GREAT BRITAIN

PALESTINE

AND THE LIBRARY IS

Walter Clinton Jackson Library
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
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WORLD WAR I PAMPHLET COLLECTION

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GREAT BRITAIN, PALESTINE AND THE JEWS

Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

Jewry's Celebration of Its National Charter

NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY

05 149

COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY

PREFACE

The Declaration by the British Government in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people constitutes the greatest event in the history of the Jews since their dispersion. The manner in which this Declaration has been received and celebrated in Jewish communities both here and abroad has been marked by boundless enthusiasm and overflowing gratitude.

But for the fact that the world is still groaning under the scourge of war the rejoicings by the Jewish people would doubtless have assumed a much more imposing and jubilant character. But the record presented in this publication shows that the House of Israel is fully conscious of the high significance of the pledge of the British Government concerning its restoration.

This pamphlet is intended to give a brief and comprehensive survey of the various forms of celebration in Jewry in honour of the promulgation of the British Charter of Zionism. It is inevitably confined to the events and utterances of the first few weeks following the publication of Mr. Balfour's

historic letter, and cannot therefore include an adequate account of the celebrations in other lands. But it is worthy of note that in addition to the countless secular celebrations, the synagogues also took cognisance of the Government declaration.

Although a political document, Mr. Balfour's letter proclaims the forthcoming fulfilment of what has always been a religious ideal in Jewry; and it was therefore but right that the letter should have been read in numerous synagogues during the Sabbath service and formed the text of countless sermons

CONTENTS

RESOLUTIONS, STATEMENTS AND MESSAGES OF ZIONIST ORGANISATIONS

THE CHARTER OF ZIONISM

LETTER FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT

The following are the terms of the letter to Lord ROTHSCHILD in which Mr. A. J. Balfour, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, declared the sympathy of the British Government with Zionist aspirations and its favourable attitude towards the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people:

FOREIGN OFFICE.

November 2, 1917

Dear Lord Rothschild,—I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majesty's Government the following Declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, which has been submitted to and approved by the Cabinet:

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

I should be grateful if you would bring this Declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR

GREAT BRITAIN, PALESTINE AND THE JEWS

RESOLUTIONS, STATEMENTS AND MESSAGES OF ZIONIST ORGANISATIONS

ENGLISH ZIONIST FEDERATION

The Pronouncement of the British Government was received with enthusiasm and expressions of profound gratitude by Zionist Organisations in all the principal Jewish centres of the world. The English Zionist Federation held a special meeting three days after the date of Mr. Balfour's letter, and unanimously adopted the following resolution:

"Resolved that the Executive Council of the English Zionist Federation has received with heartfelt joy and thanks the report of Dr. Weizmann, the President, on the issue of a Declaration by His Majesty's Government in support of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and that it sincerely congratulates the President on having, in conjunction with Mr. Sokolow, brought about this most momentous achievement towards the realisation of the national aspirations of the Jewish people.

"Further, that the Executive Council begs the hon. officers to convey to His Majesty's Government, on behalf of the English Zionist Federation, an expression of the respectful and profound sentiments of gratitude evoked among English Zionists by this historic act in the national liberation of the Jewish people, which will for ever shed lustre on the proud traditions of British statesmanship, justice, and liberty."

THE UNITED STATES

The gratitude felt by the British Zionists was equalled by that felt and expressed by their colleagues in the United States. The Provisional Zionist Committee of New York described the Declaration of the British Government as marking an epoch in Jewish history. "The wise and magnanimous purpose of His Majesty's Government to use its best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of the Zionist aim is in consonance with the policy of the British nation respecting the Jews. It is in consonance with the policy of the liberation and protection of small nationalities, which the Entente Powers, including our own Government, have determined shall prevail throughout the world."

At a Zionist Conference, held in Baltimore, the following resolution was carried unanimously:

"This conference, convened by the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs, do

RUSSIA

The Central Committee of the Zionist Organisation of Russia expressed the heartiest feelings and thanks of the Russian Zionists for the inspiring Declaration of His Majesty's Government "in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

"No more happy tidings could reach Russian

Jewry than this timely expression by the British Government of its attitude towards Palestine, and we cannot sufficiently express the importance which we attach thereto. We regard this noble act as a landmark in Jewish history. . . .

We find ourselves particularly fortunate that at this momentous time in the world's history the interests of the British people and those of the Jewish nation should be identical. We also fervently hope and desire that the re-establishment of a Jewish home situated at the gateway of three continents and commanding the world's chief arteries of communication will greatly facilitate the maintenance of international peace, and will serve the cultural ideals of mankind.

His Majesty's Government, in its noble and altruistic declaration, makes mention that in the establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities shall not be prejudiced. We Jews who have suffered injustice for so many hundreds of years will never be able to impose any form of inequality on peoples living in Palestine. Furthermore, the spirit of our traditions and teachings forces us to recognise the complete equality of all mankind.

In the annals of Jewish history the sympathy and assistance rendered by the British Government in the regeneration of the Jewish nation can never be eradicated. In her great beneficence the British Government offered us Jews El-Arish in 1902. Then again she showed us her concrete desire to assist Jewish nationalism by her Uganda offer in 1903. As the highest evidence of the benevolence of His Majesty's Government we see that at this very moment, when her armies are triumphing in Palestine, she is not only offering this assistance towards the re-establishment of a Jewish home, but at the same time she is pledging her great political influence in this worthy undertaking.

In the realisation of one of the greatest problems of the world—namely, the complete liberation of the most oppressed nation of all times—the British Government will give certain evidence to posterity that the many sacrifices she has made in this disastrous struggle were not made in vain, but were made for the greater enlightenment of the world."

FRANCE

The Fédération Sioniste de France sent the British Government a message of congratulation on the occupation of Jerusalem. They associated with that historic event the equally historic Declaration of the British Government in favour of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, and welcomed the advent of the promised day when the ancient people of the Book would, with the help of the glorious

16 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

Allies, restore their ancient home on the beloved soil of their ancestors.

HOLLAND

At a meeting of the Netherlands Zionist Federation there was repeated applause at a reference to Mr. Balfour's statement of accord with Zionist aims which, said the President, had given great joy to almost the whole of Jewry. Mr. Jean Fischer said that the Declaration of the British Government regarding Zionism was an historical fact of far-reaching significance. The British Government had earned the everlasting gratitude of the Jewish people. It was resolved to send the following telegram to the English Zionist Federation: "The eighteenth General Convention of the Netherlands Zionist Federation expresses its gratitude to the British Government for its sympathetic attitude towards Zionism, and for its Declaration that it will do its best to contribute to the fulfilment of the Zionist programme.—Lieme, President; Van Veiesland, Secretary."

GERMANY

A German Zionist Conference, held in Berlin, adopted the following resolution:

"The German Zionist Association greets with satisfaction the fact that the British Government has recognised in an official Declaration the right of the Jewish people to a national existence in Palestine."

A large number of other messages were received by the London Zionist Bureau from Zionist Organisations in all parts of the world.

CANADA

The Canadian Zionist Federation cabled: "Cordial greetings from Canadian Zionists. Overwhelming majority Canadian Jews hail with utmost enthusiasm and gratitude Declaration British Government regarding Palestine and Jewish people. This Declaration is one of the most momentous in Jewish history. What Britain promises she will fulfil. The undying hopes for which Jews suffered martyrdom for twenty centuries will now be realised and Israel reborn. It means full accomplishment of Basle programme."

SWITZERLAND

From the Union of Swiss Zionists came: "The Swiss Zionist Federation having taken note, with the greatest satisfaction, of the Declaration of His Britannic Majesty's Government concerning the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, heartily congratulates you on the great success. The Declaration of Mr. Balfour coincides with our Zionist aims. We hope that all the nations of the world will support these aims and thereby in a like manner assure themselves of the deep gratitude of the Jewish people."

BELGIUM

The Belgian Zionist Federation, temporarily domiciled in the Hague, welcomed with enthusiasm "the important Declaration of His Britannic Majesty's Government to the Jewish people. It is deeply grateful to the magnanimity of His Britannic Majesty's Government for recognising the legitimate national aspirations of the Jewish people to Palestine and heartily congratulates you on the triumph which crowns the Zionist effort."

