it with the dead soldier’s face, and I knew I had a “Jew” before me. I stood silently for a few moments; then I said “Schema Yisroel” and cried, cried like a little boy.. He was buried together with his comrades...”
"Yes, my friend, our fate is a tragedy, one which should make every feeling and thinking Jew cry. It is only the Jew's fate that in time of war he must kill those of his own race, those even of his own blood. Persecuted in peace time in some countries, massacred in Russia, denied the justice of equal rights, it is his duty in time of war, to kill the enemies of the country that does not afford him equal rights, and also those that are not his enemies, but "his brethren by birth". Thus you see Russian, English, French and Belgian Jews fighting against German and Austrian Jews!
When will it end?
"It will end." I answered him, "when we, the Jews of all the world, shall be united in a land of our own! When the Jewish national centre shall exist, and the banner of Zion shall be unfurled, that we may live
THE ZIONIST HOPE
and thrive and prosper under it as "Jews in the land of the Jews", and the land to which we belong.
There, and there alone, shall we find salvation; there, and there alone shall we find protection; there, and there alone shall we find equal rights, and peace, and the realization of the noble dream of complete Jewish brotherhood.
Let us pray, my friend, that the day may come, in the same way as we pray today that God may end the terrors of war, so that Death no longer ride in grim gallop over the field of life and of civilization: that no more wives become widows, no more helpless and innocent children orphans that no more mothers' hearts may break in sorrow, and no more fathers' eyes stare into the gray and empty future.
Let us strive hard that it may come soon.
May He bring peace also to the stricken homes of Israel; and may He bless them with the knowledge which will tell them that "Zion" will save Israel from other tragedies like this one that in Zion alone there is light and hope.
David Baron, writing some years ago, has said, "Zionism is a movement which must be followed with the deepest interest." This statement is still more true to-day, when we see so many fresh indications of the awakening of the Jewish national spirit. The chief aim of the Zionist movement, as has been stated at one of the Zionist Congresses, is to procure for the Jewish people "an openly recognized and legally assured home in Palestine." Not only this, but some are looking forward in the near future to the time when the people of Israel shall be a nation again.
The Zionist organization, through its central committee, is raising a large fund to aid in the return of the Jews to Palestine. The movement seemed to be purely economic and nationalistic, under the late Dr. Herzl, its founder and principal leader. Some have conceived the idea that in the near future the Jews might be able to secure a national existence, and establish their own government.
under the suzerainity of Turkey. A news item published a few days ago, in the daily press, speaking of this movement said, "Much has already been accomplished since 1897, when the first Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland. Committees have been appointed to carry on the work. A society has been formed for improving the sanitary conditions in Palestine. Schools have been established in Jerusalem for teaching Hebrew as a living language. New Jewish literature, art and music have been developed as a result of this movement. Jews all over the world are uniting, and even those in China, are taking an active part in promoting this new national spirit."
Zionism is bringing a new hope to the Jews. Many of them realize that the words of the prophet are being fulfilled, and that they may look forward to a new national life in their own land. The Jews once aroused, with their influence and wealth, can do great things. Indeed, a nation can be born in a day.
The second Congress or Parliament of