MEVerRorrimmt6iitoriaz PAGE TWO A CALL TO ALL DETROIT JEWS Progress in Palestine By ROBERT MARWIL, A Review of the Latest Developments in the Material and Cul- tural Progress of the Jewish Homeland. Chairman Trades end Professions Division. On the eve of the opening of the campaign to raise $150,- 000 in Detroit for the Keren Ilayesod, the Palatine Founda- tion Fund, I take this opportunity of addressing myself to every Jew, Reform or Orthodox, with a plea to do his full share in the great task that confronts our people today. After 2,000 years of humiliation, suffering and persecu- tion, coupled with hopes and prayers for the coming of a better day, the impossible has happened and the non-Jewish world has declared that Palestine is to be the homeland of the Jew. A responsibility was thus placed upon the shoulders of every member of the Jewish community to help make good the trust that was placed in us. But the responsibility particularly lies on the shoulders of the American Jew, because he has emerged from the recent world drama the most fortunate of all Jews the world over. Our fellow Jews in European and other war-stricken countries are crying to us for help, to be taken from the lands of bondage to the Promised Land of Israel's liberation. Surely, liberal American Jewry will not fail to heed this heartrending cry, but will respond nobly and liberally, as befits a great and prosperous people. Let the Jews of Detroit, when they are approached by our volunteer workers, give their share and even more than their share. Let them give until it hurts, that they may eventually share with us in the great spiritual satisfaction of having helped in building something great and concrete and permanent for our people. I expect that the response that will be made by Detroit Jews will serve as an example to the country at large. By JUDGE BERNARD A. ROSENBLATT, Member World Zionist Executive. "No Force in the World Can Keep the Jew Out of Palestine," He Tells B'nai B'rith. In responding to the toast of "The Visitors" at the Bar- mitzvah banquet of the London (doge of the Independent Order of B'nai Brith held at the Hyde Park Hotel, December 10th, Sir Alfred Mond devoted most of his speech to the prospects of the success of Zionism in Palestine, and made an impas- sioned appeal to all Jews to help in the economic development of the Jewish National Home. He said: "I am a devoted Zionist; those who do not agree with that view are for the most part those who have never been to Pales- tine. I wanted to see whether Zionism was a beautiful dream or a practical possibility and with that end in view visited the country myself. If I had concluded that the scheme was hope- less, I should have left it alone." He had been a convinced Zionist, he said, ever since his visit to Palestine, while he remained a Minister of the Govern- ment, and he would continue to be a Zionist now that he was out of the Government. In fact he was glad that he would now have more time for Zionism than when he had the responsibili- ties of office. He had, in fact, both in conversation with Sir Herbert Samuel and elsewhere stated that if he could have been of more help to the cause outside the Government than in it, he would gladly have given up his Government post. A great deal had been achieved ; the Mandate had been got through in spite of enemies. influences and great interests— even now dangers stand in the path and we must see to it that what has been achieved be not lost. During the election cam- paign he had openly given his opinion on the Palestine question when asked. The greatest mistake of the Jew was to run away from a Jewish problem. The British people admired men who stuck up for their own people. He had been struck by the great sympathy for Zionism in non-Jewish ranks, political and non-political. If Jews would remain true to themselves, if Jews would not stab their own people in the back, the Jewish hopes in Palestine would be ful- filled; for otherwise there was no force in the world which was strong enough to keep the Jews out of Palestine. Zionism was one of those movements which was carried along by that mystic superhuman force which is the characteristic of great move- ments. Only vigilance and unity were necessary. He appealed to the Independent Order of B'nai Brith to support Zionism and to help along its schemes for the economic development of Pal- estine on business lines. "We have only to stand on our own feet and we are sure to get on." A SIGNIFICANT RESOLUTION The British Labor Party, at a conference held at Brighton in June, 1921, adopted a very significant resolution which reads as follows: That this conference, taking cognizance of the assumption by Great Britain of man- datory powers over Palestine with the object of assuring the development of a Jewish au- tonomous commonwealth, demands that the upbuilding of that country—the settlement of the land question, the institution of public works, and agricultural