72 Friday, February 10, 1

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Zionist History Described in 'High Walls of Jerusalem'

By CHARLES MADISON

Although the history of
Zionism is generally famil-
iar to those interested in the
subject, this first-rate work
of scholarship — The High
Walls of Jerusalem" by
Ronald Sanders (Holt,
Rinehart & Winston) — will
provide much hitherto un-
known information and
points of view.
A book of great, at times
seemingly excessive length
because it contains fascinat-
ing, if perhaps irrelevant
exposition, its clear and
simple style nevertheless
makes for compensatory
reading.
Concentrating primarily
on the romantic origin,
gradually emergent and
then forced spread, as well
as the difficult years of
sturggle toward its realiza-
tion against great odds, the
book provides an exciting
yet factual account of the
Zionist dream that in time
evolved into a reality that
astonished the civilized
world. The stimulating
interest in the narrative
arises largely from the use
of diaries, official docu-
ments recently made public,
letters, memos, interviews
and wide pertinent re-
search.
The book depicts Jews
dedicated to a resolute
ideal, with differences of
beliefs and opinions that
occasionally led to inimi-
cal conflict; equally reve-
aling is the way British
statesmen who generally
favored Zionism, yet sel-
dom hesitated to break
their promises if it
seemed in the best inter-
est of their country. And
all these men, too numer-
ous to mention in a re-
view, emerge with ideals,
flaws and prejudices that
heighten their active
aliveness.
The Old Testament had a
profound influence on many
notable Englishmen, so that
ancient Palestine was as
familiar to them as the land
of their birth. Though they
knew very few Jews person-
ally, Jews were part of the
Bible to them, and they
readily sympathized with
their wretched state in
Eastern Europe.
As early as 1831, when
Disraeli, baptized at the age
of 13, visited Palestine, he
wrote the romantically
Zionistic novel "Tancred,"
in which a homeland for the
Jews was stressed. It was a
widely read book.
Some years later, George
Eliot became interested in
the same idea. Being more
scholarly and serious than
Disraeli, she studied He-
brew and did much research
before she wrote "Daniel
Deronda" (1876), with the

