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(’opyright by 
 
 rnderwood A: Tiiderwood 
 
 A Shomer 
 
 IN 
 
 Galilee 
 
A PALESTINE PACKET 
 
 A COLLECTION OF 
 LETTERS ON PALESTINE CONDITIONS 
 
 Published for 
 
 The Benefit of the Zionist Emergency Fund 
 
 1916 
 
 THE FEDERATION OF AMERICAN ZIONISTS 
 44 East 23rd Street 
 New York 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Word from Ambassador Morgenthau. 5 
 
 Tue Spirit of the New Palestine. 7 
 
 Extracts from the Letters of Dr. Flarry Friedenwald, 
 Baltimore 
 
 . . . But My Heart is in the East . 13 
 
 From a Letter of Dr. B. Mossinsohn, Jaffa 
 (Translated from the Hebrew) 
 
 The Test of Efficiency of the New Yishub . 21 
 
 Harry Kaplan, Cleveland 
 
 To Palestine with the U. S. S. "Vulcan” . 2G 
 
 Extracts from the Letters of Louis H. Levin, Baltimore 
 
 The Judaean Colonies and the War Crisis . 32 
 
 W. Gluskin, Rishon le-Zion 
 
 (Tianslated from the Hebrew) 
 
 The Death of the Orchard . 39 
 
 Hemda Ben Jehuda, Jerusalem 
 (Translated from the Hebrew) 
 
 The Indictment of Zionists in Palestine . 43 
 
 M. Sheinkin, Jaffa 
 
 (Translated from the Yiddish) 
 
 The Shomer. .51 
 
 Mordecai Bernstein, Jaffa 
 
 (Translated from the Hebrew) 
 
 4 
 
A AVORD FROM AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU 
 
 I can vividly recall the picture which the activities of 
 the Jewish colonists made upon my mind, as I journeyed 
 through Palestine before the war. The older men were 
 contented and industrious. iMany of them told me of 
 their prosperity. They embraced the opportunity to 
 make themselves economically independent. The younger 
 men and women, brimming over with energy and the joy 
 of free living, demonstrated what can be accomplished 
 when the shackles are removed and our people are given 
 a chance to develop. 
 
THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW PALESTINE 
 
 By Dr. Harry Friedenwald 
 
 In reply to the request of the Publications Committee 
 I am sending a few extracts from letters written in the 
 summer of 1914, while I was in Palestine. Things have 
 changed since that time, and conditions are so utterly 
 different that it would be difficult for me to put myself 
 back into that hajipy frame of mind in which I then found 
 myself. I shall, therefore, let the letters give impressions 
 of the Jewish life of Palestine which I love to think of 
 now in these troublous times. 
 
 Jeimna, July 6, 1914. . . . Shabbos morning I 
 
 went to the little Shul. There was a large number of 
 men there, but many of the young men are not religious 
 and it is against their conscience to go to Shul. This 
 sounds queer, but the young workmen, especially those 
 who have come from Ru.ssia, have brought with them the 
 most radical views of the radical Russians. And yet, 
 with the total absence of any desire to participate in 
 religious services, they lead a much more Jewish life than 
 our Jews, For their life is Jewish and its atmosphere 
 is Jewish. I felt this more than ever last Shabbos. It 
 was quiet in the village, the bustle and life having ceased; 
 not a person nor an animal stirred. Even the dogs ceased 
 barking. In the afternoon, when we were seated in front 
 of the house, a wagon was heard coming over the rough 
 stones. The villagers went down to see what it meant. 
 Who could have the impertinence to come to the colony 
 
on Shabbos? They learned that it was the Russian 
 consul. 
 
 Late in the afternoon we took a walk about the colony, and 
 then went to the threshing floor, where great heaps of grain 
 were lying ready to be threshed. AYe found the people 
 gathered in little groups or walking about, and the children 
 playing, and it was long after dark when we heard the first 
 noises indicating resumption of work. Now this is Shabbos. 
 
 Of course many use it simply in order to rest, for they 
 work night and day gathering the grain. It is the hardest 
 time in the year, and they are glad when Shabbos comes. 
 
 Jaffa, July 20, 1914. ... I need not say that such 
 
 Shabbosim as one experiences here are unknown else¬ 
 where. Even the most irreligious lead Jewish lives at 
 least in public and are thoroughl}^ Jewish. It is beautiful 
 to see how those who are themselves lax respect the pre¬ 
 vailing opinion. Tel-Aviv, which we all know is the 
 “freest” place in Palestine, has a perfect Shabbos. No 
 one would dare to go out on the street and smoke. Some 
 one played the piano, but a complaint was made, and 
 now it would be considered a breach of good form to play 
 piano on Shabbos, even by one who would play cards or 
 write in his own home. This gives a notion of what I mean 
 by the real Shabbos. ... I prefer this, because it is alive 
 and vigorous, and has the certainty of a vigorous future. 
 
 We spent two delightful evenings in Zichron-Jacob, on 
 Friday at X’s and on Saturday at the Bet-Am, where the 
 young people meet and have a splendid time. We found 
 them somewhat depressed because in a few days thirty- 
 
 S 
 
The Architect’s House in Zichron-Jacob 
 
 four of their numljer must present themselves for army 
 service. But in spite of this they were quite happy, and 
 showed their courage and enthusiasm in several 
 speeches. They plajmd games and sang, and altogether 
 
 I am in love with them. I told A. that I 
 
 admired the products of their work and their farms and 
 their orchards. But the best products I have seen in 
 Palestine are these boys and girls, healthy, strong, fine 
 looking and vigorous specimens of Jewish manhood and 
 womanhood. I hope to live to see a great many more of 
 them. Unfortunately a number of young men have left 
 the colonies and gone to foreign lands. But I hear that 
 they are coming back: “They hear the East a-calling, 
 and can’t ’eed nothing else.” Alany of them are good- 
 
 9 
 
looking. Bvit better than their looks and their strength 
 and their courage is that Jewish spirit, the Maccabaean 
 spirit, the love of their land and their people—for that 
 is the main-spring of all their activity and all their thoughts 
 and hopes. I am sure that we shall hear great things 
 from these men and women some day. They will show 
 the world what straight-backed, courageous spirited Jews 
 are, and what they can do. 
 
 Rehobot, July 24, 1914. . . . The weather is warm; 
 
 it is hot in the sun, but not more so than at home, and 
 altogether quite comfortable. The inn at this little place 
 is good and clean, and the people we meet are fine speci¬ 
 mens. It is wonderful to hear the experiences of the early 
 settlers, how they lived in hovels and cellars in which 
 there was water even in summer. iVIy friend Mr. 
 
 E., his family, and another man and his family 
 
 were together in Vadi el-Hanin. His comrade was mur¬ 
 dered by the Arabs, and E. was left to care 
 
 for both families. One of his children fell into the water 
 in the underground hole in which they lived for a while, 
 and was almost drowned. Another child got sore eyes, 
 and there was no physician. So iMrs. E. car¬ 
 
 ried the little one in her arms to Rishon every day, (it 
 takes an hour and a half in a wagon now,) and had to 
 stay out in the hot sun, because the people there were 
 afraid of the disease. It is marvelous to listen to these 
 tales and to look into the sturdy faces, and to see the 
 deep graven furrows, the evidence of the hard times and 
 the arduous experiences through which these people have 
 passed. I have a profound admiration and respect for 
 
 10 
 
them. I feel a deep humility when I gaze at these pioneers 
 and realize that they are whole-hearted Jews, real Jews 
 in every sense. I wish I could be with them more, and 
 could contribute something to the great work of building 
 up a true Jewish communitj^ I fully realize the diffi¬ 
 culties and even the dangers before which we stand, and 
 I know there is not a single thing which we have done 
 which is without serious defects; and yet I feel assured 
 that there are great possibilities within our reach, and 
 that the future depends chiefly on our own efforts and 
 the wisdom Avith which we proceed. 
 
