Ahad Ha’am
(1856 1927)
Born Asher Ginsberg in Skvira, near Kiev in the Ukraine, Ahad Ha'am became the central figure in the movement for Cultural or Spiritual Zionism. Although raised in a hasidic family, Ahad Ha’am was soon exposed to secular studies. The impact of modern philosophy and the sciences led him to abandon his religious faith and observance. Nonetheless he remained deeply committed to the Jewish people. It was his attempt to find a synthesis between Judaism and European philosophy.
He joined the Hovevei Zion Movement but he soon became a severe critic of its settlement activities preferring instead cultural work for a Jewish regeneration. He established the elitist Bnei Moshe, a sort of secret society which he proposed should focus on transforming the Hovevei Zion group into a movement for the Hebrew language and cultural revival.
His visits to Eretz-Israel in 1891 and 1892 convinced him that the Zionist movement would face an uphill struggle in its attempt to create a Jewish National Home. In particular he warned of the difficulties associated with land purchase and cultivation, the problems with the Turkish authorities and the impending conflict with the Arabs. He criticized Herzl for his quasimessianic schemes and warned of the disillusionment that would follow Herzl’s failure.
Ahad Ha’am believed that the creation in Eretz-Israel of a Jewish cultural center would act to reinforce Jewish life in the Diaspora. His hope was that in this center a new Jewish national identity based on Jewish ethics and values might resolve the crisis of Judaism.
Ahad Ha’am influenced a generation of young Zionists, most particularly in Eastern Europe that included Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Chaim Weizmann, and Micha Josef Berdyczewski. Although he moved to London in 1907 to serve as the agent for the Wissotzky tea company, he continued his Zionist work, playing a part in the securing of the The Balfour Declaration. In 1922, he arrived in Eretz-Israel to spend the last five years of his life in Tel Aviv.
Courtesy of:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/ahad_haam.html