That the conversion of Hans Herzl to Catholicism is nothing less than a part of the intriguing of the Roman Catholic Church against the rebuilding of Palestine as a Jewish Homeland, was the opinion expressed today by the Rev. Dr. Kechler, Protestant pastor and life-long friend of Dr. Theodor Herzl.
Dr. Hechler was one of the few first non-Jewish adherents of Dr. Herzl, helped him in his work of establishing the first diplomatic connections and was instrumental in introducing Dr. Herzl to the German Kaiser.
“I am extremely shocked,” declared Dr.Hechler, “and cannot understand how Hans, the son of my friend Dr. Herzl, could lend himself to such an act. The Roman Catholic Church has always been intriguing against our Zionism,” Dr. Hechler further stated.
Dr. Hechler’s adherence to Zionism is, as he himself put it, a part of his Protestant belief. In his conception, the restoration of the Jews in Palestine is to be a “preliminary step for the second coming of the Messiah.” Dr. Hechler is 87 years of age.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