and industrial en- terprises—shall be effected, not upon the foundations of capitalistic exploitation, but in the interest of labor. The conference regrets that the eco- nomic and administrative unity of Palestine has been sacrificed because of the imperial- istic rivalries between Britain and France, and that the territory has been wantonly re- duced, and the opportunities of its coloniza- tion seriously endangered by the cutting off of Hauran and nearly the whole of Upper Galilee. • The conference calls upon the gov- ernment to put an end to the unnatural and harmful division of the British Mandate ter- ritory and to effect the unity of Eastern with Western Palestine. "The conference believes that it is neces- sary, in the interests of the settlement and peaceable growth of Palestine, and in fur- therance of the development of self-govern- ing institutions, that both the Jews and the Arabs shall have full autonomy, democrati- cally organized, in their respective internal national affairs with the right of taxation for their specific needs. WHAT WAS A DREAM WILL BE MADE A REALITY THROUGH THE KEREN HAYESOD By ABRAHAM SRERE President Detroit Koren Hayesod. Zionism as a vision has ceased and what was once a dream is about to become a reality and that through the effort=of the Keren Hayesod. We have passed the stage of pure prayerful sentiment in the development of Zionism and are now to the stage of practical development of the Homeland. The Keren Ilayesod is the only agency through which Palestine . an be re-establish as a homeland for our oppressed co-reli t iooisis The Keren Hayesod covers many activities, all of m li eh are absol tely essential towards the success of the movern. tit A u few of the important fields covered by the Keren Hay, .„I are —the establishment and co-ordination of financial insi•• ,ii on, purchase of land, agricultural instruction, and experii: , lit sta- tion, developm nt of trade and industry, immigration, estab- e lishment of schools, medical aid. etc. I quote from the report of the Zionist Organizatio , to the Annual Conference at Carlsbad: ''Gradually the ■ e w has everywhere gained hold that the number of immigrant s to Palestine is dependent on the economic capacity of al ei rligitaiogne of the country. If we wish to increase this capacity, ii e must raise during the coming year the necessary funds in ..i•ter ( a ) to continue and develop agricultural colonization, Inainly through the grant of loans; (b) to enable small manui•o toren to establish themselves in the country by the grant 0, credits to be given by an Industrial Fund constituted for this purpose; (c) to enable the Mortgage Bank to grant further ned larger mortgage credits by the sale on a large scale of its me debentures; (d) to provide employment for larger numbers of workmen by participation in large public works (port develop. ment, Rutenberg Project) and mineral exploitation schemes (oil, Dead Sea, minerals). The reconstruction Of Palestine is only possible if the creation of permanent forms of employment in agriculture, industry, building and public works keeps pace it is 0 with tN immigration." heowthen, ' Illy ABC logic to realize that all these things require money. That is the only question at issue now, the necessity of raising sufficient funds to carry this program through. If these various activities are carried out to a suc- cessful issue then the Palestine Homeland will be a success. If these projects cannot be successfully furthered, then the Pales- tine Homeland will be a failure. It is simply a question of money now. The time for sentiment alone has passed by— practical work must be done and this cannot be done without the needed money. The task of raising this money devolves largely upon America where the Jews are in better position than anywhere else in the world to take up the financial obliga- tion, and it depends largely on their liberality, the soundness and depth of their Jewish spirit as to whether or not Zionism will be a success. It is really inconceivable to me that any Jew can hold back from giving what he should to the Keren Ilayesod at this time, regardless of his shade of religious thought and regard- less of the land of his nativity. The American born, the Rus- sian born, the German born Jew, must be as one on this proposi- tion. On this thing all .Jews simply must unite. They must all aid in supporting this great organization which is rebuilding Palestine, not as a political entity with political objects in view, but as a haven of refuge for the oppressed Jews all over the world. A homeland for Jews—who have many homes and YOUNG LIFE IN BEN SHEMEN, ONE OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLO- are nevertheless homeless. A homeland where can again be NIES IN PALESTINE SUPPORTED BY THE KEREN HAYESOD. developed Jewish aspiration, thought and learning; a home- They are "taken in tow," so to speak, characteristic. These men are build- the Jewish children