main character coming to Goldsmid (not Jewish) be- pathetic to Zionism, were
believe himself to be of came his fast friends.
more concerned about
Jewish origin, married a
In 1896, he published winning the allegiance of
Jewess, and went East to "Der Yudestadt," a clarify- the influential Arab
live his dream.
ing exposition of his idea of families, then flirting '
Earlier, Moses Monte- a Jewish homeland. A year with Germany, and made
diore, an ardent Jew and later he called together the promises to both which
philanthropist, went to First Jewish Congress in later caused much trou-
Palestine seven times, Basel, where is stated ble to the development of
bought parcels of land prophetically: "I founded a Jewish homeland in
for Jewish cultivation — the Jewish state. Perhaps in Palestine.
making his last visit in five years, certainly in 50 —
Thus Lord Kitchener told
1879 when he was 90.
everyone will know it."
al-Faruki, a prominent
The pogroms of Russia in
When Sultan Abdul Arab chieftain, "The gov-
1881 shocked much of the Hamid scornfully refused ernment is most desirous of
civilized world and forced the Palestinian project, dealing with the Arab ques-
many Jews to renew their some Jews, led by Zangwill, tion in a manner satisfac-
interest in the hitherto began to look for a desirable tory to the Arabs." The
quiescent dream. It became territory for a Jewish home- Germans were then still in
obvious to them that there land in other parts of the control of the fighting in
was no other solution than a world, and some British dip- Turkey and the Middle
homeland for the perse-
cuted Jews.
The Balfour Declaration
Many young and idealis-
tic Russian Jews formed a
Foreign Office,
Union of Lovers of Zion and
resolved to migrate to the
tiOvernber 2nd, 1917.
home of their ancient
forefathers. They came to a
land of desert, swamps and
Dear Lord Rothschild,
stony hillsides — hardly the
1 - have Much pleasure in conveying to you, on
"land of milk and honey" —
behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following
but they were determined to
undergo the hardships
docIaratiOn of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations
forced upon them in order to
7whici has been submitted - to, and approved -by, the Caine
revive the land to its pris-
tine glory.
'His Majesty's Government view wtth favour the
In Europe, their self-
ez;tablishnent in Palestine of a national home" for the
sacrificing dedication and
.Jewish people and will use their best endeavours to
physical suffering gained
much sympathy, but only
facilitete'Lhe achievement of this object, it being
Baron Edmond de
clearly understood :.hat nothing shall be done which
Rothschild of France gener-
may prejudice the civil and religious rights of
ously helped these pioneers
with the means of working
exiting non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the
the land he had bought for
rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any
them.
ether country"
The Dreyfus Case a de-
cade later again kindled
1 should be grateful if you wcolCi.brIng this
anti-Semitism and was once
deClaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
more condemned by liberals
everywhere. But Theodor
Herzl, one of the prominent
correspondents at the trial,
primarily a man of letters
and thoroughly assimi-
lated, was shocked by the
vicious agitation and be-
came acutely conscious of
his Jewish origin — though lomats suggested Uganda, East. This section of the
knowing nothing about but most Zionists opposed book, by the way, is treated
in great detail.
Jews and their long history. the very idea.
Chaim Weizmann was
There was much discus-
Reading and reflection con-
vinced him that a Jew was sion and even bitterness, very active in Zionistic
not secure anywhere except but the Zionists held fast, work all the time he was in
and the projected search England, for years teaching
in his own homeland.
Herzl thereupon com- stopped, especially after chemistry at the University
pletely dedicated himself Herzl's untimely death in of Manchester. While there
his experiments produced
to his new prophetic mis- 1904.
The more dedicated Jews acetone, needed for shells,
sion and vainly ought to
gain support from rulers kept coming to Palestine, out of maize instead of wood,
and diplomats in a posi- singly and in families, or- which had to be imported.
tion to help him. Never- ganizing kibutzim and This gave him favorable
theless, he persisted in working hard, so that by status with the British gov-
his efforts, now mostly 1914 there were about ernment.
When Weizmann was
among the wealthy Jews 100,000 Jews there, 65,000
called by the Ministry of
in Jerusalem alone.
in Western Europe.
In 1914, at the outbreak Munitions to London, he
His reception was mixed. of World War I, Prime had greater opportunity to
While some embraced his Minister Herbert Asquith increase his work for
cause, others, fearful of los- predicted "the death Zionism. He worked in close
ing their citizenship in the knell of the Ottoman association with Nahum
land of their birth, criticized dominion not only in Sokolow and Ahad HaAm,
him as a dreamer and de- Europe but in Asia." both then in London.
Weizmann had become
magogue. However, such Jews at once asked about
men as Max Nordau, Israel Palestine. The British a Zionist in 1901. After he
Zangwill and Albert government, while sym- had gained his doctorate
in chemistry in Germany,
he migrated to England
in 1904. As he wrote later:
"Starting with nothing I,
Chaim Weizmann, a
`Pied' from Pinsk and
only almost a professor at
a provincial university
(Manchester), have or-
ganized the flower of
Jewry in favor of a proj-
ect which probably by

