Leopold Kessler (1864–1944) was an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, newspaper publisher and
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
. He was instrumental in building many of the institutions that supported the establishment of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
as a
Jewish state
In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland of the Jewish people.
Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewish people. It ...
.
Early life
Leopold Kessler was born on 4 February 1864, into a family that had been settled for some 250 years in
Gliwice
Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...
,
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
: then part of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, now part of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. He was the youngest of five children of Jacob Kessler and Johanna Feig. His maternal grandfather was Jacob Feig, one of the first
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
permitted to settle in nearby
Tarnowitz.
Kessler studied at the
Mining Academy in Freiberg and joined the
German Student Corps
Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" ('' n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of ''Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still existi ...
'
Teutonia chapter. However, he left because of
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and because he did not agree with his fellow members' drinking and brawling. He spent a year at the
Royal School of Mines
The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
before returning to Freiberg to complete his studies. Afterward, he left Germany, because he no longer wanted to live in a country where Jews were treated as second-class citizens.
Kessler became a
mining engineer
Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
before going in 1896 to the
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
to become general manager of a mine.
Introduction to Zionism
Kessler wrote in his unfinished autobiography that when he read the booklet "
The Jewish State" by
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...
, he felt he had discovered the solution to the problems that had troubled him in his student days. From then on, he declared himself to be a
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
and became one of the earliest Zionist pioneers in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. In 1899, he became president of the Transvaal Zionist Association and went to
Basel, Switzerland
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
, for the first time. He caused a stir at the Third
Zionist Congress
The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( he, הקונגרס הציוני העו ...
, where Jews from all over the world had rallied to Herzl’s call. Kessler was "greeted with enthusiastic applause" after presenting practical ideas for the Congress's Finance Commission, and was elected a member of the Greater Actions Committee.
In 1900, he made an exploratory trip to
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, where he stayed for several months, looking at the geographical, agricultural, and political conditions of the area. He prepared a detailed report for Herzl on the prospects of discovering
natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
s such as
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. He suggested publishing an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
newspaper and argued that Herzl should petition the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
to remove the obstacles preventing Jewish immigration to Palestine. Kessler declared that "optimism, Jewish energy, endurance and intellect, combined with a steady immigration into the country, would lead to the factual recognition of the historical claims of the Jews to Palestine". Herzl, however, was of the opinion that mass migration should only occur once a charter had been agreed upon.
Kessler settled in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and attended the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901. There, he was appointed secretary and became a member of the Colonization Commission. By this time, Herzl regarded Kessler as a friend and counsellor. When Herzl outlined his plan for obtaining a charter from the
Turkish sultan
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, it ...
, which required the financial and moral support of
Cecil Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Kessler offered to secure that support. However, Rhodes died soon afterward, in March 1902.
El Arish proposal
In October 1902, Herzl met with the British colonial secretary,
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...
, and England tentatively offered
El Arish
ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...
in the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
for Jewish colonisation. This would lead, years later, to the
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
. During the negotiations, Herzl had Kessler in mind to participate in the expedition.
Oskar Marmorek, an
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
Zionist, appealed to Kessler: "I know of no-one who could equal you and your knowledge for our expedition. It is therefore your duty, as a loyal comrade, to make the almost impossible, possible."
Herzl received a document about El Arish from the British foreign secretary,
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, and noted in his diary that it suggested Marmorek, an
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
; Kessler, an engineer; and
Otto Warburg Otto Warburg may refer to:
*Otto Warburg (botanist) (1859–1938), German botanist
*Otto Heinrich Warburg
Otto Heinrich Warburg (, ; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970), son of physicist Emil Warburg, was a German physiologist, medical doctor, and ...
, an agricultural expert, for the expedition. Petty-Fitzmaurice wrote that in Kessler, he saw a "coolness and calmness" he admired, and that "because of his composure, I like Kessler very well as the leader" of the expedition. Herzl instructed Kessler to return with a report on the feasibility of settling El Arish. With that report, he hoped to obtain the charter.
In a letter dated 28 January 1902 Herzl authorised Kessler’s leadership of the expedition and laid out his role and responsibilities. Other members of the expedition included
Selig Soskin
Selig Soskin ( he, זליג סוסקין, 1873–26 February 1959) was an Israeli Agronomy, agronomist and an early member of the Zionism, Zionist movement.
Biography
Soskin was born in 1873 in Crimea, then part of the Russian Empire. He was a ...
, an agricultural expert, and
Hillel Yaffe
Hillel Yaffe (1864–1936) ( he, הלל יפה) was a Russian Jewish physician and Zionist leader who immigrated to Palestine during the First Aliyah. He was instrumental in curing malaria among the Jewish population of Palestine in the early 20th ...
, a physician to the Jewish colonies in Palestine. Kessler had become friendly with these men during his visit to Palestine in 1900. Also on the team were Marmorek;
Albert Goldsmid
Colonel Albert Edward Williamson Goldsmid (6 October 1846 – 27 March 1904) was a British officer. He was the founder of the Jewish Lads' Brigade (in 1895) and the Maccabaeans.
Biography
Albert Goldsmid was born in Poona, British India, the s ...
