Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

6 THE SOUTHE RN ISRAELITE Zionist Merry-Go-Round A Theory Caught In a Trap, Beating Its Wings Against Reality Zionist Congresses have long been insti tutions in Jewish life, quite apart from Zionism as such. The highly articulate, but politically suppressed Jewish people, especially in Eastern Europe, have found in these biennial gatherings a vehicle for expressing their suppressed desire for political discussion and parliamentary pro cedure denied them in their own countries. These Congresses with their grandiloquent, rhetorical manner of a people's Tribune, have served them as a substitute for a Par liament, with all its showy, stage-like activities, even as Zionism itself has served them as a psychological proxy for a real State of their own. But, if Zionist Congresses correspond thus to Parliaments, then the Seventeenth Zionist Congress, held recently at Basle, in Switzerland, has shown that the Jewish Parliament is sharing the general decline of all Parliaments of the post-war period. It was, perhaps, the stormiest of all Zion ist gatherings, patterned on the old Polish Sejm, with a dash of the German Reich stag in its recent, demoralized condition since the advent of Hitlerism, and it has thrown into light the unfitness of the East- European Jewish temperament for parlia mentary procedure in time of emotional stress. By WILLIAM ZUKERMAN Special to The Southern Israelite Mr. Zukerman, Europe’s best informed Jewish journalist, analyzes the change which Zionism is going through. “Why Was the Seventeenth Zionist Congress a Landmark?” “Can Palestine Become A Jewish State?” “Did the Balfour Declara tion Guarantee a Jewish Majority in Pal estine?” “Is Jewish Nationalism A Danger?” “Was There Personal Animus in the Removal of Dr. Weizmann?” “Is Zionism at the Beginning of o New Era or Moving Towards its Destruction?” Zukerman, premier foreign observer, answers these questions and reveals the unadulterated truth of what happened in Basle—This article tells all about the Basle—Merry-Go-Round. llllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIimillllllimillMIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIItlllllllllllllHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIi struck deep roots, then the Seventeenth Zionist Congress may well be a unique landmark in the long Jewish story, and not a pleasant landmark at that. The Seventeenth Zionist Congress neces sarily reflected the present acute crisis in the Zionist movement, and the best that can be said about it is that the stormy spectacle which it presented was an expres sion of the inherent turbulence of Zionism at the present moment. For it was at this Congress that the Zionist movement for the first time realized the limitations of Zionism, and the need for adjusting the old ideal to the limitations imposed by reality. What most non-Zionists and many of the sober Zionists have known and anticipated for years, the Zionist move ment as a whole came to face only at this Congress—namely, that present-day Zion ism is not, and cannot be, what its nine teenth century founder, and still more his adherents, believed it to be: that Pales tine cannot be a Jewish State; that the Balfour Declaration did not guar;; itee a Jewish majority in Palestine, and that in the words of Dr. Weizmann, “the com paratively narrow strip of country stretch ing along part of the Mediterranean coast cannot solve the Jewish problem—the problem of finding relief for the millions of oppressed Jewish people in Eastern European countries.” It was painful to watch this realization of a bitter truth by an emotional people. A theory, caught in a trap, was beating its wings against the iron walls of reality until it bled; a social movement pulled up by insurmountable barriers was dashing itself against the hard cliffs of fact only to fall back in impotence. It was this that was doubtless responsible for the many wild scenes, irrational acts, and inexcusa ble blunderings commited by this gather ing. In vain did the more sober men, who had seen the approach of this crisis for years, counsel calm, fortitude, patience and hard work on a smaller scale. In vain did they point out that shouting and scream ing, and putting extreme demands, would not change the situation by one iota; that it were far better to settle down to do what it is possible to do in Palestine; to build what can be built, and on a scale which circumstances permit. In vain did Dr. Weizmann attempt to save the move ment from further foundering by propos ing the first really constructive programme Zionism has ever (Please turn to Page 16) But it has revealed also something much more important and new; namely, the rise of a new force in Jewish life which hith erto was never associated with Jews. If this proves to be not merely a transient appearance, but something which has Palestine Pavilion At French Colonial Fair “The eyes of the world look upon Palestine” is a phrase quite frequently heard at Jewish gatherings. Now it is not a mere phrase. It’s a fact. This picture shows a structure which quite resembles Rachel’s Tomb. It is tht Palestine Pavilion at the French Colonial Fair, recently opened in Pans, to which multitudes from all parts of the wot d are attracted daily. The Palestine Pavilion is shared by Jewish National Fund, which has a st ing exhibit of its work and progress Palestine; the Zionist Executive and Palestine Potasch Co., Ltd., which sh the progress of the work in wres' industrial life for Palestine from Dead Sea. When the pavilion was opc recently, Baron Edmund de Rothch ild present and the well known French sta man, Painleve, delivered an enthusia•* f address on the i^-eals of Zionism and f Jewish accomplishments in Palestine. y