“We can still hear the guns, and we are in the midst of a desperate struggle—not merely between nations, but between ideals. Be patient with the British Government, who wish you well. Do not expect a great deal from them, but expect a great deal from yourselves. At present we are bound to carry on the Turkish system of law, taxation, and Government. We are bound to do this by international law, and England has always tried to respect this international law. England set its seal to the Hague Convention, which said that when an advance was made into enemy country, the administration should be military and not political, and that such military administration should make no attempt to alter or change the institutions of the occupied country; it is not our wish that this is so, but it is so by the rule of law, and we shall do our best to respect this law no matter who else breaks it.
“It is difficult for a military administration to make radical changes or to do much to help you and others in the country. Nevertheless, some great things have been done already; the British Government has given opportunity to the young men to join the battalion of Jews from other countries to liberate this country. This splendid response of your young men will have a great moral value when history comes to be written. Every one of these fine and splendid recruits now enrolled and who are going to the battalions which have come from England and America, will go as missionaries of Jewish nationalism in Palestine, so that these men will stay in Palestine and help to develop it on just and right lines. The British Government has done something more of great service to you. The Government has sent out to Palestine the Zionist Commission. It has sent out Dr. Weizmann, i.e. the British Government has sent out a man in whom it has confidence to help the Jews in Palestine in their greatest hour of need. What this help has meant to you I need not go into in detail. The Zionist Commission speaks for itself. Dr. Weizmann came here as a stranger to the British authorities, but in a few weeks he has won for himself, and for the people whom he represents, a position among the British authorities and amongst all with whom he has come into contact in Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine; a position which is not merely a help, but a corner stone of the work which lies before you. The Zionist Commission is in a position to do much to acquaint not only Jewry throughout the world, but also the Governments of the Allied countries, with the needs, ideals, and aspirations of Palestine Jewry. It is, therefore, only right that you should be guided in patience by him, your leader, and accept his advice and direction. Dr. Weizmann is a leader who will see you through. He is a man worthy of your confidence, as well as of the confidence of all of the Allied Governments.
“The work of the conference which I am addressing is very important. You have a great deal to prepare for. You have to prepare for peace, for the day when war is no more, and when there will be, please God, a free Palestine. Gentlemen, make sure that your foundation-stones are truly laid in your agricultural, cultural, and educational work. So much depends for civilization on the work for which you are now preparing and which you will perform during the next few months. You will be faced with all the difficult trivialities of life, but in the Zionist movement there is a spirit, and just as good transcends evil, so does the spiritual transcend the material. You can build up a centre of civilization here. We English owe all that is best in our civilization to the Bible, and that is why we feel a deep interest and a bond of sympathy in the work which you are doing. The Zionist movement is not merely a political move, but it is a spiritual force, and if it succeeds I feel it will bring something great and noble to the world, a message which will not only do so much for the sad but beautiful land, but for the scattered hosts of Israel and for humanity.”
Photo by בן־דוב בצלאל ירושלם
Laying Foundation Stone of the Hebrew University,
Mount Scopus, Jerusalem
15 Ab, 5678 24 July, 1918
On 24th July, 1918, the foundation-stones of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem were laid. This was an event which Zionists had conceived long before, an event likely to be of great importance in enabling Jerusalem to become a spiritual centre for the still dispersed communities of Israel, and destined, let us hope, to influence and elevate the mental life, social aspirations and religious conceptions of the Jews of the world.
The site of the University is a beautiful one. It is on Mount Scopus, on an estate purchased from the late Sir John Gray Hill of Liverpool, who was personally in deep sympathy with the scheme. It faces Jerusalem on the one side and the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea on the other.
At the ceremony of laying the foundation-stones those present included, besides the members of the Zionist Commission, the Commander-in-Chief and senior members of his staff, the Military Governor of Jerusalem, staff representatives of the French and Italian military detachments in Palestine and other officers, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Bishop MacInnes, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, the representatives of the Armenian and Greek Churches, the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Jerusalem, Baron and Baroness Felix Menasce of Alexandria, Maurice Cattaui Pacha, President of the Cairo Jewish Community, Mr. Victor Mosseri, the Chief Rabbis of Cairo and Alexandria, the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis, and representatives of all Jewish organizations and committees in Jerusalem, Jaffa, and the colonies. The day was declared a public Jewish holiday in Jerusalem, and a crowd numbering about six thousand people witnessed the ceremony.