The sun., 1919-08-03


beautiful poems based ON Biblical themes
and models, chapter is devoted to him,
apparently with the intent to suggest that
he too was Zionist Because Lord Bea-
consfeld IN his novels touches upon Jew
ISL themes and the aspirations of Jewish
dreamers, he becomes link In the chain
which the author FORCES TO show that mod
ern Zionism represents the terminus Of a
process extending over centuries.
Six chapters are devoted to Napoleon's
relations to Palestine and the Jews, but
except for the fact-which is not new
that Napoleon was actuated by the current
belief in a restoration of the Jewish ma
ton in his Palestinian campaign. there is
not the slightest bearing of these chapters
on modern Zionism, which is the only as
pect Of the theme of interest to the
world. Again, three chapters are devoted
to the late Baron de Hirsch and his munif-
cent philanthropic efforts to rescue Rus
sian Jews from the thraldom under which
they were living by establishing Jewish
colonies in Argentina, but surely all this
has nothing to do with ZiGnism, particu-
Larry as the author is forced to admit
(page 252) that the Baron was not a
Zionist
The propaganda is carried out in most
subtle fashion. The author has filed his
work with some seventy portraits of dis
tinguished men from the seventeenth cen
tury to our own days-Hugo Grotius,
Joseph Priestley, President John Adams,
Beaeonsfeld, Joseph Salvador, Lord
Kitchener, Edward Robinson, Baron de
Hirsch, Sir Moses Montefore-to mention
only few in this promiseuous group;
and naturally, finding these in History
of Zionism" one concludes that these men
were Zionists or had something to do
with Zionis1n, but Robinson and Kitch-
ener are merely introduced because they
conducted archaeological work in Pales-
tine, and Hugo Grotius because he was the
friend of scholar who wrote a book on
the Restoration of the Jews" to Pales-
tine. The chapter on Sir Moses Monte
fore, who devoted his life to philanthropic
undertakings, would be in place in a his
tory Of the Jews or In a history of Pal
estine, but the mere fact that as an ortho-
dox Jew he naturally believed in the
restoration dogma does not warrant Mr.
SokOlow IN including a sketch of Monte
flores life and deeds in history of Zion-
ism.
In view Of the fact that really orthodox
Jews are not, with the exception of small
minority, at present affiliated with mod
ern Zionism, which is distinctly political
rather than religious, it is quite possible
that Sir Moses if he were living might
have joined the League of British Jews"
organized since the outbreak of the war
to protest against the political aim of the
Zionists to convert Palestine into Jewish
state. Montefore believed in a religious
and not In a political restoration.
III.
Mr. SOkolow is either so subtle as to
d, feat the very end he has in view or he
Is laborlng under a strange delusion that
every utteranee of an English, French
or American writer-litterateur clergy
man or statesman, bearing on the Jews,
or on the Bible or on the Hebrew Ian
guage, forms part and parcel of a his
tory of Zionism. He carefully excludes
German testimony Of this. character or he
might have sweTled his book to thousand
pages. Of the ifty-three chapters in the
book there are about twelve that belong to
a "History of Zionism." The balance,
forming three-fourths of the volume, have
either the loosest kind of connection with
the theme or none at all. 1t would have
been in order if Mr. Sokolow had summar-
lied in one or two chapters earlier move
ments that might be regarded as fore
of modern Zionism, but to devote
chapter after chapter to such themes as