South African Zionism
By JACK ALEXANDER, M.A., Secretary of the S.A. Zionist
Federation.
Introduction.
THERE were Zionists in South Africa before Herzl summoned
the first Zionist Congress in Basle in 1897. But it was that event which at
once galvanised them into active effort. South African Zionism is, therefore,
for practical purposes, 32 years old. During its life it has passed through so
many phases, recorded such varied achievements, covered so vast and widely
spread a field, that its history would fill a considerable volume. The
following article is therefore merely an outline sketch, professing to cover no
more than the most salient characteristics and the most outstanding facts.
As South African Zionism was born with the first Zionist
Congress, so it grew up with the world movement; and its career is, in
miniature, the same as that of the international organisation, reflecting the
ups and downs, the strength and weakness, which have marked the various stages
of the Jewish National Movement. A striking illustration of this is the fact
that the S.A. Zionist Federation was the first Jewish body in this country to
embrace the whole country as an organised whole; for it is one of the outstanding
characteristics of Zionism generally that it has served as the greatest
unifying force in Jewry in modern times.
Characteristics of
South African Zionism.
But South African Zionism can claim to have been more
effective and vital than that of most other countries, and this in spite of the
handicaps of the great distance of South Africa from the main currents of
Jewish life and the vast stretches separating the scattered communities of
South Africa from each other. It has been marked throughout by a virility and
steadfastness which have carried it safely through every discouragement and
depression, and forged it into one of the keenest weapons of Jewish national
endeavour the whole world over. For this it has to thank the strong Jewish
sentiment which the Lithuanian element, of which South African Jewry is mainly
composed, brought from Eastern Europe. It has to thank, too, their blend of
practical-mindedness and idealism, their homogeneity, their reasonably good
circumstances, and, on the negative side, the absence in their fellow-citizens
of a highly developed local cultural and national spirit which would otherwise
have acted upon the Jewish element as an assimilative and disruptive force.
Even the handicap of distance from Europe had its countervailing advantage; it
kept South African Zionists away from the distractions of weltpolitik,
from the wrangles of parties, from the theories of doctrinaires, and so enabled
them to concentrate on those practical tasks which were the logical outcome of
their Zionist faith.
The result has been that South African Zionism has been
marked throughout by loyalty, discipline and responsiveness to every call, and
that, both in strength of sentiment and in proportionate material sacrifice, it
has, for a generation, occupied the first place in the list of Zionist
Federations throughout the world. Apart from very small sections, the Jews of
this country have been and continue to be either active Zionists or Zionist
sympathisers, even the most lukewarm of whom are ready to respond to the
Zionist call when made with sufficient insistence.
Four Periods.
The history of the movement falls roughly into four
periods:-
(1) The decade to about 1908 the formative period beginning
with the great ebullition of enthusiasm which followed the First Congress, and
which led to the formation of Zionist Societies in various parts of the
country, interrupted by the Anglo-Boer War, and ending with the third South
African Zionist Conference (January, 1909), by which time the S.A. Zionist
Federation had assumed the shape which, in spite of many changes, it has since
preserved in essence.
(2) 1908-1914, a period of intensive work in the spheres of
organisation and propaganda, terminated by the outbreak of the Great War.
(3) The War Period, 1914-1918, when the Federation showed
its strength by "carrying on" in face of all difficulties, besides
preparing the ground for the big advance which, it was early realised, the
termination of the War was to bring to Zionist prospects.
(4) The decade since the War, during which, besides
continuing and intensifying its previous activities, the movement has made
enormous strides both in enlisting new forces and elements in the service of
Zionism and in achieving remarkable financial successes on behalf of the funds
for the rebuilding of Palestine.
The S.A. Zionist
Federation and Its Conferences.
The S.A. Zionist Federation is a Federation of Societies, not an association of individuals. Its governing body is the periodical South African Zionist Conference, made up of delegates of all affiliated bodies, which reviews the work of the previous period and decides the main lines of that of the ensuing period, and elects an Executive Council of sixteen members situated in Johannesburg to carry on the administration of the Federation's affairs until the next Conference. It was originally intended to hold Conferences annually, but from the very first this proved impracticable owing to the incidence of various causes, and since a period shortly after the Great War it has become the regular practice to hold them biennially. Beginning with the First Conference of 1905, twelve Conferences have been held in all, as follows:-Before the First
Conference.
It will be seen that no Conference representing the whole of
organised South African Zionists took place until eight years after the Basle
Congress, but the Federation existed de facto for many years previously.
Already in 1898 a large number of Zionist Societies were in existence in South
Africa. It is a remarkable fact that, of these, the only ones which have had an
unbroken life are those situated in the southernmost and northernmost capitals
of the Sub-continent—the Dorshei Zion Association of Cape Town and the Chovevi
Zion of Bulawayo, so that it has been true from the very first that the Zionist
movement has stretched from the Cape to the Zambesi. But most of the early
societies were to be found in Johannesburg and its environs, and in December,
1898, these latter societies to the number of nine held a Convention, attended
by 33 delegates, which elected a Federal Executive; and this Executive, with
successive changes and co-options, held office up to the first South African
Conference. The first President of this Executive was Mr. S. Bebro. It
functioned actively until the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899, making
considerable progress in organisation and propaganda. At an early stage in its
career Mr. Bebro resigned, and his place was taken by Mr. Sam Goldreich, who
for the next decade led the South African movement, and who, by reason of his
unsparing devotion and his dynamic energy, is entitled to be regarded as the
real founder of organised Zionism in this country.
After the
Anglo-Boer War.
During the war, many mass meetings were held, some twenty
new societies were formed, and great enthusiasm was evinced. The first post-war
meeting of the Federal Executive was held in July, 1902, and it carried on its
work for another three years. This work included a great many operations
falling completely outside the Zionist scope. The reason for this was that it
was the only body in existence which could claim to have a general South
African character; and it therefore felt obliged to undertake duties—and duties
of a very exacting nature, owing to the difficult situation of the Jews after
the war—which should rather have been the concern of a Board of Deputies or a
Relief Fund. The facilitation of Jewish immigration, the recognition of Yiddish
as a European language for the literacy test, naturalisation, the unfair
incidence of the liquor laws, the relief of the Kishinev victims—these and many
other such matters of Jewish welfare were undertaken by the Zionist Executive
during that period. Above all, it secured the right to recommend the issue of
permits to thousands of refugees to return to their homes in Johannesburg, and
was thus the means of effecting the repatriation of no less than thirteen
thousand Johannesburg Jews.
Not only did circumstances throw these burdens upon the
Zionist Executive in those days, but they themselves, or many of them, took the
view that it was the business of Zionism to take charge of all matters
affecting Jews as a body, and they actually viewed with disfavour the proposals
mooted at the time for the establishment of a Jewish Board of Deputies. Later
Executives took an entirely different view; and when, some years afterwards,
practical steps were taken to form a Board of Deputies, the Federation gave
them the utmost encouragement and at this point it should be mentioned that the
two organisations have always worked together in perfect harmony and mutual
co-operation on all occasions in which the fortunes either of the Jewish people
as a whole or of South African Jewry or of the Zionist movement have been
involved. It was inevitable that, preoccupied as it was with these local
duties, the Zionist Executive, from 1902 till 1905, neglected its duties to
Zionism proper. And there were other and serious contributing causes notably
the death of Herzl (1904), the Territorialist crisis in Zionism, and the severe
economic depression throughout South Africa. Add to all this that the
constitutional status of the Executive was exceedingly questionable, and it is
obvious, as it was to all serious-minded South African Zionists at the time,
that the summoning of a Conference was essential.
At this very first Conference a number of problems emerged
which have occupied South African Zionists ever since, and various lines of
policy were struck out which have been largely followed, with the necessary
adjustment to circumstances, during the ensuing twenty-five years.
The Executive
Council.
1. Much criticism was levelled at the outgoing Executive by
reason of the inactivity of many of its members. Similar criticisms were made
at subsequent Conferences, and, it must be confessed, with much justification,
for the attendances of Councillors at Executive meetings, as revealed by the
official returns submitted to each successive Conference, have often shown that
the Executive carried a certain amount of dead weight. But the criticism became
less and less justified as time went on, and during the past few years in
particular, with only one or two exceptions, the office-bearers of the
Federation have borne favourable comparison with those of any other Jewish body
in South Africa in assiduity, devotion and self-sacrifice in the discharge of
their increasingly onerous duties. And it must be said here that the burden and
responsibility resting upon the Federation's Executive is very severe indeed,
for, besides the very large number of plenary meetings, they are engaged
simultaneously in a large amount of sub-committee and departmental activities,
and in many cases make serious inroads into the conduct of their business and
private affairs in order to do their duty conscientiously to the positions they
hold in the movement. The same remarks, indeed, apply to the large number of
men and women all over the country who serve the Zionist cause in their own
localities; and generally it can be said that there is no Jewish undertaking in
South Africa which has called forth such willing sacrifices of time, energy and
money as Zionism—a fact which can only be explained by the paramount influence
it exercises over the minds and souls of its followers.
Zionism and
Territorialism.
2. The first Conference met at the time when the Uganda
question filled the Zionist mind, and was to come before the Zionist Congress
in a few months. Zionism versus Territorialism was therefore hotly debated, and
the preponderance of opinion was for the indefeasible priority of Palestine and
the Basle programme in Zionist policy. To this principle South African Zionism
has ever since unswervingly adhered.
Finance.
3. At this Conference the question of the financial
maintenance of the Federation. arose, and every succeeding Conference has had
the same problem. Until 1916, the income was supposed to be derived from a
small payment per head of membership by each Society, but this resulted in
constant and alarming deficits. At the 1916 Conference this system was
abandoned in favour of a fixed annual assessment upon all societies, who were
graded for this purpose into four classes according to their approximate
numerical and financial strength, and this at once placed the finances on a
healthier footing and, besides greatly increasing the revenue, enabled an
annual budget to be framed based on expected income. This system is still in
force, and works reasonably well, but the enormous expansion of the
Federation's work during the last ten years has involved it in a greatly
increased expenditure, which it becomes increasingly difficult for the
Federation Dues paid by societies to cover.
