THE BASLE DECLARATION 1897

This official statement of the Zionist aims was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland, on August 1897:

The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.

The Congress contemplates the following means to the attainment of this end:

1. The promotion, on suitable lines, of the colonization of Palestine.

2. The organization and binding together of the whole of Jewry by means appropriate institutions, local and international, in accordance with the laws of each country.

3. The strengthening and fostering of Jewish national sentiment and consciousness.

4. Preparatory steps towards obtaining government consent, where necessary, to the attainment of the aim of Zionism.