Chapter XXV: Part I: ¹ (9)

The _Agudath Netaim_ (Association for Plantations), established in 1905 in Palestine, is a Company incorporated at Constantinople for promoting Jewish plantation work in the Holy Land. (The principal manager of the Company is Mr. Eisenberg of Rechoboth, who has achieved a reputation as a writer and organizer of great practical experience.)

The _Histadrut Ha’moshavot_, a union of the landed proprietors in the colonies.

The _Lishkat Modiyim_, an office for information established by the Odessa _Chovevé Zion_, managed by M. Schenkin.

The Bureau of Information, managed by the _Poalim_ (the labourers), and

_Ha’poêl Ha’zair_ (the Young Worker)――an organization of nationalist workers and intellectuals who have given an impetus to the enthusiasm and determination of the young Zionists in Palestine, as well as far beyond the boundaries of that country. The programme of the organization is a synthesis of Jewish Nationalism and Socialism, in which the Nationalist idea is more accentuated than in the programme of the _Poalei Zion_. They started their work during the first years of this century, and their organ was the Hebrew weekly _Ha’poêl Ha’zair_, of which Mr. Aronovitch was editor.

THE JEWISH AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AT HAIFA

The Sixth Zionist Congress held at Basle in 1906 accepted a scheme presented by Professor Warburg to found an agricultural experiment station in Palestine, and the Zionist Organization started collecting money for that purpose. M. Aaron Aaronsohn,¹ the son of a pioneer colonist of Zichron Jacob, a distinguished agronomist who had been some years engaged in colonization work, and particularly in connection with the inquiries and preparations undertaken on the initiative of Professor Warburg, who was at that time busy with all the schemes concerning Palestine, was commissioned by the Professor to study the question of the hybridization of wild wheat. In 1906, M. Aaronsohn had found, after painstaking investigation, a few ears of wild wheat growing on the declivities of Mount Hermon. The scientific world was very much interested in this discovery, because of its relation to the possibilities of dry farming in arid regions. M. Aaronsohn travelled on that scientific mission as a delegate of the Zionist Organization, in Northern Africa and Southern Europe, and came to America in 1910. While there, he established relations with the United States Department of Agriculture, which took an interest in his ideas, and published a Bulletin by him entitled _Agricultural and Botanical Explorations in Palestine_. Through the United States Department of Agriculture, M. Aaronsohn and his work were brought to the notice of a number of prominent American Jews, who at his initiative established, February 18, 1910, the Jewish Agricultural Experiment Station, a New York corporation with Julius Rosenwald, of Chicago, president; Morris Loeb, of New York, vice-president; Paul M. Warburg, of New York, treasurer; and Henrietta Szold, of New York, secretary. The objects of the corporation are “the establishment, maintenance and support of Agricultural Experiment Stations in Palestine and other countries; the development and improvement of cereals, fruit, and vegetables indigenous to Palestine and neighbouring lands, the production of new species therefrom and their distribution elsewhere; the advancement throughout the world, and the giving of instruction in new and improved methods of farming.” Funds were raised by the Corporation for the installation and the running expenses for a period of five years. The demonstration fields are situated at Atlit, at the foot of Mount Carmel, on land belonging to Baron Rothschild. Sub-stations are situated at Chedera, in the neighbourhood of Petach-Tikvah and elsewhere. The Station occupies itself since its establishment with the hybridization of wild cereals and with plantations of fruit frees, vines, mulberry trees, various sorts of fodder and ornamental plants. The Jewish colonists resort to this Station for advice and information.

¹ He was killed in an aeroplane accident while on his way to
Paris in May, 1919.

LXXXIII.

DAVID WOLFFSOHN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

“MY biography offers nothing of special interest to the general public. It may be divided into two parts: Zionist and personal. The Zionist portion is closely bound up with the history of our movement during the last ten years, and the facts concerning my modest work can hardly be distinguished from the general history of the movement. The personal portion of my career, on the other hand, contains nothing that transcends the ordinary. It is the simple story of a man of the Jewish people, of the Jewish Ghetto.

“I was born in the year 1856, in the village of Dorbiany, in the Government of Kovno, in the Province of Lithuania in Russia, close to the German frontier. My parents were poor, pious Jews. My late father, Isaac, was a talmudic scholar, and devoted his whole life to study and teaching. He earned a precarious livelihood from his lessons. My late mother, the type of a pious, good, clever Jewess, had to bear the burden of the household and the education of her children. Life in my parents’ house was thoroughly Jewish. Zionism at that time was, of course, not known under that name, but, so far as the ideal of Zionism is concerned, I can say that in our home our lives were thoroughly inspired by the Zionist ideal. Till my fourteenth year I studied, according to the old Jewish custom, in the _Cheder_ and _Beth Hamedrash_ of my native town. In the early seventies I went to Memel, where my oldest brother was then residing. Here I made the acquaintance of Rabbi Dr. I. J. Rülf, who had great influence on my future career and way of thinking. Shortly afterwards I went to West Prussia, where I served several years as apprentice in a pious Jewish business-house. I also spent six months in Lyck, where I frequently met in his own house David Gordon, the editor of _Ha’magid_, who was one of the earliest Zionist pioneers. In 1877 I returned to Memel, where I set up in business for myself, and married. After some time I removed to East Friesland, and in 1887 to my present home in Cologne.