Rothschild and his satel- president of the English
lites is considered as Zionist Federation in
1917.
mad."
All the while of course he
Many wealthy English
Jews indeed sneered at his worked with Sokolow and
advocacy, but he and his Ahad HaAm. He also
friends persisted. His great dealt with Aaron Aaron-
advantage was his firm be- son, the scientist who dis-
lief in his cause and his ef- covered wild wheat in
fective diplomatic skill, Palestine and helped
which in spite of his accent Jewish farmers to cultivate
and careless physical ap- it successfully; also with
pearance was able to gain Vladimir Jabotinsky, who
the attention and respect of formed the Jewish Legion
and still later the Hagana,
the leaders in government.
Lord Robert Cecil, for in- and with Joseph Trumpel-
stance, stated: "Here .. . dor, the heroic soldier who
was a Jew from Pinsk who lost an arm in the Russian
had a heavy accent and a army but continued his
way of arguing points with Zionistic work in Palestine,
the ungentlemanly inten- only to be killed in the Arab
sity of a firm believer and riot during a festival for
who was as proud as a lord of Nabu Musi (Moses).
These deadly riots recur-
being what he was."
In the course of conversa- red several times during the
tion Weizmann told him, "I ensuing years under the
am not a romantic and ex- neglectful British Mandate,
pect that Jews must always giving evidence of increas-
be romantic, for to them ing Arab animosity stimu-
lated by the violent agita-
reality is terrible."
Of his various English tion of Moslem leaders. The
sympathizers, C.P. Scott, agreement reached between
the influential editor of Feisal and Weizmann at the
the Manchester Guard- United Nations was vio-
ian, was very helpful in lated again and again, caus-
bringing him to the ing the formation of Jewish
favorable attention of defense forces who later
Lloyd George. Another fought both the British and
Englishman who was his the Arabs.
Prime Minister Lloyd
friend and greatly in
favor of Zionism was Sir George, always a friend of
Mark Sykes, an expert on the Jews ap-
pointed Herbert Samuel as
the Middle East.
While employed by the the first British Commis-
Ministries of Munitions and sioner in Mandated Pales-
the Admiralty, he de- tine, but like so many prom-
veloped other chemicals to inent English Jews he was
help the war effort. This so eager not to favor his fel-
enabled him to take a prom- low Jews that he tended to
inent position in the British side with the Arab more
discussion on the Middle often than not.
Somewhat earlier, in
East and the fate of Pales-
1918, Weizmann rejoined
tine.
when his early dream of a
He and other Zionists pre-
university in Palestine
ferred a Jewish homeland was realized with the
under British control, but placement of the cor-
French diplomats were also nerstone on Mount
eager to gain control of a Scopus; he was equally
large part of the Middle euphoric seven years
East. This rivalry, begun in later when Hebrew Uni-
1914, continued to the end versity had become a
of the war and the estab- reality and began to func-
lishment of the League of tion as a seat of learning.
Nations. British officers
All through its Mandate
were generally agreeable to
the Zionist plan, but they in Palestine the .British
were more favorable to the
were of course more in-
terested in placating the in- Arabs primarily to make
sure of both the control of
fluential Arab families.
Egypt and the route to In-
As the war continued and dia. Thus, in 1922, Lord
American entrance into it Milner reinterpreted the
weighted the scales against Balfour Declaration to
Germany, Zionists became mean not that Palestine as a
more urgent in obtaining a whole should be converted
definite and official state- into a Jewish National
ment from the British gov- Home, but such a home
ernment favoring a Jewish should be formed in Pales-
homeland in Palestine. For tine. More and more Jewish
months Arthur Balfour's friction with the British and
draft to this end was exam- Arabs thus became un-
ined, revised and rewritten
avoidable.
by friends and foes alike,
with Edwin Montague, the
In a book of over 700
"105 percent" British pat-
pages, one cannot of course
riot, protesting vehemently do justice to much that was
against the entire project. pertinent to the narrative.
When the brief letter finally Much of it was of course to
reached its finished form, it some extent common
was sent to Lord Rothschild, knowledge, but to get the
the most prominent of the full sweep and struggle of
British Jews.
converting a land that had
After 1916, Weizmann become almost a desert into
neglected his chemical a flourishing and dynamic
research to devote his country, even while sur-
entire time to Zionist ac-
rounded by determined
tivity, having become the
Arab enemies, one must
leader of English read this excellent book as a
Zionists. He was elected whole.