Never Trust Your Chambermaid: TFJ Birth of Israel

<p><span class="TextRun SCXW157953584 BCX0" lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span class= "NormalTextRun SCXW157953584 BCX0">Hatikva is unique among national anthems. A maid employed by the French military found a memo in the trash in the German embassy in Paris with military secrets. The French Minister of War connected the document – despite not a shred of evidence – to a Jewish artillery captain, Alfred Dreyfuss, who subsequently was convicted of spying and denounced as a traitor. This set off anti-Jewish rioting, similar to blood libels, which also made no sense, but were lethal and costly for innocent Jewish victims. This was a tipping point for a reporter covering the trial named Theodore Herzl.</span></span><span class= "EOP SCXW157953584 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p> <p><span class="normaltextrun">Generous Baron Maurice de Hirsch refused to contribute to Herzl’s plan which he considered a fantasy. Eventually, as Daniel Gordis points out, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Herzl. “Better luck next time” wasn’t an option, and the need to improve resulted in </span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast= "none">Der </span><span class= "spellingerror">Judenstaat</span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span class="normaltextrun">. When things look catastrophic there is often a silver lining, case in point: </span>The Auschwitz Protocols. As Dreyfuss languishes on Devil’s island, Emil Zola comes to his rescue by publishing, </span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span class= "spellingerror">J’accuse</span></span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US" data-contrast="none"><span class="normaltextrun">. The most important work on sparking </span><span class= "spellingerror">antisemitism</span><span class= "normaltextrun">,  the fictitious </span>Protocols of the Elders of Zion, finds an enthusiastic supporter and disseminator in America, car magnate, Henry Ford.</span><span data-ccp-props= "{}"><span class="eop"> <