“I can hardly give any data concerning my Zionist work. Zionism for me is hardly a thing that can be put into chronological, historical order. Zionism has been, rather, my life. Ever since I learned to think and feel I was a Zionist. I took a lively interest in the _Chovevé Zion_ movement and was in active correspondence with all the leaders of this movement in Germany. In 1894 I delivered in Cologne my first address on Zionism and helped to found the local society for the promotion and support of Jewish agriculture in Syria and Palestine, which was established in the same year. The appearance of Herzl’s _Judenstaat_ (in 1896) was epoch-making for me. This pamphlet made such a deep impression on me that I at once went to Vienna to introduce myself to Herzl. I placed myself entirely at his disposal. From that moment till the last days of his fruitful life, unhappily so prematurely ended, I remained in uninterrupted intercourse with our never-to-be-forgotten leader. To devote my strength to the continuance of this work I regarded as the task of my life. When, in the sad time after Herzl’s death, the Presidency was offered to me, I was surprised and embarrassed. It was only out of a sense of duty that I accepted this high dignity.”

LXXXIV.

SOME ENGLISH PRESS COMMENTS ON THE LONDON ZIONIST CONGRESS (1900)

_Spectator_: “As to the Jews being able to live on the land in Palestine there can be no doubt. Those who have seen a Jewish colony in Syria will testify to the excellent physical and moral and agricultural results achieved. Merely to see the children there is ample warrant of what is done for the Jew by release from the Ghetto.”

_Saturday Review_: “Restoration to Palestine symbolizes the recovery of self-respect, the reattainment of nationhood.”

_Globe_: “Zionism answers the aspirations of the majority of persecuted Jews, but it is important to those Jews who have become completely assimilated to their Christian surroundings, and who ought to have an interest in the raising of the economic, moral and intellectual status of the mass of their unhappy brethren, which raising of status will necessarily be the first outcome of their gathering in the land of their fathers.”

_Daily News_: “Whatever difference of opinion may prevail as to the policy of the Zionist movement, there can be no doubt as to the intense and fervid interest of those who, at no small self-sacrifice, are doing this work of revival.”

_Daily Graphic_: “Zionism appeals to many sides of human thought, but perhaps the final impression it leaves upon the public mind is something akin to Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones which lived again. Is it possible that the dispersed nation, whose career is one of the standing marvels of history, is about to gather itself again and open a new chapter of its romantic annals? It looks very like it. The movement is in the hands of practical and courageous men; it has behind it a stimulus, not only of subjective enthusiasm, but also of objective strife, and it entirely responds to a practical need.”

_Yorkshire Post_: “The striking feature of the meetings was the unity of purpose and enthusiasm which seem to characterize all the delegates. Persons who speak quite different tongues nevertheless fraternize and grow enthusiastic over the prospect of returning as a nation to the land of their fathers.”

_Leeds Mercury_: “This is not wholly a dream.... Several colonies have settled down within their historic territorial limits. A few of them are already self-supporting. The movement is essentially democratic.”

_Nottingham Guardian_: “The movement the Zionist Congress represents is an important one and it may possibly produce momentous results.”

_Newcastle Courier_: “This movement in Jewry is one which readily commands the sympathy of the outsider. It is the voicing of that inarticulate feeling which has for ages silently swayed and sustained forlorn and seemingly forsaken Jews. The inextinguishable hope and the unshaken faith of these stricken people as to their future constitutes a striking object-lesson in these days of scepticism.”

_Liverpool Echo_: “From every point of view, political, social, and religious, Zionism has much to recommend it, and the enthusiasm with which it has been taken up by many of the most prominent thinkers of the Hebrew race affords the best augury for its ultimate accomplishment.”

_Glasgow Evening News_: “Such a scheme as the re-peopling of Palestine, while demanding careful handling at every stage, must be gradually evolved.... If the Zionist movement creates a Jew with the tastes and aspirations of his forefathers it will not have been started in vain.”

_Glasgow Evening Citizen_: “It is a matter of considerable importance, looked at from what side we may. Should any effective system be found of dealing with it, then the present Congress will probably have operated to the advantage of this country quite as much as to the Jews in whose interests it is being held.”

_North British Daily Mail_: “There is no reason why Christians should not wish them well. The movement should provide a refuge for the Jewish race from the Anti-Semitic hate which pursues them in so many countries, and it should help somewhat to restore to its former prosperity the land of Palestine, towards which the Jewish heart ever turns with love and devotion.”

_Review of the Week_: “Why should not this homogeneous, intelligent and powerful race (the Jews) form a State of their own, and thus free themselves from persecution in other States, and enforce respect for their nationality? Millions of Jews have probably asked themselves this question. Trustworthy leaders having been found, a movement has been set on foot for the establishment of a Jewish centre in Palestine. The idea is glorious enough to take possession even of the minds of such a practical, prudent and commercial race as the Jews.”

LXXXV.

COLONEL CONDER ON THE VALUE OF THE JEWISH NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1903)

“ENTHUSIASM is the power of feeling a strong interest in something that is not of personal material advantage. It is not a very common feeling anywhere, and is perhaps as rare among Jews as among others. It is generally regarded with suspicion: for it often upsets repose, and leads to unexpected and disturbing events. Ignorant enthusiasm has been the cause of many great troubles: but enthusiasm founded on real knowledge of events and of national movements has produced, in our own times, some of the greatest changes in history. It was the enthusiasm of the few which created a United Italy, or again which has made Japan the leading power in the Far East. It is the unexpected that comes to pass, because men’s attention is fixed on large and conspicuous objects, and because they find it so difficult to judge whether the new cause, advocated by the few, is based on reality, or whether it is merely a craze. Thus, while endless diplomacy and observation are directed to the management of affairs on the supposition that the facts are evident, there constantly comes a surprise which renders futile all the schemes of anxious Politicians, due to the silent action of some unsuspected element. The blind desires of the people find at length a definite expression, and the direction given by a few enthusiasts leads to new and startling events.... Enthusiasm for one’s own race and country, when genuine, is regarded with general favour: but when George Eliot raised her protest against the everlasting ‘Hep!’ which hounds the wandering Jew from land to land, people asked what she had to do with Judaism. Like Cain, we ask: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ and especially when it is the poor brother whom we so much dislike. We can, however, understand that the great mass of poor and persecuted Jews feel for those who devote their time, money and thought to the raising up of their own people an amount of real affection and gratitude which renders them willing to be led to their realization of hopes that are not commonly regarded by the great mass of the prosperous and contented.... Among the higher class of those broad-minded Jews who sincerely believe in their ancient traditions, very noble efforts are made not only to help the poor and stem the tide of persecution, but also to raise the tone of the nation by appeal to its ancient memories and ideals. These men are the natural leaders to whom the destitute and oppressed turn for counsel and guidance, and it is among them that it has now become a fixed belief that the nation can only be raised from its misery by the creation of a national centre――a home to which all those who are scattered over the earth may turn their eyes: which must be one bound up with all that is best in the historic memories of the race, and which therefore must be the old home in Palestine itself. The Jew, they say, is tired of wandering and tired of being an alien. Emigration has not settled the eternal question, and a nation without a country must be content with toleration as all that it can expect.

