Seeking an audience with the Czar, Theodor Herzl reaches out to the Polish writer Pauline Korvin-Piatrowska for an introduction. During his time in London, Herzl strategically presents his plan for the Jewish colonization of Cyprus and the Sinai Peninsula, including El Arish, to the British Colonial. This effort is enhanced by meetings with Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild and at the British Foreign Office.
Following the Zionist Annual Conference, Herzl’s health declines considerably, prompting his departure for recovery in Edlach. He had been suffering from heart problems for years. His London representative, Leopold Greenberg, achieves a notable breakthrough by garnering support from Lord Cromer and Egyptian Prime Minister Boutros Ghali Pasha. This success prompts Great Britain’s inclination toward dispatching a small commission to the Sinai Peninsula to assess the conditions and prospects for Jewish settlement there. Herzl contemplates the irrigation of desert land by Nile River waters. Herzl travels to Paris and London for essential meetings. In Paris, he collaborates with Max Nordau, Leopold Greenberg, and Alexander Marmorek to formulate a response to the British Government and devise future courses of action.
Herzl initiates preparations for the expedition in London, holding critical meetings at the Foreign Ministry with Lord Rothschild and Sir Thomas Sanderson, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs. He then submits the proposed itinerary and participants of the delegation to El-Arish, laying the groundwork for extensive endeavors ahead.
