The Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 38, Ed. 1, Thursday, June 17, 1909 Page: 3 of 11
eleven pages : illus. ; page 10 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
i
f
T lg W i Wry a r v fjn f
My work is nearly done my race
nearly run Time and time again have
1 plied over land and sea from my
home to the home of my people and
now in this the seventyfifth year of
my life and for the last time I fear
am I on my way back to America
from the land which God hath given
us the land of piomise the land of
undisturbed peace and perfect happi-
ness holy Palestine
How my heart throbbed with pain
and anguish with an unquenchable
longing when I bade adieu to my
friends when I left behind me the
scene of my labors and energy my
hopes anticipations and realizations
to return to the land of my birth
whore await me the members of my
individual family sisters and brothers
1 feel tonight impelled by an unsati
able longing to order this airship to
change its course and carry me back
but love impells me to go onward
and duty well duty is wellnigh spent
love lor my own family and duty to
the cause of humanity
Oh what an age is this in which
we live From the dawn of the twen-
tieth century to the present day the
hand of progress has left its stamp on
every side Onward lias been the
watchword In the line of inventions
discoveries of art and of science
there has been no parallel in history
In this period of rush and progress
the weak the oppressed the liumble
the poor and the lowly were trampled
under foot each one eager to keep
apace with the onward strides for
attainment and achievements the
strong overpowered the weak the
rich the poor Few were there to turn-
around and lend to the aowntrodden
forsaken Jews a helping hand f6w I
say and say it tiuthfully Hut these
few were mighty in the battle and
their victories unparalleled To the
few leadeis unselfish as were their
io uonuzuxjoa ain ° 1 punoq ssahoui
their hopes by ties of love and devo-
tion aie due the great achievements
today in Palestine Oh with what
pride and reverence do we utter that
blessed name Palestine our sacred
land the land where the Jews drench-
ed every inch of its soil with their
blood For generations and genera-
tions it belonged to us by right by
the direct gift of God and today it
belongs to us by the unanimous con-
sent of the other power of the earth
Today our flag gracefully unfolds and
ripples merrily with the wind the
flag of the Jewish nation white with
blue stripes and the shield of David
In the center offering to its people
a home wherein dwelleth man In
true fellowship
peace and perfect accord
ship and loyal brotherhood abounds
on every side a land where the young
are tutored under the latest approved
methods and it is wonderful to see-
the child grasp and hold steadfastly
HOUSTON TEXAS JUNE 17 1909
A RETROSPECTIVE REVERIE
Read at ihe Fourth Annual Convention Tews State Zionist Associa ion held at Waco Texas January 34 1909 by Mm Lydia Littman of Austin Texas
to its opportunities Stagnated from
centuries to centuries as were the
minds of he Jews in lands where the
gift of knowledge was denied them
and removed and planted on a soil
where not only does the opportunity
present itself but every incentive used
to bring about an awakening marvel-
ous indeed has been this awakening
It would seem that the heavy chains
of slavery have suddenly been broken
astunder and freedom has played a
leformation known and felt only to
those who were fortunate enough to
have enduied the pangs of captivity
and felt its change Persecution has
its compensation and richly has been
compensated the Tribe of Israel for its
long and tedious jpurney of exile for-
ages recorded only in part in the an-
nals of history recorded in blood
bringing shame upon the nations
whose names are foiever blotted by
the cruel laws and onslaughts against
them
In Palestine our land the youth is
sunounded by the highest ideals the
father and mother blessed with per-
fect frepdom bi ought face to face with
Gcd impart in the minds of their chil-
dren the love of their fellowman the
love of their religion Man dwelleth
there master of his own thoughts
master of his own actions The thirst
for knowledge is being quenied the
hunger for freedom satisfied
To whom is due this mighty mir-
acle Whose helping hand has been
and is constantly being felt on every
side to remove the ruggod stumbling
blocks from the path To whom
should we give thanks for the air of
freedom which is breathed the joys
of the home and thejliesides to whom
but Piovidcnce through the instru-
mentality of a chosen few styling
themselves Zionists
Strange that tonight the true drama
of my past reviews itself Vividly
the pages of my book of life open and
reading thiough memorys vision I find
among the opening chapters the birth
of the Zionistic movement in Europe
and America
Ever sihee the dispersion of the
Jews from Palestine by the Romans
it has been their constant wish to re-
turn to their home This desire has
been fostered in their hearts from
time immemorial and laily expressed
in their prayeis but history teaches
us that the hope seemed at times a
vague and meaningless one Often
were the Jews offered a home else-
where Alexander the Great wanted
to provide a sheltering place for them
in Africa Napoleon Bonaparte aiid
the great philosopher Spinoza used
their Influence to secure a home but
the Jews loyal to their heritage re-
fused to consider any country their
own but the land given them by their
Creator Hundreds upon hundreds of
TBltW > fr tyr
THE TBWISH HERALD
patriots could be mentioned who took
sides with the Jews from time to
time moved by their feelings for man-
kind whose names have become a
treasure hidden in the deep recesses
of the hearts of the Jews
Passing these pages and coming to
nioi e modern times we And that af-
ter wandering from place to place
after trials and tribulations after the
spilling of rivers of blood after the
making orphans of thousands of chil-
dren the Jews in lands of oppression
took courage enough to attempt the
resistence of further repetition of such
outrages But the Jews in Russia and
in Romania and in France were pow-
erless to act weighed down bo heav-
ily by the great unwananted and un-
just prejudice of the populace
As the curtain was about to fall on
the close of the nineteenth century
upon a most pleasing scene when pre-
judice seemed no longer to enslave
the mind nor blind the eye in most
countries a centuiy which gave to
the world more advancement more
love for humanity more sympathy for
fellowman than any previous when
antiSemitism was thought to have be
been blotted from the hearts of man in
France occurred the famous Dreyfus
case
At this time appeared upon the
scene in defense of his people in de-
fiance to the open antiSemitic feel-
ing a man not afraid to speak his sen-
timent loud enough for the world to
hear a man with convictions and
courage to express his convictions
and with the pen mightier than the
sword he wiote his Judenstaat I
icfer to the illustrious Theodore
Heizl who moved the world with sym-
pathy for the Jew Little did this
noble example of Jewish aiistocracy
seek fame but awoke the next morn-
ing and found himself famous In the
following year there were hundreds
to take up the cause suggested by
him to organize the Zionist move-
ment in shoit to obtain a legally se-
cured and publically recognized home
for the Jews and in 1S0G this move-
ment was inaugurated and in 1S97
took place the first Jewish congress
held since the dispersion of the Jews
fiom their own land Theodore Herzl
undaunted by fear carried his con-
victions direct to the powers of the
earth and had he lived he would
have seen his hopes realized many
years before their realization
But atparently unfortunate for the
movpment he was called before his
Judge in the very prime of his life
Mourning and lamentation was heard
on eyery side That was a dark day
for the Zionists a dark day for tne
persecuted Jews who began to look
but Heaven
upon Herzl as a Prophet
often veils its most provident mercy
in what to man aeems its sternest in
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Goldberg, E. The Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 38, Ed. 1, Thursday, June 17, 1909, newspaper, June 17, 1909; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth84773/m1/3/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .