Treasure Trove: Zionism from Jerusalem to Basel to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh?

This postcard extends Zion’s Greetings for the New Year and references in Hebrew three cities that were important to Zionism in 1905 when the postcard was mailed.

First is Jerusalem, which needs no explanation.  Second is Basel, which was the host city of the First Zionist Congress in 1897, as well as the Congresses in 1898, 1899, 1901 and 1903 (and six later Congresses, all held before 1948).

The third city listed is Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh?

In June 1903 Pittsburgh hosted the Sixth Annual Convention of the American Federation of Zionists.   About 150 delegates from across the United States attended.  One of the major topics of discussion was the Kishinev Pogrom that had occurred two months before.

The convention  hosted a mass meeting where 3000 filled the Bijou Theatre.  You can see the program from the event here: https://rauhjewisharchives.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/07/2011.0225_I01.pdf  Initially intended to be a pep rally, it became a protest against the Kishinev Program (which validated the need for the Jewish homeland the Zionists advocated).

The evening ended with the singing of what was billed as the Jewish National Anthem, also referred to as Zion-Hymn, which was sung to the tune of “My Country ’Tis of Thee” (or in Canada, “God Save the King”).

The hymn’s lyrics were:

God, we implore of thee

End Zion’s misery

Send her they aid!

Send thou her sons to heal

Wounds which the years reveal

Woes which at least in weal

For aye shall fade

(The phrase “woes which at least in weal for aye shall fade” is a poetic concept that means sorrows and difficulties, no matter how permanent they may seem, will eventually disappear or lose their sting during times of prosperity and joy.  I had to look it up.)

The song was composed by Rabbi Dr. Henry Pereira Mendes (an early American Zionist leader and the spiritual leader of New York’s Congregation Shearith Israel) as an alternative to the Hatikvah.  Clearly, and fortunately, it did not catch on.

The second day of the convention included a session dedicated to Jewish education which heard presentations that could equally be given today, including “”How Can We Teach Hebrew?”, “Hebrew and Education”, “The Rationale of Modern Judaism” and “The Aimlessness of American Jewish Education.”

The Jewish Criterion, a Pittsburgh Jewish weekly newspaper that was published from 1895 to 1962, covered the convention extensively.  It reported that the establishment of a Jewish state was not uniformly thought to be a good idea.  It wrote that everybody is in favour of Jews being able to live in safety in Palestine or elsewhere, but many “are opposed to the State scheme.”

“It may be possible to establish the State; it may be that Dr. Herzl and the other leaders have their position so well in hand that they can put their program through.  If they do it remains to be seen whether that will be the panacea for all the ills our brethren have been heir to from time immemorial.”

Clearly not all the Jewish people’s ills have been solved, but a new year gives us the opportunity to try again.  From Jerusalem to Basel to Pittsburgh to all the cities around the world, with Zion’s Greetings, Treasure Trove wishes you a happy and sweet New Year.  

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Treasure Trove is a program of The Herzl Project.  Another program is The #Herzl100. Starting June 6, 2026, 100 Herzl artifacts are being posted over 100 days on Instagram, FaceBook and TikTok.  The first ninety episodes are now available on YouTube and can be watched here:

Search #Herzl100 on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to see, like and share the individual episodes to date, with the Top 4 artifacts still to come! A new episode drops every day.  Number 1 will drop on September 9.

For more treasures from the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, which has appeared weekly in the Treasure Trove column in the Canadian Jewish News (www.thecjn.ca) since February 2021, see https://herzlcollection.com/treasure-trove