New-York tribune., 1918-01-13
ress loard Jevish National Restoration in Palestine

States,' published in New York and
London in 1919. IN his book he told Of
the many indignities and prosecutions
to which his brethren in Fez, AIgiers,
Tunis and Tripoli were being subjected.
and perhaps it was this cloee contact
with actual oppression Of the Jews that
stirred his heart to seek means Of al
deviation and that quickened his inter
est in the idea Of ultimate redemption.
/ That he was q man Of extreme kindli-
ness and abundant generosity of spirit
is testified by more than one observer
Major Noah
Greatly Liked
Il knew Major Noah weil,' said the
Hon. Louis r. Allen, in a paper be-
fore the Buffalo Historical Society.
physically, he was a man of large,
muscular frame, rotund person, q be-
nignant face and a most portly bearing.
Although native of the United States,
the lineaments Of his race we're inn
pressed upon his features with unmis-
taxable character, and if the blood Of
the elder Patriarchs or David or Solo
mon flowed not IN his veins, then both
chronology and gcnealogy must be at
fault.
Major Noah was in all ways accom-
plished. His manners were genial, his
heart kind and his generous symathies
embraced all Israel, even to the ends
Of the earth. He was learned, too, not
only in the Jewish and civil law, but
in the ways Of the world at large. -
eve will return to Zion as we went
forth, bringing back the faith thai we
carried away with u.s." Thus wrote
Noah in 1924, three quarters of cen
tury before DR.. Herzl published "The
Jewish State" and before the first
Zionist Congress was held in Basic In
his address before the Mercantile Ii
brary Association of New York, deliv-
cred in the year 1887, he foretold with
remarkable political acumen some Of
the events that are now trenspiring,
and under which, with "the cooperation
and protection of England and France.
this reoccupaticn of Syria. within it's
old territorial limits, is at once reason
able and practical"
In the "Discourse on the Restoration
Of the Jews" delivered on October 2s
and December 2, 1914, before large au-
diences Of Jews and Christians, he made
a special appeal for the help of the
United States in bringing about the re
establishment Of the Jewish nation on
its historic soil. "America," he said
"has been selected and pointcdly dis
tinguished in the prophecy as the ma
ton which at q proper time shall pre-
sent to the Lord his chosen and down
trodden people and pave the way for
the rebuilding of Zion" And again:
| should think that the very
idea, the hope, the prospect, and, above
all, the certainty of restoring Israel 10
his own and promised land would
arouse the whole civilized world to a
cordial and happy co6peration.'
Grand Island
, Scheme a Failure
l Remembering Noah's practical achieve
ments in life and having in mind his
keen analysis of human events, one
, wonders how he came to be the pro-
, jector of the abortive and chimerical
scheme of a settlement on Grand Isl
| and But perhaps the explanation lies
in the fact that Noah, like Herzl, was
playwright. Herzl. the political lead
er on occasion wrote fantastic ro-
nance of Zion restored and staged
Zionist congresses with the most telling
= dramatic effect. So, perchancc,. did
S Noah, yielding to the same artistic in
4 stinct, plan q great pageant under the
, beautiful title of Ararst. A rich i'm
eginaton often runs to extravaganza,
and who knows but that for the change
Of time and circumstance his spectacle.
too, might nave fired the imagination
Y Of people.