The Denver Jewish news., 1924-03-13
THE PALESTINE THAT WAS
AND THE P ALE S TIN E
THAT IS.
BY JUDGE w. MACK
(Jewish Telegraph Agency)

tine from the moment i left New Pork
TO the moment l got back, and the dis
cussion continues. There can be NO
question, from my experience in Europe
from discussions with the men ] met
in England, France, Germany, Italy
and Anstria, that two phrases occupy
the Jewish mind everywhere, the Jew
ish problem, and Palestine.
went because I wanted to see
Palestine. the historic homeland of our
people; l wanted to see Palestine in
which for forty years Jews have been
trying TO do something real in agri-
culture; wanted TO get from the
Palestine that was. and the Palestine
that is. n glimpse. n vision Of the
Palestine that may be. And l come
back frankly satisfied that what we.
the Palestine Development Council has
done in Palestine has been well done,
and equally frankly acknowledging
that what we have done Is but n small
part Of what VIC can and should be
done. Let me say nt once. and that it
is not easy. even in a trip that encOm-
passes the whole lnnd, to see Palestine
as one whole. II Is perhaps. n fault of
Our previons experience that we have
not realized that Palestine, just like
Americn, is not just one thing, but-
many things: that 1t is made up of
great number of factors, and though
] don't want to pass hurried judgment.
l think they are out of proportion to
its size. There are more facets to
Palcs inc than 10 any other country,
and that by no means simplifies the
problem. There is the Palestine of
Jewish tradition and the Palestine of
social and economic experimentation.
There Is the Palestine OF the Arab and
there is the Palestine of the Jews in
the colonies and in the towns. There
is the Palestine of many institutions
and as each one who goes to Palestine.
by reason of its peculiar history and
its demands upon the imagination
enters with some preconceptions so
there comes ont of Palestine an ever
continuing flow and variety of impress
sions. in the multitude of which there
is perhaps more confusion than wis
dom
Essentially there are two Palestines.
The Palestine that exists with its
Arabs and Jews and non-Jews. with
its industries, Its agriculture and its
living people. and then there Is this
other. Palestine. the poteltial Palrs-
tiae ssslicisssa iAxds~ssop4 InaS ussasfb
an ever increasing number Of Jewish
settlers who there will develop their
own life. according to the pressure Of
environment. and their own ideas. I
am satisfied that in the fundamental
principles. we have laid down in this
organization. we have adopted right
attitude. BY withholding ourselves
from all purely cultural problems. by
by keeping ourselves wholly aloOf from
all religious differences in Jewry, by
trying, in effect, to help Palestine help
itself, we have adopted at once the
iiiOst anu titC PAuNsiNs'i
policy. think we can be proud Of the
palestininn Jews. and l think we can
trust them to work out their own
spiritual and cultural evolution with
out pressure, propaganda or dogma
from the DinspOra.
We have in the first place been the
means of creating a new attitude in
Palestine-not that the spirit for it
was lacking. hut the opportunity was
wantins.-fthat by these two institu-
tions we have brought into Palestine
the possibility which the Jews there
are keen to understand, of operating
on sound business lines. Every de-
velopment, whether II be in Palestine
or elsewhere must give consideration
TO the state of mind of the people resi-
dent in the area of development. New,
think it is fnir to say that almost
every Jew who has gone to settle in
Palestine has gone there with n double
motive.-not only for himself, to satis-
fF his own desire for self-expression
and freedom, but also for the sake Of
others. Everybody thinks he is Il piO-
neer behind whom there is a possible
host of followers and therefore every
Palessinian has a project, everyone has
plan to draw the others in. And
therefore, everyone has proposition
which is i'm large measure dependent
upon support coming from other coun-
tries, and therefore. the task of getting
people to think in terms of local con-
ditions and of local opportunity and
immediate possibilities is,eand if l
judge right, will continue for some
time to be difficult one. But that
we have in some measure succeeded in