[ad_1]
During a recent visit to Israel I availed myself of the new high-speed train that connects Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Above all, rail offered a cheaper and quicker trip than road. Yet traveling through tunnels in the sacred soil of the Holy Land, and across bridges spanning mountains, my practical decision also led to an experience unexpectedly filled with wonder.
Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, burst onto the scene with his 1896 pamphlet, “The Jewish State.” He argued that Jews around the world could unite and create a commonwealth. Herzl followed this with “The Old-New Land.” The novel describes a Jewish state restored: its cities connected by wondrous electric trains high in the air, with smaller ones offering transportation around Jerusalem. Today, as many have noted, that vision has been fulfilled, and the novel’s famous epigraph—usually translated as “If you will it, it is no dream”—has been vindicated.
[ad_2]
Source link