4. Among the measures taken at the first Conference was the
adoption of a Constitution, and this, although radically altered in many
important particulars by later Conferences, retains its basic features to the
present day.
Hebrew Education.
5. Hebrew Education is a matter of special concern to
Zionists, and at every Conference, from the first onwards, attention was called
to the unsatisfactory state of Hebrew education in South Africa and proposals
made for its improvement. At several Conferences special sessions have been
devoted to the subject and committees set up charged with the duty of taking
measures to create a South African organisation which should take charge of
Hebrew education. Attempt after attempt failed, but as the outcome of action at
the Eleventh Conference (1928) the Federation's Executive, with the
co-operation of the Board of Deputies, called into being a committee which
summoned a Conference on Hebrew Education in August of that year. This
Conference was successful in creating a South African Board of Jewish
Education, with headquarters in Johannesburg, which has since been actively
functioning, and which it is hoped will do much to strengthen, co-ordinate and
generally raise the standard of Hebrew education in this country.
Among the delegates to the first five Conferences
(1905-1912) were many men and women who, from that early period onwards, have
played a leading part in South African Zionism. Lack of space forbids
individual reference to these. It is, however, a matter of historic interest
that, of the delegates to the first Conference, four were in their places at
the latest, 24 years afterwards, namely, Rev. Z. Lawrence and Messrs. M. L.
Genussow, A. M. Abrahams and A. Kirson.
The first Conference elected the following Executive:
President, S. Goldreich; Vice-Presidents, Harry Solomon and B. Danziger;
Treasurer, D. Starfield; Resident Members, J. H. Goldreich, C. J. Kark, I.
Caplan, B. J. Chaimowitz, S. Shapiro, A. Sprinz, A. M. Abrahams, H. Graumann,
Dr. D. Horwich. Non-resident Members, Rev. Z. Lawrence (Bloemfontein), Rev. M.
I. Cohen (Bulawayo), H. Joffe (Port Elizabeth), A. Hern (Kimberley), H. M.
Cohen (East London), Rev. A. Levy and B. Shlom (Durban), M. L. Genussow, I. Schwartz,
A. M. Solomon and Adv. M. Alexander (Cape Town), and I. Abrahams (Oudtshoorn).
Visit of David
Wolffsohn.
The second Conference was distinguished by the presence of
David Wolffsohn who, two years before, had succeeded Herzl in the leadership of
the World Movement, and who, with his wife, was on a flying visit to South
Africa of a fortnight's duration. The date of the Conference was, of course,
arranged to fit in with his movements. Arriving in Cape Town on November 21st,
1906, he proceeded, via Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban, to
Johannesburg, and at every point on his route was given a royal. reception, the
scenes at the Cape Town Docks and at the Johannesburg Station being
particularly memorable. During his stay he obtained from Lord Selborne, the
High Commissioner, an expression of full sympathy with Zionism.
Mr. Goldreich
Elected Life President.
Mr. Goldreich presided over the second Conference, which, in
recognition of his outstanding services and in view of his affairs taking him
frequently away from South Africa, elected him Honorary Life President of the
Federation. Among the delegates present who also attended the twelfth
Conference this year were (in addition to the four who were at the first
Conference) Messrs. M. Stone, B. S. Hersch and J. Janower. Two questions,
amongst others, were discussed at this Conference which have ever since loomed
very large in Zionist work—the organisation and fostering of Juvenile Zionist
Societies, and the securing of a permanent organiser and propagandist. This
latter demand was reiterated at every succeeding Conference, but it is only of
recent years that it has been possible to fill, to a large extent, this
long-felt want.
The following Executive was elected: President, S.
Goldreich; Vice-Presidents, Hyman Morris and Dr. A. Abelheim; Treasurer, A. M.
Abrahams; Resident Members, A. Sprinz, J. H. Goldreich, S. Lennox Loewe, H.
Graumann, Manfred Nathan, B. J. Chaimowitz, I. Caplan, B. Danziger, J. Heymann;
Non-resident Members, Rev. M. I. Cohen (Bulawayo), Rev. Z. Lawrence and B.
Wolpert (O.F.S.), Rev. A. Levy (Durban), Simon Brest (Port Elizabeth), A. Hern
(Kimberley), Adv. M. Alexander, J. B. Shacksnovis, I. Schwartz, R. Rosenthal
(Cape Town), S. Levisohn (Standerton), Rev. M. Rosenberg (Pretoria), H. Solomon
(Johannesburg); Corresponding Member, M. L. Genussow.
The ensuing period (1907-1908) was one of steady
consolidation and advance. Propaganda work, improvements in administrative
machinery, support of practical Zionist undertakings, all received close
attention. The number of affiliated societies, which at the first Conference
was 58 and at the second 65, jumped to 85. The Executive met 73 times. All this
in spite of the economic depression which, descending upon South Africa after
the Anglo-Boer War, still persisted. The nature of the work during this period
was reflected in the tone of the third Conference (January, 1909), which was
essentially a practical Conference, devoted to the problems of South African
Zionism.
Foundation of the
"Zionist Record."
No step taken by the Federation at this time produced more
far-reaching results than its initiation of a monthly bulletin under the name
of the "Zionist Record." This venture—a happy inspiration for which
joint credit is due to Mr. Hyman Morris (then Acting President) and Mr. I.
Abrahams (Secretary)—proved something which had come to stay, and has developed
into the weekly "Zionist Record" of to-day. The Federation's official
organ has thus had an uninterrupted life of over 20 years.
Mr. Hyman Morris (Acting President) presided over the third
Conference. A letter to the Conference from Mr. S. Goldreich made, even at this
early stage in South African Zionism, the claim—amply justified ever since—that
South Africa assisted Zionist funds to a larger extent, per head of population,
than any other country.
The following Executive was elected: President, Hyman
Morris; Vice Presidents, J. B. Shacksnovis and A. M. Abrahams; Treasurer, I.
Caplan; Members, A. Sprinz, B. J. Chaimowitz, Dr. Manfred Nathan, Harry
Graumann, J. H. Goldreich, B. Danziger, R. Rosenthal, Bernard Alexander, Dr. H.
Goodman, I. M. Goodman, Joseph Heymann, M. J. Harris; District Councillors,
Adv. M. Alexander, I. Schwartz, I. Schach and S. Shapiro (Cape Peninsula), Rev.
Harris Isaacs and A. Hern (Kimberley), Rev. M. Rosenberg (Pretoria), Rev. M. I.
Cohen (Bulawayo), S. Levisohn (Standerton), Sam Abrahams (Durban), I. Sacks
(Port Elizabeth), J. Klaff (Vereeniging), H. Herbstein (Graaff-Reinet), W.
Jacobs (Krugersdorp), M. Drusinsky (Willowmore), W. Ehrlich (Bloemfontein);
Corresponding Member: M. L. Genussow.
The period between the third and fourth Conferences
(January, 1909, to July, 1911) showed further advances. Many societies were
formed or reorganised, whilst existing societies increased their activities.
This was reflected in the increasing strain upon the Executive, which held 81
meetings during the period, and upon the resources of its office and staff.
Collections of Zionist funds showed improvement, and the propaganda and
publicity value of the “Zionist Record" made itself increasingly felt.
Visit of Madame
Pevsner.
A considerable fillip to Zionist sentiment resulted from the
visit of Madame Bella Pevsner, who was here from May, 1910, to January, 1911.
Her visit was primarily in the interests of the Bezalel School of Arts and
Crafts in Jerusalem, for which she raised here about £2,500; but her numerous
public addresses and private interviews in the course of her very successful
tour of South Africa greatly stimulated interest and enthusiasm for the
movement generally. Another interesting visitor in 1910 was the famous scholar
Professor Solomon Schechter, who, during his stay, delivered addresses in Cape
Town and Johannesburg, under Zionist auspices, in August and September, 1910.
The Federation suffered a severe loss by the death, in
December, 1910, of Mr. Hyman Morris, its President. Mr. A. M. Abrahams acted in
his place until the ensuing Conference.
At that Conference (July, 1911) Mr. S. Goldreich, the Life
President, who was on a visit to South Africa, presided. The attendance of
delegates was smaller than usual; nevertheless, it was revealed that the number
of affiliated societies and of centres of Zionist activity throughout the
country had considerably increased during the period. The election of
office-bearers resulted as follows: President, A. M. Abrahams (who has been
continuously re-elected to the position ever since): Vice-Presidents, I. Caplan
and Dr. Manfred Nathan; Treasurer, A. Sprinz; Members, B. S. Hersch, Harry
Graumann, Dr. H. Goodman, Joseph Heymann, J. H. Goldreich, S. Levisohn, B. J.
Chaimowitz, I. M. Goodman; District Councillors, Adv. M. Alexander, I.
Schwartz, S. Shapiro, I. Schach, J. Zuckerman (Cape Peninsula), Rev. Jacob
Phillips (Port Elizabeth), Rev. Harris Isaacs and M. Price (Kimberley), Rev. L.
Phillips and A. Hern (Pretoria), Rev. M. I. Cohen (Bulawayo), P. Wartski
(Durban), W. Jacobs and S. Friedman (Krugersdorp), M. Patlansky (Germiston), D.
Mierowsky (Oudtshoorn), M. Melmed (Queenstown); Corresponding Councillor, M. L.
Genussow.
Hebrew
Matriculation Bursary.
The fifth Conference (December, 1912) was able to record
steady work during the 18 months since the previous one. The Executive met 33
times. The number of Societies stood at 96, together with 40 other centres of
Zionist influence. The experiment of Provincial Zionist Conferences was tried
with considerable success in the Transvaal and Cape, but after the outbreak of
the Great War has never been resumed. At the fourth Conference it was decided
to start a fund for £1,000 for a bursary for students taking Hebrew as a
subject in the matriculation examination of the Cape University, and, with the
collaboration of other bodies and individuals, the required sum was eventually
secured and, from 1916, the bursary was awarded annually. During the period
between the fourth and fifth Conferences, the Federation greatly assisted in
the formation of a united South African Jewish Board of Deputies, and Zionists
formed a large element on its Executive. The close connection between these,
the two premier organisations of South African Jewry, has been maintained ever
since, to the mutual advantage of their work.
