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 BELKIND 
 
 OUR NATIONAL 
 WORK IN 
 PALESTINE
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ISRAEL BELKIND 
 
 Our National Work 
 in Palestine 
 
 ^
 
 ISRAEL BELKIND 
 
 Our National Work 
 in Palestine 
 
 >^ 
 
 PINSKI - MASSIL PRiaa 
 NEW YORK
 
 The first of these four articles was 
 pubhshed in the American Hebrew, in 
 January, 1917. The others in Jewish 
 periodicals. They are now translated 
 and presented to the English-reading 
 Jews in consideration of the new acti- 
 vity which awaits us in our Beloved 
 Land of our Past and Future in the 
 land of our Fathers and our Children.
 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL CENTER IN PALESTINE 
 
 The recent great events bring us nearer and nearer 
 Palestine, aiul we truly believe that we shall see in the 
 very near future our long cherished hope realized, — 
 our people will rebuild the old home in the land of 
 their fathers. 
 
 There Avill surely be many ^yho will ask: "What 
 will we gain by it? How valuable will this land be in 
 creating a new life for our people? Then, again, it 
 seems incredible that the many millions of Jews scat- 
 tered in so many different parts of the world will all 
 find place for themselves within the boundaries of 
 such a small country. How great will be its influence 
 on tlie Jews who will remain in other countries? Nor 
 can we see the wonderful things, which our diplomats 
 together with those of other nations have accom- 
 plished.*' In the following lines we shall endeavor 
 to give a concrete answer to all these questions. 
 
 The cycle of our history w'hich was completed a 
 short Avhile ago with the outbreak of the Russian Rev- 
 olution, is undoubtedly one of the most important 
 periods in our historical life. It may justly be con- 
 sidered as great as the other tAvo terrible eras; the 
 destruction of our Temple, and the expulsion of the 
 Jews from Spain. 
 
 It is true that even more than 2,000 years ago many 
 of our people were scattered among other nations, but 
 the bulk of the Jewish nation lived in Palestine. Pales- 
 
 3 
 
 I9fif>^n7
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 tine was the centre, the point towards which every- 
 body's eyes were focused, the heart of the entire na- 
 tion. And therefore its influence was great even on 
 those who lived in other countries. Palestine was 
 renowned for her schools and colleges, and all those 
 who craved for learning came there. 
 
 The Holy Temple was the symbol of the unity of 
 the entire Jewish nation. But soon came the de- 
 struction. Thousands of Jews were slaughtered, 
 thousands driven into captivity, to be devoured by 
 wald beasts in the arenas of Rome and other large 
 cities. 
 
 Many others perished in slavery. The Holy Temple, 
 too, was demoMshed : and thus came to an end the 
 Palestinian centre. 
 
 The loss of the centre was in itself a greater 
 calamity than the devastation of the land and the de- 
 struction of the Temple. It weakened and greatly dis- 
 couraged the people and thus made the work of the 
 founders of Christianity quite easy. Their first propa- 
 ganda was in the localities where the Jewish exiles had 
 found refuge, such as Egypt, Asia Minor and Italy. 
 They knew how to utilize the state of despair and dis- 
 couragement among the Jews to their advantage. It 
 happened not infrequently that entire communities 
 became traitors to their religion and to their people. 
 In this manner the new religion spread, and with it . 
 originated also the hatred of Jews. 
 
 But not all at once and not without a long, bitter 
 struggle did the ancient glory of the Jews perish. 
 
 For a certain length of time, Palestine was still 
 4
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 considered our centre, particularly while the "chiefs" 
 were still in power and while the great college of 
 which Jochanan Ben-Zakkai and his followers were the 
 founders, was still in existence. The Jews who were 
 left there, wath Bar-Kochba as their leader, tried once 
 more to break the chains of slavery and free them- 
 selves from the yoke of the enem3^ But an end was 
 soon put to all their aspirations. Only then did Pales- 
 tine cease to be a Jewish centre. The scholars had to 
 flee the Holy Land for fear of the enemy. They .set- 
 tled in Babylon, where they hoped to continue the 
 educational work begun in Palestine. The Parthians, 
 as well as the Persians, were friendly disposed to- 
 wards the Jews, because they had all been allied in 
 their fights with the Romans, and accorded the ref- 
 ugees many privileges. Thus it bcame possible for 
 the Jews to lead the life they had been accustomed 
 to. The Hebrew scholars founded colleges of great 
 learning in Babylon in order to strengthen and fortify 
 the JeAvish religion, make it capable of withstanding 
 all the adversities of the exile, and give the Jews 
 courage to endure all the material and spiritual hard- 
 ships and persecutions to w^hich they were subjected 
 by the mighty nations among whom they settled. And 
 so Babylon became and continued to be the spiritual 
 centre of the Jews, for a period of about 500 years. 
 
 We witnessed similar events during the third period 
 of our history, about 500 years ago. During the Dark 
 Ages the Jews were scattered all over Europe, but 
 the majority of them lived in Spain. Thanks to the 
 liberal Arabian regime which lasted for over 700 
 
 5
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 years, the Jewish communities had an opportunity to 
 develop, and Spain became a new centre of Judaism. 
 
 The Spanish Jew exerted also a pronounced in- 
 fluence in' politics, especially through such representa- 
 tives as Eben Shaprut, Samuel Hanagid, and many 
 others. 
 
 Their welfare, however, Avas not of long duration. 
 Since the end of the fifteenth century, for about a 
 hundred years in succession the most dreadful perse- 
 cution raged against the Jews in Spain. Their prop- 
 erty was destroyed, their wealth confiscated, thousands 
 of them burned at the stake or compelled to adopt 
 Catholicism. Finally a decree Avas issued expelling all 
 the Jews from Spain, and later also from Portugal. 
 
 Again hun.dreds and thousands Avere slaughtered 
 by the mob, incited against the Jcavs by the Catholic 
 clergy; thousands of others adopted Catholicism be- 
 cause the unspeakable sufferings and persecutions 
 robbed them of their strength of character and Aveak- 
 ened their spirit. And thus the Jewish centre in Spain 
 Avas entirely destroyed because there Avere no Jews 
 left there. 
 
 The expulsion from Spain Avas only one act in 
 the long drama of suffering and persecution that AA-as 
 staged during the Dark Ages throughout Western 
 Europe. 
 
 The persecutions in Germany drove the Jgavs more" 
 and more eastAvard, to Poland, AA^hich after Spain be- 
 came the next centre of the Jcavs. Here the Jews 
 found a broad field for their activities and favorable 
 conditions to live under. Poland lacked entirely a 
 6
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 middle class, but there was 'a demand for it and the 
 Jews therefore were welcomed as a class of middle- 
 men. The Polish Kings protected them and granted 
 them certain rights. True, even there they soon be- 
 gan to feel the animosity of the Catholic clergy, but 
 having become hardened to worse treatment in Spain 
 and in Gergany, the persecutions in Poland appeared 
 to them rather mild. 
 
