FROM THE ACTIONS COMITE
The Actions Comite publishes the following statement in Die Welt:
“We are face to face with an epoch-making development. Our East is awakening to new life. Freedom has made its solemn, peaceful entry into Turkey and beloved Palestine. The Zionist idea must now once more rise up like a new dawn before the Jewish masses. It is now quite clear that we, true to the past, have rightly foreseen the future in directing our efforts and hopes toward Palestine. The measures of the new Turkish Government have already opened up considerable possibilities of labor in Palestine. In order that work may be done in Palestine, work must be done for Palestine, i. e., for Zionism. Every effort must be made to obtain resources for our movement in order that it may be equal to its present great tasks. Many have found it tedious to take part in the routine work of the organization. It is true that patience is necessary, but if one has no patience no effort is produced, and if no effort is produced, it is quite impossible to carry great schemes into effect. The recent conference extended the time of grace for shekel payments, this year, till October 1. Remember the shekel! The only real members of the Zionist movement are paying members. Only those who pay do any work. It is only the organization of paying members that Zionism obtains a concrete form and independent significance, not only as an idea, which it always was, but also as an organization. An organization without resources is an impotent factor. Remember the Party Fund! The Congress unanimously adopted the Party Fund. All meetings, and also the last conference, impressed our adherents with the duty of contributing to this fund. Think what it means to maintain in-
stitutions, and be always demanding new ones without furnishing the resources for this purpose. No movement and no labors can achieve this great task without means, not only for maintaining the old, but also for creating the new. The more thorough the work of gathering resources, the more intense the enthusiasm of the societies as expressed in concrete results, the more shall we be in the position to lead Zionism strenuously towards its highest goal. Organization, union, renewed collecting and spending powers are the tasks of the moment."
Death of Samuel Hirszenberg
As we go to press we are informed of the death on Tuesday, September ı5, at Jerusa-. lem of Herr Samuel Hirszenberg, the Polish painter, who has been connected with the teaching staff of the Bezalel school. Born at Lodz in 1866, he studied at the Cracow Academy from 1881-5, completing his studies at Munich. His first notable paintings, which gained him the silver medal at the Paris Exposition of 1889, were “Urania” and “Yeszy- bolen.” The influence of the French school], . as an outcome of his sojourn in Paris, is plainly evident in his painting, “Esther and. Haman.” In 1891, returning to Cracow, he painted “Silence of the Field,” the subject being the Jewish Cemetery. “A Little Conference,” gained him a silver medal at the Berlin Exposition; “Sabbatlı Peace,” obtained first prize at Warsaw and Cracow (1894); while his last work, “The Wandering Jew,” was exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900, where it obtained the warm encomiums of the critiss. Prior to his departure for Jerusalem, Herr Hirszenberg resided forsome years in his native town. His devotion - to the interests of the Bezalel school was one of the best evidences of the nobility of his- character.