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LXXIX.

The Manifesto of the Bilu (1882)

In 1882, in a little lodging-house in Galata, Constantinople, a meeting of young Jews was held. Most of those present were students, artisans or scholars. The assembly resulted in the formation of a Society called Bilu, from the initials of the words: Beth Iakob Lechu Venelcha (House of Jacob, come, let us go!). The Society had many branches, each bearing some name well known in Jewish history, as Kreti U’phleti. There was an artisans’ branch, called He’charash Ve’hamasger (carpenters and locksmiths). From headquarters was issued the following manifesto (in Hebrew):⁠—

“Nearly two thousand years have elapsed since, in an evil hour, after an heroic struggle, the glory of our Temple vanished in fire and our Kings and chieftains changed their crowns and diadems for the chains of exile. We lost our country, where dwelt our beloved sires. Into the Exile we took with us, of all our glories, only a spark of the fire, by which our Temple, the abode of our Great One, was engirdled, and this little spark kept us alive while the towers of our enemies crumbled to dust, and this spark leapt into celestial flame and shed light upon the faces of the heroes of our race and inspired them to endure the horrors of the Dance of Death and the tortures of the autos-da-fé. And this spark is now again kindling and will shine for us, a true pillar of fire going before us on the road to Zion, while behind us is a pillar of cloud, the pillar of oppression threatening to destroy us. Sleepest thou, O our nation? What hast thou been doing till 1882? Sleeping and dreaming the false dream of Assimilation. Now, thank God, thou art awakened from thy slothful slumber. The Pogroms have awakened thee from thy charmed sleep. Thine eyes are open to recognize the cloudy structure of delusive hopes. Canst thou listen silently to the flaunts and the mockery of thine enemies? Wilt thou yield before the might of...? Where is thine ancient pride, thine olden spirit? Remember that thou wast a nation possessing a wise religion, a law, a constitution, a celestial Temple, whose wall is still a silent witness to the glories of the Past, that thy sons dwelt in Palaces and towers, and thy cities flourished in the splendour of civilization, while these enemies of thine dwelt like beasts in the muddy marshes of their dark woods. While thy children were clad in purple and fine linen they wore the rough skins of the wolf and the bear. Art thou not ashamed to submit to them?

“Hopeless is your state in the West; the star of your future is gleaming in the East. Deeply conscious of all this, and inspired by the true teaching of our great master Hillel: ‘If I help not myself, who will help me?’ we propose to build the following society for national ends:⁠—

“1. The Society will be named Bilu, according to the motto: ‘House of Jacob, come, let us go!’ It will be divided into local branches according to the number of members.

“2. The seat of the Committee shall be Jerusalem.

“3. Donations and contributions shall be unfixed and unlimited.

“What we want:⁠—

“1. A Home in our country. It was given to us by the mercy of God, it is ours as registered in the archives of history.

“2. To beg it of the Sultan himself, and if it be impossible to obtain this, to beg that at least we may be allowed to possess it as a state within a larger state; the internal administration to be ours, to have our civil and political rights, and to act with the Turkish Empire only in foreign affairs, so as to help our brother Ishmael in his time of need.

“We hope that the interests of our glorious nation will rouse the national spirit in rich and powerful men, and that everyone, rich or poor, will give his best labours to the holy cause.

“Greeting, dear brethren and sisters.

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and our Land, Zion, is our own hope.

“God be with us!”

The Pioneers of Bilu.

The last survivors of the Bilu still in Palestine are: Israel Belkind, S. Belkind, Mrs. Feinberg (née Belkind), Dr. Chissin, Drubin, Swerdloff, Leibowitz, Hurwitz and Zaladichin.—Of the veterans of the Chovevé Zion Colonization we met in 1914—to mention only a few—Gissin in Petach Tikvah, the Stamper family (Stamper was one of the first, and the most energetic settlers, he came from Roumania); Shalit, Meerowitz, Lubman, Freimann in Rishon; Idelowitz, now in Alexandria, managing the “Carmel” Wine business; Eisenberg, Goldin, Hirschensohn, Mme. Basia Makow in Rechoboth, and of the old “Menucha Ve-Nachla” (the Warsaw Colony) settlers: Bucharski, Padua, Weinstein, Bresner, Rafalkes, Appel.