 August 3, 1914. ... I went to the Wailing Wall 
 
 on Tisha be-Ab. They say that the services used to be 
 more impressive, but that fewer of the old people come 
 now as a result of recent disturbances. Still there were 
 a number of the old school sitting on the ground and 
 reading prayers by the light of little candles and lamps; 
 and in the background there stood a number of shomrim 
 from the colonies. The moon was shining brightly and 
 from time to time one caught snatches of the plaintive 
 melodies. But I was not able to get into the proper 
 “Stimmung”, the feeling which I had expected, and which 
 I should have liked to have. It left me rather cold. 
 Perhaps I could not divest mj^self of the conviction that 
 by prayer alone we cannot accomplish our restoration. 
 I do not know whether we modern people have lost the 
 faculty of profound devotion, the ‘‘Kavanah” of our 
 fathers. Not by prayer alone, but by sacrifice and hard 
 work and intelligent effort must we seek to build up the 
 ruins and remove the waste. And yet, standing here two 
 
 11 
 
thousand five hundred j'ears after the destruction of the 
 first Temple, at the sight of the ruin of that which was 
 the glory of our land and the inspiration of the world, 
 one cannot but be impressed by the wonder and the 
 miracle of the preservation of this little people, through 
 all the vicissitudes that they have gone during the ages; 
 of their still living and having energy to work, and devo¬ 
 tion to pray, of their still having the hope to revive and 
 again to take a place of honor in the society of nations. 
 The great, the massive blocks which form the base of the 
 “Kotel ha-Maaravi”, the Western wall, are still there, 
 strong, unshaken by time and by earthquakes, an emblem 
 of the strength that is enduring. The stranger passes by 
 without interest and smiles at the spectacle of Jews 
 praying beside the wall and kissing its rough surface. 
 But the wall has endured, and the Jewish people are in 
 some respects like it, strong, and enduring, and despised. 
 But they are also like the Eastern wall which supports 
 the great “Place of the Omar Mosque”, and helps to 
 bear up this temple of a strange culture, just as the Jews 
 throughout the world help to build up and support the 
 various cultures of strange peoples, who hold them under 
 subjection. 
 
 Let us hope that some day our people will again live 
 its own life, build up its own culture, be a pride to its 
 sons and daughters, and a source of benefit and inspiration 
 to all the world. 
 
 12 
 
. . . BUT MY HEART IS IN THE EAST 
 By Dr. B. Mossinsohn 
 
 The blare of trumpets, the tumult of warfare! The 
 whole world is facing destruction. The civilization of 
 centuries is being crushed and trampled in the dust. It 
 seems as though Satan had confused the peoples and 
 turned them blindly one against the other, he himself 
 standing by and looking on their misfortune with a 
 malicious smile. In a minute they destroy that which 
 generations have built up. Out of this universal destruc¬ 
 tion there issues a scarcely perceptible moan, the moan 
 of the builders. They would fain defend with their lives 
 that which is infinitely dear to them; but they can do no 
 more than huddle together and gaze despairingly on the 
 delicate blossom whose growth and development they 
 have so lovingly furthered, the blossom which they have 
 tended with the sweat of their brow, the blood of their 
 heart, and the marrow of their bone. They of whom I 
 speak are the children of the eternal people, who have gone 
 back to the land of their fathers, to erect a new edifice on 
 its ruins, and to imbue its ancient culture with new life. 
 
 Far from the bustle and turmoil of Europe, on the 
 shores of the blue Mediterranean, under the canopy of 
 the azure heavens, in the hills and valleys of their ancient 
 land, they had sought to solve the problem of their people, 
 and to find rest for their own souls. They knew nothing 
 of the envy and hatred which blind the eyes of men and 
 provoke them to bloodshed and destruction; and so they 
 stood perplexed and bewildered. “Why all this waste 
 
 13 
 
and misery? What end does it serve? And what is the 
 use of building, of building and creating?” 
 
 But on them too the storm has broken. Waves of 
 blood dash against their shores, and pollute with crimson 
 spray the work of their hands. The Yishub and its insti¬ 
 tutions are in danger. From all sides they hear the voice 
 of the Jews in the Diaspora, urging that they give up 
 the fight, that they abandon their possessions, and seek 
 shelter, at least for a short time, until the tempest will 
 have blown over. Egypt is so near! And boats are to 
 1)0 had for the asking! And in Egypt the flesh-pots are 
 still to be found. But though the refuge is so near and 
 the people in the Diaspora council flight, the builders of 
 the Yishub stand firm. They draw closer to one another, 
 and risk their lives to protect the fruit of their labor. 
 But they cannot repress the moan which bursts from their 
 aching hearts. This moan is not an expression of weak¬ 
 ness, nor are their outstretched hands pleading for alms; 
 it is a wail of anguish caused by the peril of everything 
 Avhich is precious and holy; it is a proclamation to the 
 Jews of the Diaspora that their future is hanging in the 
 balance. It conveys to them the murmur of the new life 
 which is transfiguring the land of silence and desolation, 
 and tells of the glorious vision to the realization of which 
 the builders have unquestioningly devoted their lives. 
 
 And I, a wanderer on the face of the earth, perceive 
 that this moan has found an echo in the hearts of the 
 children of the DiasjDora. From time to time I see a 
 curious stirring in the dormant masses when the name of 
 Erez Israel is mentioned. It seems to recall ancient 
 
 14 
 
memories, the hopes of thousands of years, perhaps, too, 
 the dreams of jmuth. Their breasts commence to heave 
 and their hearts throb violently, and tears spring to 
 their eyes, as if the magic of that name were waking 
 them from the long sleep of the Exile. The j^risoner 
 strains at his shackles and stretches his flabby sinews. 
 The chains which bind him reverberate; but it is a far 
 call from the clanging of the chains to the final liberation. 
 
 The people have risen to the i)oint of making certain 
 sacrifices. They count out how much they gave yes¬ 
 terday, how much they gave in the past, and how much 
 they can safely spare in the future. They jot down what 
 they gave for this purpose, and what for that. 
 
 But to real sacrifice, to the state of mind in which one 
 soars far above the trivialities of life, to the exaltation 
 of the spirit which ennobles the soul, and gives it, if only 
 for a moment, a glimpse of eternity—no! to this sacrifice 
 the people have not risen! And yet the dreamers of 
 dreams in Palestine ex])ect such a sacrifice, a sacrifice which 
 will not only save the Yishub, but will moreover purify the 
 hearts of the Jews in America, and unite the whole people 
 for its ultimate deliverance and spiritual redemption. 
 
 And I am a wanderer on the face of the earth! And 
 there comes to my mind the recollection of another con¬ 
 flict, which took place there, in the land of our past and 
 of our future, without the clash of swords or the ringing of 
 spears; the conflict of languages. The Jewish organizations 
 outside of Palestine had showered gold on the Yishub, and 
 the drops of golden rain, falling side by side on the ground, 
 formed into chains, chains of the spirit. Each organization 
 
 15 
 
brought with it the language and the culture of its own 
 land, or rather, not the culture, but its outward glamor. 
 The Yishub was too young and frail to reject the help of 
 these organizations, and believed, in its simplicity, that the 
 true spirit of the land was invincible and bound to triumph. 
 
 The New Yishub had created its own schools, in which 
 the Hebrew language had blossomed anew, fragrant with 
 the essence of the mountains and valleys, of the golden 
 rays of the sun, of the splashing of the ripples of the 
 Jordan. The successful revival of the ancient national 
 culture would, as they hoped, convince their benefactors 
 that they were in the right. And the benefactors smil¬ 
 ingly encouraged them as long as it was to their interest 
 to do so. So the Yishub overlooked their vagaries, and 
 generously condoned their sins. 
 
 And then the momentous time was at hand when the 
 fairest dream of the Yishub was to be realized—a great 
 technological institute was to be established. A tech¬ 
 nological institute! How sweetly these words sounded 
 in the ears of all Palestine! There were a few who de¬ 
 murred because the organization which had given the 
 funds insisted on seeing its own flag waving over the 
 handsome edifice; but their protestations were lost in 
 the chorus of approbation which resounded from all sides. 
 The best workers and most faithful friends of the Yishub 
 gave themselves heart and soul to the upbuilding of the 
 new institute. We were tense with expectation, and our 
 hearts overflowed with joy and gratitude. And then 
 came the blow which in a moment dashed our fondest 
 hopes; here too, into the very midst of the Yishub, a 
 
 16 
 
strange language and a strange culture were to be forcibly 
 introduced; and our erstwhile co-workers sat back and 
 laughed at our discomfiture and our despair, and jeered 
 at those who had dreamed of a Hebrew resurrection. 
 
