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Vol. III. VNo, 15
TORONTO, ONT., FEBRUARY 9, 1923
TEN CENTS THE COPY $3.00 THE YEAR
"ACROSS PALESTINE
BY AEROPLANE
\
By COLONEL J. H. PATTERSON
Those who have read "The Arabian Nights" must, sometime or other in their lives, have longed to visit the scene of the wonderful exploits of the Caliph Harouri el Raschid. At all events, Baghdad had ever been to me a magic city, but I never hoped to realize my desire to wander amid its labyrinthine bazaars, and explore its tbrtuous byways. -
Then, quite recently, I found myself in the city of my dream, alas, it fell far short of-my vivid imaginings, .for there were neither splashing fountains nor marble palaces, and every "abba" did not conceal the lovely form of a Scheherazade.
Nevertheless the city has a peculiar charm, and its situation oil the banks of the noble Tigris gives it a certain distinction .and an individuality all its own.
The country of the two rivers has had a great past,.and naturally I was anxious to see the remains of the once mighty Babylon, which is. situated oh'_ the Euphrates, some 60 miles to the southward of Bagdad, A few hours journey brought me to this historic site, and one of the first buildings pointed out to me was the .palace of Nabuchadnezzar, the great oppressor of the Jews. As I wandered amid these ancient"; ruins, and remembered all the tribulations which the Israelites had suffered in these surroundings, the beautiful words of the 137th Psalm came to my mind:
"By the rivers of Babylon, there
we sat down, yea, We wept when we remembered Zion. \Ve-hanged our. harps .upon the
willows in the midst Thereof, for there they that carried
us away captive'.". Required of us a song;-and they that
wasted us required Of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of
the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's Song
in a strange land?"
Of a surety the scene of desolation upon which I gazed was most impressive. Here, buried in dust and mounds of clay, lay all that was left of Nebuchadnezzar and his vast dominions. How truly had the prophet foretold the utter destruction of Babylon, the ultimate triumph of his own people.
Before my eyes was the visiWe proof of prophecy fulfilled, while I knew that, away beyond the Syrian Desert, God's �chosen people were even now rebuilding Zion.
Bagdad is still to be associated in my mind with something of the miraculous, for, instead of travelling in the ordinary way by rail and steamer, a veritable magic carpet transported me from the banks of the swiftly flowing Tigris aftd deposited me, in an incredibly short space of time, on the hanks of the sluggish Nile. Although the speed of my flight was terrific, it did not in the 4east interfere with the wonderful panorama which unfolded itself below me on this eventful journey.
When we soared aloft from Bagdad we crossed over the Tigris, and scarcely had we lost sight of that mighty river than its twin brother the Euphrates, came into view, and when the latter in turn was crossed and began to fade away into the distance, we entered the great Syrian desert and headed towards the Promised Land.
Once during the flight engine trouble brought us down among '>f�eder$ JTents"�somewhere midway between the Euphrates and the Jordan; we were immediately surrounded by a horde of Bedouins. ^They _appeared from all points of the compass on camels, on horses and on foot�old men, young men,- women and children�evidently astonished at tthe great magic bird which had alighted in their midst. Very cautious too, was their approach, and finally they stood, or squatted at a respectful distance in a great circle around us, until at last, an old Sheikh, more courageous than the rest, made so bold as to advance and timorously touch a wing of the giant bird. Then as the strange monster neither kicked nor bit, nor hissed nor spat, the remainder of the tribe swarmed forward, all full of curiosity and eagerness to examine .at close quarters, what must have appeared to them, some demon, such :as..those wevread of in the pages of the Arabian Nights. All were most friendly, chattering and uttering various exclamations of wonder and astonishment as they peeped here and there, over and under the great machine. This state of happy and childlike confidence was, however, dispelled in a startling fashion for, suddenly, the mechanic swung the starting handle and immediately the 1,000 H.P. engine emitted a terrific roar, just as if hundreds of machine guns had been loosed off in a salvo.
The panic that ensued baffles description. Women .screamed,-. children yelled, grown men fell overreach other in their haste to get away; Arab steeds, bolted for the horizon: pursued by un-gaiiily camels, gurgling in terror as they fled from the fiery monster.
When, however, these unsophisticated sons of Ishmael realized that the demon was not actually spitting lead, but only making dreadful noises preparatory to taking flight-they halted and laughed loudly at their own comic discomfiture.
A weird and desolate country is the Syrian desert, and it was with a feeling of joy, almost of home-coming, that a couple of hours later I spied ahead of me the Judean hills, and away to the right, Mount Hermon.
I looked down upon the Moab hills, possible upon Pkgah, some 5,000 feet below, and, as I surveyed the vast panorama, extending from the Lebanon almost to die gtrif of Akafaa and far into the "utmost sea." I realized that I was looking over an area probably more than twice as great as that which came under the vision of the great Law Giver.
