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Seventeen years ago, Tel Aviv (near Joppa) was just a plot of sand. Now it has become a new city. Most of the Jews in Palestine live here. The population is about forty-three thousand. All of them speak Hebrew. The government in Palestine has built a major railway between Tel Aviv and ______.
Before September 8, 1926, there were twenty-one thousand Jews who had entered Palestine.
"The organization responsible for the settling of Jewish families in Palestine...has an agenda for the next ten years: once every year it will resettle about thirty thousand Jews in Palestine." (This is an excerpt from a speech by Mr. ______ in the German Zionist conference.)
Now between Jerusalem and ______, there are regularly scheduled buses. The journey takes three and a half days.
During the past year, the news has been filled with reports of natural calamities. In some places there were earthquakes. One record said that there was not a single day in 1926 when there was not an earthquake somewhere. South Florida was damaged by storms and torrential rain. Thousands of homes were deluged, and a few million homes were damaged and suffered great destruction. In addition, countless persons were injured. No one knows what has happened to the universe. According to their common theory, scientists think that the calamities came from the black spots in the sun. However, no one knows this definitely. The prophet Haggai spoke of the Lord overthrowing the throne of kingdoms and the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen (Hag. 2:22). The Scripture also says, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven" (Heb. 12:26). These changes in nature are but a warning to us and a sign that tells us that the end is near. It is also an indication of the suffering that will quickly come to the earth.
Although there is the work of the ______ treaty and the alliance of the nations, the political situation in Europe still has not improved. Some have suggested that if the United States would write off some of its loans, there would be some positive results. But others have said that this is useless. Mussolini is still the conspicuous character on the Continent. His friendship with the Vatican is becoming more and more apparent. All the other politicians in Europe seem to be afraid of this boyish and amazing Italian. Recently, we have not heard much about his ambitious desire to recover the former glories of Rome and to be the master of Europe. Everywhere in Europe, there are still intense preparations for war. World peace and disarmament are nowhere to be seen. Some have written something in the newspaper roughly along the following lines: "The preservation of peace is the great problem we are faced with today. While this question is very obvious, yet the obvious questions are many times the hardest to solve. Disarmament will surely avert wars. But will they not be able to build up arms again even after they have disarmed themselves? Recent experiences have shown that the works and plans of the League of Nations have failed; it can no longer maintain world peace. What we need today is the concerted efforts of good-intentioned, wise, capable, and moral leaders." We have heard comments such as these over and over again. They are completely meaningless. All of this unrest proves that God's word is real. In the old days, He had already foretold the conditions of today. This world will not have peace until the Lord comes back to reign on earth and to begin His righteous and just rule.
Jerusalem is changing rapidly. Steady improvements have not only expanded the original suburbs, but have opened up new suburbs. The waterworks of ______ have been prepared in a good way, and last summer there was no lack of water. Water in the houses and on the streets flows easily, and there is no blockage anywhere. The streets have been widened and repaved. Joppa Road is a major street in Jerusalem. Previously, it was a street which was famous for being muddy in winter and for being dusty in summer. Now it is up to the standard for a capital city. Many of the long-awaited houses are also being built, although up to now most are built only on the main streets. The central post office has also been erected in a beautiful way. The city is full of new houses, with water, electricity, and sanitary facilities. All the new dwellers are happy and satisfied.
According to the report of the manager's office of the Jewish Telegraph, since the European War, there are twenty thousand believers in ______.
The Jewish government has ordered officers everywhere in the Jewish land to increase the cultivation of silkworms, and it has promised the villagers that it will promote the supply for this business and furnish information on the modern cultivation of silkworms.
On August 19, Jerusalem announced that Palestine and Syria will soon be able to communicate with each other via telephone. The telephone exchange will be situated at the very north of the Jewish residential settlement in Palestine — _______ and the near-by boundary to Lebanon.