 Witliin a short time Poland and later after her 
 division by the neighboring states, Russia, became the 
 the division by the neighboring states, became the 
 greatest Jewish centres and have remained so to this 
 day. 
 
 Again we see that the events which took place in 
 llie first centres repeat themselves elsewhere. For 
 many different reasons Jewish life became unbearable 
 in Russia. We felt as though we were living on the 
 crater of a volcano. Not a single day passed during the 
 last thirty-five years but a new restriction was imposed 
 on the Jews. There Avas a time Avhen we were in fear 
 of being expelled from Russia altogether. This, how- 
 over, could not have happened. Yet there were many 
 cases of partial expulsions. There was the expulsion 
 from Moscow, expulsions from the villages, expulsions 
 from many states and cities, expulsions from business 
 and from different trades and professions and also 
 from schools and universities. Expulsions, nothing but 
 expulsions ! 
 
 «Tewish massacres became an every day occurrence. 
 And we are so accustomed to them now that our heart 
 does not stir with indignation when we hear of these 
 
 7
 
 OUR NATIONAL WOEK IN PALESTINE 
 
 outrages on entire communities perpetrated by gangs 
 of drunkards and degenerates. No wonder that the 
 Russian Jews felt as though they were "becoming 
 paralyzed, and degenerated, and the Jewish centre as 
 a whole began to show an inclination to abandon the 
 country. 
 
 During the last thirty years about 2,000,000 Jews 
 emigrated from Russia, Rumania and Galicia. The 
 direction, however, which the stream of emigration 
 followed in our days is not the same as before. In 
 the Middle Ages we were pressed towards the East; 
 now we are driven westward. Almost in all the 
 large cities in Germany new Jewish communities 
 sprung up, whose members came from Russia, Rou- 
 mania and Galicia. An increase in membership in 
 Jewish communities is noticeable also in Switzerland 
 and Belgium. The same is true of France, particularly 
 of Paris. A great many of the immigrants, about 200,- 
 000 of them, settled in England, but the greatest at- 
 traction for them was held out by America, especially 
 by the United States, where New York itself counts 
 about a million and a half of Jews. 
 
 While talking about Western Europe we must take 
 into consideration also South Africa and Australia, 
 where the mode of life is similar to that in the West. 
 
 II. 
 
 The current of emigration increases more and more 
 and our people spread to all parts of the globe and 
 we may safely state that there is hardly a place on 
 the earth where Jews are not to be found. But while 
 8
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 the Jew creates for himself new centres, has Judaism 
 also found new centres for itself? At least one new 
 centre? Unfortunately, we have but a negative answer 
 to this question. 
 
 If we make a study of Jewish life in Western 
 Europe and America we shall soon come to the con- 
 clusion that there is no hope for Judaism there. Their 
 communal and political life is based on such strong 
 foundations that it absorbs every new element. It 
 effaces its individual traits and forces it to assume 
 the prevalent shape and form. 
 
 When the Jews settled in Babylon their standard 
 of culture and civilization, was by no means lower 
 than the Babylonian, and for this reason they could 
 survive as Jews and did not assimilate with the people 
 among whom they settled. 
 
 Our ancestors who came from Spain and Germany 
 to settle in Poland, also possessed a higher culture than 
 the natives, and therefore could retain their national 
 identity. And since the process of evolution was rather 
 a slow one, the Jews could lead an individual life for 
 hundreds of years undisturbed. It is an entirely dif- 
 ferent state of affairs in our days : the standard of cul- 
 ture and civilization of the people in the West is a 
 great deal higher not only than that which the new 
 comers possess but is also above the culture of the 
 country from whence they emigrated. The new element 
 coming in contact with a stronger culture is by no 
 means able to withstand its influence. The conse- 
 quence is — a perfect submission to the new environ- 
 ment, and within a short time the becoming assimilated 
 
 9
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 with the people of the stronger culture, without 
 leaving any traces of themselves. 
 
 The greatest tragedy in our situation is the fact 
 that the higher the social level of his felloAV citizens 
 the harder it becomes for the JeAv to exist as such. 
 While as single individuals we welcome every step 
 which leads humanity tow^ards progress and success, 
 as Jews we fear its results. 
 
 As one of the instances we shall cite the law passed 
 in every civilized country to the effect that each and 
 every parent be compelled to send his children to 
 school. How beautiful, how humane such a law is! 
 It originated with the Jews, yet from the Jewish stand- 
 point it is of great harm to us. It robs us of our 
 children. Our younger generation is entirely estranged 
 from Judaism, from our language, from our history, 
 in fact, from everything which is dear and sacred to 
 us. It is being brought up in a new, strange atmos- 
 phere which becomes part and parcel of the young 
 generation. Even our own history they study from 
 non-Jewish books, in a non-Jewish language, 
 and from a non-Jewish standpoint. Is it surpris- 
 ing then that they look upon our most important 
 historical events with the eyes of strangers? We are 
 too weak to fight such conditions! Children who spend 
 practically the whole day in the public school, and 
 are taught so many different subjects, cannot find time 
 to studj^ Hebrew. The parents cannot think of adding 
 still another subject to so many. If, however, some 
 do so, there is great danger that the child will hate 
 Hebrew because he feels that it robs him of his few 
 10
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 hours of recreation after school. No wonder that the 
 Jewish father is only too happy when the boy knows 
 how to read the "Prayer Book" and the "Law" at 
 his confirmation. And usually, at the age of thirteen, 
 the Hebrew education of the boy ceases. The girls are 
 not given even this meagre education. 
 
 Such are the conditions in Germany, in England; 
 it is a great deal worse in France and in Italy; not 
 ver}' much better in this country. We are not speak- 
 ing about exceptional cases. You will no doubt find 
 many exceptions to the rule. There are many enthus- 
 iastic teachers who will ignore all obstacles in their 
 w^ay and devote their entire energy to spreading 
 Hebrew culture among the various classes of Jewish 
 society. There are, too, many Jewish parents who try 
 their utmost to obtain for their children a truly Jew- 
 ish education. But the number of these enthusiasts is 
 very small. 
 
 Again, there is a law prescribing that every person 
 must have at least one day of rest a week. 
 from the humane standpoint, we can't help admiring 
 this law, which had its origin with us. But we can- 
 not deny that this law, too, brings to us a great deal 
 of harm. In most countries the law demands that the 
 day of rest shall be Sunday. And so we are compelled 
 to choose either one of the two : to observe two days, 
 'vhich means a great economical loss to us ; or to break 
 the Sabbath. The majority cannot sacrifice so much to 
 do the first and are compelled to resort to the latter. 
 Thus disappears one of our most beautiful institutions 
 which played such an important part in our life for 
 
 11
 
 OVR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 SO many years ; one of our most fundamental principles 
 which helped develop in the Jew and in Judaism its 
 characteristic traits and features. 
 