 Religion and physical training, they munificently 
 assured us, were to be taught in Hebrew. What was to 
 be done? The real builders of the Yishub, the idealists, 
 were forced to retreat from the battle-field and to leave 
 the gross materialists, the purveyors of money, in full 
 control. But this defeat was only temporary. The ire 
 of the Yishub was aroused, and the real struggle was only 
 to begin. 
 
 The conflict was ostensibly a mere haggling over the 
 number of subjects which were to be taught in Hebrew, 
 but in reality it had a far deeper significance. Two differ¬ 
 ent worlds were ranged opposite one another on the battle¬ 
 field, “they”, and “we”. “They” had come as the 
 representatives of their country to make unscrupulous 
 use of the builders in the land of their fathers, in order 
 to force the culture of a strange people on us by insidious 
 means. What mattered it that we had come there to 
 revive the glorious culture of our ancestors, so that our 
 posterity might be the free children of a free land? “They” 
 took for their maxim: “Anything is good enough for our 
 poor unfortunate co-religionists in the east. Let them 
 be thankful for the crumbs we throw to them.” And 
 “we” said: “Nothing is too good for the first generation 
 of the redemption! We gladly give the best of our 
 strength, the very marrow of our bones, so that they 
 may flourish and prosper.” “They” reiterated: “But 
 
 17 
 
it was we who gave the money, and therefore you have 
 no right to interfere,” And “we” cried to them in turn; 
 “Keen your gold! W(! will not sell the souls of our 
 children.” 
 
 The whole Yishul) took part in the conflict, from the 
 teachers at their desks to the working-people, pickaxe 
 in hand, who had hewn the new language out of the very 
 rocks of the Land of Israel. Even the patient and long- 
 suffering farmers remembered how they had been bound 
 by the golden chains of their “protectors”, and eagerly 
 joined the ranks. 
 
 The Hebrew Gymnasia “Herzlia” in Tel-Aviv 
 
 “Our own schools for our own children!” Such was the 
 watchword of the day. And it was the Yishub, feeble 
 and poor in resources, that provided the necessary means 
 
 18 
 
for carrying on the conflict. I shall always remember 
 a certain meeting in the hall of the Hel)rew Gymnasia 
 in Jaffa, where the teach('rs of the Gymnasia and of th(' 
 Girls’ School, as well, as several men connected with 
 l)edagogic activities had gathered to discuss the situation 
 with the teachers of the “Esra”. It was, of course, indis¬ 
 putable that these last would have to resign their positions 
 and go on strike in order to voice their protest against 
 the introduction of a foreign language. But how were 
 they to live? This seemingly unanswerable question 
 plunged the whole assembly into gloom. Suddenly one 
 of the men rose to his feet and cried; “We can share 
 our bread with them!” And nothing further was said. 
 The problem had been successfully solved, and the situa¬ 
 tion was saved. Most of the teachers agreed to con¬ 
 tribute one half of their salaries to the fund, although 
 the whole barely sufficed to keep the wolf from the door. 
 But they were all oblivious of this consideration; and 
 with the same unquestioning strength of purpose the 
 “Esra” teachers gave up their positions without a murmur. 
 
 And it was on this foundation of enthusiasm and 
 courage that the new Hebrew schools were erected. 
 The words which had been spoken at that memorable 
 gathering re-echoed throughout all Palestine. “We can 
 share our bread with them!” The townspeople and the 
 farmers, the laborers and the schoolchildren outdid one 
 another in their eagerness to help support the teachers 
 who had resigned their positions. 
 
 Then for the first time I grasped the significance of a 
 national sacrifice; then indeed did I realize what it means 
 
 19 
 
to form part of a living nation, and to remain serene and 
 happy even in times of stress. 
 
 Soon we were assisted by symi)atliizers in other e.oun- 
 tries, notably in those whieh are now submerged in blood 
 and groaning under the leaden yoke of oppression. We 
 welcomed this help and rejoiced to find that our battle- 
 cry had found an echo in the hearts of the faithful in 
 the Diaspora. And yet we were almost sorry that the 
 renunciation which had filled us with pride and exultation 
 was no longer necessary. 
 
 And then came the great war. Life in Palestine was 
 at a standstill. Teachers and pupils were menaced by 
 starvation and danger of death. But the schools re¬ 
 mained open, and the air was filled with the prattle of 
 children—and the voice of the children is the living voice, 
 proof positive and indubitable that our labor has not 
 been in vain. 
 
 The bell of the Gymnasia is still ringing—the Yishub 
 still persists. '^Come what may, we will not desert our 
 post!” These words resound every morning through 
 the streets of Tel-Aviv. And in Jerusalem too they 
 hearken to the bell of the Hebrew Seminary, and are 
 filled with renewed courage by its cheering tones. The 
 ringing of the bells is wafted over the boundless ocean 
 and lingers in my ears. And I hearken to its notes, and 
 weave them into the fabric of my dream. Grant me a 
 moment’s peace! Let me drink from the fountain of 
 life! 
 
 , . . And I am a wanderer on the face of the earth! 
 
 20 
 
THJ^: TEST OF EFFICIENCY OF THE 
 NEW YISHUB 
 
 By Harry Kaplan 
 
 There was no war cloud on the horizon when we arrived 
 in Jaffa in Oecember, 1913. Everything was busy and 
 prospering. In Tel-Aviv as many as twenty dwellings 
 were building at one time, but when we tried to rent one, 
 we found that they had all been spoken for ahead. It 
 was not unusual to see a family move into a house before 
 the doors and windows were in. We had to put iij) at a 
 l^rivate hotel for ten weeks before we could get an oiffion 
 on a dwelling. Naturally this great demand caused the 
 price of food and rents to jump high, so high that by 
 Shevuot a number of Gymnasia students put up tents on 
 the sand dunes near Hevrah-Hadashah, and lived in them 
 because they would not pay the liigh rent that was charged. 
 
 People came to Palestine from all over, some as tourists, 
 some to buy land, some to develop industries and settle 
 there. For Pesach there were such numbers of new 
 people that it was impossible to accommodate them. 
 When we pointed out these facts to the opponents of the 
 New Yishub, they would say, “Things are all right as 
 long as everything runs smoothly, and every one looks 
 forward to a l)right future; but these people are loosely 
 thrown together. They come from diverse conditions, 
 and are the products of different cultures. If an 3 dlnng un¬ 
 foreseen happens it will all burst like a soai)-bubble. Such 
 ])Cople would not be efficient in handling emergencies.’^ 
 
 21 
 
Coiiyriglit liy 
 I'lulerwood A I’mlei wood 
 
 The Harbor of Jaffa 
 
 News came that Austria had declared war on Serbia. 
 We paid small attention to this, for they were far away 
 and did not concern us materially. Even when Russia 
 and Germany intervened we shrugged our shoulders and 
 went on working. IRit when England declared war, and 
 a moratorium was suddenly put on all the banks under 
 English, French, and German control—and these were 
 the only i)owerful financial institutions in Palestine— 
 then we felt it pretty keenly. Money we could not get, 
 there were no boats to bring us food anti call for our prod- 
 
 22 
 
nets, and the Turkish government started to mobilize. 
 Then we saw that the war was coming to us too. 
 
 For a few days we were dismayed and paralyzed. But 
 soon we began to organize. It was not necessary to call 
 mass meetings, nor to urge people to help us, nor to appeal 
 to their patriotic sentiments. We got together quietly 
 and each one of us put himself in the place for which he 
 was most fitted. We formed Le-Hacalat-Hamachber 
 which was divided into committees and different depart¬ 
 ments. There was a department of loans, Ha-Milvah, 
 which was of the greatest assistance to people who had 
 houses, papers, and valuables, as they could give a security 
 for the money they received, and so were not compelled 
 to accept charity. There was a department which bought 
 food and the other necessities of life. 
 
