The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-06
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

of another faith to write sympathetic cally or understandingly about those of a different religious household: and
 yet, because Zionsm has always had
 a fascination for me, l am going to set down some thoughts about it with the hope that I will not bear down unpleasantly on any ones feelings.
 Now, in the outset I am not well enough versed in the question to pose as an authority on Zionism or to pass judgment on the Jews who are opposed to the movement It interests me as the aspiration of some millions of men and women who yearn to have a home in Palestine in which their Jewish hopes
 of nationality may be realized
 
 I fear we Christians are too greedy in claiming Palestine as our Holy Land, and in forgetting that it is also the Holy Land of devout Jews throughout the world. The capture of Jerusalem ty the English sent a thrill not merely to the heart of Christians but to untold
 thousands of orthodox Jews who some
 how, in some way, hope some day to make 1t the capital of new Jerusalem in which the modern Jew may have an
 opportunity to impress upon the land his beliefs and his customs
 I believe it was the gifted Zangwill who said that America was the .Eldo- rado of the Jews, but the graveyard of
 Judaism I remarked to Miss Hem rietta Szold, a cultured Zionist, that when in Constantinople I had roomed
 busy scene of social activity for a
 week, as an old patriarchial Jew was bidding farewell to his sons and daugh- ters and his grandchildren before talk
 ing his departure to die in the Holy Land.
 Quick as flash I was told by her that he did not represent the true spirit of Zionism, for he was looking backward other Jews in Europe and in America, were waiting until the shadows of night were falling around them to take a step which they should have taken in it's dawn. zionists, said she, had quit looking on dead past, but have their eyes on a living present and a future promise Zionsm seeks to crystalline mere sen- timent into something tangible.
 
 Birmingham was fortunate in having in it's midst during the past week this very charming and cultured woman, a
 noted Zionist leader and publicist, who 1 delighted those who had the privilege of hearing her addresses. She presented in a telling way the heart of the modern Zionist movement which has received such an impetus since the recent English declaration concerning the future status of the Jews in Palestine. She spoke in friendly atmosphere, and then again she talked to audiences that looked upon her hopes as irridescent dreams, yet they gave her a patient hearing for the charm of her manner and the beauty of her speech and the loyalty of her soul My many engagements kept me from having the pleasure of being present at any of her public addresses, but on Sun day afternoon I availed myself of an in- vitation extended by Frank Abelson to | meet her in his lovely home, where for an hour or more I sat at her feet as sne with glowing enthusiasm poured into my willing ears the hopes of Israel one day coming back into the full glory which for centuries has been denied her. Call 1t a chimera, fanciful dream, bit Of idealism, set down in a materialistic twentieth century sea, or what not but it's undergirt with splendid faith, the kind that moves mountains and crosses oceans.
 I thought to test out her belief in Zion ism by naming certain great American Jewish leaders whom I felt sure were not in sympathy with the idea of the restoration of Palestine as a Jewish state. I asked about Felix Adler, Rabbi Hirsch, Julius Rosenwald, and others. She admitted sorrowfully that they and l many other renowned Jews were out Of sympathy with the movement, but, worn- | anlike, she said: But we have Rabbi Wise, Justice Brandeis, and other high 1 type men and women who are square be- hind the enterprise.v
 We see the Jew busy about his busi- ], ness and we get the notion that he is wholly a materialst, but the greatest idealists in the world today are found in 1 the ranks of Judaism. It was hard to withstand Miss Szold, woman proud Of her Jewish ancestry, as she sought to bring me under the spell of the Zionist programme. Her eyes became luminous, her bosom heaved. her cheeks glowed as | she spoke of giving 100000 Jews an op- portunity to live wholly Jewish life in a modern way. in which there would be development of Jewish culture, a re-
 birth of the Jewish spirit, and flower ing out of the Jewish intellect, in a civil ization dominated and controlled by Jew I ish opinion.
 l Now comes the word flashing over the wires that the Jewish aspiration, as ex- 1 pressed by zionisin, which not so long
 ago was deliberately ignored, is now be-
 ing accepted by French opinion as an important political factor. Palestine is now being regarded as a separate and i distinct country. whose future will be de- cided at the same time as that of Syrta.
 Arabia and Mesopotamia. It is being