The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-20
JERUSALEM, \
WICKED CITY
ParaSitlcal Jews Use Many I'M
moral Practices
FIGHTING AMONG THEM
Sephardim Knocking on the
AShkenSzim

the New York. Evening Post, says of
Jerusalem of today:
The unchanged and unchanging East
scarcely applies 10 the Jerusalem Of to-
Gay. Revisiting the sacred city last SUM
mer, after an absence of twelve years,
! found most startling changes. The
railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem was the
first innovation which attracted my at
tention. To be sure, it is not much OF a
railroad from the European or Amerisan
point OF view, Tor there is but one train
a day, consisting Of tiny engine and two
or three small cars with poor accom-
modations. --ie railroad station at Je-
rusalen S some little distance from the
JANA gate, and one must drive or walk
tor three-quarters of a mile to reach the
City. l was told that this is due TO gov
ernmental fanaticism and obstructiveneSs,
the Turks fearing that the Holy City
might be deSecrated by the entrance of a
railroad train.
But, in point Of fact, the Jerusalem of
today is no longer confined within the an
cient walls. 1t has extended far TO the
north and west in the last few years, and
now covers an area outside Of the walls
greater than the area of the old city with
In. This building activity has also caused
some curious changes in topography. The
upper Hinnom valley has been filled in
and within the walls of the old Pool of
Bethesda has received similar treat
ment. One who has seen these changes
understands better how in antiquity the
Tyropoeon and other valleys within the
limits of the ancient city were hlled up
with debris in d similar manner, so that
the present walls and houses rest at
places on or in rubble over a hundred
feet in depth.
The population Of Jerusalem of today is,
] should suppose, double what it was
twelve years ago, the increase being at
tributable entirely, or almost entirely. to
The influx Of Jews, by far the greater
part of whom come from Russia 1t is
somewhat difficult to ascertain exactly
what the population of the city is or how
large a part of it is Jewish. one of the
best informed and most reliable OF the
Jewish citizens told me in conversation
that there We're probably fewer than
$1,000 Jews, and that the common esti-
mate Of fifty or sixty thousand was ex-
aggerated; but 1 found later that his own
printed figures in an almanac which he
published reckoned the Jews Of Jerusalem
at $500. The best informed outsiders
claim that there are at least II 900 Jewish
families an the eity,-whieh would support
the larger estimate. If this figure be cor
rect, then the Jews of Jerusalem are
more than twice as numerous as all the
other inhabitants, Moslems and Chris
tians, combined.
With this influx of Jews a problem of
considerable difficulty has been created
both for the Jews themselves and for the
Turkish government. The older Jewish
Inhabitants Of Jerusalem were Sephardirn
the newcomers are largely Ashkenazim.
What the origin of the Ashkenazim and
Sephardim is respectively and what the
causes of their difference in rite and type
we do not surely know 1t Is supposed
that the Ashkenazim spread northWard
from Galilee into and over Europe. Later
they were driven back by persecution.
first into Germany, then into Poland, and
then into Russia. The language is the
so-called Yiddish or Judaeo-GeTman.
Their manners and their type. as one
sees them in Jerusalem, indicate Russian
origin, and in many cases the inexperi-
enced observer is quite unable to distin-
guish them, the women especially, from
Russian peasants; where, that is they do
not exhibit striking peculiarities Of dress,
like the ugly car curls which the stricter
men wear. he Sephardim seem TO have
spread from Judaea into Egypt and then
westward 10 Spain, and their language
today is in general Spanish. Driven out
of Spain, the greater part of them turned
backward toward the east and settled in
the Turkish Empire from Rumania south
ward. Owing TO the climate and sur
roundings they have retained or develop
ed the fun Oriental type. Keen observers
point out by the way, that the Jews have
changed their type materially according
10 their surroundings and the race with
which they live. l have already said
that 10 me the Ashkenaz Jews Of Russia
are often indistinguishable from Rus
slams. The Yemenite Jews from southern
Arabia look like Arabs. and the Jews
from the Causasus resemble TO the casual
observer the rude Circassian mountain
GERS among whom they have lived and
whose costume they have adopted.
4 he older Jewish inhabitants OF Jerusa-
lem are Shepards With the Shepardim
are associated also new Corners from the
east and south Baghad Jews, Yemenites
from Arabia, the Mughrabim from Africa.
the Jews OF Bokhara and the like; but the
great bulk OF the new corners are Ashke-
nazim- There is little love lost between
Shepardim and Ashkenazim. The incom-
ing of the later has deprived the former
of a large part Of their income. the halu-
ka. the pious aims Of Jews all over the
world, which constituted the msin sup
port Of the Jews residing in the Holy
Land.
Moreover the Shepardim lived at peace
with the Turks before the advent Of the
Ashken2zin. As one Of their number ex-
pressed il 10 me. in speaking win some
bitterness Of the changes brought about in
their condition By the great influx Of Ash
kensiz Jews, Before they. came We were
well liked by the Turks We were not
opI'ressed and we had no difficulties with
them II now and then a Turk struck a
Jew or spat him. why. that was all We
made no disturbance and 81 the matter
went no further and the Turks in general
xreated US kindly but now if a Moslem so
much as look at a Jew he makes a com
plant and calls on the consul of the conn
try from which he came TO Interfere and
as consequence the Turks hate ne 70
day W orse then they do the Christians 81
II is that We Shepardim sufer for these
Ashkenazim. who have spoiled everything
here in Jerusalem. This comment ;s en-
tightening as 10 the relative character o<
the Oriental ana Occidental Jews or uar-
hape better for the southern ana -,,-,,-