CORRESPONDENCE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4592, 30 July 1923, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE.

&■ i ZIONISM GROWING. i (To the Editor.) j ( Sir, —In a recent issue of your j , paper you published an interesting ■ t article entitled “ Zionism Dying.’’ i j With your permission, I should like s ' to .say a few words in opposition to : ( the statements made by Mt Douglas, , ■ Di the first place, Zionism is not < ■ dying: it is growing, and is very | much alive, as evidenced by Mr F. G. | Jannaway’s latest book, entitled | j “Palestine and the World.” ■ This i book has met with unbounded api proval,, and a paragraph from the , i publisher’s notes may be of interest: i “For many of the facts incorporated in ‘Palestine and the World’ the auI thor has been thanked by six Cabinet ' Ministers,' many members of Parlia- i i ment, and several well-known editors, | 1 including those of the ‘Observer, | ! ‘National Review,’ ‘Traveller’s Gaj zette,’ ‘ Pall Mall Gazette,,’ ‘ The Zionist Review,’ ‘ Jewish Chronicle,’ ‘Jewinsh World,’ ‘The Zionist,’ and the ‘Jewish Daily World,’ while many private individuals,, Jews and Gen- | tiles, have testified their appreciaI tlon.” i With reference to Mr Douglas' | i statement, “Even in Jerusalem it is ! not easy to unearth a Jew,’ presumably he means that Jews are not easy Ito .find in Jerusalem. Turning to j “Palestine and the World” we read : | “As to population, in my previous 1 work, ‘Palestine and the Powers’ • 1 (1914), I gave it as 8'5,000, of which J-trt least 60,000 were Jews. Now (1922), from reliable information gathered on the spot, and from long and careful observation, I have no I hesitation in putting the population ' of Jerusalem, within and without the walls, at about 10’0,000, of which at least 65,000 are Jews.” Again : “As simply one link in my chain of evidence, visit the streets of Jerusalem on the Jewish Sabbath —sunset Friday to sunset Saturday—and you will find, even in ‘Christian Street,’ nine out of ten shops closed. Why ? because the Jew is in possession I Wherever one looks, Jewish names stand out prominently over the various stores and bazaars. On every hand we note the names Isaac, David, Abraham, Joel, Israel, etc. And it does not matter what kind of shop or business, they seem able to adapt - themselves to anything and everything. Everything becomes grist to the mill of the Jew. They are tailors, drapers, shoemakers, fruiterers, grocers, blacksmiths, primers, 1 carpenters, etc.” Surely Mr Douglas cannot gainsay this information. None are so blind as those who will not see, and as a co-respondent to the “Jewish Chronicle” of April 6 says, “It is possible (with limited time at one’s disposal), to go, to Palestine and see very little of the Jewish element; for the guides, naturally, make the Christian interests paramount, and then the Jewish side of Palestine has to be scamped. So, given a desire not to see the Jewish element, and having a Christian or an Arab as guide, it would seem quite possible that Lord Beaverbrook and Mr Douglas really did see very little that was Jewish or Zionistic, and were satisfied that it should be so.” Commenting on this subject, and 1 on the flying visits of certain newspaper proprietors, Mr Jannaway says: “How is it possible for a newspaper proprietor, after a five days’ hustle through small portions of the country, to correctly describe the position of things in Palestine ? In a leading article of one such paper (May 3, 1922) we were informed ‘Palestine is racked with British aeroplanes and A’my motor-cars.’” The author has no hesitation in labelling that statement as absolutely untrue. Just at that, time he had travelled the whole of Palestine, north to south, east to west, and ’declares there was no foundation for saying “Palestine is packed with British aeroplanes and Army motor-cars.” The writer of the article in question was, evidently, judging from a little cinema window dressing and some hundreds of derelict aeroplanes and motor-cars left behind by the Germans and Turks. “Neither is it to be expected that an editor who, for the first time, arrives i in Palestine one week and leaves the [ following Monday week can correctly I describe the work being done by the 'Zionist Organisation in Palestine.” No. Zionism is not dying. Me Douglas’ remark re the inverted pyramid of. Zionism is quite beside the point. Zionism cannot die, for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacoo has decreed that the Holy Land is io be the everlasting possession of Abraham and his seed (Gen. 12 7, etc.). God has decreed that Palestine is to be the national home of the chosen people-—the Jews. They have been punished for their disobedience, and have been scattered and downtrodden for centuries, but, “He that scattered Israel will, gather him” (Jer. 31, 10). ‘‘Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion” (Jer. 31, 12). And in fulfillment of this prophecy, what do we see ? The Jews returning to the Ancient Land of their Fathers! But the true Zionist’s hopes are not built alone on the return of the Jews ■ ! to Palestine : that would but add the political troubles of the day. No ; I a greater power must establish His | right, and we are even now at the j door of a great constitutional change, j Christ is coming to the earth to establish His Kingdom in Jerusalem : and then—and' not till then—will there be rest for the peoples of the earth. This is the end to which Zionism is leading, in the meantime we have j to face the sneers and scepticism of ( j those who do not consider the pro- ' , phecies as truth. Also a great pro- j ; judice against, the Jews exists in i many minds. These view the ambi- ! tions, instincts, and aspirations of the I. Jews as existing only for the purpose j of money-making, etc. Let those 1 prejudiced follow the history of this J downtrodden race in countries other s than those governed by Englishspeaking people : let them read the i thoughts of men like Dr. Herzl, Dr. | Nordau, Mr Sokolow, and ethers : let 5 them view the splendid accomplish- j:

I ments of various Jew.s in politics, I and in all branches of learning, and then let them call to mind that, the greatest man —the Man. Christ Jesus —was a Jew. Furthermore, let those prejudiced ones consider that it will be through Christ that a better state of things on the earth is to be established, a'nd perhaps their prejudice will abate. At the present time Palestine is slowly but surely recovering from the desolation meted out to her. Palestine, under the mandatory protection of Britain, shows a “marvellous revival of the national sentiment,” and already the progress in trade has been enormous. There are many large colonies e.g., Tel Aviv, with 1500 inhabitants, broad' streets, detached houses, public institutions, where £700,000 was spent in one year in housebuilding operations ; Petach Tikvah and Rischon-fle-Zion,. with their orange and lemon groves, olives and grape vines, etc., and the seventy or more agricultural settlements all j betoken a material prosperity in juxtaposition to Mr Douglas’ sneering're- ( mark that the settlements are bankrupt. Where distress arises those needing it are helped most liberally by their richer brethren, an example, as someone tritely remarked, that could well be emulated by the Gentiles. j Zionism will succeed for this rea- ■ son : God has decreed it, and His word standeth for ever, sure. Much more I could be said on this subject, but I j will close by directing your attention | to the prophecies of Isaiah, cliapteis ! 60, 62, 66 ; Zachariah, chapters 8 and I 38, and j “ What though none on earth assist i Him! j . God required not help from man: j What though all the world resist ' Him! !l God will realise His plan I” I. R. WHITTEN.