Basel Program

The Basel Program was the first manifesto of the Zionist movement, drafted between 27-30 August 1897 and adopted unanimously at the First Zionist Congress in Basel (Basle), Switzerland on 30 August 1897.

In 1951 it was replaced by the Jerusalem Program.

It was drafted by a committee originally elected on Sunday 29 August 1897 comprising Max Nordau (heading the committee),Nathan Birnbaum, Alexander Mintz, Siegmund Rosenberg, , together with Hermann Schapira and Max Bodenheimer who were added to the committee on the basis of them having both drafted previous similar programs (including the "Kölner Thesen").

The seven-man committee prepared the Program over three drafting meetings.

The program set out the goals of the Zionist movement as follows:

For the attainment of this purpose, the Congress considers the following means serviceable:

1. The promotion of the settlement of Jewish agriculturists, artisans, and tradesmen in Palestine.

2. The federation of all Jews into local or general groups, according to the laws of the various countries.

3. The strengthening of the Jewish feeling and consciousness.

4. Preparatory steps for the attainment of those governmental grants which are necessary to the achievement of the Zionist purpose.

The original draft did not include the word for "publicly recognized"; this was the only amendment made during the debate at the Congress, and can be seen in the final version with the word inserted via a curly bracket. The amended draft was approved unanimously by the 200-person congress.

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