SCANDINAVIA

The Norwegian Zionist Federation's message ran:

"Though small, Norway's Zionistic Jewry joins gladly the elder Zionist Associations the world over in congratulating you heartily on great success as recorded by Mr. Balfour's Declaration of willingness of British Government to fully endorse and assist realisation our Palestine hopes. We record joyfully this essential step forward, doubly welcome in times of tribulation, and trust in further crowning with success of all your endeavours."

At Stockholm the Scandinavian Zionist Association held a crowded meeting at which an expression of lively satisfaction was passed at the recent Declaration of His Majesty's Government regarding the future Jewish settlement in Palestine. A resolution was passed unanimously welcoming the action of His Majesty's Government and binding all present to use every effort to secure a national future for the Jewish people.

SALONICA

The Committee of the Jewish Congress in Salonica sent a message to the following effect:

"Le Comité du Congrès juif de Salonique a reçu avec une joie indicible communication de la déclaration faite par le gouvernement de Sa Majesté Britannique relativement à la reconstitution de la nationalité juive en Palestine; son émotion est grande de voir les aspirations nationales du peuple juif recevoir une consécration aussi éclatante qui lui est donnée aujourd'hui par la grande et libérale nation anglaise. Les Israélites de Salonique communiant avec le judaisme universel expriment au gouvernement de Sa Majesté Britannique leur profonde reconnaissance et forment des vœux chaleureux pour le triomphe final du droit, de la justice et du principe des nationalités si vaillamment défendus par l'Angleterre et ses Alliés."

RESOLUTIONS OF OTHER JEWISH ORGANISATIONS

RESOLUTIONS OF OTHER JEWISH ORGANISATIONS

JEWISH TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION

At a meeting of the British Headquarters' Council of the Jewish Territorial Organisation it was unanimously resolved to welcome the statement of the Government expressing sympathy with Jewish aspirations, and the Jewish Territorial Organisation, "founded to procure a territory upon an autonomous basis for those Jews who cannot, or will not, remain in the lands in which they at present live," declared its readiness to co-operate with the Zionists in devising a scheme for the development of Palestine in accordance with its programme.

JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES

A meeting of the Jewish Board of Deputies adopted the following resolution:

"That this Board desires to convey its grateful thanks to His Majesty's Government for its sympathetic interest in the Jews as manifested by the letter addressed to Lord Rothschild by the Right Hon. Arthur J. Balfour, dated November 2, 1917, which has been published in the Press."

ANGLO-JEWISH ASSOCIATION

'At a special meeting of the Council of the Anglo-Jewish Association it was resolved:

"That the Council of the Anglo-Jewish Association desires to convey its grateful thanks to His Majesty's Government for its sympathetic interest in the Jews, as manifested by the letter of the Right Hon. Arthur J. Balfour, dated November 2, 1917, addressed to Lord Rothschild, and published in the Press."

THE ORDER OF B'NAI B'RITH

At a meeting of the London Lodge of the Order the following resolution was adopted:

"That the First Lodge of England of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith (Sons of the Covenant) conveys to His Majesty's Government an expression of heartfelt gratitude for their Declaration in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and assures His Majesty's Government that their historic action has been received with profound appreciation by all sections of the Jewish community as the crowning evidence of the goodwill entertained by Britain towards the Jewish people."

In addition to the resolutions adopted by the foregoing leading organisations, resolutions in a similar strain have been passed by a very large number of Jewish Communal Councils, Congregational Committees, Literary Societies, Friendly Benefit Societies, Trade Unions, etc., in all parts of the United Kingdom.

RUSSIA

Greetings on the occasion of the Declaration of the British Government supporting the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine arrived at Zionist headquarters in Petrograd from all parts of the country. The council of the Jewish community in Moscow, which has been elected for the first time on the basis of universal suffrage, carried, at an extraordinary meeting, a resolution in which they regarded it as their joyful duty to hail the initiative of the British Government, and expressed their firm conviction that the British Government's Declaration would call forth a most lively response, as well as the greatest effort on the part of the whole of Jewry.

GREECE

The publication by the Press of Athens of the Declaration made by Mr. Balfour aroused the utmost enthusiasm among the Jews of Greece. Dr. Coffinas, who is a member of the Chamber of Deputies, paid a visit to Lord Granville, the British Minister, to convey the gratitude of his co-religionists to that nation whom a Divine mission had inspired to deliver the holy places from the yoke of barbarians.

26 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

MM. David Florentin and Joseph Usiel, on behalf of the Zionist Societies and the entire Jewish population of Salonika, sent the following telegram to Dr. Weizmann and M. N. Sokolow:

"Fortified in the millenary hope for the national resurrection, consequent on the deliverance of Jerusalem and the whole of Southern Palestine, we beg you to convey to the Government of His Britannic Majesty our profound gratitude for its historic Declaration concerning the restoration of our people on its ancestral soil, and our most ardent wishes for the decisive triumph of the English and Allied arms, and the realisation, without restrictions, of the noble promises that the British Government has made to the Zionist Organisation of which you are in England the valiant champions."

MOROCCO

Representative Jewish residents of Tangier expressed on behalf of the whole Jewish population of Morocco their highest appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for the action of the British Government in Palestine. The Jews of Morocco, they said, were only lately freed from the political and social disadvantages under which they had lived, and the promise of the British Government awakened new religious hopes and aspirations among that long-suffering and worthy people.

VIEWS OF JEWISH LEADERS

In addition to the views expressed by Jewish leaders in the speeches reported in this pamphlet, the following opinions have been declared.

Dr. Jechiel Tchlenow, Vice-President, Executive Committee of the Zionist Organisation.

The Declaration of His Majesty's Government has changed the aspect of our movement. We have now the promise of Great Britain—that traditional friend of small nations—to use its best endeavours to assist us in the establishment of a National Home for the Jewish people in Palestine. The World's History, and in particular Jewish history, will inscribe in its pages this deed in letters of gold.

THE RIGHT HON. HERBERT SAMUEL, M.P.,

I rejoice wholeheartedly in the pronouncement that has been made by the British Government with respect to Palestine. I support the policy because it will furnish to the genius of the Jewish race an opportunity of again giving to mankind a brilliant and distinctive civilisation, and secondly for the sake of the ennobling influence on the millions of the 30 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

Jewish proletariat who must continue to remain scattered throughout the countries of the world, which a successful Jewish Palestine could not fail to exercise.

THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S.

I consider that the Declaration is the most important pronunciamento yet made, as it is the first recognition by a Great Power of the real status of the Jewish people, and that it ought therefore to find a wholehearted support from all Jews. I also consider it not only the first step towards restoring Palestine to its ancient prosperity, but also the first step in constructive policy necessitated by the war and its inevitable aftermath of necessary changes and reconstruction.

THE RIGHT HON. SIR ALFRED MOND, Bart., M.P. First Commissioner of Works

The establishment in their old land, under the ægis of the British Government, of a home where the Jewish people will be at liberty to develop their national genius and freely to exercise their virtues of industry, thrift, and organisation in their own way marks an epoch in the world's history. The development in recent years of the Jewish colonies in Palestine, whose success under the most unfavourable and depressing conditions has been phenomenal,

has always deeply impressed me, and gives assurance of still greater success in the future. There are some who seem to think that the policy adopted is likely to damage the position of those Jews—and there must be many millions of them throughout the world—who will remain, as in the past, identified with and loyal and patriotic citizens of the countries of their birth and residence, and that the establishment of a national home in Palestine will, in particular, prejudice British Jews in the eyes of their fellow-citizens. I do not share and never have shared their view. In my opinion quite the reverse will be the case. The dignity and importance of our whole race will be enhanced by the existence of a national home where those of our people who have been compelled to live under less favourable conditions than we enjoy will be able to establish themselves on the soil of their ancestors.

MR. NATHAN STRAUS, New York

My heartfelt congratulations upon the announcement of His Majesty's Government, made by Mr. Balfour. American Jews are deeply moved by the good tidings; before our countries and their Allies lies the task of winning the war for liberation and justice and the sanctity of international relations, to the end that the sacredness of the right of small nations may never again be violated. This is the day

32 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews which the Lord hath made; let us be glad and rejoice therein.

