Here is an amazing story about how American Christians influenced the movement to return the people Israel to the land of Israel. It is recounted by the Jewish Rabbi Tuly Weisz.

In 1903, Theodor Herzl faced the greatest crisis of his young Zionist movement. After the horrific Kishinev pogrom had massacred dozens of Russian Jews, Britain offered 15,000 square kilometers in East Africa as a temporary refuge. Desperate to save Jewish lives, Herzl brought the “Uganda Plan” to the Sixth Zionist Congress. The vote was devastating—many delegates stormed out in tears, and the movement seemed on the verge of collapse.

Across the Atlantic, William Blackstone was following these developments with alarm. This American Christian had been advocating for Jewish restoration to Palestine since 1891, when he presented the “Blackstone Memorial” to President Benjamin Harrison, signed by over 400 prominent Americans including John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan. Now, hearing that the Zionist Congress had voted to consider territory in Africa, Blackstone couldn’t believe what he was reading. After thousands of years of exile, God was finally bringing His chosen people back to their Promised Land—and they were considering a detour to Uganda?

Blackstone grabbed a Bible from his shelf, opened it to the prophetic passages about restoration to the Land of Israel, and carefully underlined every single one. Then he shipped the marked-up Bible directly to Herzl in Vienna. His message was unmistakable: The promises of God are clear and eternal. No human vote can alter the divine decree that designated Palestine—not Africa, not anywhere else—as the Jewish homeland.

The Blackstone Bible sat by Herzl’s bedside when his heart gave out just months later, a poignant symbol of how a Christian’s faith in Scripture had reminded the founder of Political Zionism of his own movement’s biblical foundations.

The Lord was and is working through many people to achieve His perfect will. May His name be praised forever!