XXXIX.
Lord Kitchener and the Palestine Exploration Fund
Dr. Samuel Daiches read a paper on the 7th February, 1915, to the Jews’ College Union Society about Lord Kitchener’s work in Palestine. Sir Edward Pears, who is a member of the Council of the Palestine Exploration Fund, presided. Dr. Daiches pointed out that there was an early period in Lord Kitchener’s life which provided him with work in which he developed his great capacities—the period of his work in Palestine—nearly forty years ago, when he was engaged for four years (from 1874 to 1878) in exploration work in the Holy Land. He first took up the work (at the age of twenty-four) as second-in-command under Lieutenant Conder, and later, owing to the ill-health of Conder, took command of the survey party of the Palestine Exploration Fund. The lecturer made it clear that the real underlying motive which induced Lord Kitchener to take up this work was a love for the Bible and the land of the Bible. Kitchener left for Palestine in command of the Survey in January, 1877. By the beginning of July the survey of Galilee was completed, 1000 square miles having been added to the map. Four weeks later he went with a reduced party to the south country and surveyed 340 square miles in the desert around Beer Sheba. The survey of the whole of Western Palestine was thus completed. Then the revision work was done. In January, 1878, Kitchener was back in England, and after a short leave he joined Conder at the South Kensington Museum, and arranged and wrote the Memoirs for the sheets of the map executed by himself. In September he formally handed over to the Committee the whole of the Maps and Memoirs complete. As a result of the work of Conder and Kitchener we now have the large map of Western Palestine in twenty-six sheets, three volumes of Memoirs on the topography, orthography, hydrography and archæology, and the volume of Arabic and English name lists. A volume of Special Papers (vol. v. of the series) contains contributions from Conder and Kitchener. Kitchener’s contributions concerning the ancient Synagogues in Galilee are very valuable, and his reports show a sympathetic understanding of Jewish traditions in Palestine.[¹]
[¹] Lord Kitchener and his work in Palestine. By Dr. Samuel Daiches. London ... 1915. (8º. 88 pp.)
XL.
Bonaparte’s Call to the Jews (1799)
Gazette Nationale ou Le Moniteur Universel.
No. 243. Tridi, 3 prairial an 7 de la république française une et indivisible.