The fifth Conference elected the following Executive:
President, A. M. Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. Manfred Nathan and I. Caplan;
Treasurer, H. Moss-Morris; Members, B. J. Chaimowitz, B. S. Hersch, J. Heymann,
H. Graumann, I. H. Guinsberg, S. Lennox Loewe, J. Janower. Dr. H. Goodman.
District Councillors. Adv. M. Alexander, I. Schach, J. Zuckerman, S. Shapiro,
I. Schwartz (Cape Peninsula), Rev. H. Isaacs (Kimberley), A. Rabinowitz and
Rev. M. Rosenberg (Pretoria), Jack Alexander (Grahamstown), Rev. M. I. Cohen
(Bulawayo), Chas. Hoppenstein (Elliot), D. Mierowsky (Oudtshoorn), Lionel Hart
(Durban), Rev. Z. Lawrence and J. Lovius (Bloemfontein). Corresponding Member:
M. L. Genussow.
Plans for the holding of a further Conference were very
effectively interfered with by the outbreak of the world war in August, 1914;
and the sixth Conference only took place three and a half years after the
fifth. As was bound to happen in so long a period, many changes took place in
the personnel of the Executive by death, resignations and co-options.
Visit of Mr.
Kretzmar Isreeli.
Activities went on normally up to the outbreak of war.
Besides the ordinary work, the country received two visits from Mr. A. Kretzmar
Isreeli, a propagandist of no mean order. On his first visit, in March, 1913,
he succeeded in interesting a large number of persons in the Agudath Netaim, a
land-purchasing company in Palestine, and arranged the purchase by several of
farms under that company's management. At the same time he appealed to the
public for support of the Jerusalem Hebrew Gymnasium, and about £1,000 was
contributed. On his second visit (January to July, 1914) he secured about
£2,000 for the Central (Cultural) Fund of the Zionist Organisation, and also
conducted a campaign for the purchase of shares in the Palestine Land
Development Company with good results. Needless to say, these visits had a good
effect on the general propaganda of Zionism.
In connection with the Agudath Netaim, a project was
launched at the fifth Conference for the purchase from that company for £4,000
of a farm in the name of the Federation, payment to be spread over a period of
years. About £800 was raised up to the outbreak of war, but the interruption of
communication with Palestine stopped the work. Payments were not renewed after
the war, as meanwhile the affairs of the company had become involved.
Eventually the payments, which had meanwhile been converted into shares in the
company, were exchanged for a block of shares in the Anglo-Palestine Company.
Effect of the
World War.
The outbreak of war threw the whole Zionist machinery into
confusion; its head-quarters had to be transferred to neutral countries, and
South African Zionism maintained contact through New York, Copenhagen, and The
Hague, instead of with Berlin as formerly. Moreover, the entry of Turkey into
the war on the German side in November, 1914, meant an entire revision of
practical Zionist policy. Nevertheless, the slogan of South African Zionism was
“business as usual," and, so far as circumstances permitted, it acted on
this principle throughout the war period. In this it was helped by the strong
hold exercised by Zionism upon the sentiment of South African Jewry, and by the
fact that this country enjoyed more normal conditions than most others, so that
the material position of its inhabitants, including the Jews, was less vitally
affected.
The South African
Jewish Congress.
With the outbreak of war, the Zionist movement here looked
beyond the borders of South Africa, and during and ever since the war has
endeavoured to do everything in its power to strengthen the movement in its
more general as distinguished from its territorial activities. As early as
March, 1915, the Federation moved in the matter of organising demands for
Jewish rights and for the recognition of the Jewish claim to Palestine at the
Peace Conferences which would follow the termination of the war. These steps
culminated in the holding of a South African Jewish Congress in Johannesburg on
April 28th, 1916, convened jointly by the Federation and the Board of Deputies,
with the former as the main driving force. The Congress was attended by over
300 delegates of institutions whose joint membership exceeded 25,000, and
passed resolutions to the following effect:—
1. Expressing loyalty to the King;
2. Expressing hopes for the victory of the Allies;
3. Appealing for justice to the Jews of every country;
4. Demanding the removal of Jewish disabilities;
5. Urging the Peace Conference to ensure the Jewish
development of Palestine;
6. Demanding that, in the peace settlement, the historic
claims of the Jewish people to Palestine be recognised;
7. Appointing a standing committee to watch events and take
action as and when occasion might arise.
General Smuts.
As the first fruits of this Congress, an assurance was
obtained from General Smuts, on the eve of his departure to join the War
Cabinet in England, that he would render all possible assistance in connection
with Zionism and with the securing of Jewish rights. These assurances both he
and General Botha carried out in letter and spirit; and both since and before
General Botha's untimely death General Smuts has constantly and ungrudgingly
lent his powerful voice and great influence, both in and out of South Africa,
to the furtherance of Jewish welfare and, above all, of Zionism.
Palestine War
Relief.
Immediately on the outbreak of war a spontaneous movement
started in South African Zionist circles for sending relief moneys to
Palestinian Jewry. Independent effort, however, yielded only small results for
the first two or three years of the war, so the matter was taken up actively by
the general Jewish War Relief Organisations in the various Provinces of South
Africa, who pooled their funds for all purposes, including a substantial
percentage for Palestine. In June, 1916, owing to a sudden increase of distress
in Palestine, the Federation started a special Emergency Fund, which yielded
about £2,200.
In June, 1917, however, a Palestine Relief Fund was reopened
on a much larger scale. In that month alone £6,000 was received, and in all the
Federation remitted well over £10,000. If to these figures we were to add large
direct remittances from special local committees in various centres, and the
very large sums regularly sent by the War Victims' Fund, it would be found that
South Africa gave for Palestine war relief upwards of £50,000.
Immediately following the S.A. Jewish Congress there was
held the sixth S.A. Zionist Conference, attended by over 100 delegates. The
outgoing Executive reported having had 87 meetings. There were 90 affiliated
societies, but the total number of centres of Zionist work and influence was
over 300. The following were elected to office: President, A. M. Abrahams;
Vice-Presidents, Dr. H. Goodman and Dr. Manfred Nathan; Treasurer, J. Janower;
Members of Council, Dr. J. L. Landau, I. Abrahams, S. Lennox Loewe, B. S.
Hersch, Max Langermann, Harry Graumann, M.L.A., B. Gordon, B. J. Chaimowitz, I.
M. Goodman, Miss L. Machanik, H. Josselowitz, A. Sprinz. District Councillors:
Adv. M. Alexander, M.L.A., I. Schwartz, J. Zucker-man, J. Gitlin, I. Schach, S.
Shapiro (Cape Town), A. Schauder, B. Dubowitz, B. Chideckel, M. Melmed (Eastern
Province), Dr. L. H. Lewin (Oudtshoorn), L. Werbeloff (Prieska), Rev. H. Isaacs
and B. Rigal (Kimberley), Max Rieck, A. Sacks, S. Kaplan and Rev. Z. Lawrence
(O.F.S.), Rev. M. I. Cohen (Rhodesia). Corresponding Members: M. L. Genussow
and Jack Alexander.
The Conference was followed by a gratifying and badly-needed
revival of Zionist activities. This was particularly notable in Johannesburg,
which had for years past merited and received the reproaches of Zionists
elsewhere for its sluggishness, in this presenting a marked contrast to the
sustained intensity of Zionist effort in Cape Town. Doubtless the revival was
largely the result of the feeling of hope and expectancy with which Zionists
looked forward to the termination of the war and the presentation of the Jewish
claim for Palestine. The sympathetic attitude of the British and other Allied
governments was known long before their official declarations about Palestine
appeared, and this threw an additional responsibility upon South African
Zionism in view of this country's position as a British Dominion.
Before the Balfour
Declaration.
South African Zionist sentiment found pronounced expression
when, in June, 1917, at a time when the negotiations between the Zionist
leaders and the British Government were known to be reaching finality, the
Conjoint Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Board of Deputies and the Anglo-Jewish
Association published in "The Times" an anti-Zionist manifesto. The
publication evoked a storm of spontaneous protest and denunciation throughout
the length and breadth of South Africa. The protest came not only from Zionists
but from South African Jewry as a whole, as was evidenced by the unanimous
protest of the members of the Standing Committee of the S.A. Jewish Congress
and by the equally unanimous declaration of the Jewish members of the House of
Assembly.
At the end of October in the same year, when a declaration
by the British Government was known to be on the eve of promulgation, mass
meetings were held throughout South Africa, participated in by all Jewish
institutions, urging the British Government to do its best to secure the
reconstitution of Palestine as the Jewish National Home; and by the middle of
November the terms of the Balfour Declaration were known throughout the country
and received with joy, whilst in December came the news that Allenby had
wrested Jerusalem from the Turk.
The Palestine
National Restoration Fund.
At this, as at many other fateful occasions in Zionist
history, the Zionist Federation anticipated coming events by issuing a call for
a Palestine National Restoration Fund. Originally intended as a means of
restoring those national assets in Palestine which war conditions had
destroyed, it later developed into a fund for the upbuilding of the Jewish
National Home. For the same reason, its original modest aim of £10,000 was
changed to a demand for £50,000. Special publicity and propaganda methods were
introduced, and a small army of volunteers toured the country. At the close of
the war half the sum aimed at had been secured. The campaign lagged somewhat in
1919, but the receipts had reached £44,000 by April, 1920, when a fresh effort,
under the same name but on an unprecedented scale, replaced the first one.
The Conference
Following the Armistice.
