Chapter M: Trumper (7)

To assure the foundation, to justify the conception of a Jewish State, a number of powerful arguments other than above indicated have been brought to bear. The problem of race was attacked,[4] and a consequent demolition of the basis of Reform Judaism undertaken, whereby the racial identity of the Jew became demonstrated and a comparative racial purity established. In turn, the claim of the anti-Semites that the Jewish race indeed existed, but to the peril of Western civilization, received scientific annihilation. At the most, the Aryan race was proclaimed a myth and Teutonic superiority a lie;[5] at the least, a justification of the Jewish race was achieved upon its contribution to civilization: in metaphysics, of the vision of reality in flux; in morals, the conception of the value of the individual; in religion, the conception of Jehovah as a moral-arbiter; in culture, a literature of basic inspiration for the western world.[6]

_The Moral Right of the Jewish Race to Survival_

That this race, definable in identity and valuable in content, is being either crushed by force or dissipated by freedom, raises on one hand the next question for creative Zionism, and constitutes on the other the problem which Zionism in its aspect as a "solution" assails. The question: Has this race, facing destruction, a moral right to survival? is in the instinctive, Darwinian sense unnecessary. Every race has a right to survive if it can prove its right by surviving; however, like most evolutionary thinking, this is tautological. Nevertheless, an affirmative answer[7] has been advanced, based on the conception of values recognized since Aristotle; whereby was demonstrated the intrinsic value of the Jews as witnessed by their virility and capacity for an intelligent enjoyment of life, which their social customs, religious ideals, and cultural ethos have created for them, and which have won for them the title "_Am Olam_," the perpetual people; and their instrumental value in the preservation and enrichment of life for the Western world at large, as witnessed by their contributions to civilization outlined above.

To the final question: How may the destruction facing a race, worth the saving, be averted? the Zionists, as already shown, answer: Let us establish a Jewish State. It now remains to explain how this answer can be made effective.

_The Program of the First Zionist Congress_

Although Herzl, like Pinsker, at first was indifferent as to the location of the State, Palestine was decided upon at the First Zionist Congress for the following practical reasons:[8]

1. Palestine is, of inhabitable and sufficiently uninhabited lands, the nearest to Russia and Roumania, where the greatest number of Jews are undergoing physical suffering.

2. It is not ruled by Christians, and penal discriminatory laws against Jews are not there in force.

3. Conditions of Oriental life are in accord with the stage and condition of life reached by Jews in Eastern Europe.

4. The country is already somewhat of a Jewish center.

5. Jews are more familiar with the language spoken there than with any West European language.

6. Palestine for sentimental reasons has a power of attraction that would operate practically upon Jews wishing to emigrate, and a power of inspiration which would flower in equally practical works when once Jews were established there.

Zionism, as a "solution," sets forth, in the program of this Congress, four ways to achieve its object:[9]

1. To promote the settlement of Jewish agriculturalists, handicraftsmen, industrialists, and professional men. This would offer an asylum for the persecuted Jew and assure him of an independent livelihood, and so simultaneously relieve suffering, starving Jewry--the immediate phase of the _problem_--and afford a substantial basis for the prosperity and ensuing civilization of the State.

2. To centralize the Jewish people by means of general institutions agreeable to the laws of the land. By institutions are meant banking-houses, schools, etc., which would promote the welfare of the people and render the growth of a culture more unconstrained.

3. To strengthen Jewish national self-consciousness and national sentiment;--this to be accomplished by the establishment of newspapers and societies throughout the world, so as to secure the aid or interest of the Jew who does not want to assimilate in behalf of a national center, and offer a road of return to the Jew who has become assimilated at the cost of his spiritual happiness.

4. To obtain the sanctions of Governments necessary for carrying out the objects of Zionism. This demand for legal assurances, for a charter if possible, distinguishes political Zionism in the matter of means from the mere small-scale colonizing efforts of the philanthropists and the Chovevei Zion societies, precisely as the very conception of a State distinguishes it in the matter of ends. In the words of Herzl, "We do not wish to smuggle in any settlers, and above all, we do not wish to bring about any 'accomplished facts' without preliminary agreement. We have absolutely no interest in bringing about an economic strengthening of Turkey without a corresponding compensation. The whole thing is to be accomplished according to the simplest usage in the world: 'do ut des.' We Zionists think it more foolish than noble to settle colonists without any legal and political guarantees."[10]

_The Variant Views of Zionist Groups_

Beside the political Zionists, a large group can be distinguished as Opportunist Zionists, the chief representative of whom is Israel Zangwill,[11] who in his eagerness to relieve the Jewish _problem_ has become impatient with the slow and seemingly fruitless political progress, and who desires to lead his people to any vacant, habitable territory rather than wait for a charter in Zion. Other leaders in the movement, such as Ussischkin, contend that until the charter is granted, colonization in Palestine should continue, both to satisfy the Jewish demand for emigration and to give weight to the justice and necessity for autonomy.

In sum, the establishing of Zion, while in process, will rescue the sorely oppressed, magnetize and concentrate the interests of Jewry at large, and force the issue of suicide or salvation upon the race; and the establishment of the State, once accomplished, will rejuvenate a people. "They shall revive as the grain and blossom as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." (Hosea 14.7). In the Zionist vision, assured not by the prophecies, but by the achievements of a glorious past, this new wine, ripening and enriching its flavor in a cup that had long been bitter, will be partaken of by the nations, Jew and Gentile. Jewish culture in its widest sense, embracing the realization of ethical, social, and artistic ideals, nourished by a people living again a homogeneous, autonomous, national life free as it has not been for eighteen centuries from outward pressure--a life imperative for the production of culture--will go forth as a pure vintage, taking its place with the vintages of other nations, to satisfy the soul in dry places and make strong the bones; and over this new wine a new Kiddush may perhaps be spoken. The Reform Jew, the "assimilated" Jew, who finds himself to-day in what we have nominated a _position_, in a conscious or unconscious inspiration and pride induced by the resurrection of a motherland, as the German in America is inspired by his national unity in Europe, will indeed find his soul satisfied in dry places, and can more generously and effectively contribute to the welfare of the fatherland of which he is a citizen. The Jew who walks in the darkness of a Russia, where his situation is a _problem_ and where existence itself is threatened, will discover in this reawakened motherland a hope and possibly a material aid which will make strong his bones that he may endure until emancipation.