“As regards ourselves, we should be only too glad to see Palestine increasing in civilization and prosperity as an outpost in the neighbourhood of Egypt.... It is clear that if the question of the Near East should again be raised, the Jews will have to be considered by statesmen in any settlement of the Syrian question: and that the solution of the question ... may be ... a ‘legally assured home for the Jewish People.’”

LXXXVI.

LORD GWYDYR ON ZIONISM AND THE ARABS

ONE of the most important factors the Zionists will have to reckon with in their further activity in Palestine is that of the Arabian population of the country. This population might consider the development of the Zionist movement undesirable: if the immigration of Jews into Palestine were to bring additional poverty into the land――if the Jewish element were restless, adventurous and inclined to disorder――if the country had or might have a homogeneous Arabic culture, and this new element were to disturb its uniformity through the introduction of its own cultural aspirations――or if that same element were threatening to oust the Arabs from their own position. But these and similar suppositions which might have led to the adoption of strong measures, or at least to a sentimental antipathy against immigration, are non-existent. The Jews bring no poverty into the land; nor is the immigrating population adventurous; Arabic culture does not already prevail in the country; and the Jews will not drive the Arab population from an established position.

The Jews who have been or are coming to Palestine have created considerable new economic values which are not only sufficient for their own maintenance but also contribute essentially towards the economic strengthening of the Arab element. Not only has the Government derived profit from the greater taxation returns of the Jewish colonies, but also from the enhanced taxability of the country, in consequence of the better methods of cultivation introduced by the Jews. The Arab population has also been considerably enriched, partly because the same masses which were formerly unemployed in large numbers found occupations and earnings with the Jews; partly through favourable sales of land, and also because they have learnt from the Jews how to obtain a greater yield from the soil.

Of course there can be no lack of competition in isolated cases, especially between Arab and Jewish traders, or Arab and Jewish artisans. But on the whole this competition can only bear upon individual cases. In general the new immigration can only maintain and support itself in the country if it creates new values, for the very simple reason that industrial conditions in Palestine are in a very low state of development, and that consequently the supplanting of those who hold established positions is practically impossible.

Therefore, from a comprehensive economic point of view, it is not only unnecessary to protect the native population against the immigration, but the latter should be encouraged in the interest of the country and its present inhabitants. The immigration brings about an increase of production as well as of consumption, and the greater part of the native population is thereby relieved from economic distress.

It is also possible that the native population, on having risen from its present state of depression to a higher level, may endeavour, in a measure, to better its economic position by settling down in neighbouring provinces. Colonization of the lands to the east of Palestine by Arabs would considerably reduce the Arab population of Palestine. Already, since the centre of gravity of the Arab race is not situated in Palestine, the area of friction arising from national-political motives is considerably reduced. The national-political relations of the Jews and their Arab fellow-citizens must be directed into the right channel from the very beginning. In this respect the Zionist programme is quite clear, simple and natural. The Jews wish to collaborate with the Arabs towards the elevation and strengthening of the country; but, in all they do, they want to appear as the Jewish nation, and always to show openly and freely their Jewish nationality. If it be a question of assimilation, Palestine is the only country in the world where the Jews, instead of being assimilated, are themselves the assimilating factor. It has, however, to be added that there can be no question of compulsory assimilation enforced by the Jews; they themselves have suffered too much from assimilation to wish to enforce it in any direction. But the Jewish culture will have an instructive and ennobling influence over others, through the force of example.

Lord Gwydyr wrote as follows on the question of the Turks and the Arabs in connection with the Jews:――

“The difference between the Turkish and Arabic race is a curious subject of study and reflection. The Arabs, taken individually, are superior to the Turks. But in the struggle between nations the superiority of individuals is nothing: what gives ascendancy is the quality not of the individual but of the man: it is the spirit of _ensemble_, the aptitude to command or obey, which, after all, is the same thing. In this point of view the Arab is inferior to the Turk. Enthusiastic, witty, delicate, made for poesy and adventure, sober, inured to fatigue, as gay and as variable as the Turk is serious and grave, the Arabic race is still what we see it in history. But when, forgetting for a moment the brightness of their conquest, we closely examine, even in history, the character of the Arab race, what do we see? A race whose religious enthusiasm created an army rather than a nation, and incapable of founding an empire, as the Romans had done, it gave rise to I do not know how many empires and how short lived. What a chaos, and in this chaos what a rapid and tumultuous nation! Unity and duration were ever wanting in the governments created by the Arab race. These governments enjoyed the life of tropical plants, brilliant and brief, whilst the Turkish race has founded an empire, now expiring indeed, but which has lasted five hundred years or more. For an empire like the Turkish one, and in those countries, five hundred years’ duration is eternity. What is Palestine worth to the Arabs? Nothing. They did not appreciate its value, until the Jewish enterprise that forms a striking contrast with the dulness of the natives began to utilize this old garden of the human race, left desert and barren by the misfortunes of time. The Arabs will be useful when guided by an active and intelligent Jewish settlement.