 As with one or two exceptions all private undertakings 
 had stopped, a department of public work was created, 
 so that the people could work for their money instead of 
 receiving it as charity. There was also the Vaad ha- 
 Lechem, which rented bake-ovens, and with the grain 
 and flour that the buying department had procured they 
 baked bread and sold it at cost price. Then the Vaad 
 ha-Hanut opened stores in three districts at which food 
 was sold at cost price plus 10% for losses and running 
 expenses. These stores not only helped the population, 
 but regulated the prices for the store-keepers who had 
 begun to charge exorbitantly for their goods. A cheap 
 restaurant was organized, which furnished a wholesome 
 meal for three cents, as well as a tea-room run by 
 the ladies of Tel-Aviv, and another restaurant which 
 
 23 
 
furnished meals at cost price. With the exception of this 
 last-named restaurant all these organizations were taken 
 over by the American Relief Committee when Turkey 
 entered the war. 
 
 The Anglo-Palestine Bank had become the most power¬ 
 ful financial institution in Palestine, perhaps not so much 
 in capital as in the number of depositors. It felt its 
 responsibility to its small depositors and tried to help 
 them as well as it could. Of course the bulk of its money 
 was in London, and as it was not able to receive gold 
 from there because of the war, and had been ordered not 
 to pay out any gold, the directors worked out a system 
 to help their depositors without violating their corpora¬ 
 tion laws. They issued certified checks in small amounts 
 in proportion to the individual deposits of the creditors. 
 It is to be remarked that not only the Jews, but also the 
 Arabs and Germans, accepted these checks as money, and 
 preferred them to checks issued by other banks. 
 
 In this small space it is impossible to give details of 
 other organizations which sprang up after the beginning 
 of the war. I may say, having worked in several of these 
 committees, that I never saw better nor abler people 
 than my co-workers, nor any who worked in more perfect 
 harmony. And not only were none of them getting paid 
 for their work, but they had the worry of providing for 
 their own families, who were in just as precarious a con¬ 
 dition as the rest of the population. Nevertheless they 
 stuck to their tasks from morning till night. 
 
 ^Moreover, although the Old and the New Yishub were 
 not on friendly terms before the war, yet when the mail 
 
 24 
 
stopped bringing the monthly Haliikkah money from 
 Russia, Galicia, Hungary, Germany and England, and the 
 Ilalukkah peoi)le were penniless and on the verge of 
 starvation, the New Yishub immediately began to care 
 for them as Avell as their OAvn. 
 
 To cope Avith such a calamity, and Avitii as many 
 thousands of penniless people our funds Avere insufficient, 
 and we could not begin to do Avhat we should have done. 
 That is why some people, ignorant of actual conditions, 
 have criticized our Avork and continue to do so. But 
 those of us Avho Avere there knoAv that the people of the 
 NeAv Yishub not only gave their time and their energj^, 
 but went down deep into their pockets at a time when 
 they themselves Avere facing need. I knoAv some of them 
 Avho gave 300 and 400 francs for the fund, and are noAv 
 in the direst need. If the Provisional Committee had 
 not sent their aid in time perhaps the greater part of the 
 JeAvish population of Palestine AV'ould have perished. 
 
 Of one thing Ave can have no doubt: the NeAv Yishub 
 is efficient and able to handle its affairs; it has stood the 
 test beyond expectation. 
 
TO PALESTINE WITH THE U. S. S. “VULCAN’’ 
 By Louis H. Levin 
 
 lidruL, April 20, 1015. . . . The phigue of locusts, 
 
 which I first heard of in Egypt, I saw in full operation 
 to-day. I have never witnessed anything like it. The 
 air was black with them, and the ground covered with their 
 droppings. I have been told that all the wheat and a good 
 many other crops are gone. Misfortunes never come singly. 
 
 Jaffa, April 26, 1915. ... I have now been in 
 
 Jaffa since last Wednesday, but our cargo has not yet 
 been discharged. We are waiting for certain prelimi¬ 
 naries to be arranged. . . . The city proper is an 
 
 Oriental-looking place, with narrow and roughly paved 
 streets, and a population that is picturesque for all its 
 rags and tatters. Here we see the patient and willing 
 little donkey, and the camel surprising you by the wonder¬ 
 ful adaptation of its anatomy and powers to the task 
 demanded of it. But they are not the only ones to carry 
 burdens. The Arab can carry a startlingly heavy load. 
 He takes it on his back, puts a rope about it, and brings 
 the rope about his forehead, and away he goes, as slow 
 and as sure-footed and as heavily laden as the camel. 
 And all for a few great big coppers. 
 
 There are, Jewishly speaking, two parts to Jaffa—the 
 old city and the suburb known as Tel-Aviv. The latter 
 portion of the town is a modern city, with nicely paved 
 streets and some really fine houses, and a population that 
 is quite different from anything that you will meet else¬ 
 where. Hebrew is the universal means of communication, 
 
 26 
 
and the little children prattle it in the street eharmingl}", 
 ddiere is a very friendly spirit abroad, and all seem to 
 fraternize in a way that is unknown in the Western world, 
 and at the same time the fraternization jiartakes of nothing 
 of that Jewish familiarity which we are wont to criticise. 
 In the evening, say at six o’clock, you will find nearly the 
 whole population promenading in the cool air—for it is 
 cool here in the evening—and the scene is one of great 
 attractiveness. There is really something of the idyllic 
 in it, and they tell me that the scene was even more beau¬ 
 tiful before the war sent away some 500 of the 2,000 
 population of the place. 
 
 U. S. S. “Tennessee” Taking on Refugees in Jaffa 
 
 27 
 
Before the war there wei-e many Jewish tourists, and 
 llic influx of |)eo]Jo of means was sodding larger every 
 y('af. Many improxa'inents were contemplatc'd, a larg(' 
 moving-picture house* had just Ix'en completed, a boule¬ 
 vard leading to the sea, where bathing houses were to 
 have been erected had been planned, a modern hotel for 
 visitors, and a new synagogue—all these and more were 
 in contemplation, but everything is at a standstill now. 
 
 Pupils of the Hebrew Gymnasia 
 
 I visited the schools to-day, and the Girls’ School is 
 really a fine institution. It had 500 girls before the Avar, 
 
 28 
 
])iit now it has only 300. The girls look up-to-date and 
 are attractive in every way. Many of them are the 
 children of rich Jtussian ]airents who hav(^ sent them 
 here to got the education they cannot get at home. The 
 same is true of the Gymnasia, whose attendance of 800 
 has been reduced to 500. This is also a fine school, and 
 the students are a particularly fine body of children. 
 
 We found in the Gymnasia three Arab boys 
 who were learning Hebrew in order to get an education, 
 and in the Girls’ School one lone little Christian girl was 
 acquiring Hebrew for the same purpose. 
 
 I have met Dr. Ruppin and other notables, and have 
 found some very nice people. I have been entertained 
 in homes in a manner not surpassed by any of our friends 
 in Baltimore. 
 
 We have not yet landed our cargo, and now I can see 
 that the boat will go back to Beirut to coal the “North 
 Carolina” without unloading. Preliminaries have not 
 yet been arranged, and the battleship needs coal. We 
 hope that by the time she returns we shall be in a position 
 to unload. 
 
 Tomorrow morning I shall proceed with the American 
 consul by carriage to Jerusalem. Perhaps there we shall 
 be able to make the necessary arrangements. I expect 
 to return in the next few days, ready for unloading our 
 supplies. Meanwhile I shall face the music in the Holy 
 City, where, I am tokl, owing to the lack of income from 
 Galicia and Russia, the Halukkah people are in special 
 want. . . . There can be no doubt of the great 
 poverty. I hope we shall be able to help it a little. 
 
 29 
 
Dr. Glazebrook, our Consul in Jerusalem, is ever ready 
 to help ns, and we feel that he is doing all that he can. 
 VV(^ could not have a man more desirous of being of service. 
 This fact ought to l)e made known. 
 
 Jaffa, May 5, 1915. . . . We are just beginning 
 
 to unload the ship—it took a long time to arrive at this 
 point. . . . The country looks beautiful, and the 
 
 evenings are charming. Things are very quiet, as one 
 can well imagine. . . . One cannot be here long 
 
 without coming to the conclusion that this is the land of 
 the Bible. We see many things that must have been 
 the same as they are now several thousand years ago. 
 The camel, the ass, the tent, the flock, and the well still 
 figure largely in the life and the landscape. And the 
 gardens of the colonists show that this country can indeed 
 be made to be a land flowing with milk and honey. . . . 
 