_The Communistic Aims of the Social Zionists_

Under the stimulus of a new creative vision, many poets, practical or otherwise, have brought their own tints to add to the rosy prospect, and these we have designated to be Zionism as a "fulfillment." Just prior to the birth of these United States, Thomas Paine, who in a few respects was the Herzl of the new republic, rapturously exclaimed in his pamphlet _Commonsense_: "We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation similar to the present hath not happened since the days of Noah!" Stimulated by the potentialities of an empty country and a great race eager to reoccupy it, modern theorists have likewise, and with some reason, discovered in Palestine a land of promise.

Basing their faith in the inherent demand for social justice which racial genius, as witnessed in the Deuteronomic experiment and the whole social trend of the prophetic writings, has created as a permanent characteristic of the Jew and which the injustice of centuries has accentuated, a group of Jewish socialists have entered the Zionist cause in the hope of establishing a form of the communistic principle as a foundation for the new society. The communistic ownership of land is particularly urged. Past experiments of this nature--the Brook Farm and the French Commune as a small and a large example--have failed partly for lack of scientific guidance and sufficient exact knowledge of actual conditions, and partly because of the social unfitness of the participants. Social Zionism, however, has secured for its director an acknowledged authority in communistic economics, Dr. Franz Oppenheimer of the University of Berlin; and it is counting on the Jewish heritage of social instinct to furnish the proper human material for its purpose. Amos, the herdsman of Tekoa, who came down from his mountain in 750 B. C. to storm at the capitalistic greed of Israel, raised the first plea in history for social justice. The successful consummation of the prophet's ideal in the new Israel would be a contribution to the world distinctly Hebraic and possibly the most valuable of the modern Jew.

_The Yearning for a Spiritual Revival_

To Ahad Ha-'Am,[12] the leading writer of to-day in Hebrew, a "spiritual revival" should be the desideratum of the Zionists. Spiritual is of course not used in the restricted religious sense, but as the opposite of material. Although Ahad Ha-'Am concedes the establishment of a center in Palestine to be a necessity, he considers it only a means to the end of an "awakening" of spiritual forces in art, morals, and national consciousness among Jewry at large; and, to hasten this end, he urges the establishment of a University, an art-school, and bands of workers in the spirit--poets, painters, and all manner of creators--for he conceives the Jews not to be a young race who must climb from satisfying the needs of the belly to the needs of the brain, but an old people who can and must satisfy both demands together.[13]

Finally, the great mass of European Jewry, who weep on the Ninth of Ab, who send their pittance to the Jews of the Holy City in order that they may devote their days to lamenting at the old Wall, who pray each Passover "next year at Jerusalem," and who treasure their little casket of Palestinian earth, which some day will be placed over their shroud, look to Zionism as a "fulfillment" in its literal, Biblical meaning. Although the yearning for such a fulfillment may never be satisfied, it constitutes the impelling force, the prime motive, behind the people who are to settle once again in Canaan, and who are the stuff of which the philosophers' dreams are to be made.

The opportunists who work for the day when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, the politicals who plan that the house of Jacob may possess its possessions, the culturals who behold upon the mountain the feet of him who bringeth glad tidings, the socialists who strive to draw righteousness and peace within kissing distance, and the devout who pray that out of Zion shall go forth the Law, are all intermingling composites of the Zionist dream. That the dream is not in vain, there is no positive assurance; but somewhere it is written that Palestine _is_ the Land of Promise.

_The Organization of Zionism_

Sophistication makes for sluggishness of action; and a sophisticated, practical people, such as the Jews, surrounded by an equally sophisticated world, have not marched upon Jerusalem with the flag-flying alacrity of the Crusaders. However, their sophistication has substituted for speed a broad measure of surety; and a summary of the organization of the movement and the work accomplished within and without Palestine gives promise that, if the will behind Zionism be sustained, the Jews who wail at the Wall may profitably direct their energies elsewhere.

The Zionist organization comprises all Jews who subscribe to the Zionist program and pay the annual contribution, known as a shekel, varying from 15 cents to 25 cents in different countries. The program is that formulated at the First Zionist Congress (Basel, 1897): "to obtain for the Jewish people a publicly recognized and legally assured home in Palestine." The members are grouped in local societies which, in turn, are organized into national federations, to be found at present in Argentina, Belgium, Bukowina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia-Slavonia-Herzegovina, Egypt, England, France, Galicia, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Roumania, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States. Unfederated societies exist in Palestine, Morocco, Servia, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, China, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.[14] In short, the atlas is practically exhausted. With a representation proportional to the number of shekel-payers, a Congress convenes bi-annually in a central European city (usually Basel), resolves, and prosecutes all work incumbent upon the furtherance of Zionist purpose. The executive power, although formerly invested in a president, is now exercised, since the death of Herzl (1904) and the resignation of Wolffsohn, by a commission of five, acting as the head of a committee of twenty-five, who constitute a permanent body meeting at intervals between the sessions of Congress.[15] The Congress itself is divided into party-groups, based on policy, and representative of the different theoretic elements that guide the movement.