The announcement of Peace in November, 1918, was hailed by
Zionists as the immediate prologue to the realisation of their hopes, and it
was in this spirit that the seventh South African Zionist Conference assembled
in Cape Town in January, 1919. The outgoing Executive, which had held 62
meetings, was able to report on a fine period of successful endeavour in every
direction-propaganda, fund-raising and political action. The most noteworthy
decision of the Conference was a resolution urging
“that the Peace Conference shall
recognise the national aspirations and historic claims of the Jewish people to
Palestine and shall declare that Palestine shall be placed under such
political, administrative and economic conditions as will ensure the development
of Palestine, under the trusteeship of Great Britain acting on behalf of the
Powers or of a League of Nations, into a Jewish Commonwealth."
As a natural result of Palestine having come within the
limits of practical attainment, much of the attention of this Conference was
devoted to the exploration of ways and means of encouraging the settlement of
South African Jews in Palestine and the investment of South African Jewish
capital there; whilst the closing stages were marked by a striking
demonstration of practical enthusiasm, when spontaneous offerings to the
Palestine National Restoration Fund were made by the delegates (nearly all of
whom had already given before) to a total of £2,500.
The following Executive was elected: President, A. M.
Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L. Landau and Dr. H. Goodman; Treasurer, J.
Janower; Members, B. S. Hersch, B. Gordon, A. Heymann, M. Kentridge, B.
Alexander, H. Graumann, M.L.A., I. Abrahams, H. Lourie, M. S. Aaron. Max
Langermann, B. J. Chaimowitz and M. Schulman.
Affiliation of
Jewish Institutions.
The Balfour Declaration, the conquest of Palestine, the
arrival of peace, and other events brought about a great quickening of Zionist
sentiment in South African Jewry. Hopes were raised still higher by the
favourable reception accorded to the Zionist representatives at the Peace
Conference on February 27th, 1919, an event celebrated by mass meetings in all
the larger centres of this country. A very striking illustration of the way in
which Zionism now began to gain the declared adherence of South African Jewry
as a whole was the tendency on the part of organised Jewish bodies—notably
Congregations and Friendly Societies—to become affiliated with the S.A. Zionist
Federation, as a practical demonstration of their moral support of and sympathy
with Zionism. Beginning about July, 1919. this movement—a largely spontaneous
one—has resulted in most of the Congregations in the larger centres, and a
considerable number of other Jewish organisations, placing themselves upon the
roll of bodies definitely affiliated with the Federation. Among the most
noteworthy are: The United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg, the Berea,
Jeppestown, La Rochelle, Braamfontein, Doornfontein and Fordsburg Congregations
of the same city, the Hebrew, New Hebrew and Orthodox Congregations of Cape Town,
the Hebrew Congregations of Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Benoni (United Hebrew
Institutions), Port Elizabeth (two Congregations), Boksburg North, Kimberley,
Woodstock-Salt River, Brakpan, and several others, the Johannesburg Jewish
Guild, and a number of friendly and philanthropic institutions in Johannesburg,
Cape Town and elsewhere.
General Smuts'
Return.
Generals Smuts and Botha returned to South Africa during
1919, after their great work at and prior to the Peace Conference. General
Botha passed away shortly after his return, deeply mourned by South African
Jewry, to whom he had shown himself a sincere friend. General Smuts delivered
several noteworthy utterances on Zionism, the first and greatest being his
epoch-making address at a great reception tendered to him in the Johannesburg
Town Hall on November 3rd, 1919, under the joint auspices of the Federation and
the Board of Deputies, and presided over by the President of the Federation.
This address was subsequently published in pamphlet form and translated into
almost every language, and was regarded as one of the most important
pronouncements on Zionism in modern times. About a year later (December, 1920) he
delivered another important address on the Jewish National Home at a banquet
tendered to Chief Rabbi Hertz, during the latter's visit to Johannesburg.
San Remo.
Towards the end of 1919 and in the early months of 1920 a
certain feeling of disappointment made itself manifest in Zionist ranks. The
stirring events of the period immediately preceding, amounting in the public
eye to little short of a series of miracles, had aroused expectations to the
highest pitch, and the protracted delays in the final peace settlement tended
to damp the Zionist spirit. Added to this there came, in March, 1920, the news
of Tel-Hai and the loss of Trumpeldor, and in early April the Jerusalem riots.
But all these setbacks were swept from every mind by the great news from San
Remo at the end of April that the Supreme Allied Council had decided to
incorporate the principles of the Balfour Declaration in the Peace Treaty, and
to assign the mandate over Palestine to Great Britain. The Federation at once
telegraphed the news in full to every Zionist society and centre in the
Sub-continent, and it was received everywhere with fervid joy, and celebrated
by mass meetings and demonstrations on an unprecedented scale, notably in
Johannesburg and Cape Town, where gigantic street processions were held, and
where the public meetings were addressed by Cabinet Ministers and other leading
non-Jewish citizens. The joyous spirit affected every class and rank of South
African Jewry, and was also voiced by a resolution, in fervid terms, passed by
the Board of Deputies at its first meeting after the receipt of the news.
The Great
Restoration Fund Campaign.
Moreover, the Federation, feeling that the hour of national
redemption had now struck, took the decisive step of declaring a campaign for a
quarter of a million pounds for the Palestine National Restoration Fund. The
response throughout the country was in proportion to the enthusiasm which the
news from San Remo had evoked. There ensued the greatest collection for
Palestine which this country has ever witnessed before or since. In six weeks
£70,000 had been pledged, which figure had swelled to £150,000 by the end of
August. In September, however, South Africa fell into the grip of a very severe
economic crisis—the aftermath of the post-war inflation—which put an effectual
stop to further collections: otherwise there can be no doubt that the sum aimed
at would have been secured before the end of the year. Actually, about
two-thirds of the figure originally declared was obtained in pledges, and of
this about £130,000 was eventually collected. Perhaps the outstanding feature
of the campaign was that it was conducted entirely by volunteers (except, of
course, for the officials of the Federation) and that the whole expenditure,
from first to last, came to only 2 per cent. of receipts.
Progress in
Organisation.
The local economic depression, the long delay in the
ratification of the grant of the Palestine Mandate to Great Britain, and the
Jaffa riots of May, 1921, caused some slackening of Zionist enthusiasm
throughout that year. Nevertheless, progress and activities were well
maintained. By February, 1920, the number of bodies affiliated to the
Federation had increased to 150, of which 18 were Congregations and other
organisations; and by the end of 1921 there was a further sharp increase to a
total of 177, made up of 102 Senior Zionist Societies, 43 Junior Zionist
Societies, and 32 Jewish organisations, not to mention a very large number of
centres which, while too small to have organised societies, possessed
accredited correspondents and carried out regular Zionist activities. Moreover,
the financial position of the Federation was healthy, in spite of its
expenditure having been almost doubled since 1918.
A few other events, closely affecting South African Zionism,
fall to be recorded in this period:—
The
Governor-General.
1. The present Governor-General, on assuming office at the
end of 1920, was presented by the Federation with an address, to which he made
a gracious reply. His warm interest in Zionism has been since constantly
evinced by the gracious messages he has sent to each of the last five Zionist
Conferences, from 1922 to 1929.
2. A link with the early days of South African Zionism was
severed by the death, on March 13th, 1921, of Samuel Goldreich, the
Federation's honorary life-president. For many years previously he had been
absent from South Africa, but his loss was none the less sincerely mourned,
especially by the "old guard," who had been associated with him in
the earlier years.
The Jaffa
Disturbances.
3. The Jaffa outbreak in May, 1921, called forth a series of
protest meetings throughout South Africa. The resolutions passed at these
meetings were conveyed to General Smuts, who was on the point of departure for
England to attend the Dominion Premiers' Conference, and he added yet another
to his long list of services to the Zionist cause by taking up the matter
actively in England, besides having several conferences with Dr. Weizmann on
the problems affecting the Jewish National Home.
Kfar Yeladim.
4. 1921 saw the inception of a project which duly came to
fruition and is one of the brightest jewels of South African Zionism. When the
South African War Relief Funds brought a number of war and pogrom orphans from
the Ukraine to South Africa, the idea sprang up of transplanting a further
number from that stricken country to Palestine, there to be trained for life on
the soil. The first practical move came from Durban Jewry, at the initiative of
Mr. Moses Morrison, who may be regarded as the father of the whole scheme. By
the end of 1921 Durban was able to arrange for the transfer to Palestine of 44
such orphans and for their maintenance there until they should be
self-supporting. In the course of the eighth S.A. Zionist Conference (January,
1922), a round-table conference of men and women interested in the project was
held, and when, later in 1922, a unification of all South African Jewish War
Relief Organisations was effected, it was made an essential task of the united
body, and indeed a condition of unification, that a children's agricultural
training settlement should be founded in Palestine, to be maintained by South
African Jewry, and peopled by war orphans from Eastern Europe. A fine site was
secured at Kfar Yeladim, in the heart of the Emek, and the institution was
started, with the aid of a committee in Palestine, in 1923, and has ever since
been maintained by the Jews of this country. Towards the end of 1927, when it
became apparent that the United Relief Fund was about to cease to function, Kfar
Yeladim was taken over by the S.A. Zionist Federation, which now administers
it, through a special Palestine Committee including a strong contingent of
ex-South Africans now settled in Palestine, and maintains it out of the
donations made by women in successive Keren Hayesod campaigns. Golden opinions
have been won by the Kfar, both from Palestinian Jewry and from the numerous
South African and other visitors who have inspected it; and it is not too much
to say that in this institution and its hundred young inmates South Africa has
created something of real and lasting value to the Jewish National Home.
The Jewish
Colonial Trust.
5. The Federation has always acted as a sort of honorary
agent of the Jewish Colonial Trust—the Zionist bank. Indeed, in the first few
years of the movement the sale of Colonial Trust shares was one of the chief
practical tasks of the Federation. Later, this work played a less prominent
part, owing to the emergence of other needs of more immediate urgency, and the
task of securing further capital for the Trust has never subsequently been
pursued in more than a perfunctory fashion. In 1919, however, the Federation
purchased a stock of shares to the value of £1,000 for disposal to the public,
the idea being that with the cessation of the war the bank would enlarge its
operations. At first the purchases of these shares was on a fairly satisfactory
scale, but after a few years public interest dwindled, and in fact there is
even now a small quantity remaining unsold. The Federation, however, is
constantly called upon to pay out dividends to South African shareholders, and
readily does so. It may be mentioned in this place that, since the war, all
remittances by the Federation for overseas purposes have been made through the
Jewish Colonial Trust.