 Let us not deceive ourselves: Sunday will never 
 hecome to us Jews what Saturday had been. The 
 sacredness, the spiritual elevation, the poetry with 
 which we associate our day of rest will never be trans- 
 mitted to another day. 
 
 Let our radicals say what they will, but I still in- 
 sist that with the abolition of the Sabbath there will 
 be left a great scar in the soul of our nation. True, 
 it is quite hard to solve these two problems because 
 they come in conflict with the laws of the land, but 
 there are many other problems which for many social 
 and educational reasons we took the liberty to solve by 
 ourselves. So, for instance, we often disregard the 
 problem of "Kosher" food and many other dietary 
 laws. Kosher meat is too expensive and in some places 
 it is very hard to obtain, because there are only a few 
 Jews there or because the Government interferes with 
 the Jewish laws of slaughtering cattle. Let us also 
 not overlook the fact that our Jews are great artists 
 in imitating, but it is rather strange that for the most 
 part they do not necessarily copy what is best in others. 
 
 I heard many complaints about the lives of our 
 eastern brethren in Paris from Jews who themselves 
 are not very religious. It is strange that the very same 
 Jews who in the old country are so pious, who used 
 to spend most of their leisure time in the synagogue 
 and carry out every law to the letter, — that these self- 
 same Jews as soon as they come to Paris shook off 
 12
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 their religious and moral principles, as something un- 
 wanted and superfluous. You can find them in the 
 cafes, in the saloons where they spend a great deal of 
 their time in playing cards; their family life is also 
 very far from our pure Jewish traditions. Jt is a fact 
 that they are indifferent to everything which is con- 
 sidered sacred, to us Jews, and bring about a state of 
 degeneration which in the end leads to apostasy and 
 inter-marriage. Who can count the great numbers 
 we have lost in Western Europe through apostasy? 
 It is a fact that while in other countries there is an 
 increase in Jewish population nothing of the kind is 
 noticed either in France or in Germany. 
 
 The causes are conversion and intermarriage. How 
 many families of great repute were lost to us through 
 conversions? In such a way disappeared the families 
 of Cremieux, Heine. Mendelsohn and many others. To- 
 gether with the people perished also the Jewish wealth 
 because in most cases it is only the millions which at- 
 tract the Gentile to marry a Jewish girl. The parents, 
 as well as the girl, are ready not only to pay with their 
 good money, but to sell even their souls for the great 
 honor, which the Gentile confers on them, particularly 
 if he happens to be of the nobility. 
 
 Such are the spiritual and moral conditions of the 
 Jews in Western Europe, and not much better are 
 they in this country. Is it surprising then that New 
 York in which we find today the greatest and richest 
 Jewish community in the world, could not rise to be- 
 come a spiritual Jewish centre? There is not room 
 enough in a city with such a population for a Hebrew 
 
 13
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 paper and the tAvo whu'h are in existence have had to 
 face a struggle of life and death from the very first 
 days of tlieir appearance, and could not exist without 
 subsidies. 
 
 The situation of the Jews in the East is approach- 
 ing with gigantic steps the situation in the West. Its 
 tendency towards assimilation was noticed among our 
 intellectuals as long as fifty years ago. Those intel- 
 lectuals looked upon Hebrew as upon a temporary 
 necessity which had to be tolerated until the mass 
 would master the Russian language. One of our famous 
 poets, J. L. Gordon, perceives this danger and the 
 cry of his aching and wounded heart finds expression 
 in the following lines: "Oh, who can foretell the 
 future, who will inform me whether I am not the last 
 Hebrew poet? Who knows whether you, too, my 
 reader, are not the last one." 
 
 It is a fact that the children of the intellectuals 
 did not know Hebrew at all. The children of Gordon, 
 Smolensky and other great writers could not read the 
 works of their fathers. True, Zionism brought back 
 many of those gone astray, but the movement is not 
 strong enough to influence the entire nation. The many 
 sufferings which our people endured in Russia weak- 
 ened their spirit and threw them into a state of de- 
 spair. The economical struggle is growing harder 
 from day to day, and the mass cannot devote its time 
 to ideals. Hebrew gives way to Russian; Hebrew 
 literature is replaced by universal literature and the 
 indifference to everything Jewish becomes more and 
 more pronounced. Russia is now not what she had 
 14
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 been before. A new life is being born there, a life 
 of freedom and happiness. An end has come to the 
 Jewish sufferings there. The Jews, too, will relish 
 freedom.* But who can tell whether the result of this 
 freedom will not be the same as in the Western coun- 
 tries — /'. c, assimilation? 
 
 If the Jews desire to exist as a distinct people, 
 if we strive to maintain Judaism, if we really wish to 
 transmit to future generations all we have inherited 
 from our ancestors, we must devote all our strength 
 and energy to create a spiritual centre in Palestine, 
 in the very country, which has already been our 
 spiritual and economical centre during the first two 
 thousand years of our historical existence, and which 
 has been our bright star during the last 2,000 years; 
 the star which lighted our way and gave us courage 
 to_ endure all the adversities and humiliations of the 
 long exile. There, and only there, we must create 
 ihe Jewish centre, the national Hebrew centre, which 
 will exert a strong influence and give inspiration to all 
 our brethren in the lands where they are scattered. 
 
 This centre will perform the same function as does 
 the heart in the human bodj', which sends the blood 
 coursing through the veins and gives it vitality. We 
 need not prove here that without the heart the body 
 would decay and that, similarly, without a national 
 centre there is no future for a nation, — it would degen- 
 erate and perish in the end. We do not doubt that 
 
 *This article was written before the present Bolshevist 
 regime, and before the outbreak of the pogroms of Poland. 
 Ukraine etc. of today. 
 
 15
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 the creation of such a centre would put an end to 
 assimilation, Avhich has long been the greatest foe of 
 our people ; and, who knows, may perhaps bring back 
 to us all those who went astray. "Sight is more ef- 
 fective than imagination," said our wise King 
 Solomon. This proverb helped a great deal in the 
 foundation of our modern pedagogical science and will 
 also assist us in spreading our national ideals. 
 