DR. STEPHEN S. WISE, Chairman Provisional Zionist Committee, New York

The Declaration has transferred Zionism from the field of national aspirations to the realm of political fact. Not in centuries has any word been spoken of equally vital consequence to the well-being of Israel.

Two things may be assumed on the basis of the historic utterance of the British Minister of Foreign Affairs: the one that Britain is not acting alone. It is not for us to predicate that England has spoken and acted in concert with her Allies, but we are justified in believing that England, ever working in closest co-operation with her Allies in the War, will in the day of peace find herself not only supported by France and Italy, but above all by the American Government and people, which, under the leadership of President Wilson, must needs insist that the destruction of the Prussian ideal must be followed by the establishment and maintenance of the integrity of the lesser nations. The other fact that is bound inevitably with the Declaration of the British Cabinet is that it is to be taken for granted that opposition to Zionism is ended.

JUDGE JULIAN W. MACK, Chicago

American Jews, citizens of this great Republic, and owing to it their sole and undivided allegiance and loyalty, rejoice with the Jews of all countries that the British Government has issued this epochmaking Declaration.

The dreams and prayers of twenty centuries, embodied in the famous Basle Zionist declaration that Palestine may again become the homeland of the Jewish people, secured and recognised as such by the law of the nations, is approaching realisation.

MR. ADOLPH KRAUS, President Independent Order
B'nai B'rith, U.S.A.

The Declaration by the British Government that it is ready to support the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine gains additional significance by reason of the progress which the British Forces are making in Palestine. The declaration must have the effect of gaining for the Zionist cause the support of even such Jews as have hitherto been indifferent or opposed to the movement, for no Jew can consistently oppose the establishment of a Jewish homeland, be it ever so small.

PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING MEETING AT THE LONDON OPERA HOUSE

The greatest and most imposing public meeting ever held in the history of British Jewry was that which took place on Sunday, December 2, 1917, at the London Opera House, for the purpose of thanking the British Government for its declaration in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. The building was crowded with an enthusiastic audience representative of all sections of the Anglo-Jewish community. Delegates were present from nearly all Jewish congregations, organisations, institutions, and societies in the United Kingdom. The chair was taken by Lord Rothschild.

LORD ROTHSCHILD said they were met on the most momentous occasion in the history of Judaism for the last 1800 years. They were there to return thanks to His Majesty's Government for a Declaration which marked an epoch in Jewish history of outstanding importance. For the first time since the Dispersion the Jewish people had received its proper status by the Declaration of one of the Great

LORD ROTHSCHILD then moved the following resolution:

"That this mass meeting, representing all sections of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, conveys to His Majesty's Government an expression of heartfelt gratitude for their Declaration in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national

home for the Jewish people. It assures His Majesty's Government that their historic action in support of the national aspirations of the Jewish people has evoked among Jews the most profound sentiments of joy. This meeting further pledges its utmost endeavours to give its whole-hearted support to the Zionist cause."

LORD ROBERT CECIL, K.C., M.P., who was received with loud cheering, said:

I should like to be allowed to say that the part that this country is taking in this movement is not a new thing. (Hear, hear.) I venture to claim for this country that in supporting Zionism it has been merely carrying out its traditional policy. To me, at any rate, it seems that there are two great foundations upon which the policy of this country has always been based. I believe they are often described by the two words "Liberty" and "Justice." Perhaps more accurately they may be called the supremacy of the Law and Liberty, for, be well assured, if we are ever to obtain that security which we have been recently told is so important to us, if we are ever to lift European civilisation and national relations in Europe out of the anarchy in which they at present are, it must be by the same means by which we have secured liberty and happiness in each country, namely, by the supremacy of Law.

As for the second foundation of which I have spoken, and which has more practical bearing on our proceedings this afternoon, may I say this: We hear a great deal of a new word, "Self-determination." Well, I don't know that it is a new thing. It certainly is not new in the British Empire. The Empire has always striven to give to all the peoples that make it up the fullest measure of self-government of which they are capable. (Hear, hear.) We have always striven to give to all peoples within our bounds complete liberty and equality before the Law. (Hear, hear.) We are adjured to respect the principle of self-determination; but I say that the British Empire was the first organisation to teach that prin-

ciple to the world, and one of the great causes for which we are in this war is to secure to all peoples the right to govern themselves and to work out their own destiny, irrespective of the threats and menaces

of their greater neighbour. (Hear, hear.)

One of the great steps—in my judgment, in some ways the greatest step—we have taken in carrying out this principle is the recognition of Zionism. This is the first constructive effort that we have made in what I hope will be the new settlement of the world after the war. (Cheers.) I do not say that that is the only thing involved. It is not only the recognition of a nationality—it is much more than that. It has great underlying ideals of which you will hear this afternoon and of which it would be impertinent of me to speak. It is, indeed, not the birth of a nation, for the Jewish nation through centuries of oppression and captivity have preserved their sentiment of nationality as few people could; but if it is not the birth of a nation, I believe we may say it is the re-birth of a nation. (Applause.) I don't like to prophesy what ultimate results that great event may have, but for myself I believe it will have a far-reaching influence on the history of the world and consequences which none can foresee on the future history of the human race. (Loud cheers.)

Mr. Herbert Samuel, M.P., who received an enthusiastic welcome, said:

I rejoice wholeheartedly in the pronouncement that has been made by the British Government with respect to Palestine. It is a policy which for nearly

The reason why, for my own part, I support the policy which we are here to-day to approve and celebrate are chiefly these. First, it may be that the genius of the Jewish race will again be able to give to the world a brilliant and distinctive civilisation. (Cheers.) The richness of mankind lies in its diversity. We do not want the world to be like some

great library, consisting of nothing but innumerable copies of one and the same book. The Jewish mind is a distinctive thing. It combines in remarkable degree the imaginative and the practical, the ideal and the positive. This combination of qualities enabled it for 1500 years in Palestine to produce an almost unbroken series of statesmen and soldiers, judges and poets, prophets and seers—thinkers and leaders who have left for all time their impress upon the world. The Jewish mind is tenacious and persists, and now, when all the powerful Empires that overran that land have been overthrown and almost forgotten, the Jewish people exists and is more numerous to-day than it ever has been at any period of its history. Who knows, I say, but that if again it finds a spiritual centre of its own, soundly based on an industrious population, untrammelled, self-contained, inspired by the memories of a splendid past, it may again produce golden fruits in the fields of intellect for the enrichment of the whole world. (Cheers.)

And my other reason is this: If this comes to be, what a helpful effect it would have upon the Jewish proletariat that will still remain scattered in other countries of the world! I see in my mind's eye those millions in Eastern Europe all through the centuries, crowded, cramped, proscribed, bent with oppression, suffering all the miseries of active minds denied scope, of talent not allowed to speak, of genius that cannot act. I see them enduring, suffering everything, sacrificing everything in order to keep alight the flame of which they knew themselves to be the lamp, to keep alive the idea of which they

knew themselves to be the vessel, to preserve the soul of which they knew themselves to be the body; their eyes always set upon one distant point, always believing that somehow, some day, the ancient greatness would be restored; always saying when they met in their families on Passover Night, "Next year in Jerusalem." Year after year, generation following generation, century succeeding century, till the time that has elapsed is counted in thousands of years, still they said, "Next year in Jerusalem." If that cherished vision is at last to be realised, if on the Hills of Zion a Jewish civilisation is restored with something of its old intellectual and moral force, then among those left in the other countries of the world I can see growing a new confidence and a new greatness. There will be a fresh light in those eyes, those bent backs will at last stand erect, there will be a greater dignity in the Jew throughout the world. (Cheers.)

That is why we meet to-day to thank the British Government, our own Government—(cheers)—that has made all this possible, that we shall be able to say, not as a pious and distant wish, but as a near and confident hope, "Next year in Jerusalem"—(Loud and prolonged cheers).