, a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
who had taken over Baron
Maurice de Hirsch
Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...
’s Jewish colonies in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1892–93; Emile Laurent, a professor at the Agricultural Institute at
Gembloux
Gembloux (; wa, Djiblou; nl, Gembloers, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², yielding a population dens ...
; H. Stephens, an engineer, to investigate water problems; and a representative of the Egyptian government. Kessler himself was chief of the expedition, treasurer, and geological expert.
The team toured the area from 11 February to 25 March 1903. The report signed by Kessler and the other members concluded that the project depended on water supply and, therefore, that the Egyptian government should give permission to divert some water from the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
. The Egyptian government, calculating that the plan would require five times the amount of water Stephens had estimated, turned down the proposal. Kessler, in a supplementary report, stressed that colonisation could be carried out without Nile waters (by damming
wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
s, sinking wells, etc.), and Stephens reiterated his calculations with fresh evidence, but permission was once more refused. Kessler and Goldsmid then pursued futile political discussions with Egypt.
Uganda proposal
After the El Arish plan failed, the British government offered
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
for Jewish colonisation. There was enthusiasm for the proposal at the Sixth Zionist Congress, which voted by a large margin to set up a commission to investigate the possibilities of the territory. Kessler led the nine elected members of the commission, including Warburg,
Joseph Cowen
Joseph Cowen, Jr., (9 July 1829 – 18 February 1900) was an English radical Liberal politician and journalist. He was a firm friend to Anglo-Jewry, and an early advocate of Jewish emancipation, regularly contributing to ''The Jewish Chronic ...
,
L.J. Greenberg, and
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...
. On 27 September 1903 he wrote to Herzl that he considered it almost "hopeless to attempt to establish a purely European colony in the heart of Africa".
Kessler’s correspondence with Herzl and Warburg shows that Kessler was convinced that without Jewish enthusiasm, it would be impossible to establish a Jewish state in
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
. For that reason, he argued that the project should be handed over to the Jewish Colonisation Association (founded by Maurice de Hirsch), whilst the Zionist Organisation should concentrate only on Palestine.
Herzl’s death and the heated debate about Uganda delayed the departure of the expedition until December 1904. As Kessler had predicted, the report was discouraging, and the 7th Zionist Congress in 1905 turned down any colonisation site but Palestine.
English Zionist Federation
At the Ninth Zionist Congress in 1909, Weizmann and others attempted to depose
David Wolffsohn
David Wolffsohn ( yi, דוד וואלפסאן; he, דוד וולפסון; 9 October 1855 in Darbėnai, Kovno Governorate – 15 September 1914) was a Lithuanian-Jewish businessman, prominent early Zionist and second president of the Zion ...
as president of the
Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...
. Kessler thanked Wolffsohn for his dedication and proposed a vote of confidence in him. The opposition promptly brought forward a motion of censure, but Kessler’s proposal was accepted by an overwhelming majority.
In 1910, the
English Zionist Federation (EZF) was leaderless and on the verge of disintegration. In February 1912, Kessler became its president because he was not personally involved in the controversies surrounding its leadership. He opened the EZF's conference on 1 June 1913 by welcoming the appointment of a new
chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
,
Joseph Hertz
Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...
, an old friend of Kessler's from South Africa. At the request of Kessler and other delegates, Cowen accepted the presidency. Kessler remained on the executive committee. On 11 February 1917 Weizmann was elected president of the EZF, and Cowen joined Kessler on the executive committee.
In 1918, the EZF published a 20-page brochure, "History and Development of Jewish Colonisation in Palestine", written by Kessler. He wrote that a Jewish Palestine with a population drawn from all countries would be "the ideal which all nations profess to have made their own".
Other activities
When L.J. Greenberg decided, with some friends, to acquire ''
The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'', Kessler provided most of the funding. The acquisition changed the direction of the newspaper, which had been anti-Zionist but became very supportive of the cause. Kessler became director and later chairman of the board. The newspaper's support for Zionism was helpful in the 1917 battle to obtain the
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
.
Kessler was present at the birth of the
Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...
and became its chairman. He was elected to the board of the Jewish Colonial Trust, which became
Bank Leumi
Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...
, as early as 1903, and remained a member of its directorate for almost 20 years.
Final years and legacy
At the end of his life, Kessler lived in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He died on 3 January 1944 without seeing the realisation of his life's work;
Israel was established a little over four years after his death.
Despite the influence Kessler had on the creation of the modern state of Israel, no street in Israel bears his name. However, a girls' school built in 1969 in
Lod was named in his honour.
References
Bibliography
Sources
*Zionist Central Archives, Jerusalem
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
AJR Information, Volume XXIV, Volume 12, December 1969The Herzl MuseumLeopold Kessler CollectionCenter for Jewish History • 15 West 16th Street New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Leopold
1864 births
1944 deaths
19th-century journalists
Male journalists
Jewish journalists
Mining engineers
People from Tarnowskie Góry
People from Gliwice
19th-century German Jews
Zionist activists
German Zionists
British Zionists
South African Zionists
19th-century male writers
Corps students