1897 August 29, FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS (Basel, Switzerland) Was
convened by Theodore Herzl and Max Nordau. It was represented by
a hundred and ninety-seven delegates. Herzl put forth his Basel
Program, whose aim was "the establishment of a Jewish Homeland
in Eretz Israel secured by public law". The congress endorsed
the founding of the Zionist Organization later known as the
World Zionist Organization, along with other permanent
institutions. It also endorsed the Zionist congress as a
national assembly representing the entire Jewish people. The
congress transformed the Zionist movement into an official
political movement.