COLONEL SIR MARK SYKES said:

When one thinks of the years that have passed, of the immense spaces of history which stand between what was and now is promised to-day, truly one is dazzled—one is dazzled by the possibility of the prospects which open before us. I say I am speak-

ing to you as a watcher, but you in a sense perhaps also are watchers; perhaps you see as I see an Asia stricken with plagues and cumbered with ruins and a Europe a welter of blood. Perhaps you too see those two things, and I pray that you realise that it may be your destiny to be the bridge between Asia and Europe; to bring the spirituality of Asia to Europe and the vitality of Europe to Asia. I firmly believe that is the mission of Zionism. I see here something which is greater than the dream even of a League of Nations, which is a dream of a League of Races and finally a League of Ideals. There is the great vision; that is what may, that is what does, I believe, lie before you.

But no person realises more than I do—I know the ground, some of it, and boldly I dare to say that there lie before you dangers, difficulties, and possible obstructions; but, ladies and gentlemen, your time of probation has been long. You are schooled in adversity; you can look on difficulties with calm, and you will overcome them. I do not look for a sudden magic transformation. No; but I believe that you are beginning a great and beneficial and irresistible transition. That is what you are be-

ginning.

Now, I believe, you are going to set up a power which is not a domination of blood or a domination of gold, but a domination of intellectual force. I believe you will see in Palestine a great centre of ideals radiating out to every country in the world where your people are. And if there is one thing that gives me great pleasure here to-day it is to feel that you—at this turning-point in your history,

when the Government made its Declaration—you thought not only of yourselves, but you thought also—and afterwards you will look back with joy on the fact—when the hope of redemption was held out to you, you thought not only of yourselves but also of your fellows in adversity, the Armenians and the Arabs. (Loud cheers.)

of the Bible, and gave the world its monotheistic religions. (Cheers.) Now, as then, only "a remnant shall return"—מאר שאר שאר שור But now, as then, it was the national rejuvenation of that remnant that is to open a new chapter in the annals of the human spirit. Difficulties? Of course there were difficulties. The task of laying the foundations of a new Israel must be one of long toil and severe trial. But a people that for twenty-five centuries had stood victoriously against the storm of time possessed vitality enough, patience enough, idealism enough, with the help of God, to rise to the level of this unique, world-historic opportunity. (Loud cheers.)

Dr. M. Gaster said that he stood before them as an old friend, deeply imbued with the spirit of faith, a dreamer of visions, if they would. What appeared to so many as a dream had now become a reality—(cheers)—and they were gathered there to begin to reap in joy what they had sown in tears and sorrow. It was for all of them a day of joy to see the fruits which they had so long wished for. They had come together to thank the British Government for their Declaration of sympathy with their national aspirations. Therein lay the greatness of the British Government, that it had lifted the problem from its local geographical character and given to it that universally valued importance which they attached to it. What they wished to obtain in Palestine was not merely a right to establish colonies, or educational, cultured, or industrial institutions. They wanted to establish in Palestine an autonomous Jewish Commonwealth in the fullest sense of the word.

They wanted Palestine to be Palestine of the Jews and not merely a Palestine for Jews. They wished the land to be again what it was in olden times and what it had been for Jews in their prayers and in their Bible—a land of Israel. The ground must be theirs. (Cheers.) They stood indeed as a people for the same programme as British statesmen were standing to-day in a larger sphere. Jews stood for reparation, restitution, and guarantees—(cheers)—and it was in the very application of those principles that the greatness and importance of the Declaration of the British Government stood out so luminously. England owed to Jews no reparation. Here they had liberty, full freedom, equality of right and equality of duty, and they had risen to the responsibility which had thus been placed upon them. For many of them there had their children now fighting the battles of England.

But the British Government had now made itself the champion of reparation to the Jewish people for the wrongs done to them by the world. It had made itself a champion too of the restitution of the land to our nation, for whom it is the old inheritance, and it had given them a guarantee—security of tenure, independence, a right and freedom of action as a people in their ancient land. The establishment of a Jewish Commonwealth in the land of their fathers would also consolidate and clarify the position of the rest of the Jews throughout the world. (Hear, hear.) He believed that a new world was to arise in which the Jew, as Jew, would find himself a free man.

In conclusion, he reminded them of an old legend which told that when the Temple was destroyed the stones split into splinters and each one entered the heart of a Jew. It was this memorial of our fallen nation which the Jew carried in his bosom and which bent his back. But they were coming together once again as a nation in Palestine, and they would take the splinters of the stones from out of their hearts—"and," exclaimed Dr. Gaster, "I feel the stone in my heart already loosening." (Loud and prolonged cheers.)

the sons of Ishmael suffered also. They had been scattered and confounded as the Jews had been, and now began to arise, fortified with the sense of martyrs. He hoped that Palestine would again flow with milk and honey. (Cheers.)

M. Wadia Kesrawani, a Syrian Christian, spoke in French, also to the effect that his countrymen appealed to England and France for their liberation, and applauded the Declaration of the Government.

Mr. Israel Zangwill, who was received with loud and prolonged cheers, said:

In my capacity of President of the Jewish Territorial Organisation I have been honoured with an invitation to appear on your platform on this momentous occasion. In that capacity I have often criticised your leaders. But to-day I am here not for criticism but for congratulation and co-operation. I congratulate them, and especially Dr. Weizmann and M. Sokolow, upon their historic achievement in the region of diplomacy. To see that this is followed by a similar achievement in the more difficult region of practice is the duty of all Israel. Particularly is it the duty of the Ito, founded as it was to procure a territory upon an autonomous basis.

But I do not come to the Government, as Lord Morley tells us the Kaiser came to him, with mock salaams and marks of Oriental obeisance, for I have long maintained that after a war for liberty and the rights of small nations this very reparation was due to that unhappy, scattered and divided people which has bled and suffered with all the belligerents. And as an English-born citizen I am proud that my country by this pro-Jewish manifesto has wiped out the stain of her alliance with the fallen Pharaoh. But whatever the general Jewish gratitude for this extension of the principles of nationalities, the Jews in Turkey and other now enemy countries are as loyal to their fatherland as we are to ours, and we who stand here can have no claim to pledge the race to any Power or Powers. All we can say is that happily the vast majority are concentrated in those Allied and democratic countries with which they are in natural affinity. Particularly close is their affinity with the English. But it is not surprising that the nation whose noble version of our Scriptures has made the Bible almost a British possession should vibrate to Jewish national aspirations

From the first the formula of the Ito has run, "To procure a territory upon an autonomous basis for those Jews who cannot, or will not, remain in the lands in which they at present live." For those and for those only. Not for those who can or will remain in their present lands. With these there may be a spiritual connection, there cannot be a political. And to-day, when, to quote your great leader, Max Nordau, "the period of rhetoric is over, the hour of deeds is approaching," I am glad to have the assurance of the Zionist leaders here that they unreservedly accept the Government's stipulation that "nothing shall be done which might prejudice the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any

other country." Once Zionism is established on this sound basis, not only does its formula become identical with the Ito's, but I can see no reason why all Israel should not co-operate with both organisations in developing Palestine as a Jewish national home for those Jews who can or will go there. To diminish the risks of confusion, let Palestine be called what Lord Robert Cecil called it, Judæa, and let the Jews who adopt its citizenship be called Judæans. Then all the others will remain as before, Jews—Jews of whatever political allegiance they choose. A national home in Palestine—freedom and equal rights everywhere else; here surely is a platform that can unite all Israel, and so far as I can see it is uniting them.

I do not say that this autonomy must come at a bound. Though in my opinion the boldest way is always the best way and responsibility is a people's best educator, yet I am prepared to make all possible concessions to circumstances and history. But unless the Palestine colonisation is so planned that it must eventually produce the national autonomous home I for one will not devote my limited strength to such a mockery of Jewish aspirations. The times are too serious and tragic for such trifling. Mount Zion is in labour. Shall it produce a mouse? No, it must produce a lion—the lion of Judah.

Seven crusades to the Holy Land have all meant massacre for the Jews; if the eighth crusade is to mean Palestine for the Jews, if it is to be truly a Christian crusade, then that very fact is a proof of a new world-order of love and justice. Let us Jews, the people of Isaiah, at such a turning-point in his-

tory, make a great act of faith, and, instead of disavowing the brotherhood of Israel, let us proclaim from our Jerusalem centre the brotherhood of man.

