Israeli president in Switzerland to mark 125th anniversary of First Zionist Congress

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday traveled to Switzerland to mark the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress, which took place in Basel.

Herzog was welcomed by his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in the Swiss capital Bern earlier in the day. At the welcoming ceremony, Israel's national anthem, Hatikvah (The Hope), adopted as the congress' anthem 125 years ago and later became the country's official anthem, was sung in honor of the Israeli president.

The First Zionist Congress, which gathered in 1897 under the initiative of Zionist leader Theodor Herzl, set the basis for the founding of Israel in 1948.

Some 208 delegates from all around the world gathered in 1897 for the three-day congress, which is seen as a decisive milestone in the formation of Israel. As the founding father of Political Zionism, Herzl wrote in his diary a week after the congress: "At Basel, I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly, in fifty years, everyone will perceive it."

As the World Zionist Organization (WZO) organizes the anniversary events in Basel, the Gala event will be attended by the Israeli president, Basel Canton President Beat Jans and World Zionist Organization Chairman Yaakov Hagoel, according to WZO.

Herzog is expected to deliver a keynote speech at the Gala event in Stadtcasino concert hall, where the first congress was held.
Over 1,000 guests are expected to take part in the events.

Moreover, as part of the Israeli president's visit, Israeli and Swiss national science foundations inked a memorandum of understanding on bolstering scientific collaboration.

In a Twitter post, Herzog hailed the collaboration between institutions, saying: "As part of my visit to Switzerland, an important MOU was signed between the Israeli and Swiss national science foundations about research grants, in order to promote and bolster scientific collaboration between Israeli and Swiss research institutes."