- J.
f � 7
6
THE CANADIAN JEWISH REVIEW
SEPTEMBER 5, 1931
"Daniel Deronda" And
Its Influence On The
Jewish State Idea
IY DR. N. M. GBLIER
The year 1839 saw a fundamental change in British political and ofher circles in regard to the Jewish question in relation to the problem of the Middle East. The causes of this change- must be sought in Great Britain's political interests in the Near East and the Puritao ideology, which was centred around the Bible and accompanied by a special spiritual approach by thV British to the Jews.
Since Puritanism waa the centre of the spiritual forces which placed their stamp on the formation of modem England, it is not surprising thai the reading of the holy scriptures of the Jewish people brought the British nearer to Judaism and strengthened their belief in the Prophetic assurances to the Jewish people of the return to its ancient homeland�Eretz Israel. This belief had also led to granting the Jews permission to return to England in the 17th century, which had to precede their return to Eretz Israel. In the political field this engendered the view that Britain had to assist the Jews to return to their country.
When, therefore, political con-ditions in the years 183&-1840, flowing from the wars of Mohammed AH, made it necessary to deal with the Eastern question, a strong movement originated in England for the restoration of the Jews, in- which well-known politicans played an important part and which found warm support among the British public. The general
EXdale 7455
Union Pharmacy
developments prevented the carrying out of these plans, but nevertheless the idea remained popular in those British quarters that believed in the Bible. They fervently hoped � that when the occasion arose, Britain would really take the initiative for the return of the Jews to their homeland. And every time some opportunity recurred in British foreign policy the matter was discussed by the British public.
At the time of the Crimean war (1855) the British politicians and authors, Andrew Johnstone, George Gawler and Lord Shaftesfrury, advocated the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine; which they considered the only possibility of bringing a stable peace into the Levant. A Jewish administration in> Palestine would, according to Gawler, also be advantageous to Britain's strategic interests as the Jews would never oppose them in the Levant.
The upheavals in the Middle East, the political repercussions, of which were felt in Europe between 1875 and 1877, led to the resumption' of the discussion of the return of the Jews to Palestine. On the eve of the Russo-Turkish war, in 1877, a movement arose for the Jewish solution of the Palestine problem. The purchasing of the shares of the Egyptian Khedive in the Suez Canal Company by Disraeli, with the aid of Rothschild, and the political developments HI Turkey were considered by those sympathizing with the idea of Israel's rebirth as a clear sign that the days of the Ottoman Empire were numbered,
In the press and political magazines it was clearly stated that in the case of Turkey's collapse Palestine had to be returned to the Jews. Some Englishmen even
WON VALLEE
9940 COOL ST., VEBDUN
CUSTOM BUILT FURNITURE
Interior
HEmtock 6480
proposed to finance immediately Jewish colonisation in Palestine by paying Turkey's imperial debts. At the initiative of Gawler, a society for colonisation in Syria and Palestine was founded in London, with the object to prepare in Palestine and the neighbouring countries the agricultural settlement mainly of Jews. Government circles too, motivated by the interests of the British Empire, showed interest in this idea.
It was against this background that in the year 1876 "Daniel Deronda" was published. The name of the author was given as George Eliot, a pseudonym for Mary Ann Cross, nee Evans. This novel, containing ideas of the revival of the Jewish people and its hope to re-establish independent statehood, made a deep impression on the British public, and it contributed to furthering and strengthening the idea of a Jewish Palestine.
Mary Ann Evans was born in Yorkshire on 2nd November 1819. Her father, Robert Evans, a farmer, had given her the education that was usual for girls in the England of those days, at a boarding school. From her early youth Mary Ann Evans was religiously inclined and felt draws, towards social work. � After returning home from school she founded a club for collecting clothes for the poor. At home, she c6ntinued her studies, particularly of Italian, 'German, Latin and Greek. In 1840 she began writing poetry, publishing a religious poem entitled "Christian Observer".