The original Government party, which stood shoulder to Herzl in his brilliant but unsuccessful diplomatic schemes to secure a charter from the Sultan, upon the overthrow of the autocracy in Turkey (1908), has abandoned purely political Zionism, for the expedient reason that the Young Turk government has naturally been reticent in the granting of broad concessions. Political Zionism, of which Max Nordau and David Wolffsohn[F] are the leading protagonists, has through the accidents of Turkish politics been rendered ineffective; and the actual work of Zionism rests now upon the policies of the Opportunist wing, although the creation of a State, autonomous in as great a degree as possible, is the cardinal aim of the Zionists, and must be, in order to distinguish the movement from a large-scale philanthropy.[16]

_Parties in Zionism_

The Opportunists were divided into two groups--the followers of Zangwill who urged immediate colonization anywhere, and the Ziyyone Zionists (Zionists toward Zion) who favored immediate settlement in Palestine. The first party broke from the Zionist movement at the Seventh Congress, instituted the Jewish Territorial Organization (ITO), and have vainly devoted their energies toward securing lands in North, East, and West Africa, Mesapotamia, and Australia.[17] The Ziyyone Zionists, however, possess the controlling vote, and in the last Congress (1913) annulled the Basel program, temporarily at least, by securing from the Congress a recognition of the work of settlement in Palestine as the primary task.[18]

Socialistic Zionism is represented by the Po'ale Zion, a small but vigorous group, who are endeavoring to secure at least the adoption of the communistic ownership of land in the pursuance of the Opportunist program.

Dr. Franz Oppenheimer, lecturer in economics at the University of Berlin, has recently issued a pamphlet disclosing the success of the Merchavia Colony, a co-operative settlement near Nazareth, and demonstrating that the only practical method of achieving large-scale colonization is by this means.[19]

Strong in numbers and in influence, the Mizrachi party represents the orthodox wing of Jewry, who "believe a faithful adherence to the Torah and Tradition in all matters pertaining to Jewish life constitute the duty of the Jewish people."[20] In the assemblage of futurists, the Mizrachi stands as the spirit of the past, to whom all plans must be justified, and whose power has its source in the religious fervor of the majority of eastern Jews.

Finally, the Cultural Zionists may be said to find representation in all parties, for the furtherance of spirituality is inseparably bound up in the aims of every Zionist.

_The Financial Institutions of Zionism_

The financial instruments by which the practical Zionist aims are seeking accomplishment are (1) the Jewish Colonial Trust,[21] incorporated as a limited company in London (1899) with a capital stock of $20,000,000 and a paid-up capital of $1,324,000; (2) the Anglo-Palestine Company,[22] an offshoot of the Colonial Trust, with a paid-up capital of $500,000, which finances Zionist undertakings in Palestine, and declares annual dividends of 4 1-6 per cent.; (3) the Anglo-Levantine Banking Company,[23] the financial institution of the Zionists devoted to their undertakings in the remainder of Turkey, with a capital of $125,000 declaring 6 per cent. returns; (4) the Jewish National Fund,[24] whose object is to acquire land in Palestine as the inalienable property of the entire Jewish people, with a capital of $650,000 raised by individual contributions; (5) the Palestine Land Development Company,[25] with a registered capital of $87,500, organized for the purpose of (a) acquiring, improving, and dividing into small holdings large Palestinian estates, (b) laying out and cultivating intensive crops, (c) systematically settling and training agricultural laborers in Palestine.

Of late the Jewish Colonization Association, which is backed by the forty-million dollar fund of Baron de Hirsch, is co-operating with the Zionists in the purchase of Palestinian land to be administered by the Palestine Land Development Company.[26]

The actual achievements, which these instruments have been the means of effecting, may be summarized in two classes--Palestinian and non-Palestinian. In both fields, the several branches of Zionist aims have borne fruit.

_What Zionism Has Accomplished in Palestine_

Palestine in 1880 contained 30,000 Jews, who studied the Law, wailed at the Wall, and lived miserably on the alms (the Chalukah) of pious Jewry at large. In 1911 the Jews comprised 100,000 out of a total population of 700,000. In Jerusalem are 50,000 Jews, 7,000 at Tiberias, 8,000 at Safed, and 10,000 at Jaffa. A large proportion, it is true, are settlers of the Ghetto type, but the young generation is rapidly being changed by the growing school-system.[27]

Numbering about fifty, Jewish agricultural colonies extend the length of the Holy Land and support some 5,000 Jews in their yield of olives, dates, wine, sugar, cotton, grain, and cattle. Broad streets, clean homes with gardens, and orchard land characterize the standard of living in the colonies, as machinery and agricultural school students characterize their modern standard of gaining their livelihood.[28] A constantly increasing number of emigrants are streaming into the Holy Land, although the Zionists are devoting their main endeavors toward firmly establishing the resident inhabitants and bettering their condition. On April 3, 1914, the London _Jewish Chronicle_ reported the emigration from the single port of Odessa as numbering 250 persons a week.[29]

In 1886, $1,800,000 of trade passed out through Jaffa, the port of Palestine; in 1909, the value of the exports rose to $7,500,000.[30] Rischon-le-Zion, the oldest colony and containing 500 inhabitants, annually produces, alone, more than a million gallons of wine.[31]

The schools of the older class--Talmud Torah and Yeshibah--still dominate; but, following the example of the Alliance Israelite, a modern type of school with a modern curriculum taught in Hebrew has been established in every colony, and culminates in a Gymnasium at Jaffa as the principal national educational institution. The attendance of the colonial schools number about 1,500, and in the Talmudic schools number several thousands. The Mikveh Israel Agricultural School, near Jaffa, is the center of vocational instruction in Palestine, and aids materially the work of the colonists. Funds for a Hygienic and Technical Institute have likewise been started to further practical education.[32]

_The Revival of Jewish Culture_

The cultural revival in Palestine is plainly apparent in the excellent work of the Bezalel,[33] the school of arts and crafts in Jerusalem, named after the builder of the first tabernacle in the wilderness, where are devised carpentry, copperware, wood-carving, basketry, painting, and sculpture "of cunning workmanship" and of distinctly Hebraic design. Another sign of great hope springs from the widespread revival of ancient Hebrew as a living tongue, which has become an awkward necessity among the older Jews gathered from many different nations, and the free and natural expression of the children. Several weeklies and monthlies are published in Hebrew.[34] A National Jewish Library, soon to be housed in a fireproof building at Jerusalem, was founded by Dr. Joseph Chazanowicz, a Zionist leader in Russia, who devoted his entire income to it. In 1910 the Library contained something over 15,000 volumes.[35] Finally, the Eleventh Congress (1913), convened on the 2,500th anniversary of the destruction of the old temple on Mount Moriah, witnessed the pledging of $100,000 to the building of a Jewish National University at Jerusalem--a new temple of culture and science.[36]

Precisely as the roots are more important than the blossoms in the growth of a plant, the accomplishments without Palestine are more significant than within. To-day the Golus (Diaspora) is the root, and Palestine the stalk; some day the Zionists hope to reverse the simile--this, in short, is the essence of the entire movement.

