History of Zionism, 1600-1918, Vol. 2 (of 2)Sokolow, Nahum
History
History of Zionism, 1600-1918, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Sokolow, Nahum
Jews -- Restoration; Zionism -- History
and a good Catholic: he never prided himself upon his faith, which
was a sacred thing to him: religious boast and propaganda were alike
foreign to him: his relations with God were an intimate personal matter
which concerned no stranger; but his faith was the moving force of his
life which afforded him courage to go forward and strength to endure
and to deny himself.
When I was with Sir Mark in Hull, where we came to speak at a great
Zionist meeting last summer, the member for Hull disappeared from my
sight for several hours on one occasion. I presumed that he had gone
to the old Catholic cathedral to attend a service as he frequently
did. On returning he told me that he had visited his old teachers, the
Jesuit fathers, and that he had convinced them that it was the duty of
Christians to atone for the crime that humanity has not ceased for many
centuries to commit against the Jewish people in withholding their old
native country from them. “This was not so difficult,” he added, “as
one of these fathers is an avowed friend of the Jewish people. When,
some years ago, a protest meeting was held in Hull against the Beilis
trial (the trumped-up story of ritual murder that had emanated in
Kiev from the Russian anti-Semites), this priest had appeared on the
platform to declare in the name of his religion that the persecutions
of the Jews that took place in Russia under the old régime were a blot
upon civilisation.” The meeting which was to be held that same day was
to be attended by Jews and Christians equally. He said with a humorous
smile that his success with the fathers made him hope for equal success
with the whole Christian audience at that meeting. “Perhaps people
find fault with me,” he continued, “that I have neglected their local
affairs. A member for Hull who gives all his time to Zionism may be
rather a puzzle to the good people of Hull, but I think I shall manage
them――will you be responsible for the Jews?” I replied, “Very well, I
shall be responsible for the Jews, but only with your help; the Jews
are more impressed by an English baronet who is a Christian than by a
fellow Jew like me.” “It is to be regretted,” he said somewhat sadly,
“that the Jews rather than follow leaders of their own race bow and
scrape to Gentiles. How do you explain that?” I answered: “That is the
spirit of the Exile, that can be combated only by means of Zionism.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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