The Minister frowned.
“I do not call it persecution when the alternative is such a reasonable one,” he replied. “It is not as if we were compelling you to become Christians. You can retain your religious belief in the Absolute Unity by declaring yourselves Theists or Monotheists instead of Jews; the change is only in the name.”
“But we are to give up our customs and our Sabbath, our fasts and our feasts, and everything which throughout the centuries has made Judaism the bond of union twixt Jew and Jew!” He sighed, knowing that they might argue till Doomsday, and yet remain as far asunder as the poles. Mr. Lawson Holmes was well informed concerning the Jews, and indeed possessed more knowledge than the average Gentile; but he was not capable of putting himself in the position of a Jew; he could not understand the racial claim.
In spite of all Jewish obligations and the condemnation of the press, however, the assimilation plan was not unanimously rejected by the Jews. Some were too deaf to the claims of race and faith to care to retain them; others were less insensible, but could not bear the thought of suffering; others, again, were prepared to sacrifice their personal feelings for the sake of the public good. It was one thing to cherish one’s old traditions, and look kindly on all things Jewish for old association’s sake; it was quite another thing to have to pay for the privilege of doing so by expulsion, physical discomfort, money, and loss of pride. It was found that the majority of those Jews who had long mixed with the élite of English society, including some of the princes of finance, were quite willing to take the oath; but the number of faithful Jews increased as one descended the social scale. It is ever so when a religious or moral upheaval affects the heart of a people; for a passionate and public adherence to a religious or moral belief one has to look amongst the poor.
The Montellas were a notable exception amongst their prosperous confrères. The loyal faith and inherent sense of duty possessed by Lady Montella were shared by her son, and to him the rest of their co-religionists looked for help. Young as he was, he possessed all the characteristics which conduce to the making of a good leader, and in his devotion to the cause he made a worthy protector of his people’s interests. It was good to know that amidst the trouble and confusion of this terrible crisis there was a man in Israel on whom one could depend—a man who possessed the power of wealth and influence as well as that of intellectual attainments, whose very personality inspired confidence in the souls of the depressed, whose heart was in truth a heart of gold. Encouraged by the resolute faith of his mother, and influenced by the beautiful disposition of his wife, his character expanded in breadth without losing its manliness. Difficulties which would have filled others with alarm, were to him as so many easily surmounted obstacles to be overcome. With a clearness of vision, granted only to the few, he was able to look onward in the future, seeing not the immediate distress of present circumstances, but only the coming glory of that Eastern Land.
BOOK II
THE LAND OF THEIR FATHERS
“And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”—Isaiah xi. 12.
CHAPTER I
PURIM IN HAIFA
Haifa, the most modern city in Palestine, lay at the southern point of the Bay of Acre, about fifty miles north of Jaffa. Situated amid palm-trees, it retained its Eastern character whilst bearing witness to the innovations of the West. During the two years which had elapsed since the English Edict of Expulsion, the great army of Jewish artisans had laboured well. Rows upon rows of white bungalows had sprung up almost, as it seemed, in a night; and although they could not boast of the substantiality of their construction, they could be improved by degrees. The greater part of the population consisted of British refugees, who, linked together by the same home ties, concentrated themselves as much as possible in one quarter, leaving their brethren of other nationalities to settle in different parts of the country. Therefore, although it was an accepted rule that Hebrew was to be learnt and spoken, they instinctively clung to their native tongue.
They were very aristocratic, these exiled English Jews. Like many English people who travel abroad, they considered themselves vastly superior to all the foreigners with whom they came into contact. They looked down on their poor Polish and Roumanian brethren, who in their turn considered the English as irreligious moderns, scarcely worthy of the name of Jews. The brotherly feeling of equality which their leaders endeavoured to instil within them was as yet entirely lacking. Although of identical race and religion, and gathered together under one banner, the distinctions of class and nationality held them aloof.
It was the eve of Purim, the Feast of Lots. By decree of the council, a public holiday had been proclaimed; for it was intended that this day should annually be observed, and that the rejoicings should be akin to the nature of a carnival. It was not until dusk, however, that the festivities began. The day had been unusually hot, even for Syria, and the majority of the inhabitants had chosen to spend the holiday indoors. At sunset came the breeze, and the heat of the day was replaced by a refreshing and welcome coolness. No matter how hot the day in Haifa, the nights were always cool.