_The Accomplishments of Zionism Beyond Palestine_

Zionism's chief aims without Palestine are two: (1) Revival of national consciousness, (2) Relief of the persecuted. In regard to the second, the Zionist organization, constantly working to shift emigration from West to East, has in a measure focused it upon Palestine; and more important, it is rapidly perfecting adequate machinery, which once securing the motive power of money in such quantities as is now devoted to the Jewish Colonization Association, will appreciably lessen the gravity of the Jewish _problem_.

In regard to the awakening of the national consciousness, the Zionist societies, which number in the thousands, constitute centers for the dissemination of propaganda and the stimulation of study in all things Jewish; and the Zionist press, comprising one hundred newspapers and periodicals, the official of which is _Die Welt_, and the leading American representative, _The Maccabaean_, materially aid this preaching of Zion gospel. Under the stimulus of the movement, numerous student societies have sprung up abroad, promoting and crystallizing a national sentiment and a race interest, while older societies of this order, such as the Kadimah, have received a renewed impetus. Women's societies of a literary, educational, and social character--the Benoth Zion (Sofia and New York) and the Hadassah (Vienna and New York) for example--have taken a place in the general revival.[37]

The effect of Zionism in large centers of population is ably shown by Charles S. Bernheimer in his study of the Russian Jew in the United States, and his findings may be taken as typical. In general, the Zionist societies have formed the chief social centers of the ghetto,[38] have opened religious schools[39] and libraries,[40] have brought the radicals in religion under the influence of the national idea,[41] and so prevented the loss of religion from being followed by a loss of race-consciousness, and have "enlisted the sympathies of the older people. The young people have grasped the great significance of Zionism, and have taken a renewed interest in religion, education, and culture."[42]

A renaissance of art is following that of culture; in painting Ephraim Lilien, Lesser Ury, Judah Epstein, and Hermann Struck, and in marble and bronze Boris Schatz (the founder and director of Bezalel), Frederick Beer, and Alfred Nossig are receiving their inspiration from Zionism.

The primary enthusiasm for the movement has long ago been expended; and the present interest is deep, healthy, and likely to abide. However, the sustainment of this interest appears to be the primary duty and task of Zionism; in a movement that is a long, dull, slow pull, every moment is a critical moment.

_Misconceptions of Zionism_

To the modern Jew who lacks the gift of prophecy, the outcome of an undertaking must be determined by a consideration not only of the force propelling the movement, but of the opposition confronting it. A consideration of this opposition will afford an opportunity, moreover, for a clear and summarizing definition of what the movement is, and, equally important, of what it is not. Opposition to Zionism divides itself into three categories--ignorant; theoretic; practical. One is reminded of Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the servant, and Geshem the Arabian, who mocked and threatened Nehemiah when he undertook to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Ignorant opposition assails Zionism with arguments that are incontrovertible, but totally irrelevant; it busies itself with destroying claims which the Zionists have never made. A trio may be taken as representative. It is pointed out with cogency that Palestine is not capable of supporting the twelve million of Jews who inhabit our world; and more conclusively, the twelve million of Jews do not wish to go to Palestine. Briefly, the Zionists in seeking a home for the Jew in Canaan no more expect all the Jews to congregate within its bounds than a man who builds himself a house expects that all his posterity will live in it. As a matter of history, more Jews after the fall of the first Temple have lived without Palestine than within. Only a remnant returned after the captivity; and Babylon, Alexandria, and Rome contained a larger Jewish population than Jerusalem. Throughout the dispersion, the majority of the Jews lived apart from the nation center--whether that center was the Mesapotamia of Talmudic times, the Spain of the Middle Ages, or the Poland of the early modern period. The Zionist object is only to secure such a national center (free from outward pressure) as a ganglion radiating Hebraic culture, which can preserve Jewish unity and identity and inspire Jewish culture elsewhere, precisely as the Judæa of old rendered similar service;[43] and the modern Palestine with a soil capable of supporting a million inhabitants without extensive irrigation amply satisfies the Zionist purpose.

_Zionism Leaves the Status of the Jew Uninjured_

Closely allied to this argument is the claim that Zionism constitutes an abandonment by the European Jew of his hard-earned Emancipation, and a traitorous retreat from the position of brother and fellow-countryman which he is now claiming in the several nations. In sum, renationalization in the East spells de-nationalization in the West, and the return of the Jew to the status of alien. Such a conclusion follows as inevitably as it follows that the unification of Germany in 1870 rendered alien the Germans of America who emigrated here in the '40s, that the French Revolution denationalized the refugee Huguenot population of Prussia, that the unification of Italy disfranchised the Italian Swiss, or that the Irish Home Rule Bill will transform the populace of Boston into undesirable citizens. On the contrary, the Zionists are convinced that the re-establishment of a Jewish nation will strengthen, for example, the claim of the German Jew that he is a German by distinctly separating the national from the universal Jew--the sheep from the goats, if you will--and will render his status less precarious because it will be more definable. Moreover, such a national center will increase Jewish self-respect with the consequence of increasing Christian respect. Jewish "aloofness" need no longer be a reproach, because it may safely be abandoned; with Zion itself preserving Hebraism in the East, the Jew in the West may throw himself unreservedly into the life about him; and a flourishing of Jewish culture will make his contribution the more valuable.

