1600-1918 BY NAHUM SOKOLOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE RT HON. A. J. BALFOUR, M.P. WITH EIGHTY-NINE PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Selected and Arranged BY ISRAEL SOLOMONS IN TWO volumes VOL I. LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON BOMBAY, CAlcutta anD MADRAS 1919 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PREFACE In this work an attempt is made to deal with a considerable portion of the history of Zionism that has hitherto been very imperfectly explored, namely, the origin and development of the Zionist idea principally in England, and partly in France, during the last centuries, among Gentiles and Jews. In reviewing the gradual evolution of the Zionist idea over such a wide field, I could not restrict the meaning of the term "Zionism" to the Zionist Movement and Organization of the present day. I had to go back to the beginning of this idea, and to extend the meaning of "Zionism" to all aspirations and efforts tending in the same direction. There was in these aspirations, undoubtedly, a diversity of reasons and methods which continues to this day. It is the object of the present work to trace these various currents of the idea so that the reader, passing from period to period, and from section to section, may become acquainted with their relative value and their influence upon onc another. In this book I have striven more especially to consider the attitude of the English people towards Zionism, as revealed in the political history and in the literature of England. The Christian religious idea of the Restoration of Israel having been a subject of pre-eminent interest and importance and an influential factor in shaping public opinion in this country for many generations, the greatest care has been bestowed upon the investigation of this aspect, no less than on that relating to the support and encouragement which Zionism has received in England and in France merely on humanitarian or political grounds, apart from religious aspirations. While tracing in detail the growth of these sympathies, I have endeavoured to throw some light on the motives and sentiments appertaining to the most significant instances on record. I had, therefore, to deal with a great variety of subjects which, at first sight, may seem somewhat remote T from the main object of this book, but are after all closely connected with it, as for instance : The Biblical character of the English People; The Bible in English Literature; The Love for Palestine in England, and Concerning the last-mentioned subject, it is perhaps necessary to explain why I was compelled to deal at such length with the Wars and Treaties of 1839-40, of 1853-54. and The Lebanon events of 1860, etc. It can hardly be too often repeated that Zionism has to consider political conditions, and that its realization depends much on the general political situation. It is for this reason that it is necessary to devote much attention to all the events which have more or less determined English policy, and have influenced-in a favourable or unfavourable manner-the evolution of the Zionist idea. The events of 1839-40, for instance, were responsible for the extension of English protection to Palestinian Jews; those of 1853-54 caused a revival of Zionist schemes: The Lebanon developments of 1860-61 created a precedent in Syria for the Charter which modern Zionism included in its programme; while England's engagements in the Near East in 1878 and 1882 on the one hand, and the Turkish Revolution of 1908 on the other hand, both of which, in different ways, led to the idea of a rejuvenation of the East, indicate the possible course of future events. Taking the same view with regard to Zionism among the Jews themselves, I had to deal with the expression of different aspirations of that character in their successive and gradual evolution, no matter how they were named. From what is stated in the following pages, it is obvious that Messianic traditions and hopes led to the efforts put forth for the colonization of Palestine; but it is also evident that colonization requires political guarantees. Modern Zionism cannot be fully understood without the movement of the Chovevé Zion=Lovers of Zion, neither can it be properly appreciated without a knowledge of the influence of Hebrew literature, national propaganda, the movement at the Universities, and other preparatory agencies of great importance. Some readers will be more or less familiar with the most important events in connection with the Zionist Organization, but so far as I have been able to discover there are very few Zionists who have ever endeavoured to trace the history |