Herzl grandparents' return to Mount Herzl reveals Zionism's roots through generations – editorial

The reburial of Theodor Herzl's grandparents, Shimon Leib and Rivka Herzl, on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Wednesday, enriches the historical narrative of Zionism. This event highlights that while the State of Israel's institutions were largely built by secular political leadership, many foundational Zionist ideas were cultivated earlier within Jewish homes and communities. Shimon Leib Herzl was the gabbai of a synagogue where Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai, an early advocate for Jewish national restoration, served, suggesting a generational transmission of Zionist ideals. President Isaac Herzog noted, "Dreams are not passed down through written inheritance. They are passed around the Shabbat table... in the stories a grandfather tells his grandson." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly emphasized "Judaism as the basis of Zionism." This reburial underscores that political Zionism did not emerge in isolation but as an inheritance passed through generations, a crucial lesson for Jewish communities today in maintaining identity and commitment to Zionist ideals.