Representation at
World Zionist Congress.
6. Until 1921, South Africa was never represented at a
Zionist Congress by its own direct representatives, having to be content with
proxies whose very names were usually unknown to South African Zionists. But
from and including the twelfth Congress of 1921, there has always been a large
percentage of South African Zionists in the South African delegation, and it
has now become a settled principle that, so far as possible, every
representative of South Africa at a Congress shall be one who, if no longer resident
in this country, is at any rate thoroughly familiar with its Zionist
conditions. Thus at the fifteenth Congress (1927) the whole South African
delegation consisted of South Africans. Fortunately, large numbers of South
African Jews are in the habit of visiting Europe during the middle months of
the year; and, as the Congress always takes place prior to Rosh Hashonah, there
is no difficulty in securing the services of a number of leading South African
Zionists who are in Europe at the time and who can worthily represent local
opinion.
Occasion may well be taken here to refer to another aspect
of South African representation at Congress. Both South African Zionist
Conferences and World Zionist Congresses are held every two years. In the years
1922-1928, however, the four South African Conferences held took place in the
year in which there was no Congress. The result was that the Conference could
not usefully discuss the problems likely to come before the next Congress, nor
give definite instructions to the South African delegation. For this reason a
change has now been made whereby Conference shall be held in the same year as
Congress, and a reasonable time (two or three months) before it. This new
arrangement has already come into operation this year, with salutary results.
Dr. Shmarya Levin
and the First Keren Hayesod Campaign.
After an interval of three years, a Zionist Conference—the
eighth—took place (Johannesburg, January, 1922). It was distinguished by the
presence of Dr. Shmarya Levin, one of the greatest of living Zionists, and was
arranged to synchronise with his arrival. Dr. Levin's visit was primarily in
the interests of the Keren Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund), which had been
initiated throughout the world in the previous year, but which could not be
launched in South Africa earlier owing to the task of calling in the pledges to
the Palestine National Restoration Fund being in full swing throughout 1921.
This combination of the holding of a Conference with the inauguration of a
Keren Hayesod Campaign was followed at the next three Conferences (1924, 1926
and 1928). As a necessary consequence, pledges made to the Keren Hayesod in
this country are redeemable over a period of nearly two years, instead of one
year as in other countries.
The Conference was a striking demonstration of Zionist
solidarity and enthusiasm, and at its closing session the Keren Hayesod
campaign was launched with donations to the total of £12,500. Unfortunately,
the success of the campaign was hampered by the general disturbances created by
the industrial outbreak on the Witwatersrand in February and March. Eventually
the campaign yielded in pledges about £65,000, of which over £50,000 was
collected. Meanwhile, Dr. Levin's six months' stay did wonders for Zionist sentiment,
and his personality and eloquence left an indelible impression on South African
Jewry, and immeasurably raised the standard of Zionist ideology in this
country.
The following Executive was elected at the eighth
Conference: President, A. M. Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L. Landau and B.
Gordon; Treasurer, J. Janower; Members, M. Kentridge, L. Braudo, B. S. Hersch,
H. Lourie, M. S. Aaron, I. Kuper, S. Hillman, M. De Saxe, W. Senior, P. Kaplan,
B. Guinsberg, I. E. Judes. It is worth mentioning that the number of delegates
present (191) was greater than at any other Conference before or since.
The
"Binyan" Company.
A few days after the Conference there was founded a company
under the name of the S.A. Palestine Enterprise (Binyan) Corporation, Ltd.,
whose aim was to secure a capital of £100,000 for investment in industrial and
other undertakings in Palestine, with special reference to the erection of
dwelling-houses and warehouses. Although a private undertaking, the Binyan has
found its leading supporters and directors among the leaders of South African
Zionism, and has maintained the closest relations with the Federation.
Conducted on sound and businesslike lines, it has received much support, and
over a half of its authorised capital has been taken up. It has been the means
of enabling hundreds of Palestinians (mainly in Haifa) to build their homes,
charging them on their mortgages a much lower rate of interest than was
generally prevalent. It pays a regular modest annual dividend to shareholders,
and is looked upon both here and in Palestine as one of the most successful and
praiseworthy instruments in existence for the stabilisation and development of
the Jewish position in Erez Israel.
The Mandate
Ratified.
The outstanding event in Zionist history in 1922 was the
long-deferred ratification, on July 24th, of the grant of the Mandate over
Palestine to Great Britain. The event was hailed with joy and relief throughout
South Africa, and was celebrated everywhere by mass meetings, children's
demonstrations and the like, the manifestations of rejoicing being hardly less
striking than those which followed the San Remo Conference two years
previously.
Permanent
Propagandists.
During 1922 and 1923 the general movement pursued a healthy
and progressive path, and the Federation found its resources taxed to the
utmost to cope with the multiplicity of its activities, and to reap the full
benefit from the ever-strengthening sentiment for Zionism of the Jews of this
country. Propaganda was greatly intensified through the efforts of Dr. Immanuel
Olsvanger, a gifted orator, who, settling in this country at the end of 1920,
was towards the end of 1921 engaged as the Federation's permanent propagandist,
and who, although much of his energies were devoted to the Keren Hayesod
campaign, combined with the specific appeal for financial support the
propagation of every phase of Zionist aims and aspirations.
Here it may be added that Dr. Olsvanger remained in South
Africa until the end of 1924, and was thus able to collaborate fully in the
Keren Hayesod campaign of that year. His place as the Federation's propagandist
was taken by Mr. Benzion Shein, a young man of considerable talent, who
rendered devoted service in that capacity for 24 years. He, as well as Dr.
Olsvanger, was obliged to devote the main part of his energies to assistance in
fund-raising campaigns, though, like his predecessor, he did his utmost to
further the general propaganda of Zionism. Much dissatisfaction arose
throughout the country at the fact that Zionist propaganda was inextricably
bound up with campaigns for funds, as exemplified not only by the work of these
two men, but still more by the successive visits of Zionist leaders from
overseas on behalf of the Keren Hayesod. There arose, therefore, an insistent
demand for propaganda which should be free from the money-raising element, and
to meet this demand the Federation invited Dr. Olsvanger to pay a second visit
of a year's duration to South Africa, at a time when no campaign was before the
public. He accordingly arrived in November. 1927, but after a few months
devoted to organisation and general propaganda, he was once again caught up in
the Keren Hayesod campaign of 1928. When that campaign ended (about December,
1928) the Federation brought to this country a Palestinian of considerable
ability in the person of Mr. Peretz Cornfeld, who throughout the current year
has pursued valued activities in the fields of organisation and propaganda in
all parts of the country.
Zionism and the
Youth.
A noteworthy feature of the period 1922-1923 was the
intensification of Zionist sentiment among the rising generation. This
manifested itself in a great advance in number and membership of the Young
Israel Societies. The Federation has for over a decade felt that the youth
problem is becoming more and more acute, in view of a South African-born
generation springing up which has not the same intensely Jewish background as
its parents, and its machinery has not proved altogether adequate to the task
of catering for this all-important element. Meanwhile the youth themselves have
become more and more conscious of their own problems, and have evolved an autonomous
organisation, called the S.A. Young Israel Federation, with Executives in each
Province of the Union, embracing in all some 70 societies. A new basis of
relationship between the Zionist and the Young Israel Federations has been
worked out, and was ratified at the twelfth Zionist Conference held this year.
Zionist
"Parties."
Another feature of the period was the emergence of
organisations belonging to the “Zeire Zion" and "Mizrachi"
parties in Zionism—the first appearance of parties in South African Zionism
ranks. Neither of them have succeeded in attracting a very large following, and
the Mizrachi in particular can hardly be said to be in existence as an
organised body. The Zeire Zion have shown a little more animation, albeit
spasmodic. More recently—only this year in fact—a branch of the Zionist
Revisionists has been formed. It is a noteworthy tribute to the essential unity
of South African Zionism that all these organisations are affiliated to the
S.A. Zionist Federation.
Still another recent development is the creation of
organised groups, mainly composed of young men and women who have come into
South Africa in the last few years from Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania,
and who are strongly impregnated with Jewish national sentiment and with Hebrew
culture. These groups, of which the Maccabi Organisation in Johannesburg and
the Kadimah Association in Cape Town are the most important, help to preserve
and develop a strong Jewish consciousness in the younger foreign-born elements
of the population, and are therefore valuable assets to local Zionism.
Dr. Alexander
Goldstein and the Second Keren Hayesod Campaign.
1924 opened with bright prospects. Conditions in South
Africa had improved, but—-more important—there was every prospect of a
prosperous period setting in in Palestine itself. Arrangements were made for a
visit to South Africa by Mr. Nahum Sokolow, Chairman of the World Zionist
Executive, who would be accompanied by Dr. Alexander Goldstein. Circumstances,
however, prevented Mr. Sokolow from coming, so that the whole burden fell upon
Dr. Goldstein's shoulders, with the collaboration, of course, of Dr. Olsvanger.
Dr. Goldstein, however, proved himself possessed of remarkable energy, tact and
organising ability, with the result that the Keren Hayesod campaign which he
initiated turned out a pronounced success, yielding £75,000 in pledges, of
which over £71,000 was eventually collected.