Continued on p*gt 75
B'NAI BR1TH
Henry M.lEinkle was elected secretary of B'nai- Brith Lodge on; Monday evening, following a spirited contest with Reuben Lieberman, the first count of ballots showing a. tie vote. The meeting was featured by the disclosure of considerable talent among brethren of the lodge after the adjournment when a stag party was put on. .
First, the members were shown the film version of . the Carpentier-Ted Lewis fight; following which, one of the jazziest of jazz orchestras." furnished music for a rollicking Harold Lloyd comedy. Brother Mark Markus started the ball rolling, by his recitation of "Dangerous Dan McGrew." Brother Harry .Horn gave a pathetic Yiddish recitation, and Brother Sol Kauffman gave an impersonation of the eminent actor, Lewis Waller, in King Henry V.,. taking the historic scene where the aged . king is urging his men to victory.
.An innovation for the next meeting will be the presence of twenty underprivileged boys in the care of their regular mentors. Brother Ralph Raphael, chairman of the Boys' Work Committee, is the moving spirit behind a plan which seeks to hearten and encourage bur unfortunate "kid broth-
Mrs. B. R JJlnCKNER
Addresses Hadassah At-Home
ers.
The date of the lodge's next informal dance is March 1, at the Prince .Ge.orge Hotel.
COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN
Community House
Considering the short time the Community House has been operating,i-the. ladies, of. the House committee have .made rapid strides in putting the house in condition for use. Electricity has been installed on the third floor. Members of the Council and the public who have not already visited the new quarters,are cordially invited to come.
Too much cannot be said of the work the different groups are doing at* the Community House, especially the younger group. The executive believe, with the social workers of to-day, -'better save the child than put the adult in prison;" Better the Community House than a detention home. .
Hospital Visiting
The convenor of hospital visiting reports that the hospitals are closed to visitors owing to the flu epidemic. \^
Big Sister Work
A conference of the Big Sisters was held on Tuesday,; January 30, at the Community House. Those present are real Big Sisters and deeply interested in their charges. Great progress has Been reported in this work.
Study Circle
The Bible Class, under the leadership of Rabbi Brickner. continues every Thursday, at L30. Any Council member still desiring to join will kintlly send their names to Mrs. J. S. Cohen. convenor.
Girls* dub
Eleven hundred young people have attended the Jewish Girl*,' Oub during the past fortnight. The Literary Society presented a two act cornedv on the evening of Sunday. January 28. A masquerade daace ba* been -promised for Purim.
Palest ine Arbor Day, (Chamisho Qsor Beshvat) did not pass unnoticed in the Jewish community, In accordance with a custom to fittingly observe every Jewish .holiday, the members of the various Hadassah Chapters, with their husbands and friends gathered together on Thursday evening, February 1, at the Zionist Building, and celebrated the New Year of the Trees. ' - _
The feature of the program was an address by Mrs. Barnett K. Brickner, who spoke on the significance of the day. Comparing the Jewish people to a tree that had been uprooted from a fertile soil, the speaker declared that only when that tree, was planted again invPalesline coukj it flourish and'thrive. The return of the Jews to Palestine was necessary for the continuance of their existence.
Mrs. Brickner congratulated Hadas^-sah on its activities. To make Hadassah desirable should be the aim of every Chapter.
-Mrs. J. Sclick moved a vote of thanks to the speaker. A musical selection by Miss Florence ; Labile completed the program. . Mrs. David Dunkelman presided^ � � �..-�'��'�
A new supply of.china and culinary equipment was, secured for the building for; the occasion, and this will now be available for all other atf'airs: - " , '
The'At-Home, apart from the fact that it was a celebration of'a Jewish holiday, served to bring together the various Chapters, who all took part under the convenorship of Mrs. Pollack.
JUNOIR HADASSAH
The first.official meeting of the Junior Hadassah -will be lieU.l next Sunday, February .11, at the Prince George Hotel, at 2.30 p.m. sharp.
Nomination- and election of officers will take place and various committees will'be formed. These are the following: Si ember ship, Literary and Program, Social, . Sewing. Palestinian. Orphans, National Fund. Young Judaea, Hadassah Hospitals. Dramatic, Musicaj. and Publicity,
Delegates will also be elected to the Hadassah and Zionist Councils.
Although cards were sent out for this meeting, all who arc interested in .Hadassali work are urged to attend and enroll in the membership; lists. The cards were sent -out only to those who attended the organization meeting.
The little oiu-s _.an ending the si-win^ school vlas*k;s are working diligently on many articles of wearing an;wirel. Sewing Circles
Ra� dolls are si ill bcinv: nude t-vtry Monday afternoon arid are for sale at $1.00. The provcetis from these sales gae� toward buying ihc nuurul Ux the community *cuin-.; uhich takes place every Thur-day afternoon uruier the direction of Mrs. l>t>ra Stein. Neit Meeting
The rcgu'ar rnomfy mtviinc of ihe Council will ��*kr f^are^ oft February 22,