 I saw Rishon le-Zion for a few minutes Friday, and I spent 
 Saturday in Rehobot. I found it a beautifully situated 
 colony, and one in which much hard and intelligent work 
 has been done; but what with the locusts and the present 
 interruption to business, one does not know what will 
 become of it. One thing can be said—the land can be 
 made to yield wonderful crops. And the climate is 
 delightful. 
 
 (Upon his return to America Mr. Levin was interviewed 
 and made the following remarks:) The condition of the 
 Jews in Palestine is extremely bad. There is very little 
 food, and what there is can be bought only at prohibitive 
 prices. ... To add to the critical situation the 
 locusts have destroyed practically all this year’s crop. 
 
 30 
 
. . We encountered considerable difficulty in securing 
 
 means for the transportation of the supplies we had 
 brought. About the only means of trans]’)ortation wer(^ 
 camels, and these could not be secured in sufficient 
 numbers to carry on our relief work with the speed 
 desired. 
 
 The food we brought with us furnished only temporary 
 relief, and unless more is sent, the thousands of destitute 
 families there face starvation. . . . The people are 
 
 without funds, and some lack even the humblest kind of 
 abode in which to live. Many have sought to escape 
 starvation by fleeing to Alexandria, where two American 
 war vessels and a number of Italian freight steamers 
 have been taking them. 
 
 31 
 
THE JUDAEAN COLONIES AND THE WAR 
 
 URISIS 
 
 JIy W. Gluskin 
 
 In order to realize the full effect of the war upon our 
 colonies in Judaea, and to appreciate the valiant resistance 
 to the war crisis on the part of the colonies, it is well to 
 recall l)riefly the situation of the New Yishub in Judaea 
 prior to the war. 
 
 Alaterially, the older colonists had achieved, during 
 the last years preceding the war, a degree of well-being 
 and independence unprecedented in the annals of Pales¬ 
 tinian colonization. The economic crisis of ten or twelve 
 years ago had become a thing of the past. Released 
 from all philanthropic supervision, the colonists took full 
 charge of their own affairs and succeeded in placing them 
 on a sound foundation. 
 
 The orange planters, almost without exception, were very 
 well situated. By co-operating for the sale of their products, 
 after the manner of the vine growers, through the Pardess 
 and Mercas Associations, they managed to obtain good 
 prices for their oranges, thereby securing a good income 
 for themselves and improving the value of their possessions. 
 
 The vine growers of Rishon le-Zion, Rehobot, Vadi 
 el-Hanin, Petah-Tikvah, Gadrah, and Zichron-Jacob 
 organized themselves long ago into the Winegrowers’ 
 Co-operative Association, otherwise known as the Wine 
 Syndicate. They make their wines and cognacs in 
 common in the cellars placed at the disposal of the Asso¬ 
 ciation by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, and they 
 
 32 
 
The Wine Cellars in Rishon le-Zion 
 
 dispose of their products in all parts of the world, mostly 
 through stores and agencies of their own. The manage¬ 
 ment of the cellars and the entire wine business is in the 
 hands of an Executive Board elected by the annual meeting 
 of the Association, at which every member has a vote. 
 The colonists, through the Association, either own or 
 control all their important selling agencies, as the Carmel 
 Wine Co. in America, the Societe Carmel in Bussia, the 
 Palestine Wine and Trading Co. in London, and the 
 Carmel Oriental in Turkey and h'gypt. The offices and 
 stores of the Association employ colonists liy preference. 
 Thus the winegrowers have been getting the full benefit 
 
 33 
 
of their products, and this has been of great help to them 
 in making their economic condition entirely secure. 
 
 The almond growers also had little to complain of. 
 They had no difficulty in disposing of their products at 
 good prices, mostly through the Carmel agencies. Of 
 late, they too began to organize for the co-operative 
 management of their business affairs. This branch of 
 our plantations is developing rapidly, many new trees 
 having been planted during the last years, and it is 
 undoubtedly destined to become an important factor in 
 the colonization of Palestine. 
 
 Our agricultural colonies were still experiencing a certain 
 degree of want. Although their crops of wheat, barley, 
 and other grain were good, they had to struggle hard for 
 their existence because of heavy government taxes. 
 Gradually, however, their condition has improved some¬ 
 what by the introduction of mixed farming, these colonies 
 having added various plantations to their grain fields. 
 
 Simultaneously with the economic rise of the colonies, 
 their social and spiritual life developed wonderfully 
 under the beneficent influence of the commercial and 
 educational facilities created by the Zionist institutions 
 and activities. Good elementary schools, libraries, study 
 circles and lecture courses in the colonies, as well as high 
 schools, periodicals, and an intense intellectual life in the 
 nearby cities have been conducive to making life every¬ 
 where in Judaea })leasant and interesting. 
 
 Peaceful life in the colonies was further assured by 
 their democratic communal organization. All male and 
 female residents who have reached the age of twenty 
 
 34 
 
share equally in the annual direct elections of the Vaad 
 ha-Moshavah (Council of the Colony). The Vaad 
 directs the cultural and hygienic affairs of the colony, 
 treats with the Turkish officials, and arbitrates disputes 
 between the colonists themselves. A distinct Vaad, 
 composed of delegates from the Councils of the various 
 colonies, with headquarters at Rishon le-Zion, attends 
 to general matters in which all the colonies are concerned. 
 
 The rapid progress in all directions of the modern 
 Yishub did not fail to attract many new settlers with new 
 colonizing schemes. Jewish tourists began to visit Pales¬ 
 tine in large numbers and were agreeably surprised at 
 what they saw. Thus many Jews of wealth became 
 interested in the further regeneration of the country. 
 The desire to acquire land and found new settlements 
 has grown to an appreciable extent among Jews both in 
 Europe and in America. New industrial enterprises 
 followed one another, and wherever the eye turned it 
 beheld feverish activity and vigorous life pulsating cour¬ 
 ageously and hopefully. 
 
 And into the midst of all this happiness crashed the 
 dreadful war. 
 
 The crippling of shipping facilities at the outbreak 
 of the war and the ultimate blockade of the Syrian ports 
 was the hardest blow to our colonies, which subsist 
 mainly on the export of their products to oversea coun¬ 
 tries. This has also brought a dearth in certain foodstuffs 
 and commodities which could no longer be inii)orted. 
 
 Further hardships have befallen the colonists in the 
 
 35 
 
form of requisitions by the military authorities of horses, 
 vehicles, foodstuffs, petroleum and other commodities. 
 
 To intensify the gloom there came the expulsion of 
 Jews who were subjects of the allied powers, the closing 
 of the banks of the Anglo-Palestine Co., the persecution 
 of prominent Zionists—all of which combined to disturb 
 the yet unstable commercial and industrial life of the 
 Yishub and to shake the confidence of the people. A 
 great catastrophe seemed unavoidable. 
 
 But here the strong pioneer spirit of the colonists, 
 which defies all obstacles, has asserted itself, and the 
 colonists have given splendid proof of their power of 
 resistance and of their devotion to their land and to their 
 ideals. Firmly resolved to brave all difficulties and 
 dangers they stuck to their posts, not one of them desert¬ 
 ing the country. 
 
 And the difficulties and dangers grew. During the 
 first war year alone, the annual receipts of 4,000,000 
 francs from the sale of oranges, wine, and almonds had 
 fallen to one-fourth of this sum because of the blockade. 
 With the approach of the second year a locust plague 
 of unusual magnitude greatly aggravated the situation. 
 For three months the colonists, with their wives and 
 children, and with assistance from the nearby cities, 
 fought this terrible plague; but the locusts did not 
 depart until they had destroyed or seriously damaged 
 all the vines, 90% of the orange trees, and 50% of the 
 almond trees. As a result of this the income of all our 
 planters in Judaea during the second year of the war 
 will hardly reach the insignificant sum of 250,000 francs. 
 
 3G 
 
while the repairing of the damaged plantations requires 
 disbursements far above the normal. 
 
 The condition of the Jewish laborers is still worse, 
 hor lack of cash the colonists are unable to offer them 
 remunerative emplojunent, while they have no savings 
 or resources of their own on which to fall back. 
 
