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Page 22 The Southern Israelite The Star Laundry SERVICE SATISFACTION Phone 5113-5114 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA RICHAR DSON The FLORIST BELL A INI) LIBERTY STS. PHONES: Store 2065—Nursery 2H72 SAVANNAH, GA. MARCUS S. BAKER Receiver of Tax Returns Chatham County '•••( SAVANNAH, GA. R. J. STEWART Chatham County Treasurer ringing in my ears, I make my way wearily to my hotel, a luxury here on Purim, and retire at an early hour, dreaming of grotesque and impossible fantasias, where rainbows of fire works exist in a dazzling splendour of color. I am awakened early in the morn ing by the dancing reflections of the sun’s rays as they toy playfully with the crystal bowl of gold-fish, throw ing ludicrous figures on the ceiling. The spirit of a Palestinian spring is infectious. It insinuates itself into your veins, insidiously, irresistibly. I “He that hath not beheld the joy of ! the drawing of water (Simchath Beth I Hashoeva) hath seen no joy in his t life,” the Mishnah tells us. He that i hath not beheld the glory of a Pales tinian spring hath seen no beauty of j nature. The lark singing its morning | love song, the showily dressed butter fly on the wing, the queen bee chased by thousands of suitors, all too eager to assume royalty. In the distance, over sandy wastes, clumps of palm trees are swaying and sighing in the breeze, and overhead, Heaven’s shin- ! ing canopy beams down on Mother | Earth. The humming drone of a Brit- | ish airplane is heard, its propellors cutting and whirling through the | pure air musically and rhythmically, j purring like a contented cat, as it ! takes a morning trip over the Harden City. The time for the parade has been set for two o’clock p. m., and the morning passes intense expectancy. For in this procession, Her Majesty, the Queen of the Garden City, will I make her debut in a horse-drawn car- I riage, heading the parade. Long be- ! fore the scheduled time, huge crowds are lined up alongside all the main thoroughfares of the city, kept in regular formation by squads of mounted police. A golden opportunity is afforded to enterprising commer cialism on this day, vast sums of money being spent on advertising novelties. At precisely two o’clock the procession is sighted, wending its I way from the seashore along the | Allenby Road. A bodyguard of several I mounted police astride their prancing I Arabian mares, herald the approach I of the Queen. A mighty roar bursts forth from the spirited populace as the carriage bearing Her Majesty rolls up into view. “Teehi Hamalka,” j long live the queen; the cry is taken | up by thousands of lusty voices, and resounds throughout the city, from , the banks of the Yarkon river to the fields of cactus stumps on the city’s borders. The queen, verily a type of j Oriental royalty, smiles back radiant ly at her subjects, tilling their hearts with appreciative sympathy. Follow ing the royal carriage, come a-trailing a medley of quaint and mirth-pro voking vehicles. At least three hundred vehicles of every conceivable construction must have passed through Tel-Aviv, provid ing a two hour program of novel and ' original amusement for nearly eighty thousand Jews. The parade over, the populace wends its way to the sea shore, and enthusiastic bathers sur render themselves to the refreshing waves, a delicious cooler after the j sultry heat of the day. Near the Casino, a popular cafe teria built on the very edge of the sea, I throw myself down on the sandy bed, and am soon in the arms of Morpheus. The sun had veered 1 round, and was slowly descending to the horizon; the shadows of night fall had enveloped that sandy coast ere I awoke. Ah: what exquisite beau ty. The moon, a glory of pale silver had given that romantic tint to na- | ture. The phosphoresence, like dead ivory flushing into life, was dancing and sparkling on the tossing waters. I gaze up at the bestarred heavens, . alive with myriads of constellations, a gentle reminder to man of his puny place in nature. Truly a congruous ending to a prfect day. The steamers j have weighed their ponderous an chors, and are gliding noiselessly along the silvered waters en route for the next port. Suddenly a pistol shot rings out, wieldly piercing the stillness of the night. Amused at my own sensitiveness, I realise that I am in Tel-Aviv, and Purim night is to be celebrated as well as the day. The shot, probably a mere joke on the part of some bold youngsters, sends my mind back to my first Purim in Palestine. I had stationed myself in the Jewish quarters of Jaffa, and standing nonchalantly on the balcony of my hotel, was watching with keen interest the Purim procession down below. In the midst of the joyous pro ceedings, a pistol shot rang out, fol lowed almost simultaneously by a girl’s blood-curdling shrieks. A sud den commotion arose and the Arab storekeepers hurriedly shut up show and made for home. A Jewish youth of seventeen had been shot down in cold blood by an arrogant Arab, who, resenting the interference of the Jew while making advances to his sister, a pretty maid of sixteen, had drawn his gun and fired, fatally wounding the unfortunate youth. Five years had elapsed since that memorable episode, but the pitiful screams of the ill- fated youth’s sister still ring in my ears. We celebrate Purim, the feast of Lots, year in year out, we offer thanksgiving for the fall of the Amal- ekite, we repeat the story of the emancipation of the Jew. But the spirit of Amalek still smoulders in the ashes of fiery scorn, is yet alive with passion for the destruction of all that is pure, holy, and godly. William L. Grayson SAVANNAH. GA. HENRY McALPIN ORDINARY SAVANNAH, GEORGIA THOS. S. RUSSELL V SAVANNAH. GA. JOHN L. CABELL Tax Collector Chatham County SAVANNAH, GEORGIA Clerk City Court SAVANNAH. GEORG1 V STREET SCENE IN TEL-AVIV, PALESTINE