 When we used to come to a Western Jew and talk 
 to him about Hebrew culture, about the possibility 
 of conveying all our ideas and modern conceptions in 
 the language of the prophets, he would not believe us. 
 He looked at us as though we were insane or dream- 
 ing. . . . And with a scornful smile upon his lips 
 he would ask us: "Tell me, where is that country 
 where Hebrew is spoken? Where is the country in 
 Avhich Hebrew culture is developed? Show me .the 
 country where the Jews lead an independent, cultured 
 life without being assisted by others. Let me see it, 
 and T will believe you." If we could answer him with 
 pride that a six or seven day journey from London or 
 Paris will bring him to this wonderful land, then 
 he, loo, will believe in the Renaissance of his own peo- 
 ple, and will not look upon practical facts as if they 
 were dreams. The nationalistic feeling which has been 
 slumbering in his heart until now will re-awaken with 
 double strength. He will take pride in the fact that 
 he. too, is a son of an ancient nation, and will not be 
 ashamed of his people any longer when he sees that 
 they lead a free, independent life in their own coun- 
 try and are not fed upon crumbs, fallen from the 
 16
 
 OVR NATIOXAL WOKK IN PALESTINE 
 I 
 
 table of strangers. If this Jew ever visits Palestine 
 and sees in reality what we now see in imagination, if 
 he actually beholds the country where the Jews lead 
 a natural existence, a life of honest labor, a life of 
 culture, when he sees people who speak Hebrew, wiiose 
 schools and colleges are conducted in Hebrew, people 
 who have Hebrew papers, Hebrew theatres, — if he 
 sees all this, — who can tell what a revolution this may 
 bring about in his heart? A thousand enthusiastic 
 lectures cannot do as much ! 
 
 There are facts that have proven to ns the truth- 
 fulness of such a statement. Although our nunijljers in 
 Palestine are still very small, our power there very 
 weak, our population at present less than 100.000 and 
 of those only not more than 30,000 participating in our 
 national work, nevertheless we already see a new life 
 being born there. Hebrew became a living 
 language spoken by most of the population. Even 
 foreigners see the necessity of learning Hebrew. 
 Dozens of Hebrew schools spread the language among 
 iill classes of society. But what is esjiecially im- 
 ])ortant is that we can already detect the influence of 
 this centre on the Jews in the lands oF exile. W.- 
 must not overlook the great nuigical power that Pales- 
 tine sways over the Jews. The things which our small 
 jiatif)n;il army consist ing of hut about oO.OOO pioneers 
 has accojnplished is of n '^rv;\\ deal more importani^e 
 than the activitirs r)f n niilliou Jews In Xew York, 
 (/an you imagine what great, wonderful things we 
 eould have accomplished had we a greater number of 
 I'ur people ])articipating in our work? Is there a 
 
 17
 
 Ill li XATIO.Wil. WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 I'oasoii ■why we could not exjject to t'uuiKl a university 
 in I'alcstiiK' in the near future? Or an academy of 
 Alts and Sciences and many other im])ortaiit institu- 
 1 ions .' 
 
 However, we do not want you to form the false eou- 
 (•(^ption that all we want is to make Palestine a spiritual 
 centre, a eeuti-e of .ludaisni without -lews. This is not 
 our intention. 
 
 We sliall understand \'ei'y well that -Judaism is as 
 closely connected with tlie Jews as the .soul is con- 
 nected with the body, as the tiame is connected with the 
 candle. It is impossil)le to imao;ine one without the 
 other. A centre of -Judaism without a centre for the 
 Jews as well, is an impossibility. All those who study 
 this problem can see (dearly that a healthy Jewish 
 spiritual centre is the outgrowth of a healthy Jewisli 
 element. And just as in order to build uj) a fire we 
 must add coal, so in order to strengthen Judaism in 
 Palestine we must first of all strenjrthen and build up 
 the Jewish material life there. Our first activities Avill 
 be to strengthen our old positions in Palestine and also 
 to create new ones; to increase the number of colonies 
 and improve the conditions of the old ones; to create 
 new industrial centres; to regenerate, the inhabitants 
 of the old settlement, the Jews who are still living on 
 charity. And then, when all this is accomplished, 
 spiritual Judaism will come as a natural result of a 
 healthy national life of a people in its own land. 
 
 18
 
 LESSONS DERIVED FROM THE JEWISH 
 COLONIZATION IN PALESTINE 
 
 The colonization of Palestine up to the present 
 lime has been the work of pioneers. It had to give 
 answers to the two questions: Is Palestine fit for the 
 Jews? Are the Jews fit for Palestine? 
 
 There is no doubt that in principle the answers to 
 l.oth questions are in the alifirmative ; Palestine is suit- 
 able for the Jews, and the Jews are the right people 
 for Palestine ; but Avhen we regard the situation in de- 
 tail we must modif}^ both answers with considerable 
 "buts." 
 
 Palestine is twice as large as Switzerland, three 
 times as large as Belgium, and once sustained a pojju- 
 lation of many millions of people, but tlie land has been 
 laid waste during the last fifteen centuries i)ecause of 
 the many wars which were waged there. Her forests 
 and orchaTxls are cut dowu ; her fields are covered uj) in 
 many places by thick layers of sand; her mountains 
 are barren and the rains have washed ott' the fruitful 
 jioil in many places; her cisterns, water reservoirs, and 
 conducts are destroyed; her rivers ha\-c become 
 marshes and Ijrccding nests of malaria. All these 
 things must be improved, reclaimed in order to make 
 Palestine capable of sustaining a considerable popula- 
 tion. Under the present conditions the land lacks even 
 the capacity of containing any considerable portion 
 of the Jewish Nation, not to speak of giving refuge to 
 
 19
 
 OVIi XATlOSALi WOHK IX PALESTINE 
 
 the entire people. In short, in order, that Palestine 
 nia3' be for the Jews what it sitould be, it must be first 
 considerably improved. 
 
 But the same is true of the Jewish Nation ! 
 
 For fifteen hundred j'ears the Jews had been torn 
 away from their land and from Nature. I)urin<^ their 
 wanderings in many various lands they have become 
 used to the moderately cold climate (Palestine beloni>s 
 to the Ijelt of moderately warm climates). Thej^ became 
 adejit in commerce and industi'v and almost entirel)' 
 alienated from agriculture. Palestine, however can- 
 not at once give occupation to many industrial work- 
 ers and merchants. She must first become colonized; 
 first there must be established an agricultural laborers' 
 class. And this was the first attempt of the pioneers. 
 
 liut here we come to a new difficulty. It is gen- 
 arally thought that all that is necessary in order 
 to make an agriculturist of a Jew who was born and 
 lived a considerable part of his life in a city as a 
 merchant, artisan or i)rofessioual, is to have him buy 
 or otherwise get into possession of some land aiul the 
 necessary appurtenances. 
 
 This opinion is radically wrong, as experience has 
 proven, and it is time to abandon it. 
 
 Agriculture, just as any other occupation, must be 
 studied, even as one must learn to be a doctor, engi- 
 neer, a tailor or a shoemaker. 
 
 Nay, even more than that. 
 
 In every trade there is at the present time a divi- 
 sion of labor Avhich tends to make the work much 
 easier. This system cannot, however, be applied to 
 20
 
 OUR NATION A 1j WORK IN PALE8TINK 
 
 agriciilhiro. The agriculturist must be able to do every 
 part of Ills work. lie must be able to plow, to 
 sow, to harvest, etc. He must kiioAv how to plant all 
 kinds of fruit-trees and vegetables and how to take 
 care of them. He must know how to rear the cattle 
 which help him in his work or supply him with milk, 
 and how to attend to his Cowls, bees and silkworms. 
 He must know how to use to l)est advantage every 
 part of his hnui, of the nature around him, of every 
 iiKunent of his time. He must also be handy with the 
 axe and tlie liammer and other tools so as not tr. have 
 to call upon the artisan at every emergency. 
 
