THE BUILDER MARCH 1919

THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT

By Abraham Mitre Rihbant

Owing to our readers' interest in this subject we have received
gracious permission from the Beacon Press to reprint this chapter
from Abraham Mitrie Rihbany's "America Save the Near East," a
volume renewed in our Library Department this month.

THERE ARE few issues aside from the main phases of the conflict
itself which the present war has created or made more prominent,
that are more interesting to the world than the Zionist movement.
Begun many years before, this movement has received an impetus
during the war which has made interest in it, in both Jewry and
Christendom, intense and very wide-spread. The proponents of
Zionism among the Jews consider the vast and radical changes which
the present conflict is effecting in the lives of the various
nations as favorable to the consummation of Zionist hopes. The
world is being refashioned. The majority of the great and
enlightened nations claim to be fighting for the freedom of all
peoples. Never before was the heart of the world so responsive to
the cry of the oppressed as it is now. All signs, also, point to
the permanent separation from Turkey of her Near Eastern provinces.
Palestine has already fallen to the British. Zion has been
delivered from Turkish bondage.

Is not the time, therefore, very opportune for the friends of
Zionism to press its claims with greater vigor than ever before,
and secure, if possible, the coveted land of Palestine as a free
and permanent home for Jewish nationalism? So it must seem to the
ardent supporters of this Jewish movement, and their hopes cannot
be pronounced elusive.

Christendom, also, is deeply interested in the Zionist's
expectations. This interest springs not necessarily from the
Christians' love for the Jews, for hatred for the Jew has been one
of Christendom's greatest offenses against God and humanity.
Christian interest in the Zionist movement comes chiefly from the
fact that there are millions of Christians who believe that
Christ's kingdom will not come upon the earth until the Jews have
been "restored" to Palestine. To such a success of Zionism means
the long-awaited regathering of the chosen people to their
"promised land."

There are many others whose interest in this significant movement
is purely romantic. The thought of a "restored Israel" to the land
of its origin seems to reinvest for them the ages of Hebrew history
with compelling charms. The picture of the sons of Abraham
regathered as a people, free and strong, to "build the old wastes,
and raise up the former desolations," and sing again the psalms of
their faith and hope among the hills of Zion, is to the lovers of
romance a most enchanting vision. This expectation for the advent
of Christ's kingdom upon the final restoration of the Jews to the
Holy Land and the legitimate romantic interest are shared also by
many of that minority of Christians who are deeply interested in
the improvement of the Jew's lot, and the restoration to him, as a
man, of his lawful right of social and political equality with the
other enlightened members of the human race.

And it is not at all strange that the Christians in general, as
well as many among the Jews themselves, should have only a
superficial knowledge of the aims and purposes of Zionism. Zionism
is not a general movement to "restore" the fourteen million Jews
from all the regions of the earth to the Holy Land. Such an
enterprise would involve, to say the least, a physical
impossibility. Even if it had no other inhabitants, Palestine could
not properly sustain one-fourth of the Jews of the world, even if
they could all be led, or driven, into it. Again, the Jews are very
far from being all Zionists. Only a minority of them is deeply
interested in this movement. Millions among them are perfectly
indifferent to it, and many are decidedly opposed to it. But the
leaders of Zionism are among the foremost men of this remarkable
race, and their followers can by no means be called "only a few."

The purpose of the Zionist movement is to provide the Jews, who
refuse to relinquish their claim to being a nation, a national
centre and a "legally secured home" which they may call their own.
I can do no better in presenting the purpose of Zionism than to
quote the words of the honorary president of this movement in
America, Justice Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court.

"Let us bear clearly in mind," says Justice Brandeis, "what Zionism
is, or rather what it is not. It is not a movement to remove all
the Jews of the world compulsorily to Palestine. In the first place
there are 14,000,000 Jews, and Palestine would not accommodate more
than one-fifth of that number. In the second place, it is not a
movement to compel any one to go to Palestine. It is essentially a
movement to give to the Jews more, not less, freedom, it aims to
enable the Jews to exercise the same right now exercised by
practically every other people in the world: to live at their
option either in the land of their fathers or in some other
country; a right which members of small nations as well as of
large, which Irish, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, or Belgian, may now
exercise as fully as German or English.

"Zionism seeks to establish in Palestine, for such Jews as choose
to go and remain there, and for their descendants, a legally
secured home, where they may ; live together and lead a Jewish
life, where they may expect ultimately to constitute a majority of
the population, and may look forward to what we should call home
rule. The Zionists seek to establish this home in Palestine because
they are convinced that the undying longing of Jews for Palestine
is a fact of deepest significance; that it is a manifestation in
the struggle for existence by an ancient people which had
established its right to live a people whose three thousand years
of civilization has produced a faith, culture, and individuality
which enable them to contribute largely in the future, as they had
in the past, to the advance of civilization; and that it is not a
right merely, but a duty of the Jewish nationality to survive and
develop. They believe that there only can Jewish life be fully
protected from the forces of disintegration; that there alone can
the Jewish spirit reach its full and natural development; and that
by securing for those Jews who wish to settle in Palestine the
opportunity to do so, not only those Jews, but all other Jews will
be benefited and that the long perplexing Jewish Problem will, at
last, find solution."

