With the Judaeans in the Palestine Campaign Part 5

Nothing daunted, however, I proceeded to G.H.Q., where I had an interview with the Commander-in-Chief, who told me quite frankly that he was not in sympathy with the War Office policy in sending this Jewish Battalion to Palestine, and that he did not want any further addition such as I suggested to his Forces.

At a subsequent interview which I had with his Chief of Staff, I gathered that I need expect but little sympathy for my battalion, as Major-General Louis Jean Bols told me quite plainly that he was not favourably disposed towards Jewish aspirations.

This anti-Jewish policy of General Allenby and his Chief of Staff came as a shock to me, for I knew that it was the settled intention of His Majesty's Government to support these Jewish Battalions, and the Jewish claim to Palestine, and I had been expecting quite a different reception for my proposals from the E.E.F. authorities to that which they received. I found, to my amazement, that the policy adopted by the Staff towards this Jewish Battalion, and the Jewish problem generally, ran counter to the declared policy of the Home Government. Alas! it seemed that another Pharaoh had arisen who knew not Joseph; and once again we would be expected to make bricks without straw, and become hewers of wood and drawers of water. Instead of this new unit being helped and encouraged, we were, on the contrary, throughout our service in the E.E.F., made to feel that we were merely Ishmaelites, with every hand uplifted against us.

I knew full well what our fate would be once the policy of G.H.Q. on this question was known, and, as I will show later, the underlings of the Staff did not fail to play up to the att.i.tude of the higher command.

I hoped, however, that the battalion would do such good work that we would eventually overcome all prejudice. We looked for no favours, and only wanted to be treated as a battalion "all out" to do its duty.

The Commander-in-Chief was of course aware by this time of the Arab pretensions to Syria, and as his mind was, no doubt, wholly centred on his own war theatre, he was naturally anxious to placate the Arab at all costs. The Arab was at his door, giving him certain a.s.sistance by harrying the Turks to the East of the Jordan, and the fact that the Hedjaz Army was fighting on our side kept Bedouins and other marauders from interfering with our lines of communication--no small matter in Palestine and Syria. The intrusion of the Jew was a disturbing factor to his policy, and was therefore resented.

The local Military Authorities, however, seemed oblivious of the fact that there was a much bigger question involved than that which loomed so largely in their eyes on the Palestine horizon. There was England's world policy to be considered, and her Statesmen had already decided that it was very much in her interests to win over to her side Jewish help and sympathy the world over. Let no one under-estimate what that help meant to the Allies during the Great War. The Jewish element, owing to the Balfour Declaration, came solidly to our side in every land, and in America greatly helped to counter the German propaganda which was fast gripping hold of the United States. It was unfortunate that this far-sighted and wise policy of our Imperial Statesmen was never grasped by their local agents in Palestine.

In the E.E.F., so far as one on the spot could judge, but scant heed was paid to any policy unless it bore on local affairs and coincided with the point of view held by G.H.Q. and the satellites revolving round it.

If only a little wise diplomacy had been employed, I am strongly of the opinion that it would have been quite practicable for the local authorities to have treated the Jewish problem fairly and on the lines of the Balfour Declaration and, at the same time, have retained the Arabs on our side. After all the Arabs were as much interested in the downfall of the Turk as we were ourselves, and, to his honour be it said, the Emir Feisal never showed himself hostile to Jewish aspirations. On the contrary he expressed the utmost goodwill and worked hand in hand with Dr. Weizmann for the common good of both peoples.

The Jew and the Arab are necessary to each other in the Near East, and if England wishes to retain her Empire it is vital to her interests to keep friendly with both. I am afraid that at the moment we are at a discount to the East of Suez. During the stress of war certain promises were made to the Arabs which appear difficult to redeem, mainly due to the policy of France in Syria. I admire France immensely, and that is why I so much deplore her imperialistic aims beyond the Lebanons. She is sowing a rich crop of troubles for herself in these regions, and I am certain that ere long we shall see her reaping a bitter harvest. I met a much travelled French officer in Cairo, who had just relinquished an administrative post in Beyrout, and he told me that, if his Government was wise, it would clear out of Syria, where it would have nothing but trouble for generations to come. "If only," he went on, "England would give us a bit of Africa and take Syria instead, France would make a good bargain."