 Then. too. in almost every other industry the work 
 is bei'ng done indoors, in shoj)s or factories specifically 
 built for the purposes, and the workers do not de- 
 pend very much upon the weather. The agriculturist, 
 however, is constantly depoiding upon it. He must 
 be used to the cold aiul the heal. Angry winds and 
 ra'iing stoi-ins caiinoi keep him inside if lie has to a1- 
 tend to his cattle or do sonu^ other im[)ortant work. 
 
 There is a tendency nowadays to reduce the num- 
 ber of Avorkiug hours a day in all industries. The ar- 
 tisan and the shop Avorker, having Avorked a definite 
 number of hours, come home, and forget their Avork 
 and are able to think of other things. The agricult\ir- 
 ist has not even that privilege. He cannot go to sleep 
 until he has fed his eattle. he must rise early in the 
 morning in order to prei)are himself and his cattle 
 for Avork. Tlien when the time comes for soAving or 
 harvesting, he must Avork AAnth all his strength and 
 certainly cannot limit his Avork to fixed hours. Due 
 
 21
 
 OUR XATTOXAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 to all these circumstances agrriculture is a many-sided, 
 many-colored occupation, very agreeable, very whole- 
 some. ])ut not easy. It takes a long time until the 
 colonist gets the nocessjiry knowledge, until he is able 
 to accommodate himself to the life of the real agri- 
 culturist. 
 
 All the agriculturi.sts of tlie world, are accustomed 
 to their work l)ecause their way of liviuig passes 
 as an inheritance from generation to generation. From 
 liieir childhood the farmers live and work in their 
 own pei'uliar way and accommodate themselves to 
 their surroundings. I!ui froiu whom could Jews inherit 
 all this? 
 
 The first colonists reached their goal by dint of 
 iheir great enthusiasm. But there were very many 
 who did not have enough enthusiasm or will-power, 
 who could not traverse the entire road, and returned 
 or fell by the way. If some of them could not make 
 up their minds to abandon their ideal, they could not, 
 liowever. kce]) their children with them, and many of 
 them went away, leaving their parents alone. 
 
 Enthusiasm is not under our control, and we can- 
 not rely ui)on it ! 
 
 The enthusiasm of the Maccabeans gave them a 
 complete victory over the Greeks, but the enthusiasm 
 of the last -lewish heroes of the times of Bar Giyora and 
 liar Koi'hha could jiot save the Temple from destruc- 
 tion and did not avert the great disaster to the coun- 
 try and the Xation. The enthusiasm of the Greeks 
 saved them from the Persians, but it failed later to
 
 i)( li SATKjSAh WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 save them from tlie .Maeedonicins ;iii<l later still Iruiii 
 tlie Romans. 
 
 It is yet too early to cite the example of the <rreal 
 World War. We can only recollect that a hundred 
 and twenty-five years ago the French, due to their en- 
 thusiasm, had vaiHiuished almost a'l European nations 
 which had united against them, but forty-eight years 
 ago neither the proclamation of the Republic nor tht 
 strains of the ^Marsellaise were able to save France 
 from a terrible defeat. A thousand Garibaldians have 
 by their heroism created the new United Italy: the 
 United Italy however does not want to rely merely on 
 the heroism of her soif^. but keeps on eidarging and 
 strengthening her army and navy. Aiul the same 
 thing is being done by all other European Xations, who 
 can point to many pages in their history, telling of 
 enthusiasm and heroism, when their countries were in 
 danger. There is no doubt that in the future too, en- 
 thusiasm and patriotic spirit will j)lay their great part 
 in the History of mankind ; but it is dangerous to rely 
 upon them alone, and just as all luitions are preparing 
 armies for wars, we too, must ])repare a peaceful 
 army, an army for work, and only through eelucation 
 in schools established for this ]nir])ose can we create 
 such an army. We need only recollect how much im- 
 portance was attached to the education of children by 
 the ancient nations: the ^^partans, the Atheneans. the 
 Romans. We must recollect how the children of for- 
 eign birth, captured by Turkish danizaris. were reared 
 by the Turks, and became the nu)st zealous warriors 
 of Islam and the Turkish Empire. We must recollect
 
 OIK XATIOX.ll. Wl>h'l< L\ l'AljEliTlM<; 
 / 
 
 the Jewish "Caiitonists" of Russia, the feeble anaemic 
 children who with vigorous, certainly a too vigorous, 
 training grew up to be strong and healthy as the 
 famous soldiers of Xicbolas the First. We must recol- 
 lect the great sti'iigglc for llic schools which is taking 
 place in IModoni European Society, and we will be- 
 come convinced that in all times, under all circum- 
 stances, it was education which produced the people 
 which were necessary to accomplish a specified ideal. 
 
 Neither can our ideal be an exception; and only 
 through education can it obtain the men it reciuires. 
 
 The colonizers arc already taking the first 
 step in that direction. They give preference to young 
 men, who learn their work on farms, and prepare 
 themselves to become colonists. 
 
 But, as I pointed out before, it is not sufficient to 
 know the Avork in order to be a good agriculturist. 
 One must grow u{) in the atmosphere of the work and 
 be brought up on the farm, and this consideration must 
 face those Avho are interested in the progress of the 
 "Yishuv" (colonization). To make the further step, 
 to h)ok for the colouizing material they must look 
 not among grow imps. Ixit among young children, who 
 ^^•onld 1)(> li'aincd in llie i)roper schools as agricnltists. 
 
 It is understood that there will always be found 
 Jews, particniaf young men. \\\\^i will have enough 
 will-poAvcr ;ni(i zr;il fo o\ci-h)ok all <lifficult ics, just 
 as wjis (h»i)c hy the first colonisls. \apohM)ii said 
 that in the kit of every soldier lies a niarslKill's baton. 
 Still there were only twelve marshals in Napoleon'!? 
 army. And just as every Jew can transform himself 
 24
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 into a good agriculturist, the percentage of such Jews 
 cannot he very great. 
 
 Therefore, if a Jew wants to buy himself a farm 
 and, on his own responsibility to become a farmer in 
 Palestine, we wish him God Speed ! But if we want to 
 create a normal class of agriculturists, and if we want 
 not to incur too great an expenditure in money, en- 
 ergy or human sacrifice, we must make use of the best 
 means which has ever existed — the training of young 
 children. 
 
 Just as Palestine, which has been waste for fifteen 
 centuries, must be now reclaimed in order that she may 
 give what we expect of her, so the Jewish nation, 
 which has become just as desolate as its land, must 
 be reclaimed in order that it may be able to come 
 back to life in its land and become what it is destined 
 to be. 
 