Dr. Goldstein arrived in January, 1924, and spent the first
six weeks of his stay in organising the forthcoming campaign. This was launched
at the close of the ninth S.A. Zionist Conference (March, 1924) at a banquet
given by the Mayor of Johannesburg (Mr. M. J. Harris, a Jew). The Conference
was well attended, and transacted much important business. Among other
resolutions, it declared in favour of the encouragement of private enterprise
in Palestine as an essential adjunct to the general funds. It also decided on
the conversion of the “Zionist Record" into a weekly newspaper of general
Jewish interest, a step which the journal subsequently took after a preliminary
period of trial as a fortnightly. The following were elected to office:
President, A. M. Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L. Landau and B. Gordon;
Treasurer, J. Janower; Members, S. Hillman, L. Braudo, I. Kuper, M. Kentridge,
Dr. J. M. Edelstein, M. De Saxe, H. Lourie, B. S. Hersch, D. Getz, S. M.
Gordon, Dr. W. Sachs, B. Gering.
During the ensuing few months, South African Zionism was
preoccupied with the Keren Hayesod campaign. This work, in the larger centres,
was completed in July, when Dr. Goldstein left the country, carrying with him
the esteem and admiration of all. It should be mentioned here that he was
responsible for the creation of a separate women's campaign for the Keren
Hayesod, a practice which has been followed with success in subsequent
campaigns, and which, incidentally, has made it possible for the women of this country
to provide for the maintenance of Kfar Yeladim. The Keren Hayesod work was
carried on after Dr. Goldstein's departure by Dr. Olsvanger, and, when the
latter left South Africa in November, by Mr. Benzion Shein in the few remaining
centres.
The Nathan Will.
In August, 1924, there died Mr. Albert Nathan, of
Pietermaritzburg, whose will directed that, fifty years after his death, his
accumulated estate should be utilised to establish a fund for the restoration
of Jews to Palestine by land purchase, settlement, and any other suitable
means. It is anticipated that, by the time stipulated, the estate will be worth
very considerably more than a million pounds.
The Hebrew
University.
The inauguration of the Hebrew University by Lord Balfour on
April 1st, 1925, was celebrated in South Africa—as indeed it was in other
countries also—with unparalleled enthusiasm. Jew and Gentile vied with each
other in doing honour to the occasion. The celebrations throughout the length
and breadth of the land were on an unprecedented scale. At the mass meeting in
Johannesburg there were literally thousands turned away. At the Cape Town
meeting General Hertzog and General Smuts both spoke. Generally, it may be said
that South African Jews found themselves, by this great event, elevated to a
position of honour and respect in the eyes of their fellow-citizens such as was
hitherto almost unknown to them. At the ceremony itself, South African Zionism
was officially represented by Messrs. B. Gordon (Vice-President of the
Federation), I. Schwartz (the Cape Town Zionist leader), and J. Alexander
(Secretary of the Federation), all of whom were visiting Palestine at the time.
A striking outcome was the spontaneous movement by various
Congregations to make annual grants to the funds of the University. The United
Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg led the way with a grant of a hundred
guineas, which has been renewed annually; and numerous other Congregations have
followed its lead.
A word is necessary here on the financial support rendered
from South Africa to the University's funds. True to its principle of avoiding,
as far as possible, a multiplicity of appeals, the Federation has never made a
general call for support of the University. There have, however. been several
notable gifts. As early as 1920, the Federation voted £1,000 from the
Restoration Fund to the building fund of the University, whilst several
individual donors to the same fund earmarked amounts for the same purpose,
including one single item of £1,000. Again, the women of Rhodesia made a
special campaign which yielded £1,000 towards the purchase of a library for the
University. Several legacies to the University have also fallen in of recent
years. The most munificent contributor in this country, however, was the late
Mr. I. Schwartz, who in 1922 pledged £5,000 for the creation of a Chair of
Modern Hebrew Literature, and by whose will the funds of the University will in
addition benefit by £1.000 immediately, and eventually by one-sixth of his
residuary estate—a benefaction which is likely to enrich the University
exchequer by about £25,000.
Silver Jubilee of
Cape Town Zionism.
In July, 1924, amidst universal congratulations, the Dorshei
Zion Association of Cape Town celebrated its silver jubilee, and was able to
look back on a quarter of a century of sustained and devoted effort for the
Zionist cause such as few Zionist bodies in the world could equal, and none
surpass. It has since continued its work unabatedly.
The Extension of
the Jewish Agency.
During 1925 increasing interest was shown in the policy
which Dr. Weizmann had initiated of securing the interest of organised world
Jewry, and especially of American Jewry, in the Jewish upbuilding of Palestine,
and of creating an enlarged Jewish Agency, under the terms of the Mandate,
which should include all these forces. South African Zionism has favoured and
supported this policy throughout, and is to-day witnessing its realisation. In
this as in so many other crucial Zionist questions the Federation has enjoyed
the full backing of general South African Jewry through the medium of the Board
of Deputies. At the latter's Congress in August, 1925, whole-hearted support of
the enlarged Agency was expressed, and the Congress declared that the Board
would gladly be represented thereon when the time came. The sequel to this
declaration has come this year, for the Board now has a representative on the
Agency Council in the person of its President, Mr. S. Raphaely, whilst at the
inaugural meeting of the Council in Zurich on August 11th it was represented by
Mr. I. W. Schlesinger, acting as deputy for Mr. Raphaely, who was unable to
make the journey.
Rabbi Zlotnik and
the National Fund "Drive."
From May to October, 1925, South Africa enjoyed the presence
of Rabbi J. L. Zlotnik, of Canada, who had come to intensify the work of the
Jewish National Fund and to conduct a "drive" for it. As will be seen
from the facts and figures given later, the National Fund has been an integral
part of regular Zionist activities from the very first. Up to the termination
of the war, however, this work pursued a very humble and unobtrusive course;
and although during the past ten years it has received much more intensive and
concentrated attention, and its annual income from South Africa has been
enormously increased, it has never, except for Rabbi Zlotnik's visit, had a
special" drive," with all the elements of a miniature campaign. Rabbi
Zlotnik's visit brought the National Fund very much to the fore in the public
mind. Not only did he, with the collaboration of Mr. Benzion Shein and of the
various societies and committees, secure £20,000 from the special
"drive" itself, but the propaganda he made for the Fund acted as a
fillip to the ordinary activities from which it normally derives support.
Mr. Nahum Sokolow
and the Third Keren Hayesod Campaign.
1926 was memorable for the visit of Mr. Nahum Sokolow.
Accompanied by Dr. M. Hindes, of Warsaw, he arrived in April, 1926, to launch
South Africa's third Keren Hayesod campaign, for which a goal of £100,000 had
been proclaimed. The visit evoked unbounded enthusiasm, and the scenes in Cape
Town and Johannesburg, and in every place he came to in his two months' stay,
were memorable. His first act was to officially open the tenth South African
Zionist Conference. The opening session, on the evening of April 27th, took the
form of a wonderful demonstration in the City Hall of Cape Town, to which
thousands were unable to gain admission, and at which notable addresses were
delivered by General Smuts, Mr. Tielman Roos, Colonel Creswell, the Mayor,
South African Jewish leaders, and Mr. Sokolow himself. A few days later a Keren
Hayesod campaign was inaugurated at which over £10,000 was contributed.
Proceeding to Johannesburg, Sokolow was greeted by thousands at the station and
in the streets, and the rush to hear his first public address at the Orpheum
Theatre was so great that the Standard Theatre, which was also packed, had to
be used as an overflow. The opening of the Johannesburg campaign broke all
records, over £15,000 being raised at the inaugural banquet. In two months the
total of £100,000 had been passed, and the subsequent work of Dr. Hindes and
Mr. Shein brought the final total of pledges to £128,000, practically all of
which was eventually collected.
The Union
Government Declares for Zionism.
A notable feature of the campaign was the official
participation of a number of leading Jews who had not previously identified
themselves with Zionism. An Honorary Council, consisting largely of such men,
was formed, headed by the Hon. Mr. Justice Greenberg, who has retained the
Honorary Presidency of the Keren Hayesod ever since. Moreover, Mr. Sokolow
greatly influenced non-Jewish opinion in favour of Zionism. This was manifested
by the participation in his public meetings everywhere of leading public men and
citizens and by the sympathetic interviews accorded him by the leading
statesmen of the country, and culminated in the issuance by the Union Cabinet
in September, 1926, under cover of a letter from Mr. Tielman Roos, Minister of
Justice, to Mr. Sokolow, of a unanimous resolution in the following terms:—
"The Government of the Union
of South Africa, which has watched for many years with interest and sympathy
the endeavour of the Zionist organisation to establish a National Home for the
Jewish people in Palestine an object which it regards as an important
contribution to peace and civilisation-wishes all success to this undertaking
and is prepared, through its representatives on the League of Nations and
otherwise, to do whatever lies in its power to assist in the establishment of
that National Home."
The tenth Conference, whose deliberations lasted from April
27th to April 29th, elected the following Executive: President, A. M. Abrahams;
Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L. Landau and B. Gordon; Treasurer, J. Janower;
Members, M. Kentridge, M.L.A., L. Braudo, Advocate N. E. Rosenberg, B. S.
Hersch, D. Getz, S. M. Gordon, I. Kuper, H. Lourie, B. Reinhold, B. Gering, Dr.
W. Sachs, Dr. J. M. Edelstein. During their period of office (two years) the
following events and tendencies fall to be noticed:—
Mr. Amery's
Pronouncement.
(1) During the visit of Mr. Amery, then British Dominions
Secretary, to Johannesburg in September, 1927, the Federation arranged a
function at which he delivered a notable utterance on Palestine. This was
regarded everywhere as a statement of the first importance, was published in
extenso throughout the world, and was cabled in summary form to the Zionist
Congress, which was at the moment in session, and which received it with the
liveliest satisfaction. Mr. Amery's address was shortly afterwards published,
amongst other noteworthy utterances, in a large booklet issued by the
Federation in November, 1927, in 10,000 copies, in commemoration of the tenth
anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
Cape Town and Johannesburg Zionism.
(2) During the period Cape Town completed the erection of its new Zionist Hall, an edifice of which a community many times its size might be proud. Its importance for South African as well as for Cape Town Zionism cannot be overestimated. In Johannesburg, whose Zionism had been for many years under a cloud, great strides were made during the period, and the hope was thus aroused that the great Jewish community of the Witwatersrand would at long last play its full part in the Zionist scheme of things.
