The times., 1898-10-02

The first colony i visited was the Mix
veh Israel (Hebrew, Hope of Israel.D 1t
lies mile or SO beyond Jaffa, in the
Plains of Sharon, with a lovely view
across flower-ladep fields that stretch
away to the purple haze that surrounds
the mountains of Judea. 1t was estab-
lished nearly thirty years ago by the
late Charles Meter, who lies buried in
its grounds, and is an agricultural school
| with 100 pupils, and 600 acres of highly
cultivated land full of orange trees and
vines The pupils are trained to become
| skilled gardeners, and their services are
eagerly sought, not only in the other coll
1 onies, but so far away as France. Mix
| ven Israel is now Self-supporting, and
the wish of its founder is gratiiied. l
copied into my notebook the inscription
| on his tombstone. The translation would
| read: He did good TO his brethren. how
many are his merciful works Aiikveh
! Israel his hands established. Born 55S6,
died 5643.' 1t requires no great stretch of
imagination TO believe that the life of
the young gardeners must be very happy.
! The climate is delightful the scenery and
surroundings are perfect, and the sense
! OF repoSe, quite Eastern, is something
that this country does not know.
Five miles out of Jaffa and along the
1 road by which Mil1veh Israel hides among
the trees is the well-known colony of
! Rishonle-ZiOn Q1ebrew. The First to
| ZionD. 1t consists OF forty or more two
| storied stone dwelling houses a school
with library, a synagogue, and a hospital,
| standing in some 1900 acres of land. con-
tanning nearly 100000 vines. There are
| well-paved streets and no fewer than
three wells, while the cellarage for wine
is so huge that Rishon is the place 10
which the growers from many other colo
nies send their produce for storage. The
colony is supported by Baron Edmond
de Rothschild; the plan and machinery
are of the best quality and newest design.
| All people engaged al RishOn are Jews,
and in busy times Jewish laborers walk
! from Jaffa and back every day. / tasted
some very fine wine there, and am not
surprised to find that 1t is being intro
| duced into London and other capitals,
and already commanding large sale.
| Viticuture is the staple industry, but
| there is some demand for silk and more
| than p, 600 mulberry trees are growing in
| the grounds. Everywhere | saw smiling
and healthy faces, and abundant evidence
! of hard unremitting work.
Among other colonies in the neigh
! borhood are Rechoboth, with 1900 acres
| of land and ESQ inhabitants who speak
|
| acres given to vines; Katra, and Artuf
| This last was missionary station for
! converted Jews. but very few came to be
| converted and failure followed To the
| north of Jaffa lies Petach Tikyah. (Heb
| Door of HopeD. Il boasts a population OF
! $50 people, $500 acres, and over 100000
! vines. Much fruit Is raised dairy farm
ing is profitably followed and expert
ments are made IN tea planting. The
! largest colony3in Palestine is Zichron ia
| cob. CIeb,, Memorial of Jacob.D founded
| by Roumaniap jews under the guidance
and advice of DR.. Moses Caster and Mr..
| Pineles sixteen YEARS ago. Baron Ed
mond de Rothschild came 70 the rescue
| when il was in a bad way, and today il
| has 900 inhabitants. and does very well.
But nothing ] saw in Palestine was
more beautiful than the Colony of Rosh
! Pinah Heb The Head Corner Stone),
| which lies amid the. hills beyond Tiberias.
with snow-capped Hermon in the back
| ground and fields -of waving corn on all
| sides. 1t has more than fifty houses. each
| with a garden in which exquisite flowers
| run riot. Water IS abundant, for we are
near the sources OF the Jordan climate is
exquisite and the heat IS not so unbear-
able as at Tiberias, where in Summer the
inhabitants must live In the lake or in
| their cellars. Rosh Pinah is set high up
| above the lake level and given over TO
wine making and silk weaving. 1t be-
| longs to Baron Rothschild and boasts a
| school and a synagogue.
In the grounds | met a strange indi-
| vidual. He was dressed in the conven-
! tional black frock coat and silk hat of
! Western civilization and carried an UNI
! brella that recalled the immortal Mrs.
Camp. He said that he had come from
| Safed or Tiberias-I forget which-to see
| some friends and was goiong to get mar
| ried the next week. In reply to stray
| question he said that he did not work
| but studied the Talmud instead If he
| were to work, he added. he would lose
| caste and would not have secured so de-
| sirable a father-n-law. This gentleman
name unknown, who thought he was su-
perior to the claims of toll, was nOticea-
bic as the survivors of a type that is, hap
| PLY. dying out. Down TO a very few
years ago the dwellers in Jerusalem were
quite content to study the Talmud, and do
| no other work; they lived on charity and
| were not ashamed. OF late a spirit of
| enterprise and endeavor is permeating the
| Jews in Palestine-they are waking to the
! grand truth to labor is to worship; or.
as the Hebrew says, To till the ground
! is worship of God And this brings me.
] albeit rather late. to the vital point of
! this article-the awakening of a new life
among the Palestine Jews living in the
colonies.
"They went out there often pale
| through anaemia, consequent upon semi
| starvation and nerveless and almost
! hopeless through long generations of re-
| stricted ghetto life; some of them We're
| bent and prematurely old through un-
| healthy occupation. Today there is
seemingly another generations; the men
| are straight, strong, sturdy. resOute; the
women are very fair TO see 1t is i'm
| possible to recognize in these broad
| shouldered muscular Jews, who gallop
| TO meet their visitors on spirited horses.
| any trace of what they were so short
| time ago. They can work and they can
! fight, as the predatory Arabs now find
| to their cost. for they carry guns and
| aim straight. The religious prescriptions
| and the Sabbath are most strictly kept.
| The rams horn trumpet summons them
| alike to worship in the synagogue or to
| galiop to the rescue of their possessions
! They are a fine body of men, and the
return to the land has had a wonderful
| influence upon their physical and moral
| development.
Herein lies the hope of the men who
advocate the Zionist cause They see
| that the land so long lain derelict re-
wives again at the first stroke of the
| Jewish husbandman, and that the colo
nists from ghettos of eastern Europe are
almost as quick to shake off the effects
| of persecution, There is abundant vi
| tality both in the land and the people. 6,
| that the union of the two is fraught with
| the happiest promise. There are of
| course certain drawbacks In the present
| progress; the administration reoures
careful StlueryiSiOfl. and in cartoip oasa.