Page 6 - TORCH Magazine #8 - Nov 2017

Through this remarkable friendship, Herzl, who was described as shy at rst, made his way through the corridors of power leading to the political conversion of many leaders across the continent towards the idea of a Jewish state.
Herzl’s diary entry reads,
“The English clergyman Hechler came to me in the afternoon in a state of great excitement. He had been to the Burg, where the German Kaiser arrived today, and spoke to Dryander, the General Superintendent, and another gentleman from the Kaiser’s retinue. He strolled through the city with them for two
hours and told them the contents of my pamphlet, which greatly surprised them.
He told them the time had come ‘to ful ll prophecy.’”
It was noted that Hechler was “not only the rst, but the most constant and the most indefatigable of Herzl’s followers”.
In 1897, Herzl did something incredible.
He brought together some 200 prominent Jewish leaders from 17 countries in the First Zionist Congress, held in Basel. Hechler attended as part of an invited Christian delegation to observe.
“Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word”, said Herzl, “which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In ve years perhaps, and certainly in fty years, everyone will perceive it.”
And he was right. 50 years later the Jewish state was a reality.
Theodor Herzl
Herzl, however, never got to see his dream come to fruition. Lying on his death bed
at age 44, Herzl, whose heart was failing, permitted only one visitor outside of his immediate family – Hechler. The day before his death he said to Hechler, “Greet Palestine for me. I gave my heart’s blood for my people.”
Herzl asked the Zionist movement and
the Jewish people not to forget the man standing by his deathbed. The relationship between these two great men re ects
the strengthening relationship that exists today between Jews and Christians in the UK. Furthermore, it demonstrates what happens when Christians stand in solidarity with the Jewish people and their right to the Land of Israel.
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