Zionist writers dwell upon the fact that notwithstanding the
improvement of his lot in many western European countries and in
America, the Jew remains a "man without a country." Many countries
have admitted the Jews into full equality before the law with other
citizens; nevertheless, the social mind of nonJews in all lands
instinctively ostracizes the Jew. The removal of his legal
disabilities is doled out to him as a gift, and not granted as a
right inherent in his status. Religious and political liberalism
has greatly ameliorated his condition, but is dangerously
threatening his racial and national existence. The direct and
indirect aim of his toleration by the peoples among whom he dwells
seems to be, not the sharing with the Jews of the privileges and
responsibilities of citizenship as a Jew, but the hastening of his
assimilation and obliteration. His racial distinction, his national
individuality, his language, and even his faith are in grave danger
of being done away with. In short, modern liberalism and toleration
are threatening with extinction all the precious assets of Judaism
and the gifts which have enabled the Jew to make so large and rich
a contribution to the spiritual culture of the human race.

These very things the Jew must continue to hold most dear if his
future is not to be the antithesis of his glorious past. And in
order to do this, he must have a Jewish national centre, a land
that he can call his own, where his language and his culture may be
revitalized and enriched, and his racial type preserved. To
Zionists, Palestine is that land.

In his book entitled "Zionism," the noted Jewish scholar, Richard
J. H. Gottheil, says:

"From whatever point of view we regard the situation, the unity of
Israel must be restored. A complete reversion to unity of practice
seems impossible as modern conditions in the Diaspora will continue
to increase disfavorably to the Jews. The Jewish hope must be
constituted upon modern linen Embodied in a physical centre, and
that centre illumined by a rekindled light, it will serve as a
point towards which the thoughts, aspirations, and longings of the
Diaspora Jews will converge, and from which they will draw, each in
his own measure, that sufficiency of moral and religious strength
that will better enable them to resist the encroachments of their
surroundings. The knowledge that in some one place, in some one
country and that country the most hallowed by its
recollections Jewish life is possible without the unnatural
restrictions that naturally hem it in elsewhere, will act as a
centripetal force, the very force that is needed today."

This, very briefly stated, is the aim and purpose of the Zionist
movement. Whether the Zionist hope is possible of full realization,
whether, if realized, it would solve the "Jewish Problem," are
questions whose consideration falls outside the plan of this
volume. What concerns us here is the bearing of Zionism upon the
racial and governmental problems of Syria, and this I will proceed
to consider.

The impetus which Zionism has received recently has greatly alarmed
the Christians and Mohammedans of Palestine. In the first place,
the universal prejudice against the Jews is shared by those sects
in the East. The Jews "crucified Christ," and "dealt treacherously
with Mohammed." Until they abjure the sins of their fathers and are
converted to the faith of their persecutors, the Jews will remain
in disfavor.

But, in the second place, this inhuman attitude toward the Jew is
not the sole reason which impels the Christians and Mohammedans of
Palestine and Syria in general to resist Zionism. Its possible
political consequences afford a more rational reason. The Syrians
perceive that the goal of Zionism is the establishment of an
independent Jewish state in Palestine, or at least the
establishment of an autonomous Jewish state under the protection of
some foreign power. Under the auspices of the Zionists, Palestine
must be either detached from Syria and "given to the Jews," or
become a "sphere of influence of some Western Power." Either
prospect is repugnant to the non-Jewish population of the "land of
promise" and to intelligent Syrians in America.

The process of reasoning in the case is very simple. The Zionists'
ultimate purpose is to establish a Jewish national centre for all
the Jews of the dispersion. To this centre the Jews of the world
are to look, not only for inspiration, but for redress in time of
trouble. In Palestine the Hebrew language is to be revived and, in
course of time, made the language of the land. In Palestine a vital
Jewish atmosphere is to be created through the spread of Jewish
culture, an atmosphere vital enough, if possible, to mould the
character of international Jewry.

How, it is asked, can all this be accomplished without that
"national Jewish centre" first becoming an independent Jewish
country, sufficiently powerful to resist all modifying influences?
The intelligent Syrians realize that independent nationalism is not
what the Zionists insist upon at present, but they seem to be
certain that nothing short of that would be able to make the
Zionist program a reality.

