Kfar Hess is named after Moses Hess (1812–1875), a German-born Jewish philosopher, one of the forerunners of socialist Zionism and among the early leaders of the socialist movement in Europe.
He began studying philosophy at the University of Bonn but abandoned his studies in favor of socialist activity. He worked as a journalist for socialist-oriented newspapers and was often forced to move from place to place out of fear of arrest. His articles and books influenced Karl Marx and other founders of socialism. However, Marx mocked Hess’s doctrine, which emphasized first and foremost the liberation of the human spirit, as a form of “philosophical socialism” detached from reality.
For most of his life, Hess advocated assimilation and distanced himself from his Jewish identity. Yet around the age of 50, he changed his outlook and began to reflect on a solution to the Jewish problem. He summarized his ideas in his book Rome and Jerusalem (1862), in which he called for strengthening Jewish national consciousness and foresaw the modern return to Zion. The book did not initially attract public attention and was forgotten until Hess was recognized at the First Zionist Congress as one of the heralds of Zionism.
In 1961, his remains were brought to burial in the Land of Israel.