“Racial rivalry is natural in every country, and is not to be disapproved so long as the aims are good, as, e.g. emulation in acquiring of knowledge in its multiple domains, such as agriculture, industry, etc.: but as soon as rivalry exceeds these bounds, it is to be deprecated. The legal power must resist with all its power this nefarious kind of rivalry, as nobody wishes to differentiate between the inhabitants in their liberties. All must be equal before the law, without the least distinction. But misunderstandings may always occur, and people with interested motives will try to make capital out of these misunderstandings. Everything depends on the goodwill and tact on both sides. Even the Bedawi may be won over to friendship more easily than he may be driven into subjection. And he is worth the winning over. Besides being a fighting man in his own style, he is, as history proves, quite capable of making valuable contributions to the welfare of the country, if he is properly treated. Experience shows that he responds more readily to appeal than to command, and is more easily led than driven. They must be given the blessings of a good administration and trained to take a gradually increasing share in the government of the country. Friendliness will replace inveterate mistrust: the inhabitants of the country will be bound together in close harmony by the ties of common interest. From a strictly Christian standpoint such a course is clearly the highest and wisest: while from that of the Moslems the old fears that closer intercourse with Christians might sap the religious earnestness of the followers of the Prophet are now generally seen to be groundless in the light of a longer and more intimate acquaintance. But there are reasons of a more practical nature than these ethical considerations. The position of Islam in the world’s political and religious geography supplies the followers of both faiths with a motive for common action that is yearly becoming better understood.... If it is true that a new spirit is stirring in the East of Asia, that the scientific knowledge by which in the past Europeans have held their own can no longer remain their monopoly and that the increase of the population in the Far East remains steady while that of Europe declines, then it is time for the Near East, when the inevitable struggle must take place, to put her house in order: and the first and most obvious requirement is that the tradition of misunderstandings between Christians and Moslems shall be replaced by a sympathy based upon community of interest.”

LXXXVII.

CONSULAR REPORTS

THE movement of progress and hope which has awakened to consciousness in Palestine was born in the colonies, where the land began to yield a ready harvest in return for the husbandman’s toil, where the vine and the fruit tree began to surround with natural beauty a land that had all too long lain desolate, and the old joys of country life have brought anew to the toilful workers a spirit of independence and dignity which have penetrated from the country into the towns. Again the Jewish race has developed some of the fine physique that generations of the Ghetto life had threatened to destroy for ever.

The British Consular Reports show signs of a steady development of Palestinian trade:――

Year.│ Exports. │ Imports.
─────┼───────────┼─────────
1885 │ £132,579 │ £287,740
1886 │ 119,555 │ 240,880
1887 │ 186,371 │ 232,045
─────┼───────────┼─────────
1888 │ 204,315 │ 253,065
1889 │ 244,561 │ 275,622
1890 │ 447,010 │ 259,811
─────┼───────────┼─────────
1891 │ 410,530 │ 288,290
1892 │ 258,466 │ 342,597
1893 │ 332,628 │ 349,540
─────┼───────────┼─────────
1894 │ 285,604 │ 273,233
1895 │ 282,907 │ 275,990
1896 │ 373,447 │ 256,090
─────┼───────────┼─────────
1897 │ 309,389 │ 306,630
1898 │ 306,780 │ 322,430

The increase of trade in 1890 and 1891 was due to the good harvest in oranges and sesame. In 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1897, all the wheat and the barley were exported _via_ Gaza, and are therefore not included in the above table. The value of some of the goods exported and the growth of new industries is indicated in the following table, which shows the exports of wheat, maize, soap and oranges from 1885 to 1898:――

│ Wheat. │ Maize. │ Soap. │ Oranges.
Year.│ £ │ £ │ £ │ £
─────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────
1885 │ 3,600 │ 7,875 │ 13,722 │ 26,500
1886 │ 3,325 │ 9,000 │ 8,960 │ 29,400
1887 │ 15,000 │ 21,000 │ 38,000 │ 36,000
─────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────
1888 │ 7,800 │ 16,960 │ 45,000 │ 55,000
1889 │ 16,950 │ 18,200 │ 33,600 │ 51,200
1890 │ 19,920 │ 11,240 │ 44,700 │ 83,120
─────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────
1891 │ 3,300 │ 17,300 │ 124,000 │ 108,400
1892 │ ―― │ 420 │ 46,800 │ 62,000
1893 │ ―― │ 2,580 │ 112,000 │ 96,500
─────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────
1894 │ ―― │ 2,000 │ 114,000 │ 51,000
1895 │ 3,560 │ 3,200 │ 93,240 │ 65,000
1896 │ 1,920 │ 14,178 │ 113,114 │ 72,600
─────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼────────
1897 │ ―― │ 8,450 │ 81,900 │ 75,800
1898 │ 14,000 │ 3,000 │ 62,000 │ 82,500

In the earlier reports some reference is made to the export of wine, but it is not worth special mention until 1894, from which date the following figures may be given:――

Wine and Cognac.

1894 │ £3,000
1895 │ 2,600
1896 │ 4,032
─────┼───────
1897 │ 4,340
1898 │ 20,500

Comparative tables of imports and exports at Jaffa according
to countries during the four years 1909‒1912.