in Palestine that by the representatives of the Zionist ing a nation. They are not inter( sted are of school age attend these schools. land where the Jew can again attain and retain and enlarge Executive in I'alestine, and made to only in their personal and private This entire system is maintained by that ethical and spiritual quality and leadership that have sus- the Keren Hayesod and the Keren tained him during the centuries of tribulation. feel that their difficult road will be fortunes. made as smooth as possible. And they And what he said was only too true. Ilayesod, in addition, is supporting Every Jew, regardless of his station in life, his occupa- know that they are not the recipients Much progress in agricultural coloni- the special educational institutions of charity. They know that the Zion- zation has been made. Valuable ex- and other activities which are being tion, or precise theological thought, has within him the Jewish ist Executive is merely the agency of periments are on the road to success, conducted in Palestine by the Miz- spirit. In many it is active, in others it is dormant, but never- the Jewish people, of their fellow but the progress has not been great rachi organization. theless it exists, and it always comes to the surface at the time Jews all over the world, and particu- enough. There is more land to be I can say without hesitation there of a Jewish crisis. The call to the Jew at a time of crisis larly in America, who provide the bought, more people to settle. is nowhere in the world a body of men unfailingly calls forth this spirit and fans it to a strong patriot- means through the Keren Hayesod There is a tremendous deal more to and women more high minded and ism. At the present time an actual crisis exists. The Keren for enabling them to start their new be done by the Jewish National Fund self-sacrificing than the teachers of life. and there is more to be done by the Palestine. They know how difficult it Hayesod must have money to carry through its work success- Large numbers of them arrive pen- Keren Ilayesod. But there is hope in is for the Keren Ilayesod to meet the fully, and upon the results of its work depends the success of niless. The Keren Ilayesod pays the what has been accomplished. The large school budget, and the only time Zionism. Right now the Keren Ilayesod needs your help as per capita tax amounting to one thirty odd settlements which the you will hear them complain is when pound which every arrival has to pay. Keren Hayesod is promoting in Pal- their small salaries have remained un- never before. During the week of January 28th the Keren Ilayesod large numbers of them have no estine contain the nucleus of a Jew- paid for such a longtime that they friends or relatives to receive and ish peasantry, of the type of Jewish and their families begin to find them- will make a drive for money to carry out the work outlined shelter them. The Keren Ilayesod peasantry which so mystified my selves without bread. I understand herein. and workers will endeavor to visit every Jew in the provides them with shelter, with food friend the British official whom I that this is the situation at the pres- ent moment, and I think that the Jews community. Sholild a worker fail to call on you, send in your and medical and sanitary service. The quoted above. of America who so to speak, have the contribution anyway and thus demonstrate your interest in Keren Ilayesod through the Zionist Houses for Palestine. fate of this school system in their Judaism. . Executive scours the land to find em- A new ship from Trieste had an- chored in the roads of Jaffa, and the boatmen, porters, friends and rela- tives of the newcomers still on board and the usual crowd of the idle and curious. The landing of the new im- migrants at Jaffa is always an inter- esting sight. It is almost thrilling to watch the Arab boatmen bringing their small and frail craft laden with humanity and landing them, after what appears to be a perilous jour_ ney, at the small jetties amid the in- evitable Oriental bable and clamor. One of the things that has always "intrigued" me has been the psychol- ogy of the young men and women who have been coming into the land as Chaluzim or pioneers. I have taken every opportunity to talk to them and to discover what was in their minds. I found that the vast majority of them who were coming from the lands of danger and persecution to a land where they knew they would be exposed to all sorts of hazard and hardship, looked forward to the prob- lems f their new life with cheerful resignation. When, therefore, on their arrival, instead of becoming at once the victims of their new sur- roundings they find themselves re- ceived by helpful and friendly hands, their feelings of gratitude are mixed with bewilderment. Helpful Hands. Fortunately such friendly and help- ful hands are there to receive them. ALFRED MOND APPEALS TO JEWS Jews have .accomplished through the Medical Unit, it