Cultural Zionism is a strain of the concept of Zionism that values Jewish culture and history, including language and historical roots, rather than other Zionist ideas such as Political Zionism. The man considered to have founded the concept of cultural Zionism is Asher Ginsberg, better known as Ahad HaAm. For other meanings, please see Zionism (disambiguation) Zionism is a Jewish political movement, developed in response to 19th century anti-Semitism, which maintains that the Jewish people are entitled to a national homeland in Palestine, the location of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Asher Ginsberg (1856 - 1927), also known by the pen name Ahad Haam (also: Achad Haam, Echad Haam etc. ...

Originally, HaAm saw problems in judaism and sought out ways to revitalize the religious community and the religion itself to regenerate interest in Judaism's adherents, especially its youth. he saw nationalism as a way to reconnect Jews to Judaism, putting forth ideas of creating settlements in territory then known as Palestine filled with well-versed Hebrew-speakers and a core adherence to Judaism. He saw Palestine and the Hebrew language as integral parts of the Jewish national heritage, and not necessarily of religious significance. Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... ... The word Hebrew can variously mean: The Hebrew language or Hebrew languages The ancient Hebrew people, or their descendants the Jews The New Testament book Hebrews The term Hebrew is sometimes used by certain Christian groups to distinguish the Jews in ancient times (before the birth of Jesus) from Jews...

He viewed Theodor Herzl, an Austrian-Jewish journalist who was a proponent of political Zionism as naive to suggest creating a Jewish state in any other area of the world. Neither did HaAm trust other countries to help realize the Zionist goal of creating a jewish state in Palestine, nor anywhere else for that matter. HaAm emphasized "Jewish self-reliance" over any other precept, as well as careful planning in infrastructure and construction of a jewish footing in the Holy Land. Theodor Herzl, in his middle age. ... The phrase The Holy Land (Arabic الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah; Hebrew ארץ הקודש;, Standard Hebrew Éreẓ haQodeš, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÉreṣ haqQāḏēš; Latin Terra Sancta) generally refers to Palestine. ...

The idea took hold in adherents to the school of political Zionism and became a main focus f the World Zionist Organization following its sixth congress in 1903 C.E. Following Herzl's death, haAm became the main leader of the WZO along with Chaim Weizmann, who easily energized the Zionist movement with ideas for a regeneration of the Hebrew language, establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestine, and resurrecting nationalism with Jews in the Jewish Diaspora. The World Zionist Organization [WZO] was founded as the Zionist Organization [ZO] on September 3, 1897, at the First Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland. ... Chaim Weizmann Chaim Weizmann (חיים ויצמן) (also: Chaijim W., Haim W.) ( November 27, 1874 – November 9, 1952) chemist, statesman, President of the World Zionist Organization, first President of Israel (elected May 16, 1948, served 1949 - 1952) and founder of a research institute in Israel which eventually became the Weizmann Institute... Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, or Galut, exile) refers to the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ...

Sources

• countrystudies.us Cultural Zionism