Finally, the third objection is formulated in the question, "What is the use?" Whether it be grounded in self-satisfied indifference, hostility, or a sense of hopelessness, it forms the most insidious opposition, because it betrays a lack of racial consciousness that cannot be supplied by argument, and exposes a weakness that cannot be remedied by emotional appeal. It is a weakness amounting to an absence, a literal lack, of the very functions through which a cure could be effected. An Englishman asking, "Why preserve the English?" a Scandinavian asking, "Of what use are the Scandinavians?" a Swiss asking, "Why maintain Switzerland?" is inconceivable. Answers indeed can be found, but the point is that to put the question indicates that the interrogator is beyond a comprehension of the reply. He is like a congenital blindman, who asks: "Of what use is seeing?" The question was, indeed, propounded in the third section of this paper, but only as the hypothetical question of an outsider, much as an Englishman might ask, "Of what value are the Chinese?" to secure an external, historical justification of their existence. However, if the great majority of Jews ever seriously question the need of preserving their own race, the answer becomes immediate and conclusive; there is no need, for there is no longer a race.

_Zionism Has No Insuperable Obstacles_

Theoretic opposition is determined on one hand by racial questions, and on the other by religious dogmas. That the Jews are no longer a race, that their preservation need not be undertaken because they do not exist, is, laying aside the scientific disputations, in one sense begging the question. Whether the Jews are a racial unit, and whether their preservation will result in a distinct racial culture, is precisely what a successful consummation of the Zionist object will prove or disprove with finality; and until such consummation, even scientific theorizing on the subject will expose itself to the unscientific process of working without the check of laboratory experiment. To the scientist, Zionism offers Palestine as such a laboratory. The religious opposition offered by Reform Judaism has been previously discussed; however, it may be summed up in three statements. An appeal to the implied meaning of the Scriptures can only be authoritatively settled by the author. Granting, nevertheless, that a suffering Israel and a missionary Israel are essentials in a Divine plan, the establishment of a national center does not dogmatically preclude Israel from continuing to suffer elsewhere, nor forbid Israel from pursuing her missionary project of acting as a model example and shining light to the nations. Quite the reverse; inasmuch as the Dispersion is fast becoming a Destruction, which Zionism is attempting to avert, the preservation of Reform Judaism itself demands the success of Zionism.

Practical opposition is indeed ponderous, but not necessarily insuperable. The majority of Palestinian obstacles, such as the difficulties which the confusion of national tongues, culture, and habits will impose on unification, the precarious chance of ultimately securing legal recognition from Turkey, the possible obstructions amounting even to conflict to be offered by the native Arabian population, are distant bridges which the far-seeing may fear, but which, the wise will not attempt to cross until reached. However, three urgent perplexities and impediments are imminent in the danger of securing only a low class of settlers, of suffering from insufficient means, and of failing from diminution of interest. At bottom, the three are one, and amount to the necessity of keeping up the old heart and inspiring new hearts.

With a sufficiency of interest, the necessary money and the proper men will find their way to Palestine; in a word, only a people can save themselves, and, failing to do so, aside from scientific argument and religious dogma, they remain no more a people. That this people may not so perish, the Zionists are not only furnishing the vision; but with back and arm, they are working to rebuild the Wall where men have wailed the centuries by. To the captious, the hostile, and the persistently heedless, their cue is to say with Nehemiah of old: "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down."

_The Jewish students form so distinctive and gifted an
element in the life of all our colleges that their
self-expression should serve a valuable purpose.
Through becoming articulate in such a publication as_
The Menorah Journal, _the first issue of which is full
of promise, they may well bring to pass not only a
fuller realization of the part they are to play in
American society, but also a better understanding of
that part by the entire community to which they
belong. Without such better understandings there is
small hope for the community as a whole._--_From an
Editorial in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, March 17,
1915._

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: I. Friedlaender, _The Political Ideals of the Prophets_ (pamphlet) (Baltimore, 1910), p. 10.]

[Footnote 2: _Jewish Encyclopedia_ under "Graetz."]

[Footnote 3: Ahad Ha-'Am, "Pinsker and His Brochure" (pamphlet) (New York, 1911), p. 5.]

[Footnote 4: Ignaz Zollschan, _Das Rassenproblem_ (Leipsic, 1911). G. Pollack, "Jewish Race," _The Nation_, vol. 94, p. 609, in review of the above book. A. S. Waldstein, "A Study of the Jews," _The Maccabaean_, vol. 21, p. 41. M. Waxman, "The Ethnic Character of the Jews" (New York, 1910). _The American Hebrew_, "The Jewish Race Problem," vol. 90, p. 435.]

[Footnote 5: Zollschan, _Das Rassenproblem_, p. 140.]

[Footnote 6: H. M. Kallen, "Judaism, Hebraism and Zionism," _The American Hebrew_, vol. 87, p. 181.]

[Footnote 7: _Idem_, p. 182.]

[Footnote 8: R. C. Conder, "Zionists," _Blackwood's_, vol. 163, p. 598.]

[Footnote 9: Max Nordau, _Zionism_ (New York, 1911), p. 11.]

[Footnote 10: _The Maccabaean_, "Theodor Herzl in His Writings," vol. 23, p. 229.]

[Footnote 11: Zangwill, "Zionism and Territorialism," _Living Age_, vol. 265, p. 663.]

[Footnote 12: Ahad Ha-'Am, _Selected Essays_ (Philadelphia, 1912), p. 253 et seq.]

[Footnote 13: _Idem_, p. 290.]

[Footnote 14: Cohen, _Zionist Work in Palestine_, p. 198.]

[Footnote 15: _The Survey_, "The Tenth Zionist Congress," vol. 25, p. 845.]

[Footnote F: This Essay was written before Mr. Wolffsohn's death.]

[Footnote 16: _The American Hebrew_, "Dr. Max Nordau on Herzl's Policies," vol. 93, p. 403.]

