Clement Hill was submitted to the Sixth Zionist
Congress in 1903, it split the Zionist movement wide open. It arrayed
the overwhelming majority of Zionists in Russia against Herzl and he
was called upon to defend himself against a general attack which
preceded the convening of the Congress. When the Congress was convened
in an atmosphere of great excitement and partisan controversy, the
Uganda project was submitted in the form of an official resolution
calling for the appointment of a commission of nine to be sent to
investigate conditions in East Africa. The final decision on the
report of the investigating committee was to be left to a special
Congress. Although the vote showed a majority in favor of the official
resolution--the tally was 295 for, 177 against, and 100 absentees--the
debate on the resolution revealed an overwhelming opposition to the
project. It was regarded as an abandonment of Palestine in favor of a
diversion. After the vote, the Russian delegates left the Congress in
a body. All the opposition delegates left with them and met in
conference to discuss the situation. When Herzl heard of the deep
feeling that prevailed in the conference, he asked for the privilege
of speaking to the opposition. He gave them his solemn assurance that
the Basle Program would be unaffected by the resolution. He swore
fealty to the Basle Program, to Zion and Jerusalem. His speech
revealed the great transformation that had taken place in Herzl's
organic relation to the Zionist movement. The opposition delegates
felt that in spite of Herzl's seeking alternately one or another
substitute for Palestine, his heart responded without reserve to the
appeal of Zion. The opposition reappeared in the Congress the
following day. They exacted assurances that the funds of the Jewish
Colonial Trust, of the Jewish National Fund and the Shekel Income,
should not be used for the commission investigating East Africa, and
that the commission should report to the Greater Actions Committee
before it appeared to submit its report to the Congress.

Herzl's experience at what is called the "Uganda Congress" drew him
nearer to the older Zionists. He realized now that the ultimate goal
could not be reached within the near future, that Uganda was merely a
compromise achievement, providing the field of preparation for a
second attempt to reach Zion. The Congress of 1903 was the climax of
Herzl's career. It was, in effect, the end of his quest.

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