The Denver Jewish news., 1924-07-24
Israel on Biblical Soil
By PAUL pAINLEVE
Copyright, ios,, Jcwi.h rclcErophlc


less than historical scandal. Judn-
ism, ~ much ns Hcllenlsm Is one Of
/ the mcasurcless sources Of our west
crn civilization; It has given MS its
Bible, Its God, Its lnsatiable thirst for
Justice and the lyric Of It's ancient
Prophets, Its revolt aud protest ngnlnst
Divinity. That this nation should be
mnssacred. mistrcntcd and scattered
throughout the world for eighteen hun
drcd years like common herd that II
should be banlshcd TO an endless exile,
and that this same exile should be
called n trnnsgrcssion on their part
and used as the basis Of new attacks,
Is an injustice that has disturbed the
peace OF Justicc-sccking hearts for
numberlcss years.
In It's earliest epoch this phcnomcn.
on lead TO definite plan: these wan
dcrcrs must bc provided with a home.
n place of refuge. From this plan
IloniSm was born. The first ideas were
to establish the Jewish nation IN a new
land. For this people without n coun-
try, there must he country without
n people" Such was the demand Of the
founders Of Xionism.
England suggested Uganda. But
with sufficient reason this people turn
ed Its hope TO the soil that had been
its strength, during the years Of wan
dcring; tha soil that was bathed in the
glow OF legend. tradition and belief, the
soil upon which God had first spoken
to its fathers. Jerusalem, Palestine.
Judnca. these were the goals upon
which the incffablc longing of the jew
ish soul was concentrated.
But was 1t not mere fantasy to
dream Of recrcating dead centuries, OF
recstnblishing n race in land against
the opposition and fanatlcism of its
present inhabitants and posscssors. In
that hour when the Great destructive
War hore new world out of its fire.
this dream took Its first step toward
reality. What will come of IL. Shall
we believe the Prophets, who spoke
of n wonderful rcbirth of the Jewish
nation in Palestine, or shall we believe
the pessmists who foresee II condon-
able misfortune. The hope of the
drcamers that the millions OF Jews who
are spread throughout the world, will
one day appear before Jerusalem In
an ethnic mass does not constitute
very possible Utopia. The questions
we must ask ourselves are these. Is
: 1t possible that Palestine can become
: n glorious center Of Judaism, OF Its Ian
Can the soil Of Palestine become the
bearer of II Jewish commonwealth
which at It's best. will contain only
small portion Of the Jewish population
Of the world. and which will still servo
as an open refuge for every son Of
Israel who grows weary with exile and
its burdens.
The first question is answered. The
pace with which Hebrew has taken
hold of Palestine the movements that
I have already resulted in n library and
n Hebrew University, seem to be an
irrefutahle prediction of ultimate vic
tory. But the second question is more
doubtful. Arabian opposition anC the
economic possibility of a tremendous
are things over which there has been
much warm discussion and over which
there will he still more.
This book is an earnest and careful
attempt at II consideration of these
problems. Mr., Ferdinand Corcos is Il
disintercs,ed and keen observer, who
heard without passion or partiality,
but net without humor. The reader
does not find himself STEPPED in opin-
| ions but rather unbiased in view
points. The authors predllcctlon for
| the adventurous undertaking no more
influences the accuracy of his obscrva
tion and the sharpness of his irony than
the gripping bcnuty of Il sunset hides
the clear of the horizon.
In closing allow rn' 10 make this one
remark Several times during the
reading of the work one might conclude
that the French are openly nntagonis-
tic toward Xionism or at least convinc-
ed against it. | believe that this Opin-
ion rests Nntircly on misunderstanding
France has no prejudice against Zion
ism, nn the contrary, since 1916 our
government of which | am "A part-has
been definitely sympathetic But as n
result of its historical achievements ,
| France has had II tremendous influence
| in Pulcstinq for centuries; and we cau-
not help fearing that with the growth
Of the use of Hebrew and English in
the country, French will he somewhat
] 4, trlnstpI DuI. InwiSh friends ,.nn nm