[Footnote 17: _American Jewish Year Book_, 1910-11, "Events of the Year." I. Zangwill, "Zionism and Territorialism," _Living Age_, vol. 265, p. 668.]

[Footnote 18: L. Lipsky, "Results of the Eleventh Congress," _The Maccabaean_, vol. 23, p. 250.]

[Footnote 19: Franz Oppenheimer, _Merchavia_ (New York, 1914), p. 1-13. "Life Work of Franz Oppenheimer," _The Maccabaean_, vol. 24, p. 12.]

[Footnote 20: _Jewish Encyclopedia_ under "Zionism--Party Organization."]

[Footnote 21: _Idem_, under "Jewish Colonial Trust." Cohen, _Zionist Work in Palestine_, p. 198.]

[Footnote 22: _Idem_, p. 127.]

[Footnote 23: _Idem_, p. 199.]

[Footnote 24: _Idem_, p. 203.]

[Footnote 25: _Idem_, p. 199.]

[Footnote 26: _American Jewish Year Book_, 1913-14, p. 203.]

[Footnote 27: H. Bentwich, "The Jewish Renaissance in Palestine," _Fortnightly Review_, vol. 96, p. 136.]

[Footnote 28: Cohen, _Zionist Work in Palestine_, p. 195.]

[Footnote 29: _Jewish Chronicle_ (London), No. 2348, p. 34.]

[Footnote 30: Bentwich, "The Jewish Renaissance in Palestine," _Fortnightly Review_, vol. 96, p. 136.]

[Footnote 31: H. F. Ward, "Palestine for the Jews," _The World Today_, vol. 17, p. 1062.]

[Footnote 32: Cohen, _Zionist Work in Palestine_, p. 86.]

[Footnote 33: Bentwich, "The Jewish Renaissance in Palestine," _Fortnightly Review_, vol. 96, p. 136.]

[Footnote 34: _Idem._]

[Footnote 35: _Jewish Encyclopedia_ under "Arbanel Library."]

[Footnote 36: _The Maccabaean_, vol. 23, p. 263.]

[Footnote 37: _Jewish Encyclopedia_ under "Zionism."]

[Footnote 38: C. S. Bernheimer, "The Russian Jew in the United States." (Philadelphia, 1905), p. 232.]

[Footnote 39: _Idem_, p. 180.]

[Footnote 40: _Idem_, p. 168.]

[Footnote 41: _Idem_, p. 155.]

[Footnote 42: _Idem_, p. 181.]

[Footnote 43: M. Waxman, "The Importance of Palestine for the Jews in the Diaspora," _The Maccabaean_, vol. 23, p. 232. A succinct detailing of this service.]

From College and University

_Activities of Menorah Societies_

Brown University

The need of some organization based on ideals that would tend to promote a closer relationship among the Jewish students at Brown University had long been felt on the campus. To meet this need there has even been an attempt at uniting the Jewish men by ties not necessarily Jewish in spirit; happily this attempt failed. Early in this college year the Menorah movement was brought to the attention of the Jewish students and its aims at once appealed as very worthy of the serious consideration of Brown men.

An informal meeting was held and almost unanimous favor was exhibited for the establishment of a Menorah Society at Brown. Whereupon a committee was elected to interview the authorities of the University concerning this matter, and their attitude was found to be all that could be desired. Steps were then taken for formal organization, and on the evening of January 6, 1915, a dedicatory meeting was held, and the Brown Menorah Society was launched on its career. (For an account of this meeting, see the April MENORAH JOURNAL, page 140.)

Shortly afterwards the Executive Council formulated a program of activities for the rest of the year, a program which has now been successfully carried through. On February 17, Prof. Richard Gottheil of Columbia University gave a very interesting lecture on Zionism. Several members of the Faculty were present and took part in the general discussion that followed the lecture. At the meeting of March 17, Prof. A. T. Fowler of the Biblical Department of the University and a member of the Advisory Board of the Society, spoke on "The Bible as a Literary Document." On April 21, Prof. David G. Lyon of Harvard University gave an illustrated lecture on "The Samarian Excavations." This lecture was given in one of the largest halls of the University and was open to the public.

The other meetings of the year were either business meetings or study councils. At the study councils topics of Jewish interest were discussed. An informal supper on the evening of May 20, with election of officers for the following year, completed the activities of this year.

ABRAHAM J. BURT

University of Chicago

After lying practically dormant for about one and one-half years, the Menorah Society at Chicago has awakened during this last year.

The first meeting of the year was held October 26, 1914, at which officers for the quarter were elected. Then at varying intervals there were addresses by Dr. H. M. Kallen of the University of Wisconsin, Dr. A. A. Neuman of the Dropsie College, Dr. Emil G. Hirsch of Sinai Temple of Chicago (who gave a series of two lectures on Jewish history), and Mr. Louis D. Brandeis of Boston. The inspiring address of Mr. Brandeis, held November 19, 1914, was the biggest event of the year, the meeting being largely attended by Jews and non-Jews alike. Rabbis Stolz and Cohon, representing the Chicago Rabbinical Society, also delivered short talks.

Hitherto, the Menorah Society has been unknown to have other than quite formal lectures. No attempt has been made to make the members feel at home and more sociable at the meetings. An innovation was tried when, at the meeting on May 10, there was an informal talk by Dr. Joseph Stolz, of the Isaiah Temple of Chicago, on Hillel, which was followed not only by discussion but also by refreshments. This meeting was a complete success. It was followed by another informal meeting on Maimonides.

The last meeting was a "get-together" meeting of the Society to discuss plans for the next year. Suggestions were accepted to interest incoming freshmen by personal letters and visits and "get-acquainted" and "enthusiasm" gatherings. It is reasonable to hope from the increasing membership and the suggestions for future action that the Menorah will become more and more powerful on the campus, especially with the encouragement and the aid of the alumni in Chicago, who are planning to have also a graduate Menorah organization.

