Episode 1: The Untold Story of Herzl's Journey to Zionism

This podcast episode explores the common misconception that the Dreyfus Affair was the pivotal moment that spurred Theodor Herzl's Zionist ideology. The speaker refutes this narrative, presenting evidence from Herzl's writings and journalistic coverage of the Dreyfus trial, showing a lack of immediate Zionist sentiment. Instead, the episode argues that Herzl's Zionism stemmed from the rising tide of antisemitism in Vienna following the expansion of suffrage and the subsequent disillusionment with assimilation. The speaker uses Maimonides' concept of the "pedagogical lie" to explain Herzl's later framing of the Dreyfus Affair as his Zionist awakening. Ultimately, the episode highlights the complex and multifaceted origins of Herzl's Zionism, contrasting it with other Zionist perspectives.