The Maccabaean

“Of course not.” They all burst out laughing at the absurdity of the idea. And Yehoash was inclined to agree with them.

them. . . -« The great value of the books, apart from their literary charm, lies in the intimate and vivid picture they give of Palestine before the war. The last three years have brought us so much news of destruction and famine that we find ourselves doubting the reality of a world at peace, as if it were a glorious dream which had faded from our lives forever. It is good to remember that the colonies are there, and that when the war comes to an end the happiness and prosperity of which we have heard and read will be re-established.

The American Jewish Year Book

Most Jews are openly sceptical as to whether the question of Jewish claims will be taken up formally by the Peace Conference at the close of the great war, and there are but few sanguine enough to believe that the Jews will be represented officially by their own delegates. The timely article by Max J. Kohler on “Jewish Rights at International Congresses,” which appears in the American-Jewish Year Book, 5678, Philadelphia,. The Jewish Publication Society of America, will dispell all doubts on that question. If we are to draw any moderate conclusions from the long list of precedents, from the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815, to the Bucharest Peace Conference of 1913, we need have no question in our minds that the Jewish problem will be carefully considered, and that some official action will be taken. Moreover, when we consider that at the Congress of Vienna, the Jewish people were represented by four official delegates, and that at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, not only were the delegates of the Alliance Israelite Universelle courteously received by the dignitaries of the great powers, but that full equality for the Jews was secured in Serbia and Bulgaria, we are justified in assuming with confidence that at the close of this war fought ostensibly for the rights of the oppressed nationalities, the Jews will be again represented if they themselves so desire. It is to be hoped that some enterprising journalist will make Kohler’s informing essay the basis of a series of popular articles, in order that the Jewish people may be aroused to a sense of their extraordinary opportunities.

There are other invaluable articles which no Jew who wishes to be well informed can afford to disregard. Of especial interest is Harry O. Sandberg’s “The Jews of Latin America,” about whom we know so little, although they promise to occupy a prominent place in the world’s Jewry in view of the growth and development of the South American republics.

Every Jew is concerned with the stupendous problems of Jewish War Relief, and the Year Book would not have been complete without its statement of the workings of the various ‘committees into whose hands ‘such vast sums of money are entrusted.

A graceful biography of Ezewiel, the great Jewish sculptor, by Samson D. Oppenheim, and a great variety of useful statistics and other information of Jewish interest, are included in the volume. But we fail to understand why one hundred and forty pages of so important a publication, should be devoted to a list of the members of the Publication Society. We are convinced that each member would willingly sacrifice the personal satisfaction of seeing his name in print, if by so doing, for example, the really valuable list of events in 5677 could be given the space it deserves. The solid block of chronological matter is appalling, and its usefulness is destroyed, by the way in which it is thrown together into an opaque block. We miss, too, the interesting summary of the Jewish history of the past year which we remember used to be a welcome feature of each Year Book. A directory of Jewish schools, synagogues and other institutions would add much to the value of the volume, the praiseworthy qualities of which, however, we by no means seek to belittle.

First American Zionist

There are few figures in modern Jewish history more picturesque than that of the little known Mordecai Manuel Noah, Major of the New York Militia, Dignitary of State for the United States Government in Tunis, and self-appointed "Judge"

over the Jewish nation. The portly form of Major Noah has been resuscitated for us in a handy brochure issued by the Block Publishing Company, New York, under the title "Mordecai M. Noah," consisting of a series of documents brought together in the form of a popular biography by A. B. Makover.

Mordecai M. Noah seems to have been a man of sound common sense, who permitted neither his loyalty to the American flag, nor his devotion to the Jewish people, to blind him to faults and irregularities. His discussion of both the intrigues of the Department of State, and the character of the Jews, is appealing in its frankness, and his words on behalf of his oppressed brethren gain much force from his acknowledgment of ‘their shortcomings, as well as praise of their sterling qualities. He was apparently kindly and courageous, and was highly esteemed by his contemporaries. A master of a delightful literary style that seems to reflect a genial outlook on life, he wrote a large number of plays and essays, and won success as an editor.

It is, therefore, all the more surprising that he should have apparently been so overbalanced by success and honor, as to go through the pompous nonsense of the founding of “Ararat,” the “City of Refuge for the Jews” on Grand Island in the Niagara River. We could even forgive him the procession, the church ceremony and the cornerstone, the salute of artillery, had he spared us the absurdity of his Messianic proclamation. The chilly reception accorded to his plans by the Jews seems to have had a sobering influence and we find him nineteen years later, in 1844, bringing forward proposals for a Jewish State in Palestine, in words that show a conception of the practical means to be adopted. His insight into the political obstacles, and the fundamental difficulties and causes of the Jewish problem, stamp him as an actual forerunner of the Zionism of Theodor Herzl. The time was not then ripe. The world had not been aroused to its own interest in a developed Palestine, and a rehabilitated Jewish people. The revolution had not yet been affected in the outlook of the Jews themselves. The dangers of assimilation had not been so keenly felt. His plans were therefore forgotten.

We should like to read the other side of the controversy with the Department of State, more details of his life, and fuller extracts from his writings. The subject is worthy of fuller treatment, and of literary refinement. Perhaps Mr. Makover, at some later date, with this serviceable book as a basis, will enlighten us further as to the exploits and character of the first American Zionist, Mordecai M. Noah.

Now Ready MORDECAI M. NOAH Now Ready

His Life and Work from a Jewish Viewpoint By A. B. MAKOVER

An interesting biography of the American Sephardi who attempted to found a Jewish State near Niagara Falls in 1825. With Portrait.

Cloth 75 cents Paper 50 cents

BLOCH PUBLISHING CO., 40 East 14th St., New York

THE ART OF VERSE MAKING

By Modeste Hannis Jordan (With introduction by Clinton Scollard)

A little book of great value to the Student and the Writer of Poetry. Considers Form and Metre, suggests what to study, etc. Postpaid, 50 cents.

Postpaid, 50 cents.

32 Union Square East New York City

COMMON ERRORS IN SPEAKING AND WRITING AND THEIR CORRECTIONS

Deals with many puzzling Pointe. A handy Desk Book for the Student, the Teacher, the Writer, the Business Man and Woman. 50 cents, postpaid.

THE HANNIS JORDAN CO., Publishers 32 Union Square East New York City