First Zionist Congress

The First Zionist Congress was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization, held in the Stadtcasino in Basel on August 29–31, 1897. Convened and chaired by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionist movement, it drew 208 participants from 17 countries, over half of them from Eastern Europe; planned for Munich, it was moved to Basel because of opposition from Orthodox and Reform community leaders. The Congress founded the Zionist Organization and adopted the Basel Program, which stated that Zionism sought to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law. Seventeen women attended but had no vote until the Second Zionist Congress.