The claim that Palestine is the Jew's home land is not fully
conceded by the nonJews in that country, especially the
Mohammedans. It was the Jew's home land, which he acquired by the
sword from former owners. His successful conquest of the land gave
him the right to possess it. But the Moslem is the later conqueror
of Palestine. He also acquired it by the sword, and built in it
homes and shrines. So if the successful conquest of a land carries
with it the right of ownership, then it is the Mohammedan and not
the Jew who has the prior claim to the ownership of Palestine.
Again, the Jew's plea that the Holy Land should be given him on
religious grounds is not absolutely valid.  When he came into that
country he built his religious shrines on the foundations of the
shrines of the "nations of the land" which he had destroyed.
Palestine is the cradle of his religion, but it is also the cradle
of the Christian religion, whose adherents are hundreds of
millions. The Mohammedan, also, has his holy shrines in Palestine
and in its Holy City. The Dome of the Rock (the Mosque of Omar) is
built on the very site of Solomon's Temple.

This being the case, would the European nations and America, to
whom the Zionists are appealing them to enable them to make
Palestine a Jewish national centre and a "legally secured home" for
the "chosen people," be justified in heeding such an appeal and
furthering such a cause? Palestine is an integral part of Syria. It
is dear to the devotees of three great faiths. The majority of its
present inhabitants are non-Jews. Therefore, for any European
Power, or Powers, to favor the Jews above the other elements of the
population by paving the way for Jewish supremacy in Palestine and
for its ultimate severance from Syria and its organization as a
Jewish state, would be an act of violent injustice to its non-
Jewish inhabitants and an irremovable cause for future troubles. It
would revive the feuds of biblical times between Jews and Gentiles,
and thus emphasize religious and racial division in a country which
sorely needs peace and unity.

The fears have already found articulate expression in Palestine
since its occupation by the British. Representatives of the
Christians and the Mohammedans have already held several joint
meetings in Joppa and in Jerusalem, at which were considered ways
and means by-which to check the advance of Zionism. They have
petitioned the British Government to protect the nonJewish property
owners, who feel compelled under the present stress to sell their
properties to the moneyed Zionists at any price, by prohibiting
such sales during the war. They have asked that government also to
establish in Palestine agricultural banks in order to enable the
land-owners to secure loans (which should be paid on the
installment plan) at a reasonable rate of interest. They have
demanded also that the Arabic language be made by law the
"official" national tongue of Syria. According to the reports which
have been received, the British Government has agreed to these
demands in principle, and is proceeding to give them legal form.

From the foregoing it may be easily seen that the unanimous
resolution of the nonJewish population of Palestine is that that
country shall not become a Jewish state.

However, it should not be inferred from the foregoing objections to
Zionism that the nonJewish population of the Holy Land mean to
exclude the Jews from it, or to deny them the rights which others
may enjoy. On the contrary, the demand of that population is for
equal rights for Jews and non-Jews. The Jew is free to return to
the ancient home of his faith, to acquire property in the open
market, to do business on the basis of fair competition, and to
make Jerusalem the seat of his culture and a "breeding ground for
Jewish leaders." But he must not ask for special privileges. He
must be a co-operative Syrian citizen, and not the means of
increasing the racial and religious contentions in the land.

So far as I have been able to learn, such are the views and
sentiments of intelligent Syrians everywhere with regard to the
Zionist movement. And although I suspect that this attitude is not
entirely free from racial and religious prejudice, I consider its
underlying principle to be sound. For the last two thousand years
the Jew's lot has been hard. His "problem" is indeed a vexatious
one and deserves the co-operative wisdom and sympathy of right-
minded people the world over. But I fail utterly to see how the
establishment of a Jewish national centre in Palestine would solve
the problem of all the Jews of the dispersion. I fail to see how
such a Jewish state, even if secured, could be powerful enough to
compel fair treatment for the Jews in all parts of the world, or
how to make every Jew look to such a state as his protector. Nor
amiable to see how the Jews could live in peace and comfort in the
"land of their fathers," if that country is detached arbitrarily
from Syria and given to them. Such an act would plant the Jew in
the midst of irreconcilable enemies and thus increase rather than
lessen their troubles.

I do not pretend in the least to offer a solution for the "Jewish
problem." What I feel warranted in saying from my intimate
knowledge of Syrian affairs is that it would be a great injustice
to both the Jews and the Syrians in general should the Allies and
America support the present Zionist plan, as they are petitioned to
do by its advocates. In order that Syria may have permanent peace
and a stable government, the Western Powers should simply maintain
the "open door" policy in that country and insist on equal rights
for all.


COLONEL ROOSEVELT'S REMEMBRANCE

Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, shortly before his death, arranged to
give substantial expression of his gratitude to the people of the
little village in France near which his son Quentin is buried.
Through the Red Cross he provided that $6,900 of the Nobel Peace
Prize money awarded to him should be used for the benefit of the
simple country people who have kept Quentin's grave covered with
flowers.

Colonel Roosevelt left the decision of the exact form his gift
should take to the discretion of the Red Cross, and that
organization is now trying to ascertain the wishes of the
villagers.


Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and Adversity
is not without comforts and hopes. 
-Bacon.

The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man
to error.

Voltaire.