(3) There was a quite substantial influx of young men and
women immigrants from Eastern Europe, most of them deeply imbued with Jewish
cultural and national ideals, who give promise of lending substantial
reinforcement to Zionist ranks in time to come.
(4) Women's Zionist Societies and leagues made remarkable
advances during the period in number, influence and efficiency.
(5) The demand for more adequate consideration of problems
of organisation and propaganda was, to a great extent, met by an informal
conference of leading Zionist workers at De Aar in February, 1927, at which
every important aspect of South African Zionist work was passed in review, and
which proved a clearing-house for the various ideas and proposals of the most
experienced men and women in the movement. The principle of holding such
gatherings has since been constitutionally fixed in a greatly developed form by
the decision to hold future South African Zionist Conferences in the year
intervening between each biennial Keren Hayesod campaign.
(6) The demand for visits by propagandists which should be
divorced from fund-raising purposes was largely met, first by the utilisation
of much of Mr. Shein's services, until he left the country in July, 1927, for
general organisation and propaganda purposes, and later by a second visit by
Dr. Immanuel Olsvanger, who, from his arrival in December, 1927, until his
absorption in the Keren Hayesod campaign (March, 1928), did yeoman service in
the same field, especially in Johannesburg and neighbourhood.
Colonel Kisch
Launches Fourth Keren Hayesod Campaign.
In March, 1928, the fourth Keren Hayesod campaign was
launched under the leadership of Lt. Col. Fred H. Kisch, Chairman of the
Palestine Zionist Executive, with the collaboration of Mrs. Kisch and of Dr.
Olsvanger. In many quarters there was pessimism as to the prospects of the
campaign, but the personality and energy of Col. Kisch, the devoted assistance
of his colleagues, and the fine responsiveness evinced throughout the country,
achieved a result no less noteworthy than that of 1926; in fact, the donations
secured came to exactly the same total—£128,000—the major part of which has by
now been collected.
Col. Kisch was here for three months (March 19th to June
22nd). The demonstration in the City Hall of Cape Town on the evening of his
arrival was no less striking than that accorded to Mr. Sokolow two years
previously, and had the participation of the same distinguished South African
statesmen as on that occasion. Equally gratifying was his reception in Johannesburg,
and the banquet which inaugurated the campaign in that city yielded the record
sum of over £17,000. Generally it can be said that the fact that, after the
supreme effort of 1926, South Africa responded in an equal measure two years
later, is unimpeachable testimony to its sturdy and unwavering loyalty to the
Jewish national cause.
Colonel Kisch's visit was also important politically, for,
as the official head of the movement in Palestine itself, he was received and
heard by the people of South Africa—non-Jew as well as Jew—not merely as an
exponent of Zionist principles but as the accredited ambassador of the Jewish
nation.
The Pro-Zionist
Declaration.
Colonel Kisch was the indirect but effective originator of
an important declaration made to the Federation on October 22nd, 1928, by a
body of distinguished South African non-Jews, in which they set forth their
understanding of and sympathy with the ideals and aspirations of Zionism, and
their readiness to assist in their realisation. The signatories were: General
Smuts, Hon. Tielman Roos, Hon. Col. Creswell, Hon. J. H. Hofmeyr, Hon. Patrick
Duncan, Hon. E. R. Grobler, Hon. A. P. J. Fourie, Hon. H. Gordon Watson, the
Bishop of Pretoria, Dr. Wm. Flint, Sir J. Carruthers Beattie, Prof. A. Moorrees
and Mr. H. Bryan, and thus included two Cabinet Ministers, an ex-Prime
Minister, the Administrators of the four Provinces, the Vice-Chancellors of the
four Universities, and leaders of the Anglican, Wesleyan and Dutch Reformed Churches.
The prime mover in securing this Declaration was Mr. J. H. Hofmeyr, who thus
added but another to his many previous outstanding services to the Zionist
cause. This historic document was a remarkable pendant to the Union Government's
resolution of 1926, for, while the latter spoke for South Africa as a political
unit, the former revealed the general sentiment of the South African people
towards Zionist aspirations.
The Eleventh and
Twelfth Conferences.
The eleventh South African Zionist Conference met in
Johannesburg (April 18th to 22nd, 1928) and discussed every phase of Zionist
affairs—overseas and local—much more fully and fruitfully than its predecessors
for many years past. The following Executive was elected: President, A. M.
Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L. Landau and B. Gordon; Treasurer, L.
Braudo; Members, Mrs. E. Gluckmann, Dr. J. M. Edelstein, B. Gering, S. M.
Gordon, B. S. Hersch, J. Janower, M. Kentridge, M.L.A., N. Kirschner, I. Kuper,
H. Lourie, A. I. Miller, B. Reinhold. During its thirteen months of office this
Executive held no fewer than 45 plenary meetings, whilst the meetings of its numerous
sub-committees could be counted in hundreds. During the period, South African
Zionism lost one of its chief pillars by the death of Mr. I. Schwartz, the
leader of Cape Town Zionism for a generation.
Pursuant to a decision of the eleventh Conference, the
twelfth of the series met in 1929 (Bloemfontein, May 23rd to 26th) and, being
free from the distraction and preoccupation of a campaign, gave its undivided
attention to the problems of general Zionist policy—especially with a view to
the forthcoming sixteenth Zionist Congress—and of local Zionist activity. The
Executive which it elected has since been engaged in giving the fullest
possible effect to the decisions of the Conference. The personnel of the
Executive is as follows: President, A. M. Abrahams; Vice-Presidents, Dr. J. L.
Landau and B. Gordon; Treasurer, L. Braudo; Members, M. Kentridge, M.L.A., J.
Janower, B. Gering, B. S. Hersch, A. I. Miller, H. Lourie, S. M. Gordon, Mrs.
E. Gluckmann, B. Reinhold, N. Kirschner, Dr. J. M. Edelstein, J. Bahr..
The Jewish
National Fund.
In the endeavour to preserve chronological sequence in the
foregoing survey, a number of activities which have been pursued throughout the
whole course of South African Zionism have received either scant mention or
none at all, although obviously, from the very fact of their continuity, they
have filled a very large place in the life of the community. Outstanding
amongst these is the Jewish National Fund. This—the fund for the purchase of
the soil of Palestine as the inalienable property of the Jewish people—has been
in existence for 28 years, and differs from all other Zionist funds in that it
does not form the object of special campaigns from time to time, but is raised
by continuous effort all the year round, and thus demands the constant
attention of Zionist societies and of Jews generally. The South African work
for the fund has followed this principle, except for the "drive,"
already referred to, in 1925, which brought in £20,000. In the earlier years—down
to the termination of the Great War—the work was on a small scale, and yielded
small results. Later there came considerable developments, and, although no
extraordinary devices were employed, the normal methods of collection for the
fund were greatly developed, intensified, systematised, and popularised. This
applies, for instance, to collections on domestic and other Jewish occasions,
inscriptions in the Golden Book, concerts, balls, and other public functions,
and Boxes. The National Fund has also benefited by a number of substantial
legacies, and in a few cases by insurance policies taken out in its favour.
The following table shows the annual receipts for the fund
in South Africa:—
The following comments on the above figures are necessary:
1. In the first few years, sundry amounts were remitted to
the National Fund headquarters direct by societies, apart from the sums which
were transmitted through the Federation.
2. The figures for 1920, 1921 and 1922 were swelled by two
special collections—for the Max Nordau Garden City Fund, which brought in
£1,734, and for the inscription of Nahum Sokolow in the Golden Book on his 60th
birthday, which realised £1,513,
3. The figures for 1925 and 1926 are exclusive of the
special "drive." In 1925 the exceptionally high figure is accounted
for by the falling-in of legacies amounting to nearly £4,000.
4. The advance in the distribution of and yield from boxes
has been most marked during the past few years. When first introduced, these
boxes were difficult to place; but to-day they are installed in over 5,000
homes, and it is the aim that every Jewish home should have its box. The
development is at once seen from the following figures, showing the revenue
from the now familiar "blue box" during the past six years: 1923,
£1,244; 1924, £1,345; 1925, £1,989; 1926, £2,345; 1927, £2,891; 1928, £3,460,
In June, 1929, there took place the greatest single effort
ever made for the fund in this country—the "Land of Promise Fete" in
Johannesburg, which netted over £7,500.
By a resolution of the Zionist Conference of May last, South
Africa is pledged to raise £25,000 per annum for the fund for the next three
years, so that a substantial tract of land may be purchased in Palestine in the
name of South African Jewry
The Shekel.
The annual Shekel sale gives some, though by no means a
completely reliable index of the Zionist strength of this country. After a
confused period in the earliest years, the price of the Shekel was fixed at
1s., and so remained until 1920, when it increased to 2s. 6d. In 1921 there was
a further increase to 5s., but in 1922 it dropped back to 2s. 6d., at which
figure it has since remained. The number of Shekel-payers in each year since
1907 was as follows:
Propaganda-Spoken and Written.
Throughout its career, the Federation has employed every
conceivable means of propagating the ideals of Zionism and a knowledge of its
practical aims and achievements. A small army of men and women have given their
services in addressing public meetings for this purpose, whilst in more recent
years their efforts have been reinforced by permanent propagandists, as well as
by the various distinguished visitors from overseas, who, whilst their primary
object has been the raising of funds, have contributed enormously to the purely
propaganda side of Zionist work. At a conservative estimate, the number of
public Zionist meetings—excluding Conferences and meetings of Zionist societies—held
in this country for propaganda purposes has been between ten and fifteen
thousand, and probably has exceeded the latter figure.
Propaganda has also been served by constant circularisation,
whilst the correspondence conducted by the Federation, which has now reached
enormous proportions, also serves as a propaganda weapon. Moreover, both during
campaigns and at other times, a very large number of leaflets, pamphlets and
brochures has been circulated, some obtained from the Zionist headquarters
abroad, but a large and increasing proportion written, compiled and published
by the Federation itself.
