Page:EB1922 - Volume 32.djvu/36

18

The police arrested 66 rioters, and the leading notables of both religions concerned cooperated with the authorities in calming the population. An inquiry was subsequently held by the Chief Justice of Palestine and two British officials, while Jewish immigration into the Holy Land was suspended for two months (until July 8).

Jewish Agricultural Colonies. For many years past the piety of Jews all the world over has prompted them to contribute towards the support of the large numbers of Jews resident in or immediately outside Jerusalem on the understanding that the constant prayers and wailfngs of these the Jews of the Haluka should benefit also their benefactors. A more modern development of this system led to the foundation of a number of agricultural colonies in other parts of Palestine, which also were for many years dependent upon outside benevolence. With the growth of experience the agricultural colon- ists, unlike their brethren of the Haluka, tended to become more and more self-supporting under the guidance of Baron Hirsch's founda- tion, the J.C.A. (Jewish Colonization Association), which first began to treat the colonies as a commercial rather than a charitable or sentimental proposition. The earlier colonies had devoted them- selves exclusively to viticulture and were embarrassed alike by the attacks of phylloxera and the difficulty of marketing their wine. After the introduction of almonds and oranges and other fruits prospects improved, but until the end of the Turkish period the colonies were much hampered by legal difficulties connected with the purchase and tenure of land, the status of the colonists and the lack of a definite policy. During the war the colonies suffered owing to the deportation of many of the colonists, the requisitions of the military, and the cutting down of large numbers of trees, as well as from the loss of all their foreign markets.

After the war the Zionist Commission greatly improved the pros- pects of Jewry in Palestine, which, under the Balfour Declaration of 1917, was to become once more a national home for the children of Israel, by organizing a new national life and arranging for the immi- gration of the Halutzim, or Pioneers, young and zealous workers from all parts of Jewry, who began to prepare the country for future arrivals. In 1920 the influx of Jews into Jerusalem was shown by the Immigration Department of the Zionist Commission as follows: Jan. 122, Feb. 139, March 124, April 122, May 98, June 105, July 107, Aug. 178, Sept. 237, Oct. 197, Nov. 218, Dec. 233; total 1,860, of whom 1,251 were men and 609 women, of whom again 1,169 were new immigrants and 696 returning refugees. Jaffa is the principal port of entry, 1,400 Jews having landed there in Sept. 1920. It is estimated that between Dec. 1919 and March 1921 some 11,000 Jews entered Palestine, of whom 3,000 were returning refugees. On the other hand some 3,000 persons emigrated from Palestine during the same period, among whom were many Jews.

The bulk of the new immigrants, up to the end of March 1921, came from Poland, Russia, Morocco, Austria, Syria, Bulgaria, Rumania, Egypt, Hungary, Persia, France, Greece, Germany and England. Each immigrant is provided with a certificate of origin from the Zionist Emigration Office (Palestine Office).

The table shows the area and population of the Jewish colonies founded before the British occupation:

Land Transfer. During the whole of the military administration and until Oct. 1920 the sale or transfer of land in Palestine was forbidden, partly because the Turks had removed all official land registers to which appeal could be made for the settlement of dis- puted titles, and partly to avoid internal trouble which might arise from the transfer of land from a vendor of one religion to a purchaser of another. When this order was rescinded there was no great activ- ity in the estate market in Palestine as a strong movement had been set on foot among Moslems to retain land already owned by Moslems in Moslem hands, and also because the delay in issuing the Mandate and the world-wide financial crisis militated against the economic development of Palestine in general, and land purchase there in particular. Some small parcels of land belonging to Moslems were sold to Jews, but, apart from that, the Jews have acquired no land since the war, with the exception of the university site on Mt. Scopus from the executors of Sir John Grey-Hill.

Ecclesiastical. In matters ecclesiastical the British authorities were able to steer a careful course between the various conflicting interests, and Col. Storrs, the governor of Jerusalem, was so far able to abate the customary tension between the representatives of the different creeds that the Orthodox at Bethlehem voluntarily removed the unsightly wall which had been built across the nave of the Church of the Nativity chiefly for the purpose of causing annoyance to the Latins; and the Gregorians invited the Anglican bishop, Dr. Maclnnes, who had succeeded as bishop in Jersualem after the resignation of Dr. Blyth in Oct. 1914, to take an important part in their Easter ceremonies in 1918. After the final defeat of the Turks the Orthodox and Latin patriarchs who had been held prisoners in Damascus returned to Jersualem, when Mgr. Damianos, who had had difficulties with his Holy Synod, was reinstated by the chief administrator. Mgr. Camassei, the Latin patriarch, how-ever, with- drew soon afterwards to Rome, where he became a cardinal, and in April 1920 Mgr. Louis Barlassina was appointed to succeed him in Jerusalem, while on Oct. 9 1920 Father Paschal Robinson was sent to Palestine as apostolic visitor. On March 20 1921 His Eminence the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Kamil Huseini Effendi, died, and

after some delay his brother, Hajj Amin, was appointed (May 1921) to succeed him.

