1 New Sheqel Centennial of the First Zionist Congress

The First Zionist Congress convened in Basel in August 1897 after Theodor Herzl's original venue — a casino in Munich — was blocked by the local Jewish community, who feared the political association. What actually took place in Basel over three days established the Zionist Organization and articulated the Basel Program, the first formal political framework for a Jewish state. Herzl wrote in his diary afterward that he had founded the Jewish state, adding that perhaps in fifty years the world would agree.

Israel declared independence in 1948 — fifty-one years later.