Every clipping in this archive printed between 1891 and 1898: 8 of them, oldest first, as plain text that can be read, searched and quoted without running any code. Each entry links to its own record, where the scan is.
· The Day · New London · page 1
The Fellaheen of Palestine
Reprinted from the Contemporary Review
“The whole impression left in my mind by what I saw of the fellaheen in Palestine was that here was an ancient and historic people—perhaps I should rather say the descendants of three such peoples, the sons of Canaan, of Aram and of Ishmael—sinking down into a state of mere savagery, such as that of the least civilized of the tribes whom Stanley encountered in his march across Africa. For this long continued and still continuing decline of Palestine we must hold the natives of Palestine partly responsible. Their weakness may be to some extent the result of that enervating climate of theirs, where Baal, the mighty sun god, still shows himself as of old a terrible potentate, withering up the greenness of the earth and the vital forces of men. But, whatever the cause, I think we must admit the fact that there is a grievous lack of energy and self reliance among the Syrian peasants. Accustomed from childhood to stretch out the hand for backsheesh, and following in stolid ignorance the same round of agricultural labors which their forefathers have trodden for centuries, the very features in their character which make them so interesting a study to the student of Biblical archæology seem to make it almost a hopeless task to form them into an enterprising, progressive, self governing community.—Contemporary Review.”
Both halves of the argument in one paragraph. There are people there, they are ancient, they are the natives of the place — and they are savages who are to blame for the state of it.
“It is only of recent years that Jaffa oranges have obtained a worldwide reputation, for but some 18 years since they were scarcely known save at Beyroot, Alexandria and Constantinople. A special feature of the Jaffa orange is that it will keep 30 or 40 days, and if properly packed for two and sometimes even three months. The port of Jaffa is surrounded on the land side by orange groves, covering an area of 1,780 acres. New orange groves are constantly being planted, and there are now double as many as there were 15 years ago… During all this time and even afterward the orchards have to be watered continually, and this irrigation is the most difficult and laborious part of the work, the water having to be drawn by means of primitive waterwheels from wells dug in the gardens 90 feet and even 100 feet deep.”
An export trade with a shelf life and a shipping problem, written up for American readers in 1893, and reprinted from the Planters’ Gazette. Nobody arguing about anything.
“FARMING IN PALESTINE. The land of milk and honey has sadly deteriorated since the days when the Israelites took possession of it. The cattle upon a thousand hills have dwindled to scant herds, and the hills themselves, which were once terraced like the choicest lands of Italy, yielded skins of wine and tons of fruit, have been denuded of their earth by centuries of rain. Such milk as is sold in Jerusalem and in the various villages of the Holy Land is made up of a mixture from camels, goats and cows, and there are probably more cattle on the Western Reserve of Ohio than in all Palestine. Compared with the rich countries of the nineteenth century, Palestine never was a fertile land.”
The scan is 237 pixels wide across four columns, so only the standing head and the opening paragraph have been re-read against it. An earlier version of this record carried three further quotations from further down the column; they could not be confirmed and have been removed.
We understand, says the London Daily Graphic, that practical steps are being taken for the re-establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine. A scheme which was drawn up last year by Dr. Herzl, of Vienna, and subsequently published as a pamphlet in German and English, has found considerable favor among the Jews of Vienna, Paris and London... Dr. Herzl, who is at present in Constantinople, has had a long interview with the Grand Vizier.
One Object to Regain Possession of Coenaculum for the Catholics
“BERLIN, April 9—A member of Emperor William’s household furnishes some interesting details of His Majesty’s trip to Palestine. He has finally decided to leave the Empress behind, her physicians forbidding horseback riding, and as driving in Palestine is impossible, she had to relinquish her trip… The Emperor’s program, besides the dedication of the German church at Jerusalem, includes laying the cornerstones of the German school, parsonage and hospital.”
Correction: {'note': 'arrived captioned La Crosse Tribune 1982; content is the Kaiser’s 1898 journey, datelined Berlin'}
Union of American Hebrew Congregations debates Zionism
“Dr. Silverman said Zionism is a political movement and should be condemned openly… Dr. Wise explained that a dangerous phase of the matter is that the secular press is creating an impression that the Jews of America are preparing to go to the Holy Land… Rabbi Calisch was of opinion that… Zionism should be treated with the ‘silence of contempt.’ Hon. Simon Wolf took the ground that Zionism was simply a feeder for anti-Semitism…”
A minute, with names, of eleven men arguing one year after the first Zionist Congress — and the earliest complaint about American newspaper coverage of Palestine in this archive, from the other direction: not that the papers were erasing anyone, but that they were inventing a consensus that did not exist.
Part of Covering Palestine, an archive of 1262 newspaper clippings about Palestinians printed in 512 papers between 1799 and 2023. Researched and assembled by Maria Robles. Nothing here was printed after 6 October 2023.