And though our goal be yet far, and though we may not rejoice, yet already when I recall how our small nation sustained the mailed might of all the great empires of antiquity; how we saw our Temple in flames and were scattered like its ashes; how we endured the long night of the Middle Ages, illumined by the glare of our martyrs' fires; how but yesterday

we wandered in our millions, torn between the ruthless Prussian and the pitiless Russian, yet have lived to see to-day the bloody Empire of the Czars dissolve and the mountains of Zion glimmer on the horizon, already I feel we may say to the other nations: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, too, poor suffering peoples. Learn from the long patience of Israel that the spirit is mightier than the sword, and that the seer who foretold his people's resurrection was not less prophetic when he proclaimed also for all peoples the peace of Jerusalem." (Loud cheers.)

M. H. N. MOSTDITCHIAN, a member of the Armenian Delegation, said he availed himself of the opportunity of giving their Jewish brethren the heartiest greetings of the Armenians—(cheers)—and sincerest congratulations for the dawn about to break upon the glad valleys of their ancestral land. He made a comparison of the two nations who had gone through the same persecutions, but who, notwithstanding, were not willing to die, and had not died—(cheers)—and who stood to-day hand-in-hand on the eve of a new era, when both of them would be able to live once more their national lives, of which they had given good evidence in the past. They all knew that Armenia was one of the first countries mentioned in the history of the Jews, and there had reigned one thousand two hundred years ago a dynasty of Armenian kings who had in their veins a good deal of Jewish blood. After the loss of their independence the Jews had continued to live a life of captivity and exile, and the Armenians, after the loss of their independence, had suffered the same

exile. It was not the time to say what the Armenians had suffered during the last three years—a state of things to which the worst pogrom was a heaven; but they, as well as the Jews, looked towards "tomorrow" with great fervour as a result of the Declaration. They had waited long enough with their Jewish brethren, for centuries and centuries, and these two nations as well as the Arabs would make Palestine another Promised Land and a Garden of Eden—a centre to which humanity might look up. (Cheers.)

Mr. Nahum Sokolow said that the Zionist Organisation felt the deepest and keenest satisfaction at the Declaration of His Majesty's Government. He had the honour to make the following declaration to the Arabs: "Relations between Jews and Arabs had hitherto been scanty and spasmodic, largely owing to mutual ignorance and indifference. There were no relations whatever between the two nations as such, because the oppressive Power did not recognise either of them, and whenever points of connection began to develop they were destroyed by intrigue, to the detriment of both nationalities. We believe that the present hour of crisis and the opening of a large perspective for epoch-making developments offer a fruitful opportunity for a broad basis of permanent cordial relations between two peoples who are inspired by a common purpose. We mean a real entente cordiale between Jews, Arabs, and Armenians, such an entente cordiale having already been accepted in principle by leading representatives of these three nations. From such a beginning we

look forward with confidence to a future of intellectual, social, and economic co-operation; we are one with the Arabs and Armenians to-day in the determination to secure for each of us the free choice of our own destinies. We look with fraternal love at the creation of the Arab kingdom, re-establishing Semitic nationality in its glory and freedom, and our heartiest wishes go out to the noble, hardly-tried Armenian nationality for the realisation of their national hopes in their old Armenia. Our roots were united in the past, our destinies will be bound together in the future." That was their declaration to their future neighbours. (Cheers.)

CAPTAIN THE HON. W. ORMSBY GORE, M.P., said

As a British subject who has no Jewish connections I stand here this afternoon the personal friend of the Zionist leaders, one who has seen their work during the past year, both here and in Egypt, and I wish to congratulate them upon their success and join with them in thanking the British Government on the occasion of what I regard as a real epoch-making advance in civilisation. It was, I think, just about a year ago that I first came into contact with the Zionist movement in its practical form, when I was brought into close official contact with the Palestine refugees in Egypt. And from meeting them I learned that the Jews were already, and have been during the past forty years, endeavouring to bring idealism into that stricken land. The more one saw of Turkish rule, more particularly the rule since the deposition of Caliph Abdul Hamid by the

Young Turks, the more one saw there was no hope for Zionism, for liberty, for fair dealing, even in such a matter as taxation, no hope for progressive agriculture, unless Palestine were delivered from the thraldom of alien rule. I am particularly glad that this Declaration has been made by the British Government at a moment when British arms are delivering that land, because it shows that greater spirit for the ideal of freedom, of self-development, and

nationality.

and a statesman who has shown those great qualities of patience, of skill, of determination, and of intellect which have endeared him to everyone who has come across him. I have done what little I can to help forward this movement whenever I have had the opportunity. In the future if you are looking out for friends you may count me as one of them. (Cheers.)

Mr. James de Rothschild, who was received with great enthusiasm, said he stood there as the son of one who had spent his life in endeavouring to bring about what they were celebrating that day. Jewish ideals up to that time had been met at the gate, but they could not get through. With one stroke of the pen the English Government had flung open those gates. Therefore in every Jewish heart gratitude was overflowing, and they must not forget that all their aims of the future had been strengthened by the country whose Government had framed the generous and just Declaration. (Cheers.)

Dr. C. Weizmann, President of the English Zionist Federation, upon rising, received a great ovation. He referred to the many good and brilliant words which had been said about the Jews, and he hoped that the Jews of to-day and the Jews of to-morrow would rise to the occasion in the needed power and the dignity, and give their answer to the great resolution, not only in words, but in deeds. The present generation had upon its shoulders the greatest responsibility of the last 2000 years, and he prayed that they might be worthy of that responsibility.

He then called upon the meeting to rise, and with hands uplifted to take the old historic oath—each man and woman of them—יחשכים אם אשכחד חשכד ימיני אם אשכחד חשכד ימיני ("If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its power").

The meeting rose en masse, repeating the words of the psalm amid great enthusiasm, which culminated in the singing of "Hatikvah" and "God Save the

King" by the Precentors' Association

OVERFLOW MEETING

An overflow meeting, over which Mr. P. Horowitz presided, was held in the Kingsway Theatre, which was crowded in every part. Among those who addressed the audience were the Chief Rabbi, Lord Lamington, Mr. I. Zangwill, Mr. Joseph Cowen, Dr. Selig Brodetsky, Dr. D. Jochelman, and Mr. Israel Cohen.

A resolution in identical terms with that carried at the London Opera House was passed with much enthusiasm

THE DEMONSTRATION IN MANCHESTER

A striking demonstration was held on Sunday, December 9, 1917, in the Manchester Hippodrome, which was crowded with an enthusiastic audience. Sir Stuart M. Samuel, Bart., President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, presided, supported by all the leading Jewish representatives of Manchester and

the neighbouring towns and by a large number of influential non-Jewish citizens, including the Lord Mayor of Manchester and the Mayor of Salford. The proceedings began with the reading by Mr. Leon, the honorary secretary, of letters from Lord Rothschild, Lord Robert Cecil, Mr. Herbert Samuel, M.P., the Chief Rabbi, and Mr. Arthur Henderson, M.P.

Mr. Henderson wrote:

By its Declaration in favour of the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, the British Government has vindicated the democratic claim that this is a war of liberation in which oppressed nationalities will find deliverance. The British Labour movement has included among its war aims a demand that the Jews of all countries, great and small, shall enjoy the rare elementary rights of tolerance, freedom of residence and travel, and equal citizenship that ought to be extended to all the inhabitants of every nation; and it has also declared its belief that it would be practicable by agreement among all the nations to set Palestine free from the harsh and oppressive government of the Turk, in order that the country may form a Free State, under international guarantee, where the Jewish people may work out their own salvation free from interference by those of alien race and religion. To this policy the British Government and people are now solemnly pledged.

62 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

SIR STUART M. SAMUEL, in rising to speak, had an enthusiastic reception. Looking towards the Chanucah light just kindled, he said:

My Lord Mayor, this candle has been lighted in Jewish homes for the last 2000 years, and represents the undying flame of hope—the characteristic of the Jewish people in those long years when they never lost the hope that one day the Divine promise might

be fulfilled before their eyes.

