Herzl’s grandparents to be buried in Israel — but what of his vision for the Jewish state?

Seventy-seven years after Theodor Herzl’s remains were reinterred in the newly established State of Israel, his grandparents are now set to be buried in the country that the founding father of modern Zionism envisioned. The relocation marks another symbolic connection between Herzl’s legacy and the nation he spent his life advocating for, yet raises profound questions about whether the Israel of today matches the ideals he left behind.

Herzl, the Austrian-Jewish journalist and playwright who pioneered the concept of a Jewish homeland at the end of the 19th century, died in 1904 before seeing his dream realised. His remains were brought to what would become Israel in 1949, just a year after the state’s establishment, in fulfilment of his wishes. The decision to bury his grandparents here extends that family connection to the land.

However, the symbolic gesture arrives at a time when Israel’s direction—both politically and socially—has moved substantially from Herzl’s original vision of a secular, progressive Jewish state. His writings emphasised democratic values, tolerance, and integration with neighbouring peoples, principles that contemporary Israeli society continues to grapple with across multiple fronts.

The burial of Herzl’s family members serves as a poignant reminder of how dramatically the nation has evolved since his foundational ideas took root. While Israel has undeniably become a thriving Jewish state with remarkable achievements in technology, science, and culture, observers might well wonder what the visionary would make of the country in 2024—a place transformed beyond even his most optimistic imaginings, yet facing challenges he may not have anticipated.

Source: Maariv — Original article in Hebrew.