The #HERZL 100 – My Summer of Herzl. Number One drops on Wednesday!

As the owner of the world’s largest private collection of Theodor Herzl memorabilia, I feel the responsibility to use the collection to advance knowledge about Zionism and the work of the founder of the Zionist movement. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog recognized the importance of learning about the roots of Zionism in his August 18, 2026 letter to me where he said in part:

“At a time when we are once again called upon to think deeply about Israel’s future, there is great value in returning to the ideas, debates and dreams that accompanied its birth.”

This summer I decided to post 100 Herzl artifacts (from my collection of over 6,000 pieces) in 100 days.  The countdown started on June 6 and will end with what I have decided is Number 1 on Wednesday September 9.

I called this project The Herzl 100 and all of the prior segments are available at #Herzl100 on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The first 90 episodes are available on YouTube at #Herzl100 if you want to catch up (warning: when watched back to back it is over four hours of Herzl and me).

99 episodes have been posted to date, and there is only one to go. Among the items that have appeared in the #Herzl100 are Herzl’s book The Jewish State in eight languages (Number 5), two different labels for Herzl brand sardines (Number 12),  a poster for an Austrian silent film from 1921 (Number 21), Herzl in a bottle (Number 32), Theo the Herzl Mascot (Number 40), Bulgarian shoe polish (Number 60), the program for Herzl’s memorial service at Carnegie Hall ((Number 73) and Herzl’s Broadway Playbill (Number 89).

I have received great support from online influencers who have seen the merit of amplifying these stories and have generously shared or collaborated with me.  For some of them (like @brammymiami and @salty_zionist_lioness) I do not even know their real names.

As expected, I have received nasty comments on many of my posts. I decided to respond to the comments, even the most disgusting and disparaging, with a disarming response like “Thank you for watching the #Herzl100 and for willing to learn something new.” Herzl was a gentleman and did everything with dignity. I am channeling Herzl when I respond to the hate.

I do have a consistent message that ripples throughout the series. That is, that Zionism is simply the national liberation movement of the Jewish people that works to secure the right of the Jewish people to live safely and freely in our ancestral homeland. It is not more complicated than that. I often add that what Herzl was trying to do was to secure for the Jewish people the same rights that other people are entitled to have.

I also make the point that Herzl’s dream was fulfilled when the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, but it has not been completed. The completion of Herzl’s dream will occur when Israel is living in peace. Herzl teaches us that the impossible can happen. As impossible as peace seems, it can happen too since Israel living in peace is more likely to occur than Israel being created in the first place.

Herzl gives us a message of hope. Hope that tomorrow can be better than today. I sure hope so.

People have been asking me for the last three months what is Number 1 of the #Herzl100. I jokingly say that I am sworn to secrecy in case people are betting on it on the prediction markets.  

I know what it is but I am not saying.

You will have to check the #Herzl100 on Wednesday September 9 to find out.

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If you wanted to do a quick (over four hour!) catch up, here are the YouTube links for the first 90 episodes:

Numbers 100 to 90: https://youtu.be/heFTqAkriF4

Numbers 89 to 80:  https://youtu.be/okZ0hmvygJc

Numbers 79 to 70:  https://youtu.be/zMeR8vUFuDo

Numbers 69 to 60:  https://youtu.be/pT9U13r-yhI

Numbers 59 to 50:  https://youtu.be/HT-xJLZAmDM

Numbers 49 to 40:  https://youtu.be/3NFy7-S62N0

Numbers 39 to 30:  https://youtu.be/R6Yy8dqxxp0

Numbers 29 to 20:  https://youtu.be/4WnyNTUmU8s

Numbers 19 to 11:   https://youtu.be/t9_hJ-xc6Fw