ETHEL JACOBS

Clark University

The second year, just closed, of the Clark Menorah Society has been most successful. At the weekly meetings, papers were given by various members on such subjects as Reform Judaism, Orthodoxy, Zionism, Assimilation, which were followed by entertaining and instructive discussions. Reports were also given by members on current books of Jewish interest, among them being: Fishberg's "The Jews," Ruppin's "The Jews of Today," and Israel Cohen's "Jewish Life in Modern Times." Current magazine articles of Jewish interest were also reviewed and discussed.

Members of the Faculty and outside speakers, including Rabbi M. M. Eichler and Jacob de Haas of Boston, gave addresses at various times and Rabbi H. H. Rubenovitz of Boston delivered a series of lectures on "The Maccabees."

The first banquet of the Society, held December 17, 1914, was a great success and helped stir up much interest among the students in the Menorah. (For a note on this dinner see the April MENORAH JOURNAL, page 140; for the after-dinner address of President G. Stanley Hall see the April JOURNAL, page 87).

A program for the next year has already been made and the forecast for the future is most promising.

ISADOR LUBIN

University of Colorado

The academic year 1914-1915 opened auspiciously for the University of Colorado Menorah Society. The old men returned with new and greater enthusiasm, and the new men quickly caught the same spirit. Our first meeting was a get-together affair where acquaintances were renewed and new acquaintances made.

The meetings of the first semester were addressed entirely by the members of the Society who chose their material from the excellent Menorah Library. Those of the second semester were addressed in part by outside men and in part by members. During the year two meetings were held in Denver in conjunction with the University of Denver Menorah. These were well attended and the principal addresses given by the heads of the two universities.

MICHAEL IDELSON

Columbia University

The past year has been a year of steady progress for the Columbia Menorah Society and of increasing interest in its activities. At the first meeting of the year the members were greatly stimulated by an address by Dr. H. G. Enelow on the work of Menorah Societies. At other meetings held during the year, Mr. Samuel Strauss spoke on "Some Delusions Now in the Testing," Professor Talcott Williams, dean of the School of Journalism, on "The War and Race Prejudice," Rabbi Rudolph I. Coffee, of Pittsburg, Pa., on "The College Graduate in Jewish Affairs," Professor Israel Friedlaender, on "Jewry, East and West." At a smoker given in February, Rev. Dr. Jacob Kohn spoke on "Jewish Ceremonialism," Mr. Henry Hurwitz spoke on the work of other Menorah Societies, and Mr. M. David Hoffman, the Representative of the Columbia Society in the Administrative Council of the Intercollegiate Association, presented an interesting report of the Menorah Convention of Cincinnati.

Although the Society is not satisfied with the number of its members, that number is one which would probably be deemed large at many another university. The Society is becoming more and more active and acquiring ever greater prestige among the Jewish students, as well as in the University in general. It has aroused interest on the part of not a few who have heretofore been indifferent to Jewish affairs.

HARRY WILK

University of Illinois

At the beginning of this year conditions were somewhat abnormal for the Illinois Menorah Society. The preceding graduating class had taken an extraordinarily heavy toll from our members and, as the number of Juniors left was small, we had few veterans remaining. But, to offset our loss, we were compensated by an unusually large number of promising freshmen.

We started the year with a reception to the new students at which over one hundred were present. Our customary smoker was dispensed with on account of the increased number of Jewish co-eds, there being about fifteen at present. At our next meeting, at which we formally welcomed the new students to our Society, Dr. David S. Blondheim of our Faculty explained the nature of the work we are doing and gave some practical advice, and Dr. Jacob Zeitlin of our Faculty spoke on the Jewish problems of the present. Since then we have had many regular meetings, every other Sunday, student programs alternating with outside speakers. Among the latter have been Professor I. Leo Sharfman of Michigan, who spoke on "Jewish Ideals," Rabbi A. A. Neuman of the Dropsie College, who talked on "Life Among Medieval Spanish Jews," and Dr. H. M. Kallen of Wisconsin on "The Meaning of Hebraism." Mrs. E. F. Nickoley, who has traveled extensively in Palestine, gave an interesting talk on the Jews in the Holy Land. Professor Simon Litman of our Faculty spoke on "Jews and Modern Capitalism." Professor E. C. Baldwin of our English department, in speaking on "Prayer," roused a lively interest in the question as to whether prayer is decadent among the Jews. Professor Albert H. Lybyer lectured on "Jews as the Transmitters of Culture from the Moslems to the Christians"; Professor Boyd H. Bode discussed "What the Jew Contributes to American Ideals," and Dr. A. R. Vail spoke on "The Influence of the Hebrew Prophets as the Teachers of Moral Law."

Nor have we had a dearth of student talks and readings, among them the following: Herbert B. Rosenberg on the Falashas, Louis Ribback on the Chinese Jews, Jesse Block on the Spanish Jews, S. J. Lurie on Maimonides, Julius Cohen on "The Jewish Messianic Idea," L. J. Greengard on "Prophecy," Karl Epstein on Jewish Nationalism. Current events were given during the year by Bertha Bing, Julius Cohen, and William A. Grossman.

Early in February a study circle was formed, under the leadership of Mrs. Simon Litman, for the study of post-Biblical Jewish history. Ten members of the Society enrolled and met weekly at the home of Professor and Mrs. Litman. Portions of Vol. II of Graetz and of Riggs' "History of the Jews" were read and amplified by the excellent lectures of the leader. The discussions also furnished very valuable instruction.

KARL EPSTEIN

University of Maine

During the past year the conditions on the campus were such that it made all of the Jewish students feel the necessity of the right kind of Jewish organization. Clubs had been formed time after time, each of a different nature; yet none of them could fulfill the need and they all sooner or later broke up. Thus things dragged along, each one feeling that something ought to be done, yet no one knowing what remedy was needed, until a report came of the Menorah movement. After a hastily gathered meeting one Saturday night, the matter was presented to the Jewish students for discussion. Great enthusiasm was displayed and everybody was heartily in favor of organizing a Menorah Society.

