The Jewish-Ottoman Land Company - Herzls Blueprint For The Colonization of Palestine

The Jewish-Ottoman Land Company: Herzl's Blueprint for the Colonization of Palestine
Author(s): Walid Khalidi

Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Winter, 1993), pp. 30-47
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine Studies
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THE JEVISH-OTTOMAN LAND
COMPANY: HERZL'S
BLUEPRINT FOR THE
COLONIZATION OF PALESTINE
WALID KHALIDI
Some sixty years ago, as Appendix I of his magisterial Die Zionistische
Bewegung (The Zionist Movement),* Adolf Bohm, a leading authority on
early Zionism, published the full text of a remarkable document from the
Herzl Archives in Vienna. This is the draft of a proposed agreement (a
"Charter") between the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the Otto-
man government concerning the "privileges, rights, liabilities, and duties of
the Jewish-Ottoman Land Company (JOLC) for the settlement of Palestine
and Syria." The document does not bear a date, but seems to have been
drawn up sometime between the summer of 1901 and early 1902. Its au-
thors seem to have been principally Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism,
and Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian Orientalist of
Jewish
descent. Vambery
was not only close to Herzl (the latter fondly refers to him in his Diaries as
"bdcsikam"-"my little uncle") but also to Abdul Hamid, the Ottoman
Sultan.
Walid Khalidi is a founder of The Institute for Palestine Studies and its
general secretary. He is a leading authority on the Palestine problem and the
Arab-Israeli conflict, and is currently a senior research fellow at the Center
for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University. This article has been
adapted from his forthcoming book on the root causes of the 1948 exodus.
*
Two volumes. Berlin, 1935-37.
Journal of
Palestine 5Studies XXII, no. 2 (Winter 1993), pp. 30-47.
THE JEWISH-OTTOMAN LAND COMPANY 31
The document is important because it reveals the scope of Zionist expecta-
tions and ambitions within a few years of the formulation of the Basle Pro-
gram at the First Zionist Congress in 1897. Indeed, the draft charter may be
considered as an extended "internal" gloss on the publicly announced pro-
gram. Thus if the Basle Program shows the tip of the Zionist iceberg at the
turn of the century, the JOLC draft comprises its bulk. A particularly relevant
aspect of the document is the light it throws on how intrinsic in Zionism is
the concept of the transfer of the indigenous population. To my knowledge,
no English translation of its full text (for which see the appendix of this
article) has been published before, nor has more than passing reference been
made to it in Zionist/Israeli writings in English.
The idea of concluding a charter with the power center controlling the
land that was to be the Jewish state was implicit in Herzl's DerJudenstaat
(1896), though the term itself does not occur in the work. Instead, a whole
section is devoted to "The Jewish Company"1 whose task, however, was the
organization of the mass immigration to the site of the Jewish state and the
liquidation of Jewish assets in Europe, with no mention of the contractual
arrangement with the sovereign power in the area.
The concept of a charter is also implicit in the Basle Program, the modus
operandi of which (mass immigration, land acquisition, and colonization)
was to be carried out
"ojffentlich-rechtlich
"-"according to public law." This
particular term was used after much debate in preference to the term "volker-
rechtlich "-"according to international law'
'-in
effort to allay Ottoman fears
that the great powers would be mobilized against Istanbul.2 Nevertheless, on
18 October 1898, at an audience in Istanbul with the German Kaiser then en
route to Palestine, Herzl, when asked by the former "Just tell me in a word
what I am to ask of the Sultan," had replied: "A chartered company under
German protection."3
It was, however, in his opening speech at the third Zionist Congress in
1899 that Herzl, according to Bbhm, officially stated that a charter should be
demanded from Turkey. Bohm continues:
Herzl probably had in mind the form in which in the past the English and
also the Dutch government had bestowed on private companies (for in-
stance, the East India Company) rights to a newly-acquired overseas
territory.
Herzl's insistence on the prior attainment of a charter before any colonization
was undertaken in Palestine earned his viewpoint the term "Charterismus"5
and brought him into conflict with Zionist factions that considered coloniza-
tion both practicable and necessary without a charter.
Herzl paid several visits to Istanbul, during which he had numerous meet-
ings with key palace officials. Two visits, however, have particular bearing
on his pursuit of the charter and therefore need to be recorded in some de-
tail-the visit of May 1901, and that of February 1902.
Herzl had his one and only audience with Sultan Abdul Hamid on 15 May
1901. At that meeting, he did not raise the issue of a colonization company a
32 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES
la JOLC, although he did "propound" the idea a few days after the audience
with members of the Sultan's entourage.6 With the Sultan, he directed the
conversation towards the financial help that he insinuated his access to Jew-
ish capital could obtain to alleviate Istanbul's public indebtedness. He told
the Sultan the story of Androcles and the lion, explaining: "His Majesty is
the Lion