 And training is only effective in case of children. 
 Plastic childhood easily assumes all forms. The young 
 child who is brought up under the influence of 
 "Mother-Earth," will remain attached to her forever. 
 He will not abandon her and will fight vigorously 
 against being torn away from her. 
 
 The Russian poet, Nekrasoff, in one of his songs, 
 about the children of the village says: 
 
 Now, play little children, be gay in j^our freedom 
 This is why childhood was given to you, 
 Forever to cherish your field and to love it 
 May it forever remain to you dear. . . , 
 
 25
 
 HOW TO PERPETUATE THE EMANCIPATION OF 
 THE JEWS IN RUSSIA! 
 
 This article will come a little too late. About three 
 or four months afro the entire Jewish Press had taken 
 up this question and then naturally was the time for 
 me, too, to speak. For certain reasons, however, 1 
 could not do it then, but I feel now like saying : it is 
 for the best. During the honeymoon of the Russian 
 Revolution, my words would have been of no avail ; 
 I would have been considered as a mourner among so 
 many wedding-guests. 
 
 But a few months have already elapsed. Many 
 horible massacres have broken out and still more at- 
 tempts have been made. Again like "in the good old 
 times" the Jews have been accused of using Christian 
 blood for ritual purposes. And our Mr. Winaver who 
 can be suspected of being an^'thing but a Zionist, even 
 he came out with a warning to Russian Jews to look 
 out for a new form of anti-Semitism, which is in an 
 early stage of development there. 
 
 The first excitement aild enthusiasm have already 
 subsided, and we can now make an impartial observa- 
 tion of what has taken place in Russia. 
 
 I wnsh, however, to make clear that I am very far 
 
 ')Written in the summer of 1917, a few months after (he 
 Russian Revolution. Soon after it a project was proposed in 
 the Press to perpetuate with a monument the emancipation 
 of the Jews in Russia. 
 26
 
 OVR NATIONAL WORK IN PALEST J JfE 
 
 from uiiderestimatijig t]ie great happenings which 
 have taken place. As great as that of many other 
 Jews, and perhaps still deeper, is my joy to think of 
 the political and social freedom which our brethren in 
 Russia have gained. My joy is of a two-fold nature : 
 I rejoice as a Jew, and as a Zionist. The Jewish point 
 of view is clear to everj-one, and does not require any 
 explanations. What I want to say is a few words from 
 the Zionist's point of view. 
 
 For the last 35 years I have had an excellent op- 
 portunity of studying- all those who immigrated to 
 Palestine, and after long observation, I have come to 
 the conclusion that the one w^ho comes on his own 
 accord, stimulated by his love for our country, our 
 people and our National work, is worth ten of those 
 who come to escape the Russian whip and fear of per- 
 secution. 
 
 In anticipation. I especially dreaded the time after 
 the war. If the Russian Revolution had not taken 
 place, and our brethren there had not become freed 
 in that great land of Tzarism, hundreds of thousands 
 would have been compelled to leave Russia after the 
 war. A great number of these miserable, ruined 
 creatures would have come to Palestine where under 
 present conditions it would have been impossible for 
 so many of them to make even a bare living. This 
 would have been a great catastrophe and would have 
 endangered the entire Yishub there. 
 
 Now. thanks to the Lord, the danger is over.* 
 
 ♦Unfortunately, our joy was premature. 
 
 27
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 Tlie happiness of the Jews all over the world was 
 eerainly very great at the news of the Jewish Liberation 
 in Russia. But just as we should not underestimate 
 the value of this freedom, so is it unadvisable to over- 
 estimate its value. The Russian People broke its chains, 
 but did not tear from its heart the deeply-rooted hatred 
 lo the Jews. On the contrary, the new situation will 
 give fresh nourishment to this feeling. For the mass, 
 the Jew is too revolutionary; for the extremist too 
 conservative. Pretty soon, Ave shall hear complaints 
 that the Jew fills the schools, the colleges, monopolizes 
 all the free professions, overcrowds the towns and 
 cities. The mass will make the Jew responsible for 
 all his troubles and treat him accordingly.* 
 
 In short, we may say that the life of the Jews in Rus- 
 sia after a while will not be any better than in any other 
 civilized country, as for instance, in Germany, France, 
 England and in America. Yes; they will have rights 
 on paper, freedom according to the law of the gov- 
 ernment, but jealousy, hatred and boycott from the 
 people. If then, the position of the Jews in Russia will 
 not differ from the position of the Jews in any other 
 country permit me to ask : why perpetuate the Rus- 
 sian Freedom more than any other? Did the Jews in 
 any way at all perpetuate the emancipation of the 
 Jews in France, where they were the very first ones 
 to become freed after so many years of persecution 
 and sufferings? Did they perpetuate it in Germany, in 
 Austria, or in England? Was not the exultation and 
 
 *Alas! How soon our prophecy has been fulfilled! 
 28
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 enthusiasm there in those days as great as it is, no, 
 not at present, but was four months ago, in Russia? 
 
 But let us assume that in former years people did 
 not think of doing it ; they did not know enough then 
 to perpetuate such an important historical fact. Now, 
 however, this question has become a part of the day's 
 program, and we must consider it. 
 
 There are two reasons why we should perpetuate 
 the Emancipation of the Russian Jews. First : although 
 1 believe that in quality this historical fact does not 
 differ in Russia from any other country, still as far as 
 quantity of the Jews is concerned it differs greatly. 
 When all those provinces which are now in the hands 
 of the Germans will be restored to Russia, then the 
 Jewish population in Russia, besides Poland, will be 
 6,000,000, almost half of all the Jews in the entire 
 world. 
 
 The Emancipation of the Jews in Russia will re- 
 flect favorably upon the position of the Jews through- 
 out the world. 
 
 The second motive is that there are now such people 
 who can and are willing to do it. When the other 
 Revolution took place, not only in France, but also in 
 Germany, Austria and in England, American Jewry 
 was not in existence. The Russian Jewry was too 
 much oppressed and persecuted to even think of such 
 things. Now thanks to the Lord, we have America 
 with a great free rich and powerful Jewry, which is 
 able to spend millions of dollars for something worth 
 while. 
 
 Maybe it is after all a good plan to erect some- 
 
 29
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 thing for the perpetuation of the Jewish Liberty in 
 Russia. But what? 
 
