Evening star., 1925-04-02
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

mites in Palestine, or the rights and
political status enjoyed by Jews in
any other country"
This declaration was promptly in
dorsed by France and Italy, and re-
ceived the approval of President Will
son and a vast majority Of the indi-
vidual members of our Congress, al
though not brought up for official
action.
Since that declaration England has
taken a mandate over Palestine, so
that behind that pledge stands the
entire British power and that of the
leaders in the League of Nations.
Since then has fallen the power of
Turkey and Russia, chief prosecutors
of the Jews.
The wandering, exiled Jew, scat
tered among the nations, was unor-
ganized for se1f-defense, undisci-
plined, friendless everywhere, hated
for his thrift and acquisitiveness, de-
spised because the abuse of the CEN
turies had naturally reacted in de-
veloping a cunning, a aself-dependence,
at times a cringing, secretiveness
from all except his own. He was
hunted, murdered, robbed, browbeaten
and ostracized. In all countries, yet
everywhere and always a man with
out a country" If he was in France.
he could not be q Frenchman-he was
Jew. Every nationality coming to
America could truly sing: MY coun-
try, tits of thee"-but let a Jew sing
1t, and how long before some tmmi-
grant would taunt him? For the
prejudices of Europa were not washed
out by the Atlantic. Today the great
powers unite to champion his cause.
X r X
In our Revolutionary War and i'm
mediately following the adoption of
our Constitution certain correspond
ence between George Washington and
Hebrew congregations testifies to the
cordial appreciation of the Father of
Our Country of the patriotism of the
Jews, in spite of restrictions against
them. In the Civil War and later
wars Jews fought loyalty. In our
small army to fight Spain there were
1000 Jews; in the A. E. F. there we're
hundreds of thousands of Jews; yet
all these remained Jews, however
firmly they tried to throw off the hy-
phen and prove their loyal Ameri-
canism. And they will remain Ameri
cans-with few exceptions-eyen
while giving their fullest support to
zionism, for support to the New Zion
does not necessarily involve abandon
ment of America
The fact that the ideal of one Of its
earliest promoters-that there in
Jerusalem should be founded a great
Jewish university-an ideal which all
other promoters scoffed at in the early
years-is the first to materialize gives
proof that Zionism, like other human
endeavors, Is shaped" by a Higher
Force than that of human hands,
''rough-hewing," in ignorance of Di-
vine design.
The University of Mount Scopus will
centralize Jewry; it will be the focus
of Jewish influence and progress,
which will permeate all the Kingdoms
of the earth OF comparatively little
consequence will be the question of
how many Jews will live in Palestine
so years ago, 10000; today, 100000,
of whom $4,000 are tillers of the soil,
where 1000 years ago there were
| G, 900, 600.
But it may be of vast consequence
that when Jew progresses in scien-
tific research in the University Of
Mount Scopus he will speak as Jew
and not as a German, nor an English
man, nor an American. 1t will be OF
Importance to know that Einstein,
the Jew, will work out his revolu-
tfonary theory of relativify as a pro-
fessor of mathematics of the Univer-
sity of Mount Scopus, and that other
Jews pre- eminent in many sciences and
arts will there find congenia1 sur
roundings and be supported, not by
hyphenated nationalities whose own
leaders are Jealous, but by their own
race.
1t will be of Importance that all
the teaching of that university will
be in Hebrew, and that that language
Of old will continue to be living
tongue, in which the literature OF
prophets and ancient scribes will be
preserved. 1t will be of importance
to all the world-not Jewry alone
that prosecuted young Jewish stu
dents, driven from seats of learning
elsewhere, may gather at Mount
Scopus, at the feet of some of the
greatest scholars in all science and
art.
The dedication of Mount Scopus Uni
versity, therefore, marks yesterday as
the dawn of a new day for civiliza-
tion.
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