will be some time before they will be 'in a position to put forward the necessary energy and funds to clear their own localities of the disease. It is one of the tasks of the Medical Unit to install the idea that those things are not in the natural order of the universe, and in the work that this organization is doing in the colonies and in the school houses, considerable progress has been made in reducing malaria and in extirpating that other Palestinian disease, trachoma. No other agency, perhaps, has given to Palestine that atmosphere of an occidertal country as the medical organization maintained by the Keren Ilayesod and which is known as the Hadassah Medical Organization, with its modern hospitals, equipped with the best scientific apparatus, with its work of sanitation and hygienic edu• cation. This medical unit which treats Jew, Christian, and Moslem alike has become one of the institu- tions in Palestine which is now taken for granted. To eliminate it would be to remove one of those civilized agencies which it seems to me is go, ing to affect not l'alestine alone but the whole Orient. Why So Much for Education? I come now to the most pressing problem of all just now, the problem of the Hebrew school system. Here is an educational system comprising close to 140 schools, employing over 500 teachers, and educating about 13,000 children. It includes all grades of education short of the uni- versity: kindergarten, elementary, high schools, technical schools, nor- mal schools, evening courses for adults, etc., and it is all supported by the Keren Hayesod and constitutes one of the largest items in the Keren Ilayesod budget. In all of these schools the language of instruction is Hebrew. More than 80 per cent of sod. In this particular colony each farmer works for himself, whereas in others like Nuris, for example, an- other recent establishment in the same Valley of Yizreel, the work is conducted on a co-operative basis. In the latter place the settlers are mem- bers of the Joseph Trumpeldor Work- men's Legion, an organization which now includes over three hundred hardened pioneers. The name is in memory of one of the most splendid personalities which the Jewish revival in I'alestine has produced: Trumpel- dor, who lost his life in defense of the Jewish colonies in Upper Galilee. These colonists, who are provided with land by the Jewish National Fund, and with credit and equipment by the Keren Ilayesod, have arrived at the goal of their ambitions, but their ambition does not present itself to their minds in personal terms. True they are now established. They are the owners, whether individually or collectively, of a definite piece of soil and they have the means to cultivate and redeem it. They need no longer break stones on the roads and won- der whether they will have employ- ment and bread on the morrow. "Well," I said to one of them, "now you are a farmer in I'alestine. Thou- sands of others wish they were in your boots. You're a happy man." "Happy," he answered, not exactly." "Why not?" I asked. "You said it yourself," he replied, "there are thou- sands of others. Why aren't they made farmers also?" The reply is The dream which these men and hands, or rather in their pockets, ployment for them. With the help of this agency they organize into groups, women nurse in their souls is to set- should understand its significance for tle on the soil, "to irrigate it with Palestine. I believe one of the proud- they are provided with tools, and they are transported to their places of em- their sweat," as their orators love to eat things American Jews are doing put it. Whatever other work they for Palestine is maintaining the He- ployment. No danger that these young men and women will become spoiled may be compelled to do, they look brew School System through the upon merely in the nature of an ap- Keren Ilayesod. or pauperized. They know that they will have to rely upon their own ex- prenticeship, but whatever the work I must satisfy myself with a bare may be, it is welcome and carried mention of some of the other activi- ertions. They know that for years, possibly, the land of milk and honey through with enthusiasm, and one of ties of the Keren Ilayesod in Pales- will give them very little of those the opportunities which has lately tine, such as the maintenance of agri- dainties. But they are grateful for arisen, and is growing in Palestine is cultural experiment stations and af- the first help they get. It gives them now being met and one of the prin- fore-station. The latter, while still the feeling that the Jewish people is cipal instruments in solving this in its first stages, is one of the most behind them, that the Jewish people pressing problem is the General Mort- fundamental and promising develop- knows that what they have set out to gage Bank in the creation of which ments in progress. The Keren Haye- do is in the interests of the whole the Keren Ilayesod took the initiative sod is