THE HOLY LAND

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 200, 20 August 1918, Page 7

THE HOLY LAND

I LIFE IN COLONIES. 1 PALESTINE. UNDER BRITISH I OCCUPATION.

{ A correspondent of the Zionist Re- \ view, in Palestine, has sent an interesting account of the visit paid : by members of the Zionist Commission to the Jewish colonies in the occupied portions of the Holy Land and of the ' life in these colonies under present ! conditions. This appeared in the July number of the Zionist Review, from which the following is an extract: — "I am now able to give, you a fuller account than was possible last month of the visit paid -by members of the Zionist Commission to some of the colonies in occupied territory. All that. I saw and heard there, and the impressions I was able to gather, encourage the belief in a promising future, and if only support is forthcoming in adequate form from the Jews of Europe and America, that future will more rapidly approach and be established on more secure foundations than many outside this country imagine to be possible. There is, indeed, a healthy spirit about, despite ths somewhat inevitable depressing material conditions. The Yishub is very much alive; the material damage caused by the wav is comparatively small: the fields and plantations are well cultivated ; the workmen are hard at •-.'iork, tno children ..earning and plaj-ing, and peonlo's minds busy with schemes for development in all branches of life. To the br;::dng about of these happy conditions, the arrival of the Commission has contributed in no small degree. "The tour oi the colonies was made by five members O* the Commission on the invitation of the .Federal Committee of the Jewish Colonies. Starting on Tuesday, April 16th, Rishon-'le-Zion was visited, where, after a formal reception in the main .street, addresses were delivered in the Synagogue and in the Beth Am. It is worth noting that the first prayer offered in the various synagogues in this and other colonies "was for King George and the British Royal Familv, the second for Baron Edmund do Rothschild, and the third for J>r. Weizmann and the Com mission. The next colony to be visited was Nes Ziona. an* open colony, with no streets, but just some twenty j red-roofed houses n-estling in their 'j orange-gardens and almond orchards. The Commission then passed on Rechoboth where a triumphal arch had been erected, and the Maccabaean Associa- j tions were in -ull evidence, accompany- •' ing the Commission with songs to the -, synagogue. Then to the Mayor's house where a dinner was held, at which many military officers were present. The'next day"! a visit was paid to the Yemenite suburb of Rechoboth, where ! the • Yemenii, originally from South Arabia, now live. These Jews, workers in the colony, are exceedingly capable, and are imbued with an intense religious and national feeling. "Then south, over the open plains through the wide fields of wheat and barley, waving in the wind, and the grey Arab village of Akir to the colony of "Ekron, neat and tidy with its red roofs, where a band of young men, mounted, on Arab ponies captured from the Turks, met the Commission, and accompanied them 'through a trium- : phal arch of leaves and flowers. After a visit to the charming little synagogue, the members were entertained to luncheon, while a children's choir sang Hebrew songs. - Then, accompanied by a local guide, the journey was continued southward to Kastmieh, a small isolated colony. Following thi:-, and accompanied by another escort, the visitors turned north to Katrah. leaving behind them vast stretches of uncultivated plain. This colony,a Turkish stronghold during British advance, had been heavily shelled. The synagogue, in which several speeches were made had; been piierced \by. Turkish shells, while shrapnel bullets had i:l----dlled. the wajfts. After cVuncr. and further speeches, a bonfire was lit in the main street, and, to the accompani- | ment or an improvised choir, many (Jances, brought to Palestine from far-off Russian settlements, took place in the bright glare, the whole Jfcj-Jjlation. watchin : g| singing; S, or { dancing. ■': "On Thursday, April 18th, leaving Katrah early in the morning, the two cars p'Jaced at the <T.<spos , -a;l, of (?ie Commission',. reached Rechoboth with .some difficulty, and later stopped at i the little colony of Bir Jacob, where a short ceremony was held at the school. Then luncheon, and off again to the workmen's colony at 'Naehlat Yehuda, on the outskirts of Richon-le-Zion, where addresses were delivered by representatives of Poali Zion, labourers, and by ojt. Weizmann. A visit to the Yementic ,su!bui-b concluded the tour, and the Commissoin then Returned to Jaffa, well pleased with their experiences, which showec that, although practically cut off fron civilisation during the three years oi war, the colonies have retained mosi of their former prosperity, and ar< already once again beginning to thrive •under the free and encouraging condi tions which now prevail in the south ern part of Jerusalem. "What seemed to impress the Com mission most was the energy and keen

nesa' displaced by all the colonists, not only in ' their agricultural work, but in other activities of .life. The .Jewish settlers, especially the younger ones, seemed to be imbued with the pionieer spirit, full of hope and determination to build up, even under the stress of war,'the prosperity and civilisation of their homes. "It is impossible not to refer to the impassioned Hebrew oration delivered by Dr. Weizmann on the historic slope of Miunt Scopus, for the memory of that speech, and of the scenes of enthusiasm which it evoked, are hard to eradicate. 'JHedad !' 'H'tdad ■' was shouted from all sides when he declared his firm belief that from that very site a new moral force would go forth to the uplifting of the whole Jewish people. While the policy of reconstruction in Jewish Palestine was being expounded, as we remembered ' that Isaiah had preached from that very hill, all who participated in the historic .gathering felt that a .bridge had •been drawn between the past a,nd the present."