IMPORTS

│ 1909. │ 1910. │ 1911. │ 1912.
Country. │ £ │ £ │ £ │ £
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
United Kingdom │ 321,348 │ 128,730 │ 146,000 │ 155,000
British Colonies │ 4,629 │ 3,105 │ 49,000 │ 54,000
Turkey │ 107,842 │ 328,965 │ 340,000 │ 305,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
Austria-Hungary │ 92,244 │ 83,840 │ 114,000 │ 126,000
Russia │ 96,038 │ 97,000 │ 108,000 │ 110,000
Germany │ 87,308 │ 68,615 │ 74,000 │ 80,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
France │ 64,773 │ 103,000 │ 112,000 │ 84,000
Egypt │ 69,445 │ 58,095 │ 70,000 │ 61,000
Belgium │ 39,635 │ 49,185 │ 60,000 │ 54,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
Italy │ 25,232 │ 24,940 │ 16,000 │ 5,000
United States │ 13,483 │ 10,400 │ 25,000 │ 12,000
Roumania │ 10,565 │ ―― │ 22,000 │ 17,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
Netherlands │ 10,555 │ 10,141 │ 8,000 │ 7,000
Bulgaria │ ―― │ 11,950 │ 15,000 │ 8,000
Other Countries │ 9,848 │ 24,485 │ 10,910 │ 12,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────
│ 973,143 │ 1,002,450 │ 1,169,910 │ 1,090,000

EXPORTS

│ 1909. │ 1910. │ 1911. │ 1912.
Country. │ £ │ £ │ £ │ £
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
United Kingdom │ 158,090 │ 173,085 │ 185,000 │ 190,000
British Colonies │ 77 │ 698 │ 9,000 │ 10,500
Turkey │ 56,850 │ 83,015 │ 78,000 │ 95,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
Austria-Hungary │ 19,630 │ 12,103 │ 21,000 │ 24,500
Russia │ 18,370 │ 29,589 │ 33,000 │ 45,000
Germany │ 7,325 │ 8,384 │ 17,000 │ 21,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
France │ 15,080 │ 22,255 │ 46,000 │ 50,000
Egypt │ 255,215 │ 277,328 │ 270,000 │ 290,000
Belgium │ 1,863 │ 1,101 │ 15,000 │ 12,000
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
Italy │ 10,337 │ 15,332 │ 12,000 │ 6,000
United States │ 3,765 │ 4,272 │ 10,000 │ 1,000
Roumania │ 1,375 │ ―― │ 2,000 │ 2,500
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
Netherlands │ 418 │ 1,192 │ 1,000 │ 2,000
Bulgaria │ ―― │ 5,221 │ 6,000 │ 4,500
Other Countries │ 12,630 │ 2,575 │ 5,660 │ 10,162
─────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
│ 506,935 │ 636,145 │ 710,660 │ 774,162

_Hindrances to the Prosperity of Palestine_

(From the British Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 4850. Annual Series: Turkey. Report for the Year 1911. London, 1912):――

“The principal causes which impede a rapid increase in the prosperity of Palestine are three, viz.:――

“1. _The lack of a harbour in Jaffa._――This is greatly needed. Owing to the fact that Jaffa is an open roadstead subject to sudden and dangerous storms――it should be noted that a British steamer was wrecked in February, 1911――much delay is experienced in loading and unloading steamers with consequent loss and inconvenience. Many tourists and pilgrims are also deterred from visiting the country owing to the uncertainty as to whether disembarkation will be possible.

“2. _The tithe._――The levying of a tax of 12½ per cent. _ad valorem_ on products of the soil has greatly impeded the extension of the orange plantations. Recently a petition has been submitted to the authorities by agriculturists asking that this tax may be replaced by a fixed tax of 30 pias. (5s.) per dunum (about ¼ acre) on land planted with orange and other fruit trees. If this change were made, there would be an immediate increase in the number of orange plantations, with consequent benefit both to the Government and to the population. There are thousands of acres of light soil in the vicinity of Jaffa, which, although not suited for cereals or sesame, are well fitted for the cultivation of oranges.

“3. _The existence of large plots of undivided (musho’a) land belonging to several owners jointly who are, however, unable to determine their respective shares._――The natural result is that, there being no inducements to carry out improvements, the land is neglected. If measures were taken to effect the division of the land, the results would be beneficial both to the Government and to the owners.”

In addition to this statement, Mr. Vice-Consul P. Abela of Haifa reported (1911):――

“There is a possibility of great agricultural enterprise in the fertile and extensive plains near Haifa, and arrangements have been made with some big proprietors to let the property for development. Were it not for the Turkish laws prohibiting foreign companies to hold land in Turkey, great progress might have been made in this direction.”

(From the Jaffa Report for 1912, No. 5107. Annual Series. June, 1913):――

“_Public works._――The roads have not been touched, except for a few patchings in the town, and are in the worst state of repair imaginable.

“The harbour concession, owing to the difficulties arising from the confused political state of the capital, has not yet been obtained.... It is now nearly fifteen years that negotiations have been going on with regard to the project, and considering the enormous benefits that would accrue from its realization to every branch of the local trade, its perpetual postponement is deplorable. The present open roadstead is dangerous both for passengers and goods trade, and frequently prevents vessels from communicating at all. The resulting losses to the district are too obvious to be mentioned.

“_The lack of public security._――The inhabitants of the Jewish colonies have to pay from £6 10s. annually per family in organising their own means of defence, and even then suffer from insecurity.

“_The tithe._――This tax is levied on a system which has the disadvantages both of discouraging cultivation and being wasteful and comparatively unproductive. Its incidence on individuals is also in many cases unfair and crippling. The whole system is in need of radical revision.

“_The backward state of public works._――The present roads are fit for nothing but camel traffic, and agriculturists have no satisfactory means of embarking their goods at Jaffa without great expense and loss through deterioration.”

LXXXVIII.