 Several different plans have been suggested. Some 
 have proposed the building of a Temple of Peace in 
 Petrograd, the function of which will be to unite all 
 the difterent nations that inhabit Russia. Others have 
 suggested that a copy of the American Statue of Lib- 
 erty be presented to Russia. This proposition has found 
 many supporters, and a sum of money has already 
 been collected to carry out this plan. There was also 
 one who proposed that with the consent of the Rabbis, 
 the story of the Liberation of the Russian Jews should 
 become a part of the Hagada which we read on Pass- 
 over at the "Seder." But, I believe that to this plan the 
 Hagada itself will be greatly opposed. It is clearly stat- 
 ed in the Hagada : For our emancipation and spiritual 
 freedom." As far as political freedom is concerned, 
 we will surely have it in Russia, but spiritual and 
 moral freedom — we are far from it. The best we can 
 do is to make some kind of a Purim Festival in order 
 to commemorate this fact. Such festivals have al- 
 ready been introduced by many Jewish communities. 
 But leave Passover in peace. A New Passover, A 
 future one, as the Hagada calls it, we shall celebrate 
 when we will actually become delivered from all our 
 troubles. We — that means all the Jews — when we will 
 become a nation equal to other nations on our own 
 soil, when we will free ourselves from the Goluth in 
 all its different forms, then we will celebrate this new 
 Passover in our own country. The statement 
 "Spiritual Freedom" will help us to solve the prob- 
 30
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 lems which is of great interest to us now. 
 
 There is not the slightest doubt that all those who 
 want to participate in the perpetuation of the Jewish 
 freedom in Russia are all nationalistically inclined, 
 l;ecause those who are inclined towards assimilation 
 do not want even the name of the Jew to be mentioned. 
 What thej^ want is that the entire world together with 
 themselves should forget about the existence of the 
 Jew. It is against their principles to come out in the 
 open in the eyes of the entire Gentile world and all 
 b}' themselves erect a monument for the commemora- 
 tion of the Jewish Freedom. This can be the desire 
 of faithful nationalists only. And these nationalists 
 must first of all desire that the Jew should continue 
 his national activities, should not be compelled to 
 leave the historical stage, should not perish, or become 
 assimilated among other nations. 
 
 Xow we come to the most important question. 
 The founder of our nation, Moses, lived for 120 j'ears, 
 and was as strong and healthy in his old age as a 
 young man. According to the Hagada, the Angel of 
 Death with all his subordinates could not take his 
 soul. But he had to die as all mortals do, and God 
 wanted him to die before the Jews entered Palestine, 
 so God took his soul with a kiss. Since then it has be- 
 come a known fact, that the Angel of Death has no in- 
 fluence over the Jew, but you can quite easily get his 
 soul with a kiss. This fact becomes plain to us when we 
 look over the history of the Jews for the last 2,000 
 years. There was a great powerful rich community 
 in Egypt at the time of the Second Temple. Where is 
 
 31
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 this communit.y, which created a man like Philon? 
 Already in the next generation, his nephew became 
 an idol-worshipper and helped Titus to destroy Jeru- 
 saem. Where is the Jewish aristocracy of Spain? 
 Only the poor and a small number of the rich left 
 the country; all others accepted Catholicism either 
 in pretense (Maranes), or in reality. Of those Maranes 
 only a small number survived, the others yielded to 
 their fate and also became Catholics. Where are the 
 I^Vench Jews? Where are the descendants of Rashi? 
 the children of Cremieux? Where are the German 
 Jews? The cTiildren of Moses Mendelsohn? Where 
 are the Italian Jews? Did not our national poet as we 
 have noted in the first article in Russia Jehudah 
 Leib Gordon, bewail this fact already fifty 
 years ago? Did he not express his fear in one of his 
 most beautiful poems, "Who can tell me if I am not 
 the last Hebrew Poet and if you are not the last He- 
 brew reader." The sufiferings and persecutions on 
 one hand, and the strong national movement on the 
 other, gave a different direction to the Jewish life in 
 Russia. But now when the real cause of persecution 
 of the Jews is abolished, and the Russian Jew received 
 the kiss, do we not have to fear that in exchange for 
 it, they will give away their souls? It is a fact, that 
 many of them will surely do so. 
 
 But let us not talk about Russia. Let us do the 
 way the writers used to do at the time of the censor- 
 ship. Let us talk about Roumania. One's heart bleeds 
 when one reads about the terrible persecutions, which 
 the Jews have endured there. We are waiting with 
 32
 
 OVR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 impatience for the happy day when the Roumanian 
 Government will willingly or unwillingly give recog- 
 nition to her Jews and begin to treat them in a hu- 
 mane way. You will then see how proud the Rouman- 
 ian Jew will have become of the fact that he is a 
 Roumanian. He will then try his very .best to prove 
 that he is a direct descendant of the Roumanian sol- 
 diers, who were settled in the Danube section by the 
 Roman Emperor Trajan. Then the Jewish Nation will 
 surely lose a great number of her sons and daughters. 
 Will the world at large gain by the fact that a number 
 of the children of an ancient cultured nation have reach 
 such a state of degradation? They will have become 
 assimilated into a people of no importance whatsoever ; 
 one of the most barbarous people of Europe and as 
 our poet, Goldfaden has expressed it: "He will sell 
 his Torah, his history and his entire wonderful 
 'Yichus' for a saloon license." 
 
 There are many times when I ask myself: what 
 I wish for? Would I rather have the Roumanian 
 Jew go on suffering and being persecuted, but at the 
 same time remain a Jew, remain my brother; or that all 
 these sufferings and persecutions should come to an 
 end, but with it the Jew there should also cease to 
 exist? This is one of the most terrible tragedies for 
 which we ought to thank our long Golutli. 
 
 The only remedy to oppose the kiss, or rather, its 
 influence is a strongly nationalistic feeling. When we 
 now see the many Jews coming back to their people ; 
 when we observe the strongly national tendency in Rus- 
 sia, may it express itself in any shape or form: Zion- 
 
 33
 
 OVR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 ism or territotialism or in the nationalism of Dubnotf 
 and his foHowers — all tliese isms are due to the great 
 nationalistic movement which originated 35 years ago 
 and expressed itself in the settlement of the colonies 
 in Eretz Israel, and in the rejuvenation of the Hebrew 
 culture and the Hebrew language. 
 
 The person who is interested with his heart and 
 soul that the Jew continue his existence and continue 
 to act as a distinct people ; the person who craves 
 that the Jew should keep on creating a better life for 
 himself, such a person will do all that is in hiy 
 {)ower that the national movement should not die away, 
 but on the contrary should become more and more 
 powerful and become of some benefit to our bretbren 
 in the lands of their exile. But in order to give to 
 this movement enough strength, it must assume a con- 
 crete shape, it must go hand in hand with the Yishub 
 in Eretz Israel and help to create new settlements. It 
 is a known fact that every step w^e make in Eretz 
 Israel, every new colony which is created makes a 
 pow^erful impression upon the Jewish world, and acts 
 as an Elixir of Life upon the deadened limbs of our 
 people. But in order to build new colonies we must 
 have the fittest human material. The work of 35 years 
 gave us not only a great number of Jewish colonists 
 and laborers, but also a great deal of knowledge and 
 experience. These 35 years show^ed us the great dif- 
 ficulty of this gigantic undertaking. 
 
