World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organisation is an umbrella organisation for the Zionist movement aimed at the creation and maintenance of a Jewish state in Palestine. It was formed in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the Zionist Organisation (renamed "World Zionist Organisation" in 1960) and has held the Zionist congress every two years since.
History
The fist Zionist congress convened by Herzl in 1897 is often seen as the founding of the Zionist movement. Herzl had articulated his desire for the creation of a Jewish state in his 1896 book "Der Judenstat" and the congress, held in Basle, aimed to express this institutionally.
Presidents of the World Zionist Organisation
- Theodor Herzl : (1897 - 1904)
- David Wolfsohn : (1905 - 1911)
- Otto Heinrich Warburg : (1911 - 1921)
- Chaim Weizmann (1st time) : (1921 - 1931)
- Nahum Sokolow : (1931 - 1935)
- Chaim Weizmann (2nd time) : (1935 - 1946)
- David Ben-Gurion (acting) : (1946 - 1956)
- Nahum Goldmann : (1956 - 1968)