We, however, do not want Syria, but we do want to see a strong and settled Arab state in these strictly Arab regions, and I sincerely hope that our Statesmen will be wise enough, and energetic enough, to bring about such a desirable consummation. If we permit the Bolshevists and Turks to oust us from our friends.h.i.+p with the Jews and Arabs, and with King Hussein and his son the Emir Feisal (now the King of Irak), upon whom we have alternately blown hot and cold, just as it pleased France to pipe the tune then we shall witness the beginning of the end of our power and prestige in the Orient.

My trip to G.H.Q. was not quite in vain, for just before we left Egypt sanction was given to enlist Palestinian volunteers. I sent to Judaea a specially trained recruiting party, all fluent Hebrew speakers, under the command of Lieutenant Lipsey, to report to Major James de Rothschild of the 39th Battalion, who was the officer appointed to supervise this work in Egypt and Palestine.

The response to Major de Rothschild's appeal was enthusiastic--in fact his chief trouble was to keep out grey-beards and unfledged youths, so eager were all to join up.

Lieutenant Lipsey had some difficulty in keeping his end up in Jerusalem, where there were many anti-Zionists, but finally he worsted his opponents and emerged triumphant with nearly 1,000 recruits.

The following is a translation of the Hebrew recruiting poster sent throughout Palestine at this time:--

HEAR, O ISRAEL!

Hear! What does your heart prompt you to do?

Shall we not reclaim our heritage and establish its possession in the eyes of the world?

Hearken! What does your reason say to you?

The British are fighting here before our eyes, and shall we remain in our houses until they return from the battle to give us our country which they have redeemed with their blood?

Hearken! What does your honour and conscience dictate?

Is it possible for us to accept from the hands of our righteous redeemers such an offering of blood?

Shall not we too, together with them, offer our lives for our country?

HEAR, O ISRAEL!

The blood of our heroic forefathers, the blood of the British who fight for us this day, and the blood of the martyrs, cry unto us from this sacred ground.

ENLIST! ENLIST!

Shoulder to shoulder, together with our saviours, to the battle let us go. And salvation is with the Lord.

BE STRONG!

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FEAST OF THE Pa.s.sOVER.

At this time G.H.Q. was situated at a place called Bir Salem (the Well of Peace), ten miles to the east of Jaffa, and as, after my interview, I had the whole day before me, I borrowed a motor-car and paid a flying visit to Jerusalem, some thirty miles away to the eastward. I will not attempt to describe here what I felt as I approached the Holy City, along the winding road which leads up to it through the rocky Judaean mountains.

I entered the old walled city through the Jaffa Gate, and was soon buried in its gloomy bazaars and labyrinthine pa.s.sages, seeking out the old historic spots which I had reverenced from the days of my youth. I had but a few hours for my explorations, but they were about the busiest hours I ever spent, and although I have paid many visits to Jerusalem since that date I have not forgotten the glamour thrown over me by my first visit to these sacred shrines and temples of antiquity.

I left Jerusalem at three in the afternoon and was back in my camp at Helmieh within twenty-four hours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JERUSALEM]

The Battalion was attached to the School of Instruction at Zeitoun (close to Helmieh), which was an unfortunate arrangement, for our requirements were not attended to, and we were often kept idle for long periods owing to want of equipment, such as rifles, etc., to enable the men to fire their musketry course. There was no excuse for this, for there was plenty of equipment of all kinds in the Ordnance Stores at Cairo. It was the fault of the vicious system of having to get everything we wanted through the School of Instruction, whose staff did not seem to think that our requirements needed speeding up. It was not until Brigadier-General A. B. Robertson a.s.sumed command of the school that matters were mended, for this officer took a very friendly interest in us and did everything in his power to help us along.

The Feast of the Pa.s.sover was celebrated during our stay at Helmieh.

Thus history was repeating itself in the Land of Bondage in a Jewish Military Camp, after a lapse of over 3,000 years from the date of the original feast.