THE following is an example of Moore’s Zionist songs:――

ADVENT OF THE MILLENNIUM

But who shall see the glorious day,
When throned on Zion’s brow,
The Lord shall rend that veil away
Which blinds the nations now?
When earth no more beneath the fear
Of his rebuke shall lie;
When pain shall cease, and every tear
Be wiped from every eye?

Then, Judah, thou no more shalt mourn
Beneath the heathen’s chain;
Thy days of splendour shall return,
And all be new again.
The fount of life shall then be quaff’d,
In peace by all who come;
And every wind that blows shall waft
Some long-lost exile home.
MOORE.

(_See_ Volume I, page 12.)

LXXXIX.

CREMIEUX’S CIRCULAR TO THE JEWS IN WESTERN EUROPE¹

“_Aux Juifs de l’Occident._

“... PENDANT mon séjour en Egypte, dans le cours de cette belle mission qui portait vers nos frères de l’Orient les sympathies si ardentes de leurs frères de l’Occident, j’étais vivement ému de l’aspect de la malheureux population qui s’offrait à mes yeux. Foules aux pieds depuis tant de siècles, les débris _de la nation juive_, autrefois nation puissante dans ces contrées même, ont perdu l’energie qui seule donné à l’homme quelque ressort en lui rappelant qu’il est l’œuvre de Dieu. La source qui vivifie toutes les facultés de notre intelligence, _l’instruction_ n’est pas même connue du nom dans cette Alexandria, si brillante, il y a quelques siècles, par les lumières des juges et des docteurs israelites....

“De l’Orient est sortie la religion qui nous unit tous d’une chaîne à la fois si étroite et si noble.... Du Caire et d’Alexandria le feu sacre se répandra bientôt vers Dames et Jérusalem. L’Orient va se ranimer....”

¹ _Archives Israelites de France_, vol. ii., 1841, p. 185.

(_See_ Volume I, p. 180.)

XC.

THE BANNER OF THE JEWS

(BY EMMA LAZARUS)

WAKE, Israel, Wake! Recall to-day
The Glorious Maccabean rage,
The sire heroic, hoary-gray,
His five-fold lion-lineage,
The wise, the elect, the Help-of-God,
The burst of Spring, the Avenging Rod.

From Murpeh’s mountain ridge they saw
Jerusalem’s empty streets: her shrine
Laid waste where Greeks profaned the law
With idol and with pagan sign.
Mourners in tattered black were there
With ashes sprinkled on their hair.

Then from the stony peak there rang
A blast to ope the graves: down poured
The Maccabean clan, who sang
Their battle anthem to the Lord.
Five heroes lead, and following, see
Ten thousand rush to victory!

Oh for Jerusalem’s trumpet now,
To blow a blast of shattering power,
To wake the sleepers high and low,
And rouse them to the urgent hour!
No hand for vengeance, but to save,
A million naked swords should wave.

Oh, deem not dead that martial fire,
Say not the mystic flame is spent!
With Moses’ law and David’s lyre,
Your ancient strength remains unbent.
Let such an era rise anew,
To lift the “Banner of the Jew!”

(_See_ Volume I, p. 243.)

XCI.

“THE ADVANCED GUARD”

Programme of the Committee appointed to found a colony
to be called Rishon Le’Zion (1882).

“A. The acquisition of land.――The Committee will select according to its judgment, a suitable site for the colony, will purchase the same from the owners of the ground and execute a deed of purchase, in the name of the President and two members of the Committee. If some charitable association make a grant of money towards the purchase of the land, in that case the Committee will be in a position to buy it in the name of such association. If it be bestowed as a gift the deed of purchase will be in accordance with its regulation and that of this Committee.

“B. The acquisition of houses.――The Committee have prepared plans respecting houses and stalls for herds and flocks, the purchase of bricks, wood and all the requisites of a dwelling-house. It will appoint inspectors over the work-people and a surveillance will be exercised by the officers of the colony or those of the Committee.

“C. The obtaining of cattle and implements.――The Committee will choose experienced men either from the members of the Committee or from the colony to hand over to them money for the purchase of cattle and proper implements of ploughing adapted to each family. These will be bestowed on them according to priority.

“D. The wants of the congregation.――The Committee will provide money for the erection of a synagogue, a Talmud Torah school, a hospital, bath and washhouses, also for the erection of a small trading mart to be managed in accordance with the regulations laid down by the officers of the colony for the necessary transactions.”

ADDENDA

I. (vol. i., p. xxviii.)

IT is a thorough confusion of ideas to identify Zionists with the Nationalists, Chauvinists and Jingoes of other nations. Judaism in its ethics is more cosmopolitan than any other doctrine in the world. In teaching that all men are brethren it lays the foundation of the equality of men and races, and excludes in principle every impulse of race egotism as immoral. In Judaism is therefore contained from the beginning the suppression of national limitation and animosity. And what is founded upon Judaism must necessarily prevail in Zionism, which represents the quintessence of Judaism, with all the power of logic and tradition. But it is just upon this point that those Jews who combat Zionism make a surprising mistake. They attempt to make use of this truth in order to prove that the Jewish nationality has to disappear from this world. Here lies the fallacy. It is true that Judaism rejects the ill-natured aloofness of one nation towards another, but it is not true that Judaism strives after the suppression of national distinctions, and it even borders on the ridiculous to suppose that Judaism requires the suppression of Jewish nationality. Judaism, which recognizes all natural formations, cannot wish to annihilate or to suppress the manifoldness of the national articulation of humanity.

Apart from this all that is alive and modern has a tendency towards the creation of a national culture. All valuable literature and art bears a national character. Everything international is bare of colour and expression. What the Jews do can generally also be done by others, in a worse or better manner. What is of importance to humanity, are the special values which the Jews as such create. The downfall of a nationality which represents a state of culture would be equivalent to a lessening of the spiritual possession of humanity. Besides, the abrasion of the national leads throughout to a loosening of the self-containing of the personality. It comes from the national instinct of the individuality, and the imprint cannot be effaced without internal injury. That is why Zionism means the return to the natural character of the Jewish personality.

