History of Zionism, 1600-1918, Vol. 1 (of 2)Sokolow, Nahum
History
History of Zionism, 1600-1918, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Sokolow, Nahum
Jews -- Restoration; Zionism -- History
“His brethren in the East appealed to Sir Moses to intercede with
the English Government to take them under their protection. They
complained of being compelled by local governors to pay heavier
taxes than any of the non-Israelite inhabitants. Both Lord Palmerston
and his successor Lord Aberdeen listened with great kindness to the
statements made to them on that subject by Sir Moses. Lord Palmerston,
in reply to his representations, said the Christians had suffered more
than the Jews from the Governor being a fanatic, and added that he
(Sir Moses) had his authority to write to the Jews in the East that
if they had any serious complaints to make, the English Consuls would
attend to them, and forward them to the Ambassador at Constantinople,
who would represent them to the Ministers of the Porte....
“Lord Aberdeen, with whom he subsequently had an interview on the same
subject, said that he saw no objection to the British Consul receiving
the statements of grievances made by the Jews, and transmitting such
statements to the British Ambassador in Constantinople, who would be
directed to confer thereon with the Ministers of the Porte, with a
view to the redress of the grievances complained of.”
“On Sir Moses pressing the desire of the Jews in the East to be
brought under British protection, his Lordship said that he did
not see how it could be accomplished. All the European Powers were
extremely jealous of any interference on the part of England. His
Lordship added, however, that he would consider the best means to
afford the Jews protection for the sake of humanity and justice.
“On the 7th November, Sir Stratford Canning (1786‒1880),¹ previous
to leaving for Constantinople, called on Sir Moses, and afterwards
sent him a note, appointing to see him on the following day at twelve
o’clock. Sir Moses accordingly went to him. The purpose of this
interview was to solicit protection for the _Israelites_ in the East.
Sir Moses informed him of the directions given by Lord Palmerston, and
Sir Stratford said he would be happy to do all that his duty permitted,
and to hear from Sir Moses whenever he pleased. They had a long and
interesting conversation respecting the Jews and the Holy Land, and
Sir Moses was exceedingly satisfied by Sir Stratford’s kindness.”²
¹ The Rt. Hon. Sir Stratford Canning――afterwards Viscount
(1852) Stratford _de_ Redcliffe, G.C.B.
² _Ibid._, _pp._ 303‒304.
It may be pointed out here that the extension of Great Britain’s
protection to the Jews in the East was at that time regarded in other
countries as something to which the Jews were justly entitled, and the
granting of this protection was supposed to be necessitated by English
policy.
Dr. Edward Robinson (1797‒1863), the eminent American scholar, wrote:――
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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