More recently, the film and the wireless have been freely
used for propaganda purposes.
The South African
Press and Zionism.
South African Zionism has for the most part enjoyed a
favourable press, and the columns of South African journals have always devoted
much space to Zionism. It is especially gratifying to state that whilst, of
course, the Federation and its societies have done their best to influence this
publicity, a great deal of it is sought out and inserted by the various
journals of their own motion, from a sense of the importance of Zionist news
and articles and their interest both to their Jewish and Gentile readers.
The Federation's
Book Department.
The dissemination of a knowledge of Jewish history,
literature, and ideals—so indispensable to Zionist sentiment—has been greatly
helped by the stock of Jewish books carried by the Federation for sale to the
public at reasonable prices. This department of its activities has expanded
considerably from 1919 onwards, and has by now assumed the dimensions of a
respectable business. There is a large and increasing demand, with which the
Federation can hardly keep pace, for its stocks of books, pamphlets, pictures,
and other productions. Besides its many hundreds of individual customers, the
Federation has specialised in sending bulk supplies, at reduced rates, to
Jewish libraries all over the country.
The "Zionist
Record."
But of all its media of propaganda by far the most
significant and valuable is its official journal, the "Zionist
Record." As already mentioned, this began life, in November, 1908, as a
small printed monthly bulletin of foolscap size, and was at first intended
simply as a means of communication between the Federation and its societies and
representatives. It soon, however, began to grow in size and in variety of
contents. News of overseas Zionist happenings were included, as well as reports
of local Zionist activities, two features which have received ever-increasing
attention in the successive phases through which the journal has since passed.
In August, 1911, the bulletin blossomed forth into a monthly magazine, which
practically from the first was self-supporting, owing to a small annual
subscription of 5s. being charged and to revenue from advertising. The change
proved so acceptable that the circulation was doubled in four months, and
continued to increase steadily thereafter. There was a continual tendency for
the number of pages per issue to increase, and during the last few years of the
history of the journal as a monthly the issues often assumed the dimensions of
a small volume. Literary contributions—many by South Africans, whose talent the
"Record" did much to unearth and foster—news of general Jewish
happenings both here and overseas, full reports of Zionist activities in every
centre in South Africa, official announcements by the Federation—all these went
to make a formidable issue month by month. In January, 1919, the subscription
was raised by 50 per cent., in spite of which the circulation doubled itself
between that year and 1921.
From the very beginning there had been two insistent demands
in connection with the "Record"—for the publication of a Yiddish
supplement and for its conversion into a weekly. The former was tried in 1914,
but proved too costly. The latter became the settled aim of the Federation. At
last, in June, 1924, the handling by the Federation of the very considerable
enterprise which the "Record" had then become was found to be
impossible under the same roof and the same management, besides putting out of
the question the possibility of more frequent issue. A separate editor, staff
and office were accordingly engaged in that month, and in August, 1924, as the
stepping stone to a weekly, the “Record" became a fortnightly, whilst in
April, 1926, the final and decisive step was taken of issuing it weekly, with
an annual subscription of 15s. (since increased to 17s. 6d.). A company—the
Kadimah Press—was formed to conduct the paper. The Federation retains full
control by means of its founder shares, whilst it also holds a large number of
the ordinary shares. It also controls editorial policy through an Editorial
Board, which it elects and which is responsible to it. To-day, the “Zionist
Record" is incontestably the leading Jewish paper in South Africa, in
circulation, in prestige, in literary and news quality. It reaches over 500
centres in the sub-continent. It covers all Jewish happenings, here and
overseas, whilst remaining in the full sense the official mouthpiece of South
African Zionism. It is interesting to note that the suggestion, often made in
recent years, to change the name of the journal to one which would more
accurately reflect its general Jewish, as distinct from its special Zionist
aspect, has been regularly and indeed emphatically turned down.
The place of the "Record" in South African Jewish
life as a family newspaper is testified to not only by the thousands of homes
it reaches every week, but by the very remarkable feature of the New Year
greetings in its annual Rosh Hashonah issue, the number of these greetings
having now reached nearly four thousand annually.
Editors of the
"Record."
Until the last few years, the functions of Editor of the
Zionist Record" and Secretary of the Federation were, for the most part,
combined in the same individual. Mr. I. Abrahams filled both posts from the
foundation of the "Record" until the end of 1911. Mr. I. H. Harris
was editor in the early months of 1912. In September of that year Mr. Isaac
Goodman became Secretary and Editor, resigning six months afterwards. After a
short interval, Mr. I. H. Harris resumed the editorship (July, 1913) and
continued in that capacity until September, 1918. His place was then taken by
Mr. J. Alexander, who became also Secretary of the Federation in January, 1919,
and filled both posts until June, 1924, when Mr. D. Dainow became Editor of the
"Record," which post he still occupies. During the past seven years,
Mr. M. de Saxe has acted as temporary Editor on various occasions in the
absence of the regular incumbent.
The Organisation of the Federation.
The Federation is the official South African branch of the
World Zionist Organisation, and the official medium of communication between
South African Zionists and the World Zionist Executive. Its duty is to carry
into effect the resolutions of the Zionist Congress and of other authoritative
Zionist bodies, and generally to further Zionist interests in South Africa. It
is composed of such affiliated Zionist Societies and Jewish institutions as
certify their adherence to the Basle programme, and any such body may become
affiliated on submitting an application in writing together with one year's
dues. The number of such bodies is at present about 165, but this figure will
be substantially increased by the accession, in a short time, of a large number
of Young Israel Societies not previously affiliated. In addition, there are
over 250 centres, too small for an organised society, in which the Federation
has an official representative or committee. Its jurisdiction extends over a
very wide area, including not only the Union and Rhodesia, but also South-West
Africa, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Portuguese East Africa and the Belgian
Congo.
The Work of the Executive Council.
In many other countries, various departments of Zionist
activity, notably the Jewish National Fund and the Keren Hayesod, are carried
on by independent organisations and bureaus. In South Africa, however, all
departments are controlled by one administration and one office—a fact which
makes for unification, co-ordination and efficiency, and guards against
overlapping and undesirable rivalry. On the other hand, the arrangement places
a great strain upon the Federation's Executive, and there is a tendency to aim
at a greater degree of departmentalisation, without, however, impairing the
essential unity of the organisation as a whole. This in its turn, however,
demands a further development of the system of standing sub-committees of the
Executive—a system which has been in full operation for a number of years, and
imposes an ever-increasing strain upon the Executive's personnel,
An Incorporated
Body.
In May, 1925, the Federation was incorporated as a company,
and is thus clothed with a legal persona. This enables it, for example, to act
under power of attorney for such bodies as the Jewish Colonial Trust, the
Hebrew University, the National Fund, the Keren Hayesod, etc., the necessity
for which often arises in connection with bequests and other matters involving
legal procedure, but does not otherwise sensibly affect the nature of its work.
Offices and
Secretaries.
The continued expansion of the work of the Federation
throughout its history led to removals from time to time into larger premises.
Thus the offices of the Executive, which for some years before the end of the
war were in two small rooms in Portland House, were transferred in 1918 to a
set of four offices in Stock Exchange Buildings. These became too small, and
additional rooms in the same building were taken. In 1925 a move was made to a
suite of seven offices in Oceana Building, occupied jointly by the Federation
and the " Zionist Record." The accommodation for the Federation's
departments soon became too small, and four or five additional rooms had to be
taken in the same building. Eventually, last year the Federation removed to
Progress Buildings, where it is housed in a set of ten intercommunicating
offices, whilst the "Zionist Record" has a block of four offices in
an adjoining wing of the same building.
After a succession of secretaries in the early years, Mr. I.
Abrahams became Secretary in January, 1908, and filled the post for four years.
After an interval, he was succeeded in September, 1912, by Mr. Isaac Goodman,
who, however, resigned in February, 1913, being succeeded by Miss H. B. Levin,
who occupied the post until December, 1918. From January, 1919, the position
has been filled by the present writer, except for the first half of 1923, when
Mr. S. Abrahams acted temporarily. In 1922 (January to May) Mr. I. B. Rudaizky
was Secretary to the Keren Hayesod: from November, 1923, to June, 1924, and in
April and May, 1926, Mr. D. Dainow acted in the same capacity; otherwise the
Keren Hayesod has fallen under the general secretarial management.
South Africa and
Palestine.
During recent years, the direct relations between South
African Zionism and Palestine have tended to become much closer than at an
earlier stage. During the past ten years, a small but increasing number of
South African Jews have settled in Palestine—many of them persons of
substantial means—and have helped to strengthen the link which binds the Jews
of the two countries. One of the most striking messages received by this year's
Zionist Conference was a cable bearing the signatures of eleven ex-South
Africans who have settled in Palestine during the last few years. Meanwhile, a
very large and ever-increasing number of South African Zionists visit Palestine
annually, and almost invariably return filled with inspiration and enthusiasm,
which they communicate to their friends. Vigorous efforts have been made during
the last few years to stimulate trade between this country and Palestine, and
to establish a market here for Palestine products. With more systematic
business organisation it is believed that South Africa offers a good field in
this direction.
The Nature and
Extent of South African Zionism.
South African Zionists can claim a long and distinguished
record of service to the Jewish National cause, both in advocacy of its
principles and in practical work and sacrifice for their realisation. In both
respects South Africa enjoys an enviable reputation and is regarded throughout
the Zionist world as a model for other countries. Through fair weather and
foul, its Zionism has been of a stalwart and uncompromising brand, and has from
the first rejected the somewhat pusillanimous and apologetic tone which has
marked Zionist propaganda in many other countries. Both in the percentage of
Zionists to the total Jewish population and in per capita contributions to
Zionist funds, it stands easily first among the Jewish communities of the whole
world. The movement has permeated, and largely captured, all classes and ranks
of the Jewish population, and although far from the stage when it can claim all
South African Jews as active Zionists, it can count, either as active workers,
convinced followers, or sympathisers, an overwhelming majority of South African
Jewry.