With the aid of the Menorah catalogue ("The Menorah Movement"), and Mr. Joseph Spear, of our Faculty, a former member of the Harvard Menorah Society, a constitution was drawn up and presented at the next meeting, when it was accepted. It was also submitted to President Aley, who approved it and congratulated us most heartily upon the formation of the Society.

Our first task was to place the Society in the right light on the campus by emphasizing the absolutely unsectarian, academic, cultural nature of the Menorah Society and the fact that membership is invitingly open to all members of the University. In this we were greatly helped by the visit of Chancellor Henry Hurwitz who addressed the whole student body in Chapel on the morning of May 5th, after being introduced by President Aley, upon the nature and purposes of the Menorah movement; and he addressed a public meeting of the Society in the evening, which was also attended by President Aley, on "Jewish Ideals."

During the course of the year we have succeeded in holding several other enthusiastic meetings besides. We have had frank and inspiring talks by President Aley and Professor Huddleston. At other meetings our own members gave talks and discussions. Thus, Samuel Rudman gave a splendid talk on "The Attitude of Jewish Young Men towards Jewish Religion", which was warmly discussed. Another paper was delivered by A. I. Schwey on "Hebrew Literature."

Through the kindness of the Intercollegiate Menorah Association, into which we were admitted at the Cincinnati Convention, we have secured a Menorah Library, which has been put in a conspicuous place in the reading room of the University library, for the benefit of all the students. But the Menorah members especially intend to make good use of the books in the preparation of papers and in regular study. We have also been fortunate in securing a set of the Jewish Encyclopedia from Mr. Cyrus L. Sulzberger of New York for presentation to the University library. The coming of the Encyclopedia and the Menorah Library has been greatly appreciated by the authorities, and the Maine Menorah Society is happy to have been able already to be of concrete service to the University. All of our activities have caused favorable interest on the part of both the student body and the college authorities, and a great change has come about in the attitude towards the Jewish men. We look forward to even greater progress as well as hard work in the future.

A. I. SCHWEY

University of Missouri

Our Menorah Society this year has done at least two things. First, it has definitely held to a program of work; secondly, it has become accredited as representative of the Jewish students to the Jewish students themselves, and even more to the non-Jews. The opposition that some of the students manifested in other years has not been so active, and the Society drew a large proportion of them, sometimes all of them, to its meetings. The non-Jews, especially among the Faculty, have exhibited an actively interested and helpful attitude. In this connection, our thanks are due Prof. J. E. Wrench, of the History department, whose presence at all of our meetings greatly stimulated profitable discussion.

Of the Jewish faculty men, Dr. Henry M. Sheffer, of the Philosophy department, one of the founders of the Harvard Menorah Society, took a particularly active interest in the work, especially in the preparation of our programs. The program for the second semester was on "Typical Hebraic Ideals", as follows:

I. Transitional:
1. Hellenism J. Sholtz
2. Emancipation J. L. Ellman

II. Contemporary:
(a) Religious
1. Orthodoxy Wm. Stone
2. Reform Robert Burnett
(b) National
1. Assimilationism A. Hertzmark
2. Zionism D. A. Glushek
(c) Literary
1. Yiddish M. Glazer
2. Neo-Hebrew C. Goldberg

III. Prospective:
The New Hebraism Dr. H. M. Sheffer

This program was devised with the idea of creating a definite reaction to Hebraism. So, the papers on Hellenism and Emancipation tried by the contrast of transitional periods to make Hebraic ideals as a whole stand out. The meeting on Reform and Orthodoxy was devoted to an historical analysis of the forces underlying the present situation in Judaism. The papers on Zionism and Assimilation, again, summed up from another angle the characteristics of Hebraic aspiration. And at the two last meetings, present Jewish life and ideals were discussed in terms of their literary and philosophical expression.

Along with these meetings we had several lectures by Dr. H. M. Sheffer, Rabbi A. A. Neuman of the Dropsie College, and Dr. H. M. Kallen of Wisconsin. These meetings were in every case productive of great enthusiasm. Prof. J. E. Wrench addressed a meeting composed in numbers equally of Jews and non-Jews on "The Jew and Christian in the Middle Ages", and we also had an address by Dr. A. T. Olmstead, Professor of Ancient History, on the "Book of Kings".

JOHN SHOLTZ

University of North Carolina

The Menorah Society at our University is in a unique position. The number of Jews in North Carolina is the smallest of any in the Southern States. Only in a few places is there any organized Jewish life. The Jewish students come chiefly from such places where the number of Jews is very small. Under these circumstances, it can readily be seen how difficult it was at first to implant the idea of a Jewish society for the purpose of the study of Jewish subjects of which the majority of the students were greatly ignorant. The Society, however, has now passed far beyond the experimental stage. All the Jewish students at North Carolina now show a great deal of interest and enthusiasm in the Menorah work.

From the fact that our Society can look to very little in the way of help from any Jewish community in the State, and that it is far from any Jewish cultural center in the South, it can be perceived how hard it was at first to carry on our work in comparison with our sister Societies located in more favorable localities. A review of our work of the last term will show, however, gratifying results. Our method was similar to that of the class room. A text book on Jewish history was taken as the basis for study, supplemented by additional information from the Jewish Encyclopedia and other books on Judaica from the University Library and the Menorah Library. The value of our study of Jewish history may be educed from the fact that most of us had but the faintest knowledge of our glorious past. When a thorough knowledge of the text was acquired, discussions and studies of different phases and movements in Judaism were taken up. In this work the Menorah Library proved an especially valuable aid.

While our Society is not a religious organization, it endeavors to surround our work with ethical and religious aims. The Society tries to be here for the Jewish students what the Y. M. C. A. is in a measure for our Christian fellow-students, and we can say that it has succeeded in its endeavor. The relation of the Menorah Society here with the Y. M. C. A. is one of heartiest co-operation.

SAMUEL R. NEWMAN

Universities in Omaha