So far the dislike of the position, which is very far-reaching, and
already very deep in England, is a passive dislike. No English soldier
has yet been killed; there has been but little necessity, as yet, to
repress the Arab and create hostility, though even what little necessity
there has been was odious to the troops concerned. But things cannot
remain in that state. The conflict is inevitable. When the conflict
comes the feeling which has hitherto been passive will become active.
People will not tolerate the loss of sons and brothers in a quarrel
which is none of theirs, which cannot possibly strengthen the British
State; which, if anything, must weaken it; which is felt to be
precarious and ephemeral, and which will be undertaken against those
with whom British sympathy naturally lies, and in favour of those with
whom the average soldier and citizen--unlike the professional
politician--has no ties and no sympathy.
The matter can be very plainly put thus:
If a Zionist experiment is necessary, or advisable, then let it be made
in such a fashion that it can be dependent upon Jewish police and a
Jewish army alone. Let it not rely upon a foreign protectorate, which
will not last long, which is a weakness to the directing power, and
which creates a false position.
If it be answered that the Jews are not capable of producing such an
army or such a police, that they would inevitably be defeated and
oppressed by the hostile and more warlike majority among whom they would
find themselves, then let them make the experiment elsewhere. But it is
certain that the present form of the new Protectorate is the most
perilous form which could have been chosen for it, so far as the Jews
themselves are concerned. I appeal confidently to the near future to
confirm this judgment.
From one most poignant aspect of the matter which we all have in mind I
deliberately abstain--I mean the effect of the experiment upon Christian
and Mohammedan feelings throughout the world of an attempt to establish
Jewish control over the Holy Places. I abstain because of the emotions
aroused by it, which are violent and universal, and are of the sort I
have deliberately determined, as my Preface has informed the reader, to
keep out of this essay. Things indeed are not yet at the point of open
quarrel in this most perilous of all the results of Zionism. We must
trust for a solution before it is too late, but that solution will not
be reached if we select for discussion matters upon which there can be
no agreement, and on which there is now aroused the most passionate
feeling.
Still, though I abstain from discussing that point, I would beg the
Jewish readers of this my book to bear it in mind. If they believe the
religious emotions to be dead in the modern world, or even to be
lessening, they may find themselves terribly disillusioned.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account