Jews always remember that it was due to the freedom enjoyed in this blessed country, England, that they could thus hold out the hope of brotherhood. Living in England, they could realise thoroughly the gift of freedom. To sympathise deeply, one must suffer deeply. The cities of Palestine would be as cities of refuge to the persecuted in God's own time and bring מלום לישראל (Loud applause.)

The Lord Mayor of Manchester, who received an ovation, said he spoke for the majority, perhaps the whole of his fellow-citizens, when he wished them God-speed in their movement. He had many good friends among the Jews in Manchester, and looked upon them as a very valuable part of the city life. He had, as it were, a personal interest in the Zionist movement, as he had been in Palestine and was now represented there by a son who was in the British army. The world owed a great debt to the Jews, who had held up that great idea and been true to it through torment and torture, the idea of again acquiring the land of Palestine. He earnestly hoped that the idea would be realised, and it was best realised by winning this war—(cheers)—by destroying for ever German militarism and by crushing it with ferocity. When peace at length came then the vision of the prophet Isaiah would be realised. (Applause.)

SIR MARK SYKES said that since Mr. Balfour's letter to Lord Rothschild testimony had come from millions of Jews all over the world that the mass of Jewry was profoundly moved. Although within the

two thousand years past Jewry had on occasion been moved in unison it had always before been on some matter of grief and never of joy. The war had been fruitful in negatives, but here was a great positive. For centuries there had been something amiss with civilisation. Every nation and every continent had had its Jewish problem, oppressive laws, Ghettos, Pales; here Jews were proscribed and evicted, there tolerated and assimilated, and between the two one did not know whether the first was not the better. The realisation of the Zionist ideal was the end of all that. Zionism would give the Jews of the world a higher position than they had ever held before. Although few might go to Palestine in proportion to those who remained without, the latter would not suffer. No British Jew would be less British because he could look at the cradle of his race with pride and at the religious centre of his faith with happiness and reverence. When the spiritual citizenship was clearly and nobly defined the civic citizenship would be higher than ever before.

But there were practical considerations. He regarded it as vital for the success of the Zionist plan that it should rest upon a Jewish, Armenian, and Arab entente. The Armenian was one of an oppressed people, and until he could live his life and realise his national aspirations the Jews could have no guarantee that the tyranny which fell upon him would not fall upon them. We had been told that the Turk had tolerated the Jew. It was because in Turkey the Jews had not been a political element, and had had no agrarian population. The day that Zionism was realised they were land-holders, and be-

came to the Turk the same as the Bulgar, the Serb, the Greek, the Armenian, the Arab. Until they had liberated the Armenians they could not be secure; they must have between themselves and their possible aggressor a stable, progressive Armenian state.

bassids who spread literature and art from Bagdad to the whole civilised world.

To-day the Arabs were pre-nationalist. They were one in blood and in tongue. There were seven or eight millions of them; they were prolific. There was a combination of man-power, virgin soil, petroleum, and brains. What was that going to produce in 1950? The inevitable result was that the seven or eight millions would turn to 20 millions; the Mesopotamian canal system would be reconstructed; Syria must become the granary of Europe; Bagdad, Damascus, and Aleppo would be each as big as Manchester; universities and a great Press must arise.

Arab civilisation was coming there; no Sultan or Kaiser could prevent it, and when it came no imperialists and financiers would be able to control it. It was the destiny of the Jews to be closely connected with the Arab revival, and co-operation and goodwill from the first were necessary, or ultimate disaster would overtake both Jew and Arab. Therefore he warned the Jews to look through Arab glasses. (Cries of "We will, we will!")

What did the Arab fear? He feared financial corporations, pivoted on Palestine, controlling Syria and Mesopotamia. He feared the soil of Palestine would be bought by companies, and that he would become a proletariat working on the soil for alien masters. He feared the Palestinian colonists might drop their colonies and drift into Syria and Mesopotamia as middlemen and crush him out of existence. It was essential that Zionists should realise and face these dangers. He dared say these things

because he believed in Zionism, and knew that it was idealistic and not a financial manœuvre. (Loud cheers.) The Arabs should understand that the Jews sought no land not willingly sold; that all land so purchased would only be developed through Jewish labour—(loud cheers); that the colonists would be bona fide colonists, and that the Jews were out to win Palestine, not by financial manœuvres, but by the sweat of their brow. (Prolonged cheering, many rising to their feet.) The co-operation of the two races offered such prospects to mankind; hostility would mean such an unthinkable tragedy that he

felt it his duty to give the warning.

A second warning that he would offer was that Zionists should remember that Jerusalem was a triple shrine, sacred to Christian, Jew, and Moslem alike, because he as a Catholic had kissed the stone of the Holy Sepulchre and knew something of what the Moslem felt in regard to the Mosque of Omar and something of what the Jew felt when he laid his hand on the stones of the Wailing Place. Jerusalem throbbed with history; it was inflammable ground, and a careless word or gesture might set half a continent aflame. Jewish policy would not be realised by diplomacy, tact, delicacy, or the virtues of the drawing-room politician. Jerusalem called for more than that. It did not call for toleration, but for sympathy, understanding, compassion, sacrifice—"sympathy with the Moslem, to whom the Mosque of Omar is the most sacred spot on earth; understanding the Christian, who, like myself, feels that in helping Zionism he is doing something to make a great amend. Sacrifice all sense of triumph, of old

memories of ancient wrong. Approach it not in a spirit of toleration, but of brotherhood and affection."

He believed that, approached in the right spirit, Zionism would be the cause of a great reconciliation, not of fusion, but good fellowship between members of three faiths of common origin. Misused it would be the beginning of bitterer strife than ever the world had known. Timidity was the road to ruin; let them face facts boldly. In the realisation of their ideal he saw security for the world's peace. He saw them co-operating as the moral guarantors and protectors of small States, being perhaps the smallest and the greatest at the same time. He saw them healing the religious distractions which had severed the best from the best throughout the ages. In Jerusalem there would be a great vital heart, healing the scars of Europe and calling Asia once more back to life. (Prolonged cheers, the audience rising repeatedly.)

Mr. James de Rothschild said the British Government, representing without any doubt the voice of an enlightened and large-hearted democracy, had ratified the Zionist scheme. What was wanted from the Jewish people was no longer schemes, but deeds, and he hoped that in the near future cohorts of modern Maccabees would be fighting their way through the hills of Judæa. (Cheers.) The Jewish claim was one for justice, and that also was the basis of the claims of the Arabs and Armenians, claims which Jews fully endorsed and were pledged to support. Britain stood as the foster-mother of the

new-born Jewish nation, and he looked forward to the day when that nation, steeled in adversity but proud in hope, had proved itself by dint of its work to be a real daughter.

Mr. Joseph Cowen, who was received with cheers, said the Declaration was Restoration; it was, perhaps, the one thing which, say 500 years hence, would be singled out as the most historic act of this world-war; it seemed so transcendentally important not only to Jews, but likewise to the world. Jews must not always be dreamers. They had already begun some pioneer work in Palestine, and in time would be proud of their colonists. On what they accomplished during the next twenty years depended the verdict of the world. He believed they would rise to the cause, their men and their women with their heart in the good work. (Loud cheers.)

Dr. Weizmann, who was received with loud and long-sustained applause, said:

I desire to associate myself on behalf of the organisation which I have the honour to represent, the English Zionist Federation, with the sincere regard which is tendered by this great city to His Majesty's Government. As one who had the privilege of contributing somewhat to the negotiations with that Government I can realise the spirit in which this Declaration has been granted to us. The friendliness, the understanding of and sympathy with our cause as shown by the statesmen who rule the destinies of England, would, if it were known,

be regarded as a source of the greatest comfort to Jews all over the world. Moreover, not only has the Government granted us this Declaration, but it means to put it into effect as soon as possible. I hope that when the military position will allow it, a Commission of Zionist Jews will go out to Palestine for two great purposes. The first and immediate purpose will be to grant relief and to heal the wounds which have been produced by the devastations of war. The distress in Palestine is great, and relief is needed immediately. We have done what we could do at present, but much more has to be done in the immediate future, and that will be one of the objects of the Commission.

