The Sixth Zionist Congress was held in Basel, opening on August 23, 1903. Theodor Herzl caused great division amongst the delegates when he presented the "Uganda Scheme", a proposed Jewish colony in what is now part of Kenya. Herzl died the following year.
Background
Following the success of Der Judenstaat, published in 1896, and the First Zionist Congress the following year, Theodor Herzl had become the undisputed leader of the Zionist movement. He envisioned a mass migration of Jewish people "on a very large scale" to Palestine and that the colony should be "secured by public law". For the next seven years, Herzl devoted himself to achieving this vision. His first approach was an attempt to gain Ottoman backing. He lobbied Sultan Abdulhamid II with proposals for Jewish financial assistance. In 1898 he contrived to have an interview with the Kaiser. He approached British politicians with proposals for colonies in Cyprus and al Arish. By 1903 none of these approaches had produced any results. In April of that year, the Jewish population of Kishinev was subjected to a 3-day pogrom fuelled by Blood Libel accusations. Initial Yiddish reports gave the number of dead as 120, though the final toll was much lower. In August Herzl, without consulting the Zionist leadership in the Pale of Settlement, journeyed to Saint Petersburg, where he had two meetings with Vyacheslav von Plehve, Czarist Minister of the Interior, regarded by many as responsible for the Kishinev atrocities. Von Plehve responded positively to the idea of mass emigration of Jews "without right of re-entry" but wanted help in suppressing Jewish revolutionary activity. Herzl's meetings resulted in an official letter in which the Tzar's Government agreed to press the Sultan for a Charter allowing Zionists to colonize Palestine, agreed to finance Jewish immigration through a tax on wealthy Jews, and allow Zionist societies to function within the Tzarist Empire. At the same time, nine days before the Congress, on his journey from St Petersburgh to Basel, Herzl received official confirmation of the British Government's endorsement of a proposal for a Jewish self-governing colony in East Africa. It would have the capacity for 1 million settlers - the Uganda Scheme.
The Greater Actions Committee
The Greater Actions Committee met on Friday August 21, the day before the Congress's opening ceremonies. Members of the committee were pledged to secrecy. Many were shocked at the deterioration of Herzl's health. The meeting began with Herzl's report on his meetings with von Plehve which had already generated opposition and criticism from Russian Zionists. His critics in the committee doubted von Plehve's promises of support and argued that the content of letter should not be revealed to the Congress. Herzl refused. This discussion was followed by Herzl's announcement of the British proposal for a Jewish colony in Africa. Herzl did not expect the degree of opposition the proposal generated, particularly from members from the Pale and Odessa. One of his aides, Alex Marmorek, called it a "death blow to Zionism." The committee met again the following evening and, against strong opposition, Herzl had the Uganda Scheme made the centre piece of the Congress proceedings. Herzl's diary entry for August 22 ended: "Not a single moment did it occur to any of them that of these greatest of all accomplishments to date I deserve a word of thanks, or even a smile. Instead Messrs.... criticised me."