(See front cover)
The American Zionist's convention at Cleveland this week was a Battle of Ivry. Like the French Protestants and Catholics at Ivry in 1590, two schools of economic thought were to fight for supremacy. Leader of one faction was Louis Lipsky, president of the Zionist organization of America. Leader of the other (in absentia) was Louis Dembitz Brandeis chairman of the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs (1914-18), Honorary President of the L. O. A. from 1918 to 1921 (when U. S. Zionists, displeased with his principles, ousted him and his whole group from their organization). Now he wanted to oust the Lipsky group.
Zionism grew out of the Messianic hopes of oppressed Orthodox Jews in Europe With the late great Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) it became concrete (creation of a National Jewish Home in Palestine secured by public law), and economic (Jews as a group were to finance their impoverished coreligionists). The religious aspect of Zionism has become practically nil. Formerly many influential Jews opposed Zionism. Now few do.* Zionism became a political actuality during and after the World War when the Allies to gam Jewish support in Central is well as Allied countries, promised Zionists to give them political rights in Palestine. Jews expected that that would give them a Jewish Nation, of which Jews everywhere might become citizens if they wished. The League of Nations created a Palestine Mandate. Great Britain took government of the Mandate. Jewish immigrants were to be admitted as fast as Zionist organizations could provide work for them—by creating industries, by buying them farm lands from the Arabs. Arabs were not to be molested in their religious commercial or civil rights.†
The Jewish-Arab situation in Palestine was destined to cause much angry protesting oratory in Cleveland this week. Last summer discontented Arabs rioted and massacred Jews in Jerusalem at the Wailing Wall, authentic, revered remnant of Solomon's Temple, and in outlying communities (TIME, Aug. 26 et seq ). An explanation of the Arab discontent appeared last week, by Hadji Aminal Husseini, Grand Mufti and President of the Supreme Moslem Council, chief religious and temporal leader of Palestine Arabs Jews buy land, leaving Arabs homeless. Abnormal Jewish immigration forces Arabs out of work. (Great Britain recently stopped such immigration.) Arabs have no share in the government. Taxes have become unbearable. Jews have caused financial depression. Jews have no rights, only tolerance, at the Wailing Wall —it is an integral part of Al Bouraq el Shareef (built on the Temple site), most sacred mosque after Mecca and Medina; Mohammed once tied his horse to the Wailing Wail. . . . So said the Grand Mufti.
Forensics on such political troubles have continued vigorously the whole past year. They are properly an activity of World Zionism. Chaim Weizmann president of the World Zionist organization must handle them. Although they were to come before the U. S. Zionists at Cleveland, those zealots were more concerned with economics, economic leadership.