New Britain herald., 1927-11-16

i imperative that the Jew keep open 1 the gates of Palestine,' he said. l The address by Rabbi Hadas was
 as follows:
 The love for Zion is as old as the
 Jew. Ever since Abraham was l promised Palestine as q home for ] bis children throughout the genera tions the children of Abraham held i this promise as their most precious | heritage. Never through the ages did the Jew forget Zion.
 The sojourn in Egypt was but the prelude to the return to Zion; the captivity in Babylonia intensified and clarified the great love for Zion. And similarly through the ages in Spain and in France, in England, and in Germany in Russia and in Poland, wherever the Jew lived and struggled. there was kept alive a love for Zion.
 The poetry and art of the Jew his dreams and aspirations were all related to the return to Zion. The Jew never forgot Palestine and it is clear that Palestine never forgot the Jew. Both waited for hundreds of years for a reunion that historically was inevitable.
 For centuries, however, the poli- tical status of the Jew had been made so degraded that organized efforts toward a return were utterly impossible. He could hope for nothing more than keeping his body and soul together and even in this he was mostly unsuccessful. It was with the middle of the 18th cen tury that the bulk of the Jews in Europe began to sec the gradual rise of a dawn that promised daylight. And it is astonishing to view with what directness the dreams and hopes of Zion came to the fore in the hearts and minds of emancipat- ed Jcwry.
 The present Zionist movement, that Ls the organized effort on the part of the Jews to re-establish themselves in Palestine might be s2id 10 have begun with the first Zionist congress in 1897 just thirty years ago.
 T need not review just now the long long struggle during the early years of the movement. You are all Zionist and presumably are we'll acquainted with at least this part of Zionist history. Moreover my task this evening is 10 present to you in outline the history and significance Of one particular event in Zionist history namely The Balfour Decla- ration
 Tn order 10 understand the back ground of the 'BalfoUr Declaration We must go back to the great war. The outburst of the war in August 1914, brought almost all Zionist work to q standstll. The eleventh Zionist congress had met just q year preceding the war and had commit ted itself to an ambitious program of constructive work in Palestine. Plans for extensive colonization and the establishment of a Hebrew uni versity in Jerusalem were the chief items in this program. Some six thousand Jewish immigrants actu- ally entered Jerusalem in the year after the eleventh congress. Many of these immigrants were substan- tial settlers and readily established themselves. And in April or May of 1914 the Zionist organization in con- junction with Baron Edmond de Rothschild. was about to purchase some 30 or 70 thousand acres of rich farming land in the famous val Icy of Jezrecl. Just then came the war and the world suddenly became busy with the job of slaughter and destruction. Shortly after the out break of war Turkey allied herself with the central powers and before many months Palestine became one of the thcaters of the war.
 Inprcpared For War.
 "The Zionist organization was wholly unprepared for a war time program of activities and properly so. (The Zionist movement was at all times and must remain a move mont for and through peace.)
 Tt is natural that all Zionists should look to Great Britain for possible aid in the realization of their hopes. England had ever been liberallv minded toward all minor- tics and had for generations shown her sympathy with and understand