Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-22
Some Things You Want to Know
The Holy Land-Thrice Holy Palestine.

time IN the tulfuiment. for all. o. the words
OF Simeon Of Jerusalem.
Lord. now Iertest Thou Thy servant de-
part in peace, according 70 Thy word For
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which
Thou hast prepared before the face Of an
people. A light to tighten the Gentles. add
the glory Of Thy people Israel"
Within the year since last Christmas the
Hsht Of freedom has broken upon this dis
tressed holy land and for the first time
in all the centuries its people have known
the spirit OF the fatherhood OF God and
the brotherhood OF man For eighteen
centuries il has been death for = Jew to
enter the courtyard Of the Church OF the
Holy sepulehre. FOR twelve hundred years
no Jew has stood upon the site OF the
temple Of Solomon. Bloodthirsty Chris
tians. forgetting the words Of the Master
upon the cross, have murdered Jews who
so much as dared to approach the grave
OF Jesus. Cruel believers upon Mohammed
have cut the throats OF pious Jews who
sought 20 lift Up their voices in prayer
upon the hill where Melchesidek and
Abraham. Isaac and Jacob, David and
Solomon. Hezekiah and the Maccabees In
voked the succor Of Jehovah. T-reacherous
and vtndictive Jews, suffering under the
prosecutions Of centuries, have dealt death
to their enemies OF other creeds. Ever
since Jesus died on the cross Of Calvary
has Jerusalem and all this holy land been
drerched with blood shed by murderers
who slew their victims in the name Of re-
Egton.
Then came this year 1901 Of the Christian
era, 5e6s Of the Jewish era and Is5 Of the
Mohammecan era. and the light Of liberty
for the first time broke through the clouds
OF religious intolerance and iIlumined the
churches and ~synagogues and mosques Of
the city OF Jerusalem 1t was the young
Turks revolution.
The despotic sultan. Abdul Hamid. was
Cverthrown, and the constitution became
q reality in benighted Turkey. Of which
Palestine Is a part. What a great cele-
brstion it was in Jerusalem! Young men
Of every creed united in the demonstration
Of Joy. Christians arm in arm with Jews
and Mohammedans went boldly into the
hottest OF all holy Christian churches. the
Church OF the Holy SepuIchre, and gave
thanks for their new found liberty. Mo
hammedans took with them Jews and
Christians to the platform Of the temple.
surrounding the mosque Of Omar. and gave
vent to their joyous feeling. Jews took
Christians and Turkish political allies into
the sacred precincts OF their s-yuagogues
Every difference Of faith was forgotten in
the common Joy. OF course this religious
union lasted only for a day and now the
old lines are drawn again, but they are
not as taut as they used to be, and never
again Will they mean death to the tres
passer. Turkey IS free and the holy land
is delivered from the curse Of despottsm-
Not tee in the sense that we Americans
know freedom, for the habits OF centuries
may not be overthrown entirely in a mo-
ment, but free in the sense that for the
first time the spirit Of liberty and Of uni
versal brotherhood Is permitted to influences
the minds Of the people. The railroad. the
telegraph, the newspaper and the schools
now have their opportunity to renake and
remold the Holy Land in the light OF true
holiness.
At this Christmas season every American
Christian, Protestant and Catholic, and
every American Jew hoGdors5oics thar 4
was the American influenced more than al
else besides, that made possible these good
tidings of great joy" The American Mis-.
stonary college OF Syria furnished the hast,
Of education which made the Young Turl
movement possible. The American Catho.
l lies in Jerusalem did their part in briugin,
10 the people the knowledge OF free insfitu
tons. And, more directly. but none the les
i effectively. it was the American iufEuenc,
. in opening the empire of Japan to Eester,
civilization that gave the Asiatic people
p. a new sense OF Tower, and which tmpelIe,
, the Turks in the near east to emulate III,
e example Of the victorious japanese In III,
e far east
d Not since the wise men Of the east saw
d the Star OF Bethlehem, not since tn
n Angelic host charmed the shepherds witt
their heavenly chorus. not since Jesus wa
y laid in the man ger. has there been such
e happy Christmas in Palestine as will b
g celebrated this month All Christendom wi
z Join with the Christians Of the Holy Ian,
in the repetition Of the good tidings, .Glor
n to God in the highest and on earth peace
d good viii toward men"
It By FREDERIC J. HAsKu.
Il Tomorrow HOLY LAND
st The JsrusAlsm Of To-day.