“Portrait Of Palestine” An Address And Film By Reverend R. T. Dodds

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 81, 13 August 1948, Page 4

“Portrait Of Palestine” An Address And Film By Reverend R. T. Dodds

“Portrait of Palestine”' was the title of the British film shown at the Parent-Teacher Association meeting on Monday night and the central theme of the talk by Rev. R. T. Dodds which followed was the outstanding difference between the old and the new in Palestine. Mr Dodds drew for his listeners a very clear picture of the old way of life typified by the camel trains, the mud houses with the poultry and stock in and around them, the shepherds leading their sheep and calling them by name, the grinding stones and the carrying of water. Some Arabs are now modernised, but in the main the new way of life is represented by the Jewish settlements on the coastal strips and the community life of Jewish farms with common eating houses and creches for children. With the co-operative farms in* iividuals own a few acres which they work but the rest of the time they work on the co-operative lands. The work is in rota so as to give change of occupation. Machinery is used for every purpose. Men and women work in the fields similarly dressed in shirts and shorts and this is another instance of the outstanding difference between the old and the new, the old being represented by the voluminous robes and the veils of the Arab women. Mr Dodds also spoke of the historical interest of Palestine and said that while the New Zealand service men were in Palestine those who did have New Testaments bought them to read the history of the land. However irreverent a person might be he could not help but be impressed by a visit to places in the Holy Land associated with the life of Christ.