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The World Zionist Organization will meet in Switzerland on Sunday, for a special event marking 125 years since the First Zionist Congress in Basel, under the leadership of Theodor Herzl.
President Isaac Herzog, will be in attendance as chairman of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel will host ,400 Jewish leaders, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists from all over the world, gathered to discuss the challenges Zionism will face in the next 25 years.
The event will take place at the Stadtcasino Basel concert hall, the same venue where Herzl delivered a speech in front of 208 delegates and shared his vision of a Jewish state.
On Monday, Herzog is set to recreate Herzl's iconic picture, leaning on the balcony railing at the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, overlooking the waters of the Rhine River, during the convention.
Herzog will become the second person in his family to recreate the famous photo, after his father, Chaim Herzog - Israel's sixth President - did the same in 1987.
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Chaim Herzog's recreation of the famous picture of Theodor Herzl
(Photo: Natty Hernik, GPO)
After pro-Palestinian protest rallies were planned, the Swiss government allocated 5.7 million Euros to secure the venue. The precautions include closing off the Rhine River to ship traffic, closing off the airspace for the duration of the Congress, and deploying thousands of police officers and soldiers to the area of the Congress Hall.
An Impact conference on socio-economic entrepreneurship will take place in the first part of the "Herzl Leadership Conference" - meant to focus on the modern Zionism in light of Herzl's vision - and will host 125 leading entrepreneurs from the high-tech industry.
The second part will include a special Gala evening, that will include a key note address by Herzog, and speeches by Swiss leaders and Hagoel.
"The 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel, was a formative event for the Jewish People and for humanity at large," Herzog said. "Zionism is the ideal combination of Judaism's deepest roots with groundbreaking innovation and entrepreneurial spirit," he said.
"I am astonished and filled with pride every day anew, at the sight of Herzl's vision coming to life in front of our eyes and I feel the heavy duty and responsibility for the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish People," he said.