I had considerable trouble with the authorities in the matter of providing unleavened bread. However, we surmounted all difficulties, and had an exceedingly jovial first night, helped thereto by the excellent Palestinian wine which we received from Mr. Gluskin, the head of the celebrated wine press of Richon-le-Zion, near Jaffa. The unleavened bread for the battalion, during the eight days of the Feast, cost somewhat more than the ordinary ration would have done, so I requested that the excess should be paid for out of Army Funds. This was refused by the local command in Egypt, so I went to the H.Q. Office, where I saw a Jewish Staff Officer, and told him I had come to get this matter adjusted. He said that, as a matter of fact, he had decided against us himself. I told him that I considered his judgment unfair, because the battalion was a Jewish Battalion, and the Army Council had already promised Kosher food whenever it was possible to obtain it, and it would have been a deadly insult to have forced ordinary bread upon the men during Pa.s.sover. I therefore said that I would appeal against his decision to a higher authority. He replied, "This will do you no good, for you will get the same reply from G.H.Q." He was mistaken, for I found the Gentile, on this particular occasion, more sympathetic than the Jew, and the extra amount was paid by order of the Q.M.G., Sir Walter Campbell.

During our stay at this camp we were reviewed by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, and, towards the end of May, by the Commander-in-Chief, General Allenby. Both these officers expressed themselves as pleased with the smart soldierly appearance and steadiness of the men, the Duke of Connaught remarking that "the men all appeared to be triers."

Towards the close of our training at Helmieh, and just as I was beginning to congratulate myself that the battalion was shaping well and would soon be fit for the front, I was staggered by the receipt of a letter from G.H.Q. which aimed a deadly blow at our very existence. It was nothing less than the proposal to break up the battalion and allow the men to join Labour units! This was undoubtedly a clever move on the part of the Staff to rid themselves of the Jewish problem and, at the same time, bring the derision of the world upon the Jew.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BATTALION ON PARADE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: TOMB OF RACHEL, NEAR BETHLEHEM (_See page_ 93)]

It put me in a very difficult position, for I felt very keenly that, if the battalion were disbanded and turned over to Labour units, it would throw an indelible stigma on Jewry.

I felt that it was my duty to protect the battalion from the disgrace that would attach to it if it could be said that the only Jewish unit raised for war purposes had refused to fight--even for Palestine.

I therefore ordered a parade of the men by Companies, and got the officers to point out to the men their sacred duty, and gave instructions for any malcontents to be sent before me for a final appeal. Only twelve men were found who wished to join a Labour unit, and to these twelve (I thought the number appropriate, as it was one for each tribe) I made a strong personal appeal, and after I had pointed out, in the best language at my command, what a stigma they were placing on the battalion, and on their fellow Jews throughout the world, ten saw the error of their ways and cheerfully said they wished to do their duty as soldiers, and continued serving with the battalion, and I am glad to be able to place on record that these ten did very well afterwards in the field, one of them making the supreme sacrifice. Two only remained obdurate to all appeals, and insisted on being posted to a Labour unit, and I think Jewry should remember them to all time. Their names and numbers, and the evil which they did, are recorded in the chronicles of the battalion. They were turned out of the camp and drafted to a Labour unit at a moment's notice, just as if they had been lepers.

Towards the end of April, 1918, we were delighted to welcome the 39th Battalion from England, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Margolin, D.S.O., and with them as M.O. I was glad to see Captain R. Salaman. We gave the new arrivals a very hearty welcome, the band of the 38th Battalion playing them into Camp amid great enthusiasm.

There was much friendly rivalry between these Jewish Battalions, and honours were about easy in our sporting compet.i.tions. We gave one or two "At Homes," to which all Cairo seemed to flock, and I am sure our good Cairene friends were favourably impressed with what they saw of the Jewish Battalions at work and play.

Just about this time we were visited at Helmieh by Dr. Weizmann, Mr.

Joseph Cowen, and Mr. Aaronson. All three gave addresses to the men. Mr.

Aaronson moved his audience to fury by graphically describing the torture which the Turks had inflicted on his aged father and young sister in Palestine, because they had dared to help England. Mr.

Aaronson lived to see his home land freed from the Turk, but soon afterwards lost his life in an aeroplane disaster while crossing from England to France.

Dr. Weizmann has done much and suffered much since he addressed us on that peaceful evening in the Egyptian desert. If he could have foreseen everything I doubt if even his undaunted soul would have faced unblenched all the trials and tribulations which have fallen to his lot since he undertook the arduous task of leading his people back to the Land of Israel. His task has been, if anything, more difficult than was that of the great Lawgiver. The latter had only to surmount the obstinacy of one Pharaoh, while Dr. Weizmann had to overcome that of thousands--not a few of them being Jews!