 The situation is indeed grave, and it is hard to tell how 
 it would have been met were it not for the assistance 
 sent from America. Thanks to this assistance the 
 National Fund was enabled to give employment to a 
 large number of laborers. Many of them were doubtless 
 assisted by the Palestine Labor Fund of the American 
 Poalei Zion. Some succor was granted them from the 
 general war relief funds as well. 
 
 But the colonists ask for no charity. All they need is a 
 loan against the guaranty of their possessions. Our 
 American brethren have attempted to respond to this 
 call, and a considerable part of the required loan has 
 already been transmitted to Palestine. This will save 
 the vineyards and orange groves, and will also create 
 employment for hundreds of our laborers. It is to be 
 hoped that the interest of America in the fate of our 
 brave pioneers will not diminish until they will have 
 recovered from the effects of this crisis. 
 
 The time for writing the history of the war crisis in 
 Palestine and of the splendid resistance put up by the 
 entire New Yishub has not yet arrived. May the day 
 soon dawn when the story will be told with joy. It will 
 form one of the most thrilling and brightest chapters in 
 the history of the Jewish renaissance. 
 
 37 
 
The Wailing Wall 
 
 38 
 
THE DEATH OF THE ORCHARD 
 
 IH' Hemda ]R]n Jkiiiida 
 
 Her name is Reniimali, and she is as wliite as a pearl. 
 Her braids are like the golden flax. In her eyes the blue 
 heavens sparkle. Peninnah is the fairest of the maidens 
 of our land, the most delicate and gracious. And all 
 our young men dream of her. She is good and gentle, 
 kind-hearted and noble. 
 
 Peninnah cherishes above all things Erez Israel, the 
 land of her fathers; and Hebrew, her mother-tongue, 
 is dearer to her than any other language. She loves 
 Jerusalem, the ancient capital, and all the other towns 
 and villages, and especially the colonies, with their 
 vineyards, their gardens, and their orchards brimming 
 over with oranges and lemons, and scented by the bloom¬ 
 ing almond-trees. 
 
 When Peninnah comes into the orchard the trees 
 stretch out their branches to her, as if every flower and 
 fruit were saying, “Pick me, bear me away with you, 
 and eat me.” But Peninnah, with her soft white hand, 
 fondles the golden orange and warms the flowers with 
 her breath, and lends them additional sweetness and 
 fragrance with her kisses. 
 
 Peninnah loves every tree and shrub, the blue heavens 
 above her, and the green grass beneath her feet. She 
 loves the ardent rays of the Palestinian sun, and the 
 silvery light of the moon, and the sable darkness of night, 
 with its innumerable twinkling stars. She loves the 
 song of the plowman when he goes to work, the 
 
 39 
 
twittering of the birds, and the mellow sounds of the 
 Hebrew which the mother murmurs to her child; the 
 sturdy, sun-burned youths, the flocks of sheep which re¬ 
 turn to the colony at sunset, and the far-away tones of 
 the shepherd’s lute. 
 
 All her life is a happy and beautiful song. 
 
 * * * 
 
 Woe! 
 
 What tumult is this? 
 
 Why this clashing of swords, and this roaring of can¬ 
 nons? 
 
 War is in the land. 
 
 The two pink roses in Peninnah’s cheeks have faded 
 Her lips tremble pitifully. The sky-blue of her eyes is 
 clouded, and the soft tears flow like summer rain. Only 
 the flaxen hair still glistens like a crown of gold about 
 her head. 
 
 ‘Teninnah, my child, calm yourself!” beseeches her 
 mother. 
 
 '‘Apple of my eye, have faith in our future!” says her 
 father encouragingly. 
 
 “Peninnah, the daughters of Zion will be protected by 
 her sons!” she hears from all sides. 
 
 But Peninnah does not answer. She vanishes and is 
 not to be found. With hurried steps she leaves her 
 home—behold her beyond the hedge of the garden. 
 She glides like a shadow down the road, and is seen no 
 more. From early morning to long after dark she is 
 hard at work. She gathers food for the hungry, dis- 
 
 40 
 
tributes clothing to the poor, cares for the sick, and 
 comforts the needy and unfortunate. 
 
 But at daybreak, before the weary people awaken to 
 the cares of the day, Peninnah tries to find consolation. 
 She goes to the fragrant orchard, passes from one tree 
 to another, and rests her cheek on a golden orange, bathed 
 in the dew of morning. She delights in the scarlet glow 
 of the ripe pear, inhales the perfume of the apple, and 
 approaches her lips to the etrog as if in prayer. . . . 
 
 The clang of bayonets, the hideous bloodshed, the un¬ 
 happy mothers whose sons have left them forever, the 
 helpless old men, the sobbing orphans—Peninnah forgets 
 them all in these moments. A divine smile illumines her 
 countenance as her eyes turn to the water-pipes which 
 run from one plant to another. It would almost seem as 
 if she held secret converse with the trickling of the water. 
 
 H< * * 
 
 The long, long months of the war pass slowly by. Want 
 and suffering are everywhere, and dire poverty is abroad. 
 The icy hand of despair clutches at every heart. The 
 course of daily life is interrupted in our cities and colonies. 
 Even the orchard is neglected. The oranges are not 
 gathered because there are no boats to bear them over 
 the seas, and they cover the ground like a golden carpet. 
 The heavy etrogim weigh the branches downward. The 
 almonds darken on the trees for there are no hands to 
 pick them, the apples decay, the grai)es dry in the vine¬ 
 yards; even the leaves wither and the trees droop. And 
 the water-pipes are still, because the motors have been 
 removed. 
 
 41 
 
Peninnah stands with ])owcd head in the orchard, for 
 she knows that it is dying. Her young life surges in her 
 breast like the billows on the ocean, and she moans: “I 
 cannot live, I cannot . . 
 
 42 
 
THE INDICTMENT OF ZIONISTS IN PALESTINE 
 
 By M. Sheinkin 
 
 The first Zionist to be arrested was Manya Vill- 
 bushevitch, who, with her husband, Israel Shochat, had 
 been instrumental in forming the organization of the 
 shomrim. It seems that this arrest was made in con¬ 
 nection with this question. Their names of the shomrim 
 had been found in the books of a Jaffa store-keeper who 
 had sold them firearms. While on trial she was ques¬ 
 tioned about the aims of the Zionist movement, which 
 she made no attempt to conceal, stating, however, that 
 they were in no way opposed to the interests of Turkey. 
 She did not hesitate to speak her mind freely. “It is 
 unfortunate,” she said, “that we have always had to 
 use roundabout methods, and to do our work with the 
 help of ‘baksheesh’ because the Turkish officials do not 
 serve their country loyally. Now we hope that more whole¬ 
 some conditions will prevail, for the sake of the work 
 which is useful and necessary both for us and for you.” 
 
 A few weeks later (about the middle of Fel)ruaiy, 1915) 
 Djemal Pasha, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian 
 army, ordered that over twenty of the most prominent 
 Zionists should appear before him in Jerusalem: fifteen 
 from Jaffa, (among them the Turkish teacher of the 
 Gymnasia,) five or six from the Judaean colonies, and 
 several from Jerusalem itself. The “guests” were accom¬ 
 panied by hundreds of people, who felt ])roud, and at the 
 same time rather bitter, as they drove through Tel-Aviv. 
 “Well”, said they, “the government is interested in us 
 after all. Up to now they have considered us a mere 
 
 43 
 
group of immigrants, and now we have suddenly become 
 a political faction. But how will this end, or rather what 
 have they up their sleeves?” 
 
 Arrived in Jerusalem they were brought directly before 
 Djemal Pasha. He gazed at them sternly and said; 
 “Be in readiness, for in ten days I am going to send you 
 to Constantinople.” (The Turkish teacher of the Gym¬ 
 nasia had the temerity to answer him, and was forthwith 
 arrested and sent to Constantinople.) 
 
 These people sent a petition to Djemal Pasha that he 
 should receive a delegation of two, explain to them the 
 
 Djemal Pasha and His Friends 
 
 44 
 
cause of the arrest, and give them an opportunity to 
 plead their cause. He agreed to receive one of them, 
 Antebi, After an hour’s audience Djemal Pasha ordered 
 that instead of being sent to Constantinople they should 
 leave Jerusalem for a few weeks. It would have been 
 sufficient for them to go as far as Zichron-Jacob or Hederah, 
 but they went to Haifa and Tiberias. 
 