 The Jew as already demonstrated in the previous 
 articles had been torn away from nature for over 
 2,000 years. The Jew is a typical city man and it is
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 very hard for him to adapt himself to the life of a 
 farmer and colonist. We must not forget that in our 
 days even those who were born and brought up on the 
 farms when they grow older leave the farm and set- 
 tle in the cities. This fact shows ns how ditificult it is 
 for a city-man to return to farm-life. We say, there- 
 fore, that in order to get the fittest human material, 
 people who can adapt themselves wdth the least sacri- 
 fices, with the least effort and money, w^e must go back 
 to the old trodden path, to the old experiment — of 
 education and bringing up. The entire history of the 
 world will assist us in proving that education always 
 gave to mankind those people who were Avanted by 
 her. 
 
 Now we come to the climax of our problem. This 
 Tf'rrible war has already made and will yet create a 
 still greater number of orphans. Some count them al- 
 ready as many as 50,000. But who can fortell what 
 the number of these unfortunates will be the day after 
 the war will cease? A sacred duty is imposed upon 
 the entire Jewish nation, that of earing for these or- 
 phans. But Avho is going to do it, and how? Hun- 
 c'reds of Jewish communities lie in ruins. Even those 
 communities which have not been directly destroyed 
 by the Avar have also suffered enough and will have 
 their hands full before they will succeed in adjusting 
 their own aff'airs. Let us suppose for a minute, that 
 Ihey will succeed even in interesting the entire Jewish 
 ^>rrlf^ in the w^elfare of all those unfortunate children, 
 even then, America is expected to do the greatest share 
 in this w^ork. But what should be done? 
 
 35
 
 OUR NATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 It is no doubt, that all these starved youngsters, 
 who saw death face to face more than once, are phy- 
 sically as well as mental wrecks. In order to bring 
 these c'hildren to a healthy normal condition, we must 
 take them out into the open country, provide for them 
 enough fresh air and nourishment. Would not a farm 
 in Eretz Israel be the fittest place for them? Do you 
 not think that to teach them agriculture would mean 
 to prepare them for life with a good future as farmers 
 in Eretz Israel? 
 
 We shall have a double gain by solving this diffi- 
 cult problem in this manner : we shall not only save all 
 these thousands of children from starvation and perish, 
 but we shall also render a wonderful support to our 
 national work at the same time; we shall in that way 
 assist in the restoration of the Jew to his Fatherland. 
 Besides, the great interest we Jews will all take in 
 these children will serve as a pledge or guarantee, that 
 the kiss whic'h the Russian Jews have just now re- 
 ceived from history shall not become a fatal one, but 
 on the contrary will stimulate them to a new, free life; 
 the orphans who will belong to the entire nation will 
 serve us as a security that the Jewish Nation will 
 not perish, will not disapper among other stronger 
 nations, but will continue its historic existence, its 
 national activities in the direction of general civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 36
 
 Kiriath Sefer 
 
 Kiriath Sefer is the institution called upon to solve 
 these problems, Avhich Avere mentioned in the last two 
 articles. This institution will realize all those ideals 
 already mentioned. Kiriath Sefer wants to be the 
 pioneer on the road of the noble work of bringing up 
 young children, boj's and girls to become good faith- 
 ful Jews and able farmers. 
 
 K. S. is considered an agricultural school. In realty, 
 however, it is a large ideal family, where all the mem- 
 bers lead the same kind of life and strive towards the 
 same goal. 
 
 A few points about the plan and system of the 
 school will give a clear view of it. 
 
 (1) The aim of Kiriath Sefer is to give to the 
 students a pure Jewish Nationalistic bring-up and to fit 
 them to become useful Avorkers and able farmers. 
 
 (2) Children of hoth sexes between the age of 
 10 and 12 who are physically and mentally developed 
 and who know at least to read and write He'brew are 
 admitted into the school. 
 
 (3) The curriculum is subdivided into two stages. 
 The first consists of a course of 3 years devoted to 
 study. The Hebrew language is taught. Holy Writ. 
 and parts of the Mishna and Talmud are studied, as 
 are Jewish as well as general history and geography. 
 Special attention is given to the geography of Pales- 
 tine. Arithmetic, bookkeeping and natural science, as 
 
 37
 
 OUR NAriOXAL WOKK IN PALESTINE 
 
 6 
 
 much as it is necessary for their occupation are also 
 taufrht, as well as music, singing, gymnastics, etc. 
 
 The pupils study four hours daily j the rest of the 
 time they occupy themselves with light farm Avork. 
 
 When the students complete this course, they are 
 promoted into the next stage, at the age of 18-15. Here 
 they devote most of their time to work. They are oc- 
 cupied the entire day and get instructions only dur- 
 ing the evenings or during the days of rest, in order 
 to complete the necessary requirements. 
 
 The work consists mainly of agriculture in all its 
 different branches. They plough, plant, reap and 
 thresh. They plant vines, almond trees, olive trees, 
 orange trees, and many other fruit-bearing trees. They 
 Avork in vegetable gardens, are engaged in cattle 
 breeding, dairy work, poultry raising, bee raising ; the 
 silk-worm raising industry, etc. 
 
 On those da^'s when there is nothing to do in the 
 field or in the garden the children occupy themselves 
 with different industries; woodworking, metal-work- 
 ing, etc. The purpose of this is not to make tradesmen 
 of them, but to give them a little knowledge of every- 
 thing, so that when the need arises they will not be 
 helpless. 
 
 The mode of life is in accordance with the Jewish 
 laws and regulations. They lead the life of a large 
 family in which the teachers and leaders are the big 
 brothers and sisters. The different entertainments 
 given at the school such as frolicking in the open fields, 
 outings Avith the teacliers or musical recitals and plays 
 given frequently, — make the life in the school very 
 38
 
 OUR ^'ATIONAL WORK IN PALESTINE 
 
 pleasant and the children feel in their own home. 
 
 The language used at the time of study, play or 
 rest — is Hebrew only. 
 
 The resources of the school. The income consists 
 of: ^ 
 
 1. Tuition fees which either the parents or rela- 
 tives of the child pay. 
 
 2. Money brought in from sale of products or la- 
 bor of children. 
 
 3. Support received from foreign societies and 
 private persons. This money goes towards the tuition 
 of the poor. Tuition is paid only during the first 3-4 
 years and consists in total of the sum of $500 or 
 Fr. 2500. Money is paid only for the first stage when 
 the child spends most of his time studying; in the last 
 lage, however, hi Avork at school makes up for his 
 tuition. 
 
 The future of students: Students are allowed to 
 remain as laborers at school until the age of 20-21. 
 During these years they accumulate a great deal of 
 knowledge and become verj- experienced farmers. It 
 is also possible that some should save up a few dollars. 
 In such a waj^ these students will be the best candi- 
 dates for the colonization of Palestine. There is no 
 doubt, that if any colonization work will be undertaken 
 l)y the National Fund, or the J. C. A. these students will 
 be considered as the most fit ones to work ■with. 
 
 Without taking the direct responsibility, the school 
 provides also for the future of its students. A great 
 deal has alreadv been done in this direction. 
 
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