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K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
February 1930
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„By David L . Cooper<— — — jj
Present Conditions in Palestine T HE following extracts from recent letters written by Rev. S. B. Rohold to the British Jews’ Society give some idea o f the present situation in Pal- ■ estine. These letters were written after Mr. Rohold had visited some of the places where the pepple were affected in the recent riots. “Almost from the moment of our re turn to Palestine we were obliged to lend our ears to tales o f woe, sorrow, and sad ness. , . . No one is happy; the peace which seemed to prevail has all evapo rated. . . . Communities that lived in harmony and contentment for centuries have become embittered, and are at en mity - with one another. One begins to wonder how this terrible change has taken place in such a short time. The immov able East has become a kaleidoscopic moving panorama. Yes, the loyal waiting Christian heart with eyes . open, illu minated by the light of the Holy Spirit, is privileged, and can read the Signs of the Times. . . . “Haifa. Though the city itself did not suffer as much as Hebron and Safed, houses have been burned, six Jews were killed, and quite a number wounded. Business was dislocated, but worse than all is the bitterness and hatred which seems to have taken hold on the different peoples belonging to thé various com munities ; so much so that one’s heart is affected in spite of one’s hopeful opti mism. “ Outside Haifa . . . there had been es tablished . . . the ‘Women’s Settlement.’ Young Jewish girls worked the land, pro duced vegetables, and kept some very fine cattle. . . . Their houses have been burned, as well as their beautiful cattle, which were their pride. However, the young lady colonists all escaped with their lives, and it is indeed wonderful to see the courage o f these young women trying to rebuild their lost homes. “ Tel Aviv.. This is the only Jewish city in the world, namely, one hundred per cent Jewish. In the riots o f 1921 the Jews suffered so much in Jaffa, that they re moved their business, and built up Tel Aviv. Thus Jaffa’s Jewish population be came less and less, and Tel Aviv became larger and larger. . . . Since the trouble in August the Jews have been moving in large numbers from Jaffa to Tel Aviv, which as a result has increased its popu lation to 50,000 or 55,000, and Jaffa is now almost entirely Arab. Though these cities are sp close to one another, yet the visitor will in a moment see how primitive is the one, and how aggressive and modern is the other, j . . Two missionaries have their homes in Tel Aviv, also a re tired Christian business man, and they are doing a splendid, quiet work amongst the Jews without hindrance. . . . We could only do a little relief work here, but we dealt with quite a few young men who have given their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Jerusalem. We approached the City of the Great King with fear and trem bling. . . . There has always been some thing there to make one sad, and to op press one. It seems to be in its environ ment, both visible and invisible. It is still visibly trodden down by the Gentiles. Violent antagonism is also prevalent a m o n g s t t he different communities, churches,: sects, creeds, and professions, both, real and make-believe. “ In Jerusalem is heard the cry of the widows, the orphans, and the bereaved, and those who have had their business destroyed. Then there is an awful boy cott. . . Shopkeepers in the heart of the city were obliged to close their shops. No body came to buy from them. . . . “We had the privilege of . .• . meet ing with a few Hebrew Christian brethren, when we formed a little committee, and opened up Abraham’s Vineyard . . . in which we have given employment to about twenty men who were in need. . . . “A number of the Jewish settlements near Jerusalem have suffered, particularly the garden city, Talpioth, . . . but the inhabitants o f this settlement are well-to-. do, and they do not need our aid . . . Whilst in Jerusalem we dealt with twenty-three needy cases, and we gave a little relief as best we could. “Hebron. The ancient synagogue with its old traditions, and the many miracu lous stories about it, was burned . . . All its antique scrolls of the Law and old books were either destroyed or burned. Sixty-seven Jews were murdered, mostly old men and women . . . Even those who had before sympathized with the Arab nationalism, lost all interest in that direction when they saw the destruction of Hebron, because here the people were really natives, . . . having settled three or four hundred years ago. Having been only a small community, it has for the time being been completely erased. Not only were the synagogues destroyed, but also the hospital, and other Jewish insti tutions. . . . To do much relief work here was impossible because practically all the people escaped to Jerusalem, and have not yet returned . . “Safed. This is perhaps the first city in which Jews settled after the exile, before they ventured to build up a settlement in Jerusalem . . . Thus the Jewish popu lation of that city is all descended from the early settlers. Their language has always been Arabic and Hebrew, the former predominating. There certainly was not any Zionist aggrandizement there, and there was not the slightest excuse for the horrible attack, wanton destruc tion, and awful murders committed there. “ Climbing up the mountains from Ti- berias to Safed, over 3,000 feet, my heart was beating fast. We had already heard and read o f what had taken place, but all that we anticipated was not to be com pared with what our eyes beheld. Safed looked a dead city. Every face was sad. . . . Well might one say, in looking
upon the awful destruction: 'Is it nothing •to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be •any sorrow like unto my sorrow.’ “ Compensation for the sufferers . Nat urally people will say, ‘What about com pensation?’ In the papers we have read that the sufferers will all get compensa tion. I spent three hours with an hon ored Hebrew Christian who holds a high position. He gave me the following in formation in connection with the relief: “ (a) The Government is only setting aside a certain sum of money for compen sation and relief. I believe it amounts to £125,000. “ (b) There are now fully 6,000 claims. “ (c) Every claim is to be gone into on its own merits, and each claim is to be verified and proven. “ (d ) No claim will be paid until all the claims have been gone into and the exact, total known. “ (e) Not more than £200 will be given to the family for a breadwinner who has lost his life. “ ( f ) Some additional funds may come in from fines imposed on the rioters ; but . . . all the rioters were poor peo ple, because the instigators, who had something, have not been revealed . . . and so no fines can ever be collected. Thus the amount actually to be divided will be very small. More than, this, it will take many months before it can be set tled. I was definitely assured that no compensation will be given until all this is fully settled. . . “Encouragement. We dare not say very much on the general conditions. With the restlessness and bitterness, and the awful boycott, and agitators still at large, one cannot predict what to expect next. At the same time we must say that we do see, even during this past month, changes for the better. At first it looked as if the whole cause of Israel had suffered a setback o f at least ten years. Missionaries told us that they could not resume their normal work. “In our own meetings at first we thought that we, too, would not get the large crowds, but I am grateful to say that last Saturday at the regular meeting our hall was well filled. The Saturday Sabbath school, and the Sunday school on the Lord’s Day, were all very well at tended. At our night schools, Jews, Arabs, and Christians, are now mingling together, as if nothing had happened. Our Wednesday meeting for the women and children was indeed all that we çould ex pect. It is a joy to us to be able to say that at least here, in our mission prem ises, there is one place where politics have no footing. . . . “It may be that at such a time when we acknowledge our weakness, and help lessness, and insufficiency, that we may be made strong, and that our All-Sufficient Jehovah Jesus, the Shepherd o f Israel, will use us for His glory. May we all be found worthy in the day o f His power.”
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