II. (vol. i., p. 5)

Anglo-Israelism, the theory which identifies the ancient Britons with the Israelites, was originated by Richard Brothers (1757‒1829). The chief exponents of this doctrine, which became the teaching of a particular sect in England and America, were: J. Wilson, W. Carpenter, F. R. A. Glover, Edward Hine, S. W. Greenwood, the Rev. W. H. Poole, S. Bernatto and T. R. Howlett. The Anglo-Israelites have their literature and periodical publications, in which they propagate their idea with great zeal, and in the United States and in Britain to-day amount to a very large number of believers. Without entering into a scientific analysis of this doctrine, we must admit that the fact that a certain number of English people are endeavouring to prove their Israelite origin, is possible only in a country so strongly attached to the Bible, including the Old Testament, as England. Other people would shrink from the mere idea of being mixed up, even in the remotest degree, with Israelites. Even Jewish assimilationists are inclined to accept any extravagant hypothesis tending to prove that the present Jews are not of pure Jewish or Semitic origin.

III. (vol. i., p. 100

The anonymous author of _A Treatise of the Future Restoration of the Jews and Israelites to their Own Land_, etc. Addressed to the Jews. (London, 1746), defended the idea without any allusion to conversion, in a Jewish spirit, though he was evidently a non-Jew. He gave many interesting descriptions of Palestine.

President Edwards, in his _History of Redemption_, says: “In future glorious times, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judah and the Ten Tribes, shall be brought in together, and shall be united as one people.” Mr. Locke, giving the substance of the eleventh chapter of the Romans, says: “When the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, the whole Jewish nation shall again be restored to be the people of God.” Dr. W. Harris observes that, as this Epistle (the Romans) was written about the year 57 ... and as the prophecies were not accomplished then, they have to be accomplished.”

William Cunningham of Lainshaw, in his _Letters and Essays_ (London, 1822), has a series of letters on “The Literal Restoration of Israel to their Own Land,” which are excellent both in style and learning.

IV. (vol. i., p. 106)

FROM THE ARCHIVES AT THE FOREIGN OFFICE

CARLOW,
_2nd March, 1841_.

MY LORD,

A Memorial has this day been transmitted to your lordship, praying that Her Majesty’s Government may now exert its commanding influence to secure the protection of the Jews in Palestine, and to afford them facilities for returning to their own land. Though signed by only 320 persons, it contains, I believe, almost the unanimous expression of Protestant feeling in this neighbourhood; almost every one to whom it was presented cheerfully appended his name. It contains the signatures of men of all ranks, of all political parties, and of different religious denominations. The names of many Roman Catholics, both clergy and laity, will be found attached to it.

The deep interest manifested by all classes in the subject of the Memorial, as well as its transcendent importance, will, I sincerely hope, secure for it an attentive consideration.

While the minds of a people, who have for many ages been crushed and trodden under foot by all nations, are fixed with intense anxiety on the measures which Her Majesty’s Government may now adopt for their relief, multitudes of Christians, both at home and abroad, are watching with intense interest the issue of our recent victories in Syria. The tide of popular feeling also throughout the civilized world is now turned in favour of the Jews, and nothing perhaps would tend more strongly to secure our national tranquillity, heal divisions at home, and unite men of all parties, than the adoption of vigorous measures for the benefit of ancient Israel.

I pray your lordship to forgive these remarks, and to bear with me while I add, that perhaps the very existence of our country depends upon the manner in which the people of God are now treated by us. The supreme Governor of Heaven and Earth has, by the prophet Isaiah (chap. xxix. 7 and 8), passed a sweeping and universal sentence which must operate with as unerring certainty as any of the ordinary laws of nature. The total disappearance from the map of the world of many of the most famous nations of antiquity――of Assyria, Babylon, Idumea, etc., form the most impressive commentary on these awful words. It is unnecessary to remind your lordship that England is implicated in this capital offence of plundering, banishing, and massacring the unresisting and often unoffending Jews, as it is indelibly engraven on the page of her history. By what means we are to escape the irreversible decree of Jehovah I know not, if not by manifesting repentance for the cruel deeds of our ancestors, and by employing every means now within our reach to render them kindness in return for the miseries formerly visited upon them.

We hope that God has raised your lordship to your present exalted station for such a time as this, and pray that He may honour you, by making you an instrument of breaking the chains which have long bound the land of His people, and that He may incline the heart of our Sovereign and of Her Government to extend the wings of their protection over that people from whom all our highest blessings and privileges have come.

“Blessed shall those be who bless Israel, and cursed shall those be who curse her.”

I am,
My Lord,
With much respect,
Your lordship’s obedient and humble servant,
(_Signed_) WARRAIN CARLILE,
Minister of the Scots’ Church, Carlow.

* * * * *

To LORD PALMERSTON,
Her Majesty’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

_Foreign Office_,
_March 8th, 1841_.

SIR,

I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to request that you will acquaint the Parties resident at Carlow and in its vicinity who signed the Memorial transmitted to His Lordship from Carlow on the 2nd of this month, praying for the intervention of Her Majesty’s Government in favour of the Jews who may be settled in Palestine or who may desire to return there, that His Lordship has duly received their Memorial, and desires to assure them that the interesting subject to which it relates has not escaped the attention of Her Majesty’s Government, who have made and are still making endeavours which they trust will not be altogether without success, to obtain for such Jews as may wish to settle in Palestine, full security for their persons and property.

THE DEAN OF LEIGHTON
and the Petitioners from Carlow.

