The Best Beards From The First Zionist Congress - Ranked

So you thought Herzl’s beard was the only thing everyone was talking about? Well, maybe you were right. Either way, we’re here to change that conversation in honor of the 120 year anniversary since the First Zionist Congress. We’ve gone ahead and ranked the 5 most fantastic beards from this historically significant occasion in regards to Judaism, the State of Israel, and our generation’s obsession with stylish facial hair.

#5: Max Bodenheimer

One of the founders of JNF, who also played a significant role in German Zionism, serving as the 1st prez of the Zionist Federation of Germany. Was he happy about his achievements or not? A mystery we’ll never be able to solve with a mouth-covering beard like this...

#4: Nathan Birnbaum

A Jewish thinker, nationalist, and writer/journalist born in Austria. His 3-phase thought process started from Zionist views to Jewish culture/Yiddish language, then Orthodox Judaism. Yet, we’re mainly concerned with his clean-cut mid-length beard that’s just a tad bit longer than #5 (...notice the trend yet?).

#3: Samuel (Shmuel) Mohilever

A co-founder of the Hovevei Zion Movement, pioneer of religious Zionism, and Rabbi. However, his dread-like beard was the first thing that caught our attention, and the reason we ranked him as number 3.

#2: Max Nordau

A co-founder of the World Zionist Organization, President or VP to many other Zionist congresses, and son of a Hebrew poet. We can only imagine how long it took him to style his hair every morning? Either way, this strikingly admirable beard puts him at number 2.

#1: Theodor Herzl

The top spot is never more of a deserving fit than for Theodor Herzl, a father of modern political Zionism and the State of Israel. After all, he did plan the First Zionist Congress and showed up with his dazzling, iconic facial. No wonder he’s always in the spotlight.

To learn more about the First Zionist Congress, follow Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter project here: