A deeply pious Christian, William Hechler was the chaplain of the British embassy to Vienna when he first read of Theodor Herzl’s Zionist movement. Already an opponent of anti-Semitism and an ardent advocate of the Jews’ return to their homeland, he quickly became one of Herzl’s most devoted collaborators. Jürgen Bühler writes:

Born in 1845 to a devout Anglican family, [Hechler] took up the cause of Zionism years before Herzl even began his work. As an evangelical Christian, Hechler saw the return of Jews to their homeland as a biblical imperative. . . . Faithful to this commandment, he was looking for Jewish leaders who would get behind the return to Zion. When he read Herzl’s . . . The Jewish State, Hechler went immediately and knocked on his door to meet this visionary and encourage him to pursue his dream. . . .

Hechler . . . used his ties to the German royal family to open doors for Herzl across Europe. It started with a meeting with Frederick I, the grand duke of Baden, to lay out his plan for Jewish resettlement in the land of Israel. Hechler also accompanied Herzl on a journey to Palestine, and helped him meet the German emperor, Wilhelm II. He also served as a special envoy on behalf of the British prime minister in connection with Herzl’s efforts.

Hechler took part in the early Zionist Congresses and [was the subject of] special words of gratitude from Herzl for his work during the first Congress.

Early Friday morning, Israel attacked military installations near the Iranian cities of Isfahan and nearby Natanz, the latter being one of the hubs of the country’s nuclear program. Jerusalem is not taking credit for the attack, and none of the details are too certain, but it seems that the attack involved multiple drones, likely launched from within Iran, as well as one or more missiles fired from Syrian or Iraqi airspace. Strikes on Syrian radar systems shortly beforehand probably helped make the attack possible, and there were reportedly strikes on Iraq as well.

Iran itself is downplaying the attack, but the S-300 air-defense batteries in Isfahan appear to have been destroyed or damaged. This is a sophisticated Russian-made system positioned to protect the Natanz nuclear installation. In other words, Israel has demonstrated that Iran’s best technology can’t protect the country’s skies from the IDF. As Yossi Kuperwasser puts it, the attack, combined with the response to the assault on April 13,

clarified to the Iranians that whereas we [Israelis] are not as vulnerable as they thought, they are more vulnerable than they thought. They have difficulty hitting us, but we have no difficulty hitting them.

Nobody knows exactly how the operation was carried out. . . . It is good that a question mark hovers over . . . what exactly Israel did. Let’s keep them wondering. It is good for deniability and good for keeping the enemy uncertain.

The fact that we chose targets that were in the vicinity of a major nuclear facility but were linked to the Iranian missile and air forces was a good message. It communicated that we can reach other targets as well but, as we don’t want escalation, we chose targets nearby that were involved in the attack against Israel. I think it sends the message that if we want to, we can send a stronger message. Israel is not seeking escalation at the moment.