According to ______, the XXXXXXXX is the Kadesh-Barnea where the Israelites of old pitched their camp during their wandering in the wilderness. It is also the place where Moses struck the rock to get water. In these days, there is still water coming out from the creeks there. In the whole Sinai wilderness, this kind of creek is only found here.
In order to meet the need of the new colonies near ______, and in order to irrigate the whole Jewish land, many proposals have been made. According to the request of the agricultural department, the Zionist convention has advanced three hundred fifty thousand dollars.
A certain person who has recently returned from Palestine after a few weeks' stay discussed the wonders of the rebuilding of Palestine: "I have investigated some cities and colonies, thirty in all. I cannot describe with words how I have been impressed." The rabbi also said that there will be a bumper crop this year in Palestine, that the crises in Tel Aviv and other places were but temporary, and that they are over by now.
According to modern Jewish lawyers, the University in Jerusalem is progressing very well. The Jews are famous for their intelligence not only in Palestine, but in the whole world. Recently, the director of the Hebrew University has gathered together representatives of all the Zionist organizations throughout the world. According to their recent records, all the Jewish students throughout Europe have been very interested in the development of the Hebrew University and have placed high hopes in it. The director said that these students consider this university to be the means to uplift Judaism and to succeed in bringing forth new knowledge. They see this as a center for the revival of Judaism and as the means to make Palestine once more the center of academic learning. He also reported that subjects in the humanities are continually expanding, and that other schools have similar progress. The agricultural lab of this university has already performed some crucial experiments, the result of which will bring major contributions to the national agriculture. According to the director, the library of the university has been much developed; the value of its treasures and the number of volumes of its books can match any library in Europe.
All those who pay attention to the movement of the Jews realize that a new age has dawned for the Jews. We will quote one moving account concerning the development of Palestine:
According to the words of one Jerusalem member of the patriotic Jewish society, development of hydroelectric power on the river Jordan is one of the most notable works of the Jews who have returned to Palestine. This person has been living in Jerusalem for nineteen years. He is now traveling around the nations to tell others about these things in the hope of encouraging the Jews living abroad to migrate back to the Holy Land. He said, "Last year, over thirty thousand Jews (from eastern and central Europe) returned to their motherland. From America, few have returned, except those who are invited to go back to teach people of various professions. Since the war, works in Palestine have been developing at a tremendous pace. During the past one to two years, many projects have been initiated. There is the development of the Jordan hydroelectric works. The planning of this project has been completed, and perhaps by the end of the year, different factories will be operated with the power drawn from the Jordan River. Among the 150,000 Jews in Palestine, 30,000 work on the farms. They are all using the new ways. Palestine can now provide food for three million people. At present, it has about 850,000, among which 700,000 are Arabs. The Arabs have sold their lands to the returned Jews. In this way, there has been no conflict between the local Jews and the newly returned Jews. The Jews want to establish their own nation in Palestine, and they are receiving help and relief from everywhere. England has helped her the most, because it is one of her allies. It is exercising its power to help the Jews, and it is giving the Jews much freedom in their religion and in their work of improvement.
The following is a letter from Palestine. It shows us briefly some of the developments in Palestine, and the riches and beauty of Joppa and other places. Indeed, according to prophecy, one day we will see Palestine blossoming as a rose. In the land of Israel there will be many Jews, just as Ezekiel 36 describes. The letter said,
This spring has been balmy and pleasant. There has been much rain, and the temperature has been cool. We are wearing lighter clothing. It is a joy to leave the cold plateau of Jerusalem and to come down to the plain of Joppa. There is a lovely mildness in this land. Concerning the scenery: the places which used to have barren rocks and hilly places are now filled with wheat fields and with grape and orange gardens. I recall the words of Song of Songs: "The winter is past, the rain is over and gone" (2:11). When we arrived in ______, the air there was filled with attractive scents, the smell of oranges. The air was so sweet that even the eastern garden that used to be unappealing has now been filled with fragrance....