In that period she was still remote from sympathizing with the Jews. On the contrary, she opposed the views of' Benjamin .Disraeli on* the distinctive qualities of the Jewish race. Though she loved the Hebrew language and literature, she was of the opinion that the Jewish religion was not original and that its ideas on a national godhead and m o n o-theism were borrowed from Oriental tribes; whatever there was specifically Jewish, she thought,
was of little value.
i
In the course of time, howeve'r, after moving with her father to Coventry where she was influenced by Charles Berry and his family, she changed her views and began
Raaorti � Quebec
BesjortB � Quebec
PALOMINO LODGE
Year round resort for the discriminating guest Sta, Agatfe 241 IVBY NORTH, QUEBEC
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS .NOW FOt THI HIGH HOLT DAYS
Mrs. MINA Of/Gift's
C*nnel
TtL
DM* MSI � $*. AfrtfM 901 m SC7 ��� **. *�. Afoflw An M�rtt
STI. A6ATHI DO MONT3 I, FOft CHOICI ACCOMMODATIONS RSEXVE NOW K>t
THE HIGH HOLYDAYS
SERVICES CONDUCTED IN THI HOTEL
For rtstnrtttioM writ* or St*. AeetiN 111
Nry
jHApmg s im mi
Wrfto or
� ExetHMt Fi�rf � �________________
RESfRVf NOW FOR FALL VACATIONS AMD HIGH HOLY DATS toy Nwtk 1162 W 2 AIM LA. 2�M (
�. . Tki* Fall
lire Like A King At The CostV
HWy 0*y�, to
VOTn ^ff ffwd
"��y Doy S^oHc^t
tart Sffct
HOKTS .
Ma, Ml
FOR A GLORIOUS AUTUMN Honeymoon Holiday
�K�^^k ^j � *^__ ^
V^^V �- -* *^^ito -* �-� ^* " iw^ if^WT Wy
wt.
JT AftATNl DCS MONn, 7
The brilliant foliage, the clear sunlight, the long cool nights, combine to make Fall a most enjoyable season to tour the scenic highways and picturesque ro-mantk towns and villages of historic Quebec. Here you will be welcomed with true French-Canadian hospitality in comfortable modem inns ami hotels.
r�** ja, N.
ts*
Reaorts�New York
OPEN TILL OCT. 1
StRVkt<
>
9 HOLE GOLF COURSE ON PREMISES
9 Championship Tennis Courts
8 Handball Courts
WTO UftOt BAT
'' ' ' ~^&t
: �� '<�&:?
\ ^jfr'
A *tfT ! '*�
""*"�
h
\ \
SCAROON MANOR
HOTE L
� c/<> SCHROON LAKE NY
CANADIAN FUNDS ACCIfTD AT CURRENT RATI Of EXCHAWI
1
to study philosophy. She also translated the "Politico-theological Treaties" of Baruch Spinoza.
After the death of her father in 1849 she began to contribute philosophical essays to the "Westminster Review". Here she came into contact with a circle of authors and philosophers, among whom John- Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer and John Henry Lewis. The latter had a profound in. fluence on her and after divorc-ing his wife, they lived together until his death in 1878. This relationship alienated many of her former friends who considered her conduct immoral.
Under the influence of Lewis, Mary Ann Evans freed herself from many prejudices which had remained in her from her Christian past, including her prejudices against the Jews. Lewis had a Jewish friend, bj^ the name of Cohen, who was later her model for the character of Mordecai in ^Daniel Deronda".
'' In th� year* 1857 George Eliot visited together with Lewis, Germany, Austria and Italy, where she became familiar with Jewish life and with the. works of Jewish scholars, particularly Leopold Zunz. In Prague she was deeply impressed by the ancient Jewish cemetery and by the "Altneuschul" synagogue. The Jewish antiquities in Italy too made a profound impression on her. During these visits Mary Ann Evans became more closely connected with Jew-
New York
WtteotM Cmta Ttvhb
TO TNI
HOTIL HOLLANi
42* OtPMt WMt �f
mm
Quebec City
DTM ft
Restaurant BASTCXjNE
ish affairs and studied them. It waa at that period that �he started to write stories of a moral and philosophical character, under the pseudonym, George Eliqt.