Population. On March 31 1919 the pop. of O.E.T.A. South was 647,850, of whom 515,000 were Moslems, 65,300 Jews and 62,500 Christians. There were 150 Samaritans and 4,900 others. The present area of Palestine is larger than O.E.T.A. South.

The 1919 census figures for the pop. of various towns, showing Ruppin's 1914 estimate in each case in brackets, are as follow:

1914 Estimate of Ruppin

Census of 1919

Jerusalem Jaffa .... Nablus ....

(80,000?) (40,000?) (30,000)

60,000 40,000 28,000

Haifa ....

(20,000)

20,000

Hebron

(20,000)

18,000

Gaza

(30,000)

Nazareth

(12,000)

15,000

Safed ....

(24,000)

12,500

Acre ....

(12,000)

10,000

Tiberias

( 8,000)

8,000

Bethlehem.

(12.000)

15.000

Gaza, credited with 30,000 inhabitants in 1914, was entirely depopulated during the war as a military measure by the Turks. The inhabitants were beginning to return slowly to the completely ruined town in 1921.

Of the three divisions of the pop. of Palestine 69 % of the Moslems, 46% of the Christians and 19% of the Jews were engaged in agri- culture in 1919. In 1918 taxes were paid on 139,000 domestic animals (Southern Palestine only), in 1919 on 531,000 animals (Northern Palestine as well) and in 1920 on 543,000.

Finance. The budget for Palestine for the first year under British occupation, ending Oct. 1918, showed a revenue from direct taxes 160,000, from customs and excise 122,000 and from other normal sources 54,000. The artificial revenue of 324,000 drawn from the operation of the services of relief for refugees failed to balance their cost, 331,000, thus the revenue for purposes of ordinary expenditure amounted to 337,000 and the expenditure to 407,000, which included 141,000 of revenues mortgaged by the Turks .for the services of the Ottoman Debt and to meet the kilometric guarantee on railways in other parts of the Empire. It should also be remembered that, while the cost of administering northern Palestine for six weeks is contained in the budget, no revenue at all was collected in that area, as the taxes had all been exacted in advance by the Turks. On the other side, however, it must be noted that the private charity of the American Red Cross and other funds contributed more than 40,000 per mensem towards the maintenance of refugees and destitute civilians, which would otherwise have been a charge upon the Treasury.

In 1918-9 the actual receipts were 748,000 from all sources and the estimated expenditure 738,000. For 1919-20 the esti- mated figures were 735,000 for both, exclusive of 284,000 of revenue and 162,000 of expenditure in the " Excluded Funds " assigned to municipalities, Waqf administration, the Ottoman Debt and railway guarantee outside Palestine. For the first nine months of civil administration ending March 31 1921 the total .revenue, excluding that from railways and post-office, was estimated at 776,000 and the expenditure at 731,000, while the railways and post-office were expected to yield a net profit of 30,000, thus showing a surplus of 75,000. For the first complete financial year under civil administration, 1921-2, the total revenue including railways and post-office was estimated at 2,214,000, and the expenditure at 2,286,000.

The following table shows the detailed revenue from direct .taxa- tion and State domains for the two financial years 1919-20 and 1920-1 :

House and

Animal Tax

Tithe

State Do-

Stamp Duty

Total

Land

E

mains

c*

TaxE

E

E



Jerusa-

1919-20

29,089

7,399

28,173

i,437

2,743

68,841

lem

1920-21

29,500

8,000

36,000

2,000

4,000

79,500

T tt i

1919-20

27,261

2,150

57,733

499

3,'34

90,777

Jalta S

1920-21

26,000

1,200

60,000

600

4,700

92,500

r 1

1919-20

15,781

3,348

52,401

848

36i

72,739

Gaza <

1920-21

16,000

I,9OO

60,000

2,000

500

80,400

Beer-

1919-20

338

5,020

1,556

171

187

7,272

sheba

1920-21

370

6,700

39,000

500

400

46,970

Samariaj

1919-20 1920-21

15,190 14,500

4,214 4,300

28,158 40,000

6,837 2,000

633 1,200

55,031 62,000

Phoeni-

1919-20

26,499

6,975

39,753

452

1,517

75,196

cia

1920-21

22,000

7,700

80,000

i, 600

3,200

114,500

Galilee /

1919-20 1920-21

12,643 11,630

3,68o 4,200

36,555 60,000

4,160 15,300

534 1,000

57,572 92,130

Totalsj

1919-20 1920-21

126,801 1 20.000

32,786 34.000

244,329 375.000

14,404

24..0OO

9,109 15,000

427-428 568,000