Theodor Herzl

Herzl paid only one brief visit to the Land of Israel, but in the course of these few days he saw great possibilities for the country. The results of his visit emerged in his prophetic novel "Altneuland" (Old-Newland)  published in 1902, in which he describes the Jewish State as he envisages it twenty years later.

Herzl was a talented and well known feature writer and foreign correspondent for a Viennese newspaper, based in France. He avidly read technology-oriented futuristic novels, which appeared annually. His own futuristic theme was the revival of the Jewish nation in its own old-new land and the use of science and technology in its development.
 

 Herzl’s Predictions:

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem managed to eradicate malaria just a little after the time that Herzl predicted.

As Herzl predicted, Israel’s development has been closely connected with hydraulic engineers, who first drained the swamps for Jewish settlements, then constructed underground pipelines to transport water; devised new irrigation methods, developed water reclaiming systems and are now tackling Israel’s water shortage.

Herzl’s prediction of the Dead Sea Canal, designed to by-pass the Suez Canal and generate electricity, almost came into existence. Construction had actually begun, but was stopped because it was ultimately shown to be economically impractical. It remains one of the most daring technical ideas proposed by Herzl in his book.

Herzl predicted that Haifa, because of its magnificent bay, would become the country’s main port, a prediction proved correct in 1920.

Uncannily, he correctly foretold the exploitation of the Dead Sea for its potash (which has been carried out since the late twenties by the Dead Sea Works and the manufacture of other fertilizers, particularly phosphates. While Herzl believed that chemical industries would be among the first to be developed (the Department of Chemistry was the first department to be established at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), actual chemical industries, apart from the Dead Sea Works, began springing up only after 1948.

Reforestation was carried out exactly as he predicted it would and is still one of the main tasks of the Jewish National Fund. Herzl’s prediction that Jews would export early vegetables and fruits to Europe has been overfulfilled.

It was Herzl who suggested that beneath all city streets there be tunnels containing pipes for utilities, such as water, sewage, gas, electricity, telephone and anything else suitable that might be invented.

Considering that he was writing before futurology had developed methods of technology assessment, and that Herzl only had his general education and good sense to rely upon, his predictions were astonishingly accurate.
 
 

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