In her studies Eliot realistically portrays her characters, every one of them having a particular tendency. During the years 1868-1871 she devoted herself to poetry and wrote a dramatic poem: "The Spanish Gypsy", against the background of Queen Isabella of Spain; in it the figure of the Jew, Shlomo Sfarda, proudly tells the Spanish grande, Don Silva Begaza, that Israel is to the other nations what the heart is to the human body, and as a Jew he is prepared to sacrifice himself for Israel, if necessary. This poem clearly shows that Eliot had become closely interested in Judaism.
Her second poem: "The Story of Yuval" is devoted to a Biblical theme, like the poem "Moses'
� New Jersey
death", in which she gloriflei Moses and his deeds. She describes how the angels Gabriel and Michael are sent to him to receive his soul, but Moses sends them away and God himself is forced to inform him that the hour of bis death has come. According to Eliot, Moses is not only a prophet of Israel, but a prophet belonging to the entire world.
After studying the sources of ^ Judaism, George Eliot devoted herself to the Jewish question, endeavouring to define its character. She tried in her novel to bring oat the historical position of world Jewry. Though Jews in Britain had full civil rights and were at liberty to practice their owo religion and allowed to occupy any position in Government and in society, they Nevertheless do not assimilate themselves; they remain on Potge Stven)
BARM'S COTTAGE
"Your Hone Away From Home"
Plan your Summer vacation
in beautiful Atlantic City
Dietary laws observed
Make your reservations early!
MO I �
wit*
Largt-Scrm TttariiiMi in e�r Lobby � A StcM'ft-Tbrtv Fro*
TIM amtnfc
Pk�M Atlottk Oty 4-07t
1M STATB AVmW
ATiAHTKcrnr, MJ.
FALL TOOK and CRUISES to
Wn� Mtos
Africa Swrtfe
Atk for o�r bookish
A*Mrvatton* and Dttatiid Information From
Tobhi't Travel Bureav
1240 PHI. ST.
UN. �-7i11
Reports � Ontario
TAUB'S LODGE
POST CABLING, ONT.
Hotvl Md coMi occMi�Mtfot4�M, K�k�r atoU ami TiMis - lod�nitMi - N*v 4oK� bolt M tl
OPEN JUNE 2S TO LAIOUR DAT
fc-------------fc. j_---A, . U/alAA AAM
KWWQON rQTv* Wn�v �W
�- TAUI, 115 Irmwict Aw.
KL
- KI. ffT7
RAWO CINEMA LTD.-16MM Sopd
Distributor* of motion pktore apparatus and sound fiha* � alto movie projector*.
A complete Hoe of fUaa available for private showings. Haviaf a kiddie*' birthday party 7 Scot a projector for the occasion. Mil Yerdm AT* TO. 4441 � TO. 7171
NEW UPTOWN CHINESE RESTAURANT1
Mandarin 6"DENS
CAFE
2f7 ONTARIO STRffT WIST (JMf OM� �*
CHINESE POOD AT ITS BEST
� A* <*out ou
aftvn
^ ^^^^ iMb A ^^^K^^^H^ ^^^^^^^A^^^B ^^
P*CK 19 e OMKicui conmnv 10 Ptvn* and IT vftf bt no*t tar you FTW f~**m 4J� �^L H J �JL �
TOUt PLANSNOW FOK PRIVATE MffT
SANcjorrs, ETC
NOW OpOT . . . � CfMn tO MM NOftll EM
CHOPSTICH
Upttain, 5149* Hrk A TA, 4�37
Best Chinese food . . . nice surroundings . . . courteous Specie! Business Men's ond Shoppers' Lunch. Tea-rime Treat.
Supper, After-Theatre Snodcs, until 5 a.m. ORDERS TO TAKE OUT . . . PRIVATE PARTIES
1