Political Activism
In 1895, Marmorek met the Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist who founded modern political Zionism, Theodor Herzl. The publication of Herzl's book Der Judenstaat in 1896 and the first World Zionist Congress, organized together with Theodor Herzl and Max Nordau in 1897, formed a break in Marmorek's life. Oskar then decided to dedicate himself completely to the Zionism. In May 1901, the architect, acting as Secretary of the Actions Committee, traveled to Istanbul with Theodor Herzl and David Wolffsohn, Chairman of the Jewish Colonial Trust to meet the Sultan Abdul Hamid II. For his utopian novel Altneuland ("Old New Land") considered as one of Zionism’s establishing texts, Herzl modeled the character of "Dr Steineck" on his friend and collaborator Oskar Marmorek.
After the death of his friend in 1904, Oskar Marmorek was appointed by the Greater Actions Committee of the World Zionist Organization to act as Chairman until the election of David Wolffsohn as new President in 1905.
Read more about this topic: Oskar Marmorek
Famous quotes containing the word political:
“What drivel it all is!... A string of words called religion. Another string of words called philosophy. Half a dozen other strings called political ideals. And all the words either ambiguous or meaningless. And people getting so excited about them they’ll murder their neighbours for using a word they don’t happen to like. A word that probably doesn’t mean as much as a good belch. Just a noise without even the excuse of gas on the stomach.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)