* * * * *

CARLOW,
_March 2, 1841_.

To the Right Honourable
LORD PALMERSTON,
Her Majesty’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs

The Humble Memorial of the Undersigned Inhabitants
of Carlow and its Vicinity.

Your Memorialists take the liberty of presenting the following statement to your Lordship in consequence of the success which the Almighty has lately been pleased to grant to Her Majesty’s Arms in Syria, and the peculiar position in which he has placed the British Government with respect to the Jews: and they feel the more encouraged to do it from the deep interest which your Lordship has already shown in the Welfare of that people.

Your Lordship must be fully aware of the unparalleled sufferings which the Jews have for Ages endured in the Land of their Fathers; and as that Land has recently in the providence of God, been thrown in some degree under British Power, Your Memorialists earnestly entreat that Her Majesty’s Government may employ their present Commanding influence to shield the unresisting Jews from further persecution, and to ensure for them complete protection.

Your Memorialists feel much confidence in pressing upon Your Lordship’s attention the claims of this much neglected people; for from whom could they better expect a prompt and vigorous attention to these claims, than from a Government which has already exerted itself so nobly in the cause of Humanity and has set an example worthy the imitation of the World in abolishing Slavery and in extending protection to the oppressed.

Your Memorialists beg leave further to remind Your Lordship that the Land of Palestine was bestowed by the Sovereign of the Universe upon the descendants of Abraham as a permanent and inalienable possession nearly 4000 Years ago, and that neither conquests nor treaties among men can possibly affect their Title to it. He has also decreed that they shall again return to their Country and that the Gentiles shall be employed as the means of their restoration. “For thus saith the Lord God, Behold I will lift up mine Hand to the Gentiles and set up my Standard to the people, and they shall bring thy sons in their Arms, and thy Daughters shall be carried upon their Shoulders, and Kings shall be thy Nursing Fathers and their Queens thy Nursing Mothers” (Isah. xlix.). Happy shall those be who shall be employed in accomplishing God’s purposes of Mercy to His Ancient People, for “They shall prosper who love Zion.” The honour and Happiness to be thus attained appear now to be within our reach, and indeed to be offered for our acceptance. It is foretold also that the Ships of Tarshish shall be first employed in conducting the dispersed Tribes of Israel to their Home; and who are more likely to be employed in this Service, or could more easily accomplish it, than the Nation whose Fleets have been long engaged in protecting and succouring the Wretched, and which have access to most of the Countries where Jews are to be found!

That the promises of Jehovah shall be accomplished by some Gentile Nation, is absolutely certain; and everything appears to indicate their speedy fulfilment; and it remains now to be seen whether Her Majesty’s Government is to be the chosen instrument in accomplishing this blessed Work (as Cyrus the Great King of Persia was in ancient times) or whether the Honour and Consequent prosperity are to be Conferred on some other Maritime power.

Your Memorialists cannot conclude without reminding Your Lordship that our own fate as a nation depends upon the manner in which we treat the Jews, for the irreversible decree of Heaven is “The Nation or Kingdom that will not serve Israel shall perish, Yea those Nations shall be utterly consumed.”

Your Memorialists therefore pray Your Lordship to adopt such measures as may appear to You best to secure full protection to the Jews in their own Country, also to afford them assistance in gaining possession of their Land, either by purchase or otherwise, and to afford facilities to all who may be disposed to return to their inheritance.

And Your Memorialists will ever pray, etc.

V. (vol. i., p. 119)

“... Sir Moses called on Colonel Campbell, but he had to wait some time before seeing him, as the Colonel was with the Pasha.¹ The Colonel willingly consented to introduce Sir Moses to Boghoz Bey,² and fixed four o’clock for the purpose. Colonel Campbell said he would call for Sir Moses, and bring one of his horses for him.

¹ Mehemet Ali.

² Father of Boghoz Pasha, President of the Armenian National
Council in Paris, 1919. See _p._ 116.

“The Colonel was punctual, and we rode together to the residence of Boghoz Bey. Sir Moses gave him three requests in writing, and he promised to lay them before Mohammad Ali and explain them to him. The Bey appeared well inclined to forward his requests, and offered to present him to the Pasha either the same evening or the next morning....

“Boghoz Bey, the Pasha’s Minister of Commerce, had read over and explained my requests to him on the previous evening, that he might be fully aware of the object of my visit to him. Being anxious to have Mohammad Ali’s answers in writing, which he said Boghoz Bey should give me, as he had been present at our interview, I called on the Bey, but he had not returned from the Palace.

“Between four and five I walked there with Dr. Loewe. Boghoz Bey received me most politely, and said as I had not put my signature to the written requests, he could not give me an answer in writing, but he hoped I was perfectly satisfied with what Mohammad Ali had promised me this morning. He added that as soon as I had made my several requests in writing, and signed them, he would write me the answer, agreeably with the Pasha’s words, as he had accorded me all I required.

“I thanked him, and immediately after the conclusion of Sabbuth I wrote, and sent the several requests to Boghoz Bey, properly signed in the form of letters....”¹

¹ Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore.... Edited by Dr.
L. Loewe, ... vol. i. London ... 1890. _pp._ 198‒200.

VI. (vol. i., p. 138)

In 1849 Colonel George Gawler accepted an invitation from Sir Moses Montefiore to accompany him――together with Lady Montefiore――on a tour through the Holy Land. It was arranged that they should leave England about the 20th of April. They were, however, delayed three weeks by the illness of Lady Montefiore. Gawler himself was not disappointed at the delay, as he was hard at work studying Hebrew and Arabic, preparatory for the tour. Eventually they started on May the 15th, and arrived at Jerusalem on July 28th.¹

¹ _George Gawler, K.H._, by C. W. N. London, 1900, p. 56.