 Ten days later the Jaffa officials "invited” seven other 
 Zionists. It may have been nothing but a coincidence, 
 but these seven had been delegates from Palestine to the 
 last Congress. On this occasion I also was honored by 
 an invitation. We were brought back to Tel-Aviv 
 escorted by a number of military and civil officials. The 
 gendarmes were there to receive us. Each one of us was 
 taken to his home, which was thoroughly searched. All 
 papers and documents, as well as brochures and pictures 
 which seemed to have any relation to the Zionist move¬ 
 ment were confiscated, and we were removed to the 
 military headquarters. 
 
 All the inhabitants of Tel-Aviv were filled with terror. 
 They thought that we would be led to the scaffold that 
 very day. We were told afterwards that hundreds of 
 the working-people were on the point of going to the 
 officials and declaring that they too were culpable of 
 whatever crime we were to be punished for. Soon the 
 news of these events was telegraphed to Constantinople 
 as well as to foreign countries. Those of us who had 
 been arrested were meanwhile peacefully sitting under 
 lock and key in the military prison. Several hours later 
 we were taken to the waiting room, where we were allowed 
 
 45 
 
to see our friends. At night thc}^ moved us to the French 
 Hospital, where we were given a large hall, with clean, 
 soft beds anti the best of service. (One of our number 
 had been left in his home in Tel-Aviv by mistake. Sud¬ 
 denly, late at night, the officials remembered his existence, 
 and had him brought to the Hospital.) 
 
 Every morning and evening we underwent a thorough 
 cross-examination. At first they tried to worm our 
 ‘‘secrets” out of us by threats, and to make us confess 
 who were the leaders of our movement in Palestine. 
 We answered proudly that they had no reason to suspect 
 us, that we had no secrets, and that furthermore we 
 ourselves were the leaders of the Zionist movement. 
 They finally asked us to produce the flag of the Hebrew 
 Gymnasia. They had found the photograph of a number 
 of pupils grouped under a flag bearing a Hebrew inscrip¬ 
 tion. This picture had been taken at the time when 
 they had only a pennant at the Gymnasia. But Dr. 
 Mossinsohn, the Director, was forced to go there in the 
 middle of the night and look up an old, torn pennant 
 with an inscription. The prosecutor realized that he 
 had not made any discoveries, and that there were no 
 dangerous plots to be found in the documents. 
 
 A few days later we were ordered to go to Jerusalem, 
 where our trial was to be continued. We went to the 
 station guarded by a gendarme and accompanied by our 
 families and hundreds of our Jews. The pupils of the 
 Gymnasia and all the inhabitants of Tel-Aviv saluted 
 the train as it went b 3 ^ Arrived in Jerusalem the gen¬ 
 darme took us to police heatlquarters, for Avhich action 
 
 40 
 
he was severely reprimanded. We were told to go to the 
 hotel, and there to hold ourselves in readiness to be sum¬ 
 moned to a cross-examination. But we had enough time to 
 play chess, to study Arabic, to pay visits and receive 
 them, and even to attend Zionist as well as other meetings. 
 
 Each day one or two of us were summoned to a cross- 
 examination which usually lasted about an hour. We 
 gave the prosecutor a complete course in the history of 
 Zionism, the Congresses, and all our institutions, such 
 as the Geulah and Tel-Aviv. The interpreter, who 
 translated from Turkish to Hebrew and vice-versa, was 
 a Jew. Our straightforwardness, our serenity and fear¬ 
 lessness seemed to have made an excellent impression 
 on the prosecutor. After a ten days’ stay in Jerusalem 
 we were freed and allowed to go home to Jaffa. As the 
 prosecutor had not found any evidence against us he 
 gave us back all the papers which had been confiscated. 
 But nevertheless he said that he was convinced that 
 Zionism was harmful to the Turkish Empire, and that 
 he would report his opinion in Constantinople. On the 
 other hand it is a fact that Djemal Pasha, who had just 
 returned from the Suez expedition, received a telegram 
 from Constantinople telling him not to persecute us 
 because of our Zionist tendencies. 
 
 During our detention in Jerusalem two of the Poalei Zion, 
 Ben-Zwi and Ben-Gourion, had been arrested. These men 
 issued a statement describing the work of their organiza¬ 
 tion, and were liberated. Djemal Pasha, however, abso¬ 
 lutely refused to free Manya Villbushevitch and her hus¬ 
 band, as well as Mr. Hankin. These two men had been 
 
 47 
 
“invited” with the first group of “guests”, but had 
 arrived after Djemal Pasha had left for Suez. It was 
 understood that they were merely to await his return, 
 but nevertheless they continued to be held under arrest. 
 A young Zionist of Jerusalem, the director of the Bet-Am, 
 Mr. Lomer, was also imprisoned. A few weeks after we 
 had been released, Djemal Pasha ordered that Manya 
 Villbushevitch, her husband, and Mr. Hankin should be 
 sent to Constantinople. (IManya Villbushevitch had 
 already on a former occasion appeared before a military 
 tribunal in Damascus and had been found guilty.) 
 
 At about the same time, Dr. Mossinsohn, the above- 
 mentioned Poalei Zion, and Mr. Lomer were banished 
 from the country. This followed closely on Djemal 
 Pasha’s visit to Tel-Aviv, where he had had a friendly 
 talk with the Zionist leaders in the Gymnasia. He had 
 sent a proclamation by telegram through all Syria stating 
 that he was convinced of the loyalty of the Jews, and 
 that anyone who spread unfavorable reports about the 
 Jews would be severely punished. 
 
 We had believed that this would put an end to the 
 persecutions of the Zionist leaders. But suddenly, in 
 the month of May, 1915, a mandate was issued by Djemal 
 Pasha that fifty Jews, the directors of various institutions 
 and organizations, should not be allowed to become 
 Turkish subjects, and should consequently be banished 
 from the country as Russian subjects. Now a second 
 petition was sent to Djemal Pasha. He consented to let 
 the old people remain, and was later persuaded to extend 
 his clemency to the teachers, (with the exception of the 
 
 48 
 
chairman of the teachers’ league, Dr. Luria,) and the 
 members of the Vaad of Tel-Aviv, as well as to several men 
 who had made use of private intercession. The decree 
 remained in force in the case of ten people. It is possible 
 that with the help of further intercession they also might 
 have been allowed to remain. But at that time a hundred 
 fifty of the most prominent Arabs were accused of treason 
 and subsequently hanged. After this it seemed unwise 
 to continue to intercede in behalf of ten Zionists who were 
 moreover subjects of a hostile power. 
 
 And so several of these ten Zionists left the country. 
 The others employed ‘‘underhand” methods; whenever 
 a boat was to leave Jaffa they were not to be found at 
 home and the police did not attempt to discover their 
 whereabouts. Toward the end of August Djemal Pasha 
 ordered that we should be kept under arrest until a boat 
 should arrive. We were confined in a house in Tel-Aviv 
 under police supervision. They allowed us to go home 
 three times a day for our meals, and also to receive visitors. 
 News came from Constantinople that we were not to be 
 banished after all. We would have been able to arrange 
 that no American ship should land in Jaffa until we had 
 been freed; but there were several hundred Jews in 
 Jaffa who were not willing to become Turkish subjects, 
 and were anxious to leave Palestine. They were arrested 
 and treated much more severely than we were, having 
 to put up with poor and unhygienic quarters. These 
 people reproached us bitterly because, as they said, it 
 was our fault that they were compelled to suffer. In 
 consequence we ourselves had to request that an American 
 
 49 
 
boat should land in Jaffa. (August 20, 1915.) It was 
 not until we, the banished Zionists, had boarded the ship, 
 that these other people were allowed to leave. 
 
 These, then, are the facts. It is hard to distinguish 
 between tragic and comic, lietween kindness, incon¬ 
 sistency, and tyranny. One thing must be said: if the 
 Jews had been implicated in a similar affair in any “civil¬ 
 ized” country which was at war, not one of them would 
 be alive to write an article about it. Perhaps this would 
 be in accord with logic and discipline; perhaps it would 
 be a good thing for Zionism, as the names of the martyrs 
 would go down in history. But what shall we do? Tur¬ 
 key is Turkey, and its methods are unique. 
 