also promoting in various ways, Jewish people and of the Homeland. together with the Jewish Colonial private enterprise. And it has played Trust. T he t. New Type of P an important role in the promotion of Mortgage Bank is now in oper- the Audja Concession which has been Moved by a spirit which they are unable to resist, this "saving rem- ation under the management of Mr. granted by the government to Pin- nant" of Israel is returning to Zion Michael Poliakoff, who is recognized ches Ruttenberg for the Jaffa Dis- from all of the four corners of the authority in banking matters and be- trict. This concession is distinct earth. They forego the brilliant pros- longs to a family with wide banking from the Jordan or larger concession, pects of America for stone cutting on experience and reputation. The head- and is already being developed with the hills of Judaea. University grad- quarters of the bank are in Tel-Aviv. capital furnished by the Ica and the uates who would attract attention on Its capital of £74,000 is divided into a Keren Ilayesod in coal amounts and the Champs Elyseea in Paris or at reserve fund of £25,000 held by the by the municipalities of Jaffa and Tel the Temple Bar in London can be Jewish Colonial Trust and the balance Aviv. found toiling as farm hands in the of 549,000 is used for loans on mort- For Body and Soul Alike. gages in the centers of Jaffa, Haifa, neglected fields of Southern Galilee. In conclusion, I would like to point Only a few weeks ago I visited one Jerusalem and Tiberias. It is the first such colony in Mahlul, in the Valley and only General Bank in Palestine to the fact that there is hardly a of Yizroel, a few miles from Nazareth with the right to issue debentures. phase of Jewish development in I'al- on the road from Haifa to Tiberias. These debentures which are secured estine which is not profoundly influ- We first inspected the drainage oper- by the £25,000 reserve fund bear in- enced and promoted by the Keren ations of the Chaluzim, where the re- terest at a rate of six and seven per Hayesod. From the work of caring cent immigrants from the ghettos of cent, the charge to the borrower be- for the immigrants, through coloni- Eastern Europe are clearing the ma- ing eight per cent, and the difference zation, agricultural and urban; from looking after health and sanitation larial swamps that present the great- covers the cost of administration. Those who follow the latest reports through providing for education, its est danger to the colonization of Pal- beneficient and constructive hand is in the development of Palestine know estine. As we entered the camp a dis- cussion began between the workers that at present the outstanding news everywhere visible, it cares alike for the body and the soul of the Jewish and my traveling companion—prob- deals wish the building "boom" which Homeland. ably the greatest living Hebrew phil- is in prokress. The recent establish- I wish every contributor to the osopher and essayist—as to the iden- ment of the silicate factory has in- sured a supply of bricks which has Keren Ilayesod could visit Palestine tification of this particular place with Biblical traditions. The workmen in- hitherto been one of the things that and see for himself what it is in which sisted that the land on which they Palestine has lacked. The General he is sharing. Ile would realize, I were working was comprised within Mortgage Bank, no doubt, will play believe, that his contribution had the territory allotted to the tribe of a tremendous role in providing Pal- made him not poorer but vastly Zebulun, and not, as some of us con- estine with houses. Dr. Arthur Rup- richer. tended, within the tribe of Nephtali. pin is president of the bank, Mr. All these works which I have sug- Finally, to clinch the argument, one Iloofien, the vice-president, and gested are in full operation, and they workman produced the Bible and among the directors are Harry Sach- depend for their existence on the clearly proved by a description of the er, I. Shapiro, Michael Poliakoff, Jews of America. They would go boundaries that the land which they Israel Rosoff and the present writer. out of existence if the Jews of Amer- tilled was part of the soil of that tribe Here is where the Keren Hayesod ica failed to meet their obligations. of Israel known as Zebulun. This in- stands out as an important construc- Anyone who has made a pledge to pay cident recalled to my mind the state- tive instrument in the original mean- it when it is due puts in jeopardy the entire system of development and ment of a high British official who ing of the term. Health and Sanitation. was perplexed by the character of progress. Even political victories There was a time in the history of and defeats are less significant than the Jewish immigration. Ile said to me: "I can understand peasants, I American Zionism when the health the steady progress of the Jewish have seen them in Egypt and in any and sanitation problem of Palestine Homeland in material and cultural own country—men who till the soil was the chief concern of the move- development. and whose horizon is narrow. But ment. Reports that came to America the Jewish peasant who comes to on this subject left the impression Palestine from Europe, speaking four that the malaria problem was so ser- WARN JEWS TO AVOID POLAND languages or more, who reads Tolstoi ious that little could be undertaken in and talks philosophy, such a peasant the way of constructive colonization WARSAW.