The Portland daily press., 1895-10-25
GRAVE CHARGES.
Are Made Against the Rev. A. Ben
Oliel.
THE FAMOUS CONVERTED JEW
ISH PREACHER.

CAST Sums of Money Alleged to Have Been
Missappropriated-Ma Portland Peo-
pie have Contributed.
ESPECIAL TO THE PRESS.1
Boston, October "a. There is what
promises to be great religious sensation
here. For some years there has been a
mission for the conversion of the Jews.
kept up at Jerusalem, under the charge
of a converted Jew. Rev. Abraham
Ben -Oliel, who is personally an6 by repu-
tation known to thousands of people IN
this country and who has received, 1t is
asserted, vast sums of money hrs6 anu
last from this country for the support Oh
his mission, and for his work among the
Jews. He is admitted to be very able
man of remarkably attractive peronallty,
and is very eloquent. He has for years
been in the habit of writing long reports
of his work, and they have been scattered
by hundreds of thousands in this country
and England. His mission, now alleged
to have hardly deserved that designatlon,
has been visited by thousands of Amer1-
can pilgrims to the Holy land, who have
found the pastor most delightful man
to talk with, and who have been
formally deeply inspired with his
Christian zeal and earnestness. It is not
denied that he has suffered all that jew
must who accepts of the Christian
religion, and that he was cast off by his
family when he was converted, but the
great question seems to be, "What has
become of all the money that has been
rained down on him?'
The matter has taken semi-ot1icial
form, q letter having been received from
Hon. Ewdin S. Wallace, United States
consul at Jerusalem, who says of letter
sent to Mrs. Gordon, widow of the late,
Rev. Dr. Gordon of the Clarendon street
Baptist church:
'sThe above letter expresses the general
opinions of Christian workers in Jerusa-
lem. Its writer speaks after having care
fully Investigated the whole matter.
While do not wish, on account OF my
official position, to have my name pub
lished IN connection with this letter,
am ready to answer privately any letter
of inquiry"
The letter to which he referred was sent
to Mrs. Gordon, and strongly assalled the
family and their alleged work. After re-
ferring to the reports made of the work of
the mission conducted by Ben Oliel, the
writer admitted that he had once strong
ly supported the work. and had probably
been the means of inducing ''many good,
influential people, with the best inten-
tions, joining forces with my regretted
error, to rob the best class of people in
the world, and. yet worse. the struggling
missionary societies, to I'LL the greedy
Golfers of an unworthy, shrewd, and in
satiable money getter, for such Is the
character he bears here. +"
The writer then charged that Mr.. Ben
Oliel has, TRAINED up his family in the
same craft, till, if possible they will
deceive the very elect" He then added
the following very direct statement:
81 know you will think this is a hard
saying, but who has known anything of
his labors and their great results except
through his printed reports, and those
from travellers whom they have so per-
sistently decoyed into their parlors to
witness their well practioed play at
missions, and be held to teas, and din
ners, and shown about the oity, saving
dragomans' bills, and filed and drilled
with the pat, oft-told round Of wondrons
Qunl 1ho 2AaAoaC0 OVOA VIZ
higher class?
True, their work is not successful, in
the great and primary object in view,
and it is we'll known that they are piling
in large SUMS of it, a considerable
quantity of which they have out. on usury
in this city alone, which has given Ben
Oliel, among the Jews, the name OF the
usurer.' When we come to reckon upon
the vast number of helpers, one of whom,
at least, sends him over $1,000 year, an
immense income cannot be doubted. And
of the expenditures towards the relief OF
the poor, or other mission work, we see
little of it coming from the Ben Oliels
The free gift of $1,000 by an American
victim of the upper room for the print
ing OF tracts, to be used in Jerusalem,
seems to have found lodgment some.
where, for the various mission workers
have failed to find the literature among
the Jews during the several years since
the contribution was made. Ihelr
flaming stories of converts are certainly
untrue; and the talk of prudent secrecy,
for fear of persecution, is pure ben-Oilel
tactics.
Let me most kindly and tenderly assure
you that the general tenor OF all the pub
locations of Ben-Oliel referred to are
shrewdly misleading or fatty false.
The above letter made great sensation
here the more SO as one OF the daugnGers
of the pastor of the assalleu mission, MISS
Florence e. Ben-Oliel, is we'll known in
this country. She came here with her
brother year or more ago, and was one
of the star speakers at the great Portland
convention of last year under the
presidency of Rev John Collins. AT that
time her eloquent appeals in behalf OF he her
people met with hearty response. She
asked for money to assist in bringing the
converted Jews from Jerusalem here to
be educated. One Portland minister gave
so. and the asked for sum was promptly
raised. This year Miss Ben -Oliel was
one of the speakers at the convention OF
the Christian Endeavor society, and at
tractsd gerenal attention To certain
degree the mission ut Jerusalem was
sort of inter r-denominational matter,
ministers of eight denominations having
taken part in the ordination OF tho pastor
who has been a great advocate of
Christian unity. 1t remains to be seen
what Mr.. Ben -Oliel will have to say in
his own behalf -,
ing from the Boston Globe:
At the Baptist Board of Missions 1t was
admitted that Hon. Selah Merrill of
Andover is very strongly opposed to Ben
Oliel. and that Mr.. Merrill says what he