The second and perhaps more difficult task will be to form plans and opinions for setting about the difficult task of colonising and rejuvenating the old country. In this mood of festivity in which you now are, I would also like to utter a word of warning. An ancient and experienced people will prove their wisdom by restraining themselves at the right time. Let us all remember that the building of Palestine is a slow, gradual and laborious process, which will tax heavily our resources and our patience. Catchwords such as "We must have a Jewish state at once," will do us a great deal of harm. We cannot have masses of immigrants streaming into Palestine before the country is ready to receive them. I am fearing such a contingency much more than any opposition which is at present shown to Zionism. We must never be afraid of our opponents. I am frightened sometimes by the zeal of some of our friends.

It is a truism to Zionists that as long as the land is bought by Jews and not worked by Jews it is not Jewish land. (Applause.) The land becomes Jewish not through the act of buying it but through the act of holding and working it. Among the many

colonies which we have in Palestine, there is one, perhaps the least imposing, perhaps the least conspicuous. The name of this colony is Chedera, but it is the most Jewish of all the colonies. And why? The answer to this question is written in the cemetery of Chedera, where generation after generation have laid down their lives because they preferred to work on the soil and be stricken with fever, rather than desert and leave the work to others. And this is why the colony has become the most Jewish of them all.

For the last ten years of our colonising activity there has been an increasing tendency to replace systematically and sometimes at considerable economic disadvantage Arab labour by Jewish labour, and I would ask the Arabs to remember if we do it, it is not because we are against the Arabs, but because we desire to heed the warning of which Sir Mark Sykes spoke to-night, and really make the country Jewish. We want the colonies to be Jewish and to be worked by Jews, and I beg of our friends the Arabs to understand that it is an elementary postulate for those who desire to build up a Jewish country that this should be done by Jewish finance. It may all be very hard work, but every process of construction is a difficult one.

Another warning has been given to us to-night—you Jews try and be united. Of course we understand the absolute necessity of unity, and for years we have been organising and consolidating Jewry, and I think we are able to point to notable achievements in that direction. It is difficult, nay impossi-

ble, for the Jewish people, dispersed as it is among all the peoples of the world, to show the same aspects of unity as a normal European nation does; but may I remind you all that very often Jews are reproached for being too united—the so-called Jewish solidarity has always been a beam in the eyes of our enemies.

We are further asked to understand and to respect others. Who could understand and respect others better than the Jews, who have suffered so much and so long from lack of being understood? Don't we try to understand constantly, and have we not suffered from the fact that we have been misunderstood? How has the world treated the Jews? It has been either philo-Semitic or anti-semitic, both equally despicable. We don't desire to be particularly loved and patronised, and don't wish to be an object of hatred. We wish to be taken just as we are, with all our faults and all our qualities, just as we try to take others. Here we are, just ews and nothing else, a nation an ong nations; take it or leave it. All these are the very essence of Jewshould happen that some of us should forget them for a moment, we shall be quickly enough reminded of them by our enemies.

We are living through a great event, an event which imposes on us a tremendous responsibility. Every act we shall be performing will be watched and scrutinised, and all our mistakes will be magnified and placed in the forefront. Therefore we must try to do our utmost to perform all our tasks perfectly. We must double and treble our energies.

All that we have done hitherto is only the beginning; the difficulties are still in front of us. For that purpose we must unite and combine our forces and leave our opponents strictly alone. We are not anxious for their help and we are not frightened by their opposition. If the non-Zionists come to us they will always be welcome; if they stay away we shall not blame them—under one condition, that they

do not interfere with us. (Applause.)

What we do we shall do on our responsibility, and I think we are grown up enough to take this responsibility on our shoulders. Non-Zionists or anti-Zionists must not be frightened that they may be blamed for our faults; we shall take the blame ourselves, but also the credit. For those who want to come to us we shall build a golden bridge, we shall meet them halfway, we shall ask them to cooperate on those practical problems on which we can co-operate without sacrificing the fundamental principles of the movement. When the day comes for the building and construction of Palestine to begin, one of our most important tasks will be to set our accounts right with our neighbours, the Arabs and the Armenians. We cannot live in harmony with them otherwise. That is the forceful logic of the events. There is enough air and land and water in Palestine for everybody to live on.

We all hope and believe that out of this welter of blood and destruction a better world will arise. If misunderstanding, existed in the past between Arabs and Jews we have not created them; they have been created by those who were the masters of Palestine, by the deadening hand of the Turk, who can

The Palestine which we expect to build up is not going to be a mere copy of what exists already in the world—it is going to be better. It will not necessarily be a copy of Switzerland or Belgium—it is no use multiplying copies. It is going to be something which will spring out of the Jewish soil, out of the Jewish soul, out of the Jewish genius. We shall utilise the accumulated experience of thousands of years of suffering. That is the ideal we have before us, for which we live and labour, and this ideal excludes aggression, excludes animosity towards those with

76 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews whom we are bound to work and live. (Prolonged cheers.)

Mr. N. Sokolow said:

tine, and therefore we Zionists are overcome with joy at this solemn hour, receiving a considerable part of what we claimed in the shape of the Declaration of

His Majesty's Government. (Applause.)

But it is not only the Jewish people who remained faithful to its traditions in receiving this Declaration; Great Britain in giving it has also proved once more her good faith. This Declaration is a continuation, even more a crowning, of all that Britain has done for the Jews during generations un il the present day. (Applause.) When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, and from Portugal in 1552, some of them came to Holland, and one of the Jewish Rabbis of Amsterdam came in 1655 to this country and stood before Cromwell. He presented Cromwell with the petition for the readmission of the Jews to this country, using mainly motives of a rather Zionistic character. The readmission of the Jews to this country was the first great act of justice done by England to the Jews. It is rather historic that the Jewish people should now give an expression of their deep gratitude to this great nation of Britain. And I think, ladies and gentlemen, that the friendship of the Jewish people is worth having. (Applause.)

You have heard some references to the rejoicings that are now going on, but these are but a very small part of what is transpiring at the present moment throughout Jewry in all the countries of the world. It is a wave not only of enthusiasm, not only of gratitude, but of deep consciousness, because the Jewish people are conscious of their responsibility for the actions they are about to undertake, and in

we appreciate deeply the important remarks offered by our distinguished friend Sir Mark Sykes on
the subject of the relations between the Jews, the
Arabs, and the Armenians. My reply to these remarks is: We are Zionists—not only Zionists for
ourselves, but also for the Arabs and the Armenians
as well. Zionism means faithfulness to one's own
old country, to one's own old home. Zionism means
consciousness of a nation. Can we Jews be ignorant
of the fact that the Arab nation is a noble nation
which has been persecuted? Is not the co-operation

between the Arabs and ourselves, the Jews, in the Middle Ages for civilisation and for true culture written in our hearts and deep-rooted in our conscience? Our membership of the Semitic race, our title to a place in the civilisation of the world and to influence the world and take our share in the development of civilisation, have always been emphasised. If racial kinship really counts, if great associations exist which must serve as a foundation for the future, these associations exist between us and the Arabs. I believe in the logic of these facts. In the principle of nationality lies the certainty of our justice. There lies also the certainty of our brotherhood with the Arabs and the Armenians. We look most hopefully to the happy days when these three nations will create—in fact they have already created in the consciousness of some of their leaders—an entente cordiale in the countries of the Near East which have been neglected for so long.

We are not going to take away anvbody's property or to prejudice anybody's rights. We are going to find the land which is available and to settle down wherever there is room, and to live in the best relations with our neighbours—to live and to let the others live. Palestine is not yet a populated, civilised, prosperous country. We are going to make it so by investing our means, our energies, and our intelligence. I was glad to hear that some of your speakers had been to Palestine. They have seen how the country looks. You may have read in The Times that one of its correspondents described the hills of Judæa as roadless, barren hills. But they were not always roadless and barren. In old times these hills

were covered with terraces. Now the Jews have again gone there and have rebuilt some of these terraces. If there is anything left of civilisation, of modern agriculture, and of industry in the country it is due to the efforts of that handful of Jewish settlers working under the most difficult conditions.