— (J. C. B.) — Emi- before the land had been cleared of I do not understand." that disease. There is no doubt that grants from Russia and the Ukraine, Colonies sad Colonists. arriving in Poland being in danger of malaria is • serious problem and is Speaking about Mahlul in the Val- immediate internment, the Jewish ley of Yizreel which is one of the lat- likely to be one for some time to Ukrainian Committee of Warsaw has est settlements in Palestine. I am re- come, especially since its solution can asked these emigrants to avoid Polish minded that this colony, like many only be brought about through the territory in transit. Lithuania and others in Palestine, over thirty I be- active co-operation of Arab and Jew- Latvia are suggested as more suitable lieve, is the joint work of the Jewish ish settlements; and while the Arabs for transmigration. National Fund and the Keren llaye- are no doubt grateful for what the CHRISTIAN VIEW OF ZIONISM George B. Catlin, Librarian and former Managing Editor of the Detroit News, who is considered the best informed man in this part of the country, gave his view of Zionism in the fol- lowing letter he wrote several months ago to Philip Slomovitz: "Though a Christian, I am heartily in sympathy with it (Zionism). There are several excellent reasons for its promo- tion and two of these stand out very prominently. Possession of Palestine in peace has been the dream of the Jewish people since the time of Moses—a dream as yet unfulfilled but kept alive and active by successive prophecies and by the undying hope and faith of a wonderful race which has earned the right to existence as a nation. The fulfillment of that dream would bring joy and renew hope in the hearts of a great multitude of Russian, Polish and other Jews who live among people who are more or less hostile to them. I would not expect much of an exodus from the United States or England, where prejudice is vanishing beyond prospect of revival, but as I look at the situation in the light of history and experience, the Jews of Russia and Poland seem to be facing a peril. "We have seen in our own country and community a futile attempt to pin responsibility for the war upon the Jews. and how utterly it has failed to produce the slightest ripple in the public mind. But that is an old subterfuge—to lay it upon the Jews—and it has worked in other countries with resulting pogroms which we can still remember. "A gradual, peaceful penetration of these menaced people Into Palestine, without exciting the enmity of the Moslem popu- lation, is therefore to be hoped for from the purely humani - tarian side. "There is also an economic and purely materialistic ;, , Peet of the case. The influence of the Turk, wherever it has been dominant, has been like a blight. Progress stops. enterprise decays and hope of general betterment vanishes wherever the sway'of the Turk becomes dominant. Palestine, qnce flowing with milk and honey, has become to a considerable extent a semi-barren country. It needs enterprise and genius to rehabili - tate it. The task of conserving its rainfall and utilizing it for irrigation to restore fertility will be a matter of many years. The establishment of a good safe harbor and building connect- ing railway systems for bringing the products of the hinterland to such a port will be another slow achievement, but the genius : enterprise and energy of the Jewish people enlisted in the task and the good will of the people of the interior won, it should , be easily possible to restore Palestine to peace and prosperity and make it a factor in world production• and trade. "Pioneering in newly discovered countries is narrowing down. Human enterprise must begin to turn its attention to the restoration of once prosperous and populous regions that have fallen into decay. Palestine and Mesopotamia offer per- haps the most inviting field for such exploitation and it will be far better to have the undertaking in the hands of a peoPie who regard these unions as the land of their fathers and their divine inheritance than in the hands of mere exploiters for the money there may be in it. "That is I could say and I believe I am right. Our own country obtained its start toward greatness and nationality by offering to the oppressed of many races a land of oppor- tuntiy and civil and religious liberty. We have furnished but one interesting chapter of an experiment which can be carried on indefinitely."