written in 1902.

While Herzl is broadly known as the visionary of the Jewish state, as conveyed in "The Jewish State" (1896), he was not interested solely in creating a physical space for the Jewish people. Rather, as in "Altneuland", Herzl was passionately concerned with the quality of life that would arise in new the Jewish state. Click here for more information about the essay contest, including the schedule and rules.

Herzl-themed essay contests are just one aspect of an entire campaign being coordinated by the World Zionist Organization to celebrate Herzl's 150th birthday. Other features include a special "Journey with Herzl in Pursuit of the Zionist Idea", a weeklong trip in the footsteps of the Zionist visionary from Paris through Basel and Budapest to Israel, and a special Herzl exhibit composed of 28 easily assembled panels and accompanying educational materials, available for rental by schools, synagogues and community centers. For more information about these and other offerings by the WZO Department for Zionist Activities, go to www.doingZionism.org or contact gilaa@wzo.org.il.

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