I would like to say also a few words on the religious question. I had the honour to speak on this question to some representatives of the Church of England and to the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope. (Applause.) I made to them a statement, which I can repeat to you here. We Zionists hate the word toleration, and Sir Mark Sykes really struck the very point when he condemned the word. We don't like mere toleration by non-Jews, and we don't want them to be tolerated. We know that Palestine is full of sanctuaries and of holy places, holy to the Christian world, holy to Islam, holy to ourselves. Are we blind not to see that there are these places of worship and of veneration? Palestine is the very place where religious conflicts should disappear. There we should meet as brethren, and there we should learn to love each other, not merely to tolerate each other. (Applause.) I declared this to the representatives of the great Churches and I can repeat it here.

M. Sokolow concluded with some remarks in Hebrew.

The CHAIRMAN then put the following resolution, which was carried with acclamation:

"Resolved that this mass meeting, representing all sections of the Jewish community of Manchester, conveys to His Majesty's Government an expression of heart-felt gratitude for their Declaration in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

"It assures His Majesty's Government that their historic action in support of the national aspirations of the Jewish people has evoked among Jews the most profound sentiments of joy. This meeting further pledges its utmost endeavours to give its wholehearted support to the Zionist cause."

In addition to the Jewish demonstrations in London and Manchester, enthusiastic public meetings, at which similar resolutions were passed, were held in most of the Jewish communities in the United Kingdom.

DEMONSTRATIONS IN AMERICA

Thousands of New York Zionists packed the Carnegie Hall at a commemoration meeting. Thousands more crowded the streets around the building, unable to get in, until long after the beginning of the meeting. The United States, British, and Zionist flags, intertwined, were hung on the walls, and songs in Hebrew were interspersed between the speeches. The leaders of the Zionists in New York and the Old World dwelt on the significance of the British victory.

Dr. Stephen S. Wise, chairman of the meeting, said that what Zionists were rejoicing over was only a scrap of paper, "but that scrap of paper is written in English, it is signed by the British Government,

An impressive mass meeting was held at Washington at which Christians and Jews united to commemorate the taking of Jerusalem by the British. Notable addresses were delivered by Dr. Harding, Bishop of Washington, Rabbi Abram Simon, and Dr. James Montgomery.

Rabbi Simon said: As one of the household of Israel I am glad to be with you and rejoice with you to-day. The better Christians you are the more I love you, as love was the spirit in which the British entered Jerusalem. Instead of wild hurrahs the British doffed their hats, led by the great General, who walked humbly on foot. How different from the way Germans enter any city! The Welshmen and Australians who led the line cut off no baby's hands, stabbed or ravaged no women, tore up no agricultural lands, left nothing to cause shame, but were willing to allow the sunlight of their great achievement to reflect its brilliancy in the exhibition of God's mercy.

DEMONSTRATION IN RUSSIA

The Zionists of Odessa, where more than half the population is Jewish, organised a great demonstration of all Jewish organisations, including Jewish political refugees from Rumania. For half a mile outside the Consulate the street was packed by a crowd of 150,000 people, and a procession two miles

84 Great Britain, Palestine and the Jews

long marched past the Consulate playing British and Jewish National Anthems.

DEMONSTRATION IN EGYPT

A mass meeting, called under the auspices of the Central Committee of the Zionist Organisation of Egypt and organised by the Zeiré Zion Society of Alexandria, was attended by between 7000 and 8000 people. The Governor of Alexandria was present. Twenty different organisations and institutions were represented by delegates, and the Chief Rabbi of Alexandria, Professor Della Pergola, also attended.

Extraordinary enthusiasm permeated the atmosphere of the meeting. It was decided to send the following telegram:

"The Right Honourable Lloyd George, Prime Minister, Downing Street, London. Mass meeting of 8000 Jews held to-day in Alexandria manifested indescribable enthusiasm during reading Mr. Balfour's Declaration, and expressed its deepest gratitude to His Majesty's Government. Jack Mosseri, President, Zionist Organisation of Egypt."

PRESS COMMENT

'All Jewish newspapers in Allied and neutral countries, and, to a certain extent, even in the enemy countries, have welcomed in laudatory terms the British Government's Declaration. Even papers that were formerly opposed to the Zionist ideal have now assumed a friendly attitude in view of the inclusion of this ideal among England's war aims. The following is only a brief selection of Press opinions:

The Zionist Review (Special Supplement), December, 1917:

The Declaration is, first, a formal public recognition by Great Britain (and that is by the Allies) that Israel as a nation lives and persists. It is, second, a recognition that the problem of the Jewish nation and of Judaism can be solved only in and through a Jewish Palestine. It is, third, a pledge that the peace settlement must include such a solution by the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. The whole Jewish cause, as the Jewish people have lived it through eighteen hundred years and as Zionists have expounded it, is thus embodied in the common law of humanity. From that, whatever were the outcome of the military struggle,

nothing henceforth could eliminate it. All this we owe even now to Great Britain, and in a relatively few months we shall owe the full redemption of what is now pledged, the realisation in act of what is now written.

The Jewish Chronicle, November 19, 1917:

With one step the Jewish cause has made a great bound forward. The Declaration of his Majesty's Government as to the future of Palestine in relation to the Jewish people marks a new epoch for our race. For the British Government, in accord—it is without doubt to be assumed—with the rest of the Allies, has declared itself in favour of the setting up in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and has undertaken to use its best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of that object. Amidst all that is so dark and dismal and tragic throughout the world there has thus arisen for the Jews a great light. The Declaration of the Government, which concedes the Zionist position in principle, must have effects, far-reaching and vital, upon the future of Jews and Judaism.

The Jewish Express:

It is a colossal event in Judaism, a new epoch in the history of the Jewish people. For the nearest parallel we have to go back twenty-five centuries, when Cyrus, the King of Persia, issued a proclamation that Jews might return to Judæa to re-establish their national home. . . . Whatever the outcome,

the fact itself—that the greatest Power in the world has recognised the claim of the Jewish people for its old homeland—marks a red-letter day in Jewish history. It is a wonderful phenomenon for anyone possessing an historic sense. . . But the event provokes more than wonder; it will fill every truly Jewish heart with delight, for it opens a new horizon for the future. . . The day when the Declaration was signed on behalf of the Government will be remembered by all Jews at all time with gratitude and respect to the great Power that had the sense of justice to support the just claim of a long-wronged people. Mingled with the breathless wonderment is the feeling of inexpressible gratitude.

The Jewish Times:

A thrill of joy will undoubtedly run through the heart of national Jewry on reading the great news. It will be a source of inspiration for every truly Jewish soul. . . . The Declaration may rightly be regarded as a beginning of the end of the Jewish national problem, the beginning of the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. . . . Never in history was such an assurance given to the Jewish people.

The American Jewish Chronicle, New York:

It is the first time in nearly two thousand years of our Diaspora that a Great Power has publicly recognised the Jewish nationality and its right to a homeland. . . . It is by no means pure accident that

two mighty Anglo-Saxon nations and Governments, Great Britain and the United States of America, should be the first among the Great Powers to recognise the right of the Jews to a national homeland of their own, and thus publicly to recognise the nationality of the Jews. If the ancient Jewish mind, as it expressed itself in the Bible, ever influenced a great race and helped to shape its destinies and policies, it was the Anglo-Saxon race. For the past 400 years the greatest production of Jewish genius, the Bible, has been a powerful factor in the life of the Anglo-Saxon race, and as soon as the Anglo-Saxons freed themselves from mediævalism they began to treat the Jews living among them with consideration and fairness, even before they were officially emancipated.

The Jewish Advocate, Boston

Whether one looks at this wonderful event from a religious or from any other point of view, the fact remains the same. The dream of ages, cherished in the hearts of millions of people, has come true. . . . Now all Jews are Zionists.

Hatoren (Hebrew), New York:

We have long waited for such a Declaration, and we were certain that it must come. . . . And yet when it did come, and we read it and re-read it, we felt that Divine afflatus of the soul, and a spirit of national rejuvenation has filled us to the brim.

The Wahrheit, New York:

Every Zionist victory makes clear to the world that only those are entitled to speak in the name of the Jewish people who proclaim our nationality.

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