 50 
 
THE SHOMER 
 
 By Mordecai Bernstein 
 
 Galilee. 
 
 A still and limpid sea. A deep blue sky. IMoonlight 
 nights, pale and soft, quivering with dreams and longing. 
 Springs, bubbling unvaryingly and drowsily. Wide, 
 wide green fields, rejoicing the eye. A childlike and 
 innocent smile. Peace, everywhere peace. 
 
 Galilee. 
 
 Lofty hills piercing the rolling clouds, shadowy and 
 mysterious caverns, awe-inspiring rocks, gray and dismal. 
 A burning sun, heating the blood. Dark nights, filled 
 with ominous gusts of wind, and the yelping of the jackal. 
 Whistling storms, uprooting the ver}' rocks. Wild kicking 
 mules. Eyes that shoot darts of green hell-fire. Strife, 
 everywhere strife. 
 
 The angel of peace has sjn-ead his gleaming wings over 
 the fruitful valleys, bathed in sunlight, the valleys of 
 Galilee. And the spirit of war has fortified his stronghold 
 in the midst of the proud mountains, the mountains 
 looming black against the crimson sunset, the mountains 
 of Galilee. 
 
 Once in Galilee there was born a great Jew, ]ialc and 
 bloodless, dreaming dreams of universal peace. In 
 Galilee, too, the ardent Zealot came into being, trumpet¬ 
 ing forth a battle-cry to his people. 
 
 In Galilee the Fellah plows his field idly and indolently. 
 
 51 
 
humming a plaintive and monotonous song, while a huge 
 camel with a hoary mane drags his wooden plow slowly 
 forward. In Galilee the Fellah furrows the rich soil with 
 a primitive plow—a sharp stick—to which his wife and 
 his ass are harnessed. The Arab is simple and good- 
 natured. He loves his wife and he loves his ass, and he 
 apportions the strokes of his long whip impartially to 
 right and to left. 
 
 And in Galilee too a band of prowling robl)ers wander 
 by night on their black horses in the impenetrable shadows 
 of the mountains, and lurk near the roads and the narrow 
 paths. And the witches and the spirits dancing in an 
 eerie revel, leap madly from summit to summit over the 
 yawning chasms, and slink away to the hidden clefts of 
 the rocks when the stars begin to pale. 
 
 * >t: * 
 
 The true Palestinian farmer—■ not the merchant who 
 has his fields cultivated by Arabs and employs one 
 Jewish worlcman as a sort of talisman—the one who 
 is a broad-shouldered, sunburnt man, with toilworn 
 hands, who labors together with his family the portion 
 which the Lord has given him, who is heedless of the 
 penetrating vdnter rains, or the mountain storms, or the 
 burning heat of the summer noon,—he is a child of Galilee. 
 
 The true Palestinian workman—not the cynic who 
 works in bitterness and discontent with himself and his 
 brother—the one who is a visionary, who gives himself 
 with reverent love to the all-absorbing task of regaining 
 
the Land of Israel by the sweat of his brow, who main¬ 
 tains his unshaken confidence in a national resurrec¬ 
 tion, who revives the ancient songs of his people, and 
 straightens his bent form in a joyous dance,—he is a 
 child of Galilee. 
 
 And the ardent shomer who shields the land with his 
 body, and clutches it in talons of steel, who gives 
 his life before relinquishing his prize, the shomer whose 
 smile is as serene as Kinneret and whose anger is like 
 a raging torrent, who gallops till his savage horse is covered 
 with froth, who loves with a fiery love and hates with a 
 steely hate, who wounds and kills, and dances in mad 
 abandon to his death,—he too is a child of Galilee. 
 
 The men of peace and the men of strife—they are 
 all children of Galilee! 
 
 * * * 
 
 I met him in the Yeshibah, a tall and careworn youth, 
 bent by the weight of the massive volumes of the Talmud, 
 his eyes glued to the ground, glancing apprehensively 
 at his very shadow, trembling at the hoarse bark of the 
 slinking cur, fleeing from the coarse gibes of the taunting 
 shegetz. 
 
 I met him again in Sedjera, proud and erect of figure, 
 keen of eye, easy of movement, full of confidence in 
 himself. His brawny hand stroked the mane of his 
 prancing horse. I recognized a Hebrew shomer. 
 
 Such is the miraculous power of the land, of the feeling 
 “this is mine”. Are thirty years enough to transfigure 
 the aspect of a generation? Are thirty years enough to 
 
 53 
 
cleanse the soul from the dust that has lain on it for two 
 thousand years? Are thirty years enough to weave a 
 young and vigorous body around a quickened and regen¬ 
 erated soul? 
 
 Yes! Look at the shomer. 
 
 * * * 
 
 “The Jews are a timorous people.” These words have 
 Ix'en drummed into our ears for hundreds of years. They 
 say that we are a people without order or system, a people 
 lacking in discipline. How humiliating have been the 
 ignoble gibes, the vicious sneers! The murmur of the 
 multitudes has penetrated into our unwilling ears and 
 reached to our innermost souls. And it has become so 
 much a part of us that, sometimes, when it ceases for a 
 moment, we with our own lips whisper it to one another. 
 
 Rut is it true? See, for only thirty years the Jews 
 have inhaled the pure air of their own land, for only 
 thirty years they have tilled the soil which they claim 
 in the face of all the world as theirs and theirs only. And 
 the shomer came into being. Did you meet, in your 
 wanderings through the world, men who know no fear, 
 men with .staunch hearts and great souls who have given 
 themselves wholly to an overmastering idea, men who 
 achieve immortality in a single moment? If you have 
 met such men, it must have been in Erez Israel. You 
 must have seen the Jewish guardians of a Jewish land. 
 
 Discipline? No punishment by death threatens them, 
 nor any chastisement other than the repeal of the glorious 
 title of Jewish shomer. Did the head of the shomrim 
 
 54 
 
ever give a eommand which his sul)or(linates did not 
 carry out to the letter, even though they did not perceive 
 any reason for it, and even though this eommand sent 
 them to meet certain death? Is this not perfect dis¬ 
 cipline, blind obedience? 
 
 And order? The whole land was guarded by only 
 three hundred shomrim. And yet, whatever colony 
 you passed through, you saw the shomrim; on the roads 
 and the paths you came upon them; shomrim on the 
 mountains, shomrim in the valleys, shomrim behind 
 the thorny cactus, shomrim near the poor huts, shomrim 
 dancing at festivals and weddings. But they say that 
 the shomrim sleep soundly all the day! Is this not a 
 sign of consummate order, of iron system? 
 
 =(: * * 
 
 I asked many shomrim who was the first to conceive 
 the idea of the shomer. And every one answered that 
 he himself had been its originator. And what is more, 
 I inquired among the working men v.'ho had been in 
 Palestine for a long time, in the hope of getting at the 
 truth. And how astonished I was to find that every 
 one proved to me by undeniable facts that he himself 
 had been the first to declare that none but Jews should 
 protect the Jewish land. 
 
 Who created the shomer? Nobody and everybody. 
 And only because the. shomer is a creation of the whole 
 people has he been enabled to spread his wings over 
 the whole land in so short a time. And yet, only eight 
 
 55 
 
years ago the organization of shomrim consisted of one 
 man, the shomer in Sedjera. 
 
 Such is the miraculous power of the soil. A single 
 grain is planted, and soon a tiny sprout grows into a 
 flourishing plant, which bears hundreds and hundreds 
 of grains. 
 
 And you stand and wonder. Whence came all this 
 abundance? Could it have come from one solitary grain? 
 
 And whence came the shomer? 
 
 The shomer demonstrates to the whole world as well 
 as to us what we are. He reveals to us the true soul 
 of the nation, proud and aristocratic, which was hidden 
 by the dust of the unending roads and paths on which 
 we wandered for centuries. He reveals the image of 
 manhood on the face of the Jew, the Jew who belongs 
 to all times and all countries. But the shomer is only 
 one of the symbols of the regeneration. And the 
 others? . . . 
 
 Such is the miraculous power of the soil. 
 
 56 
 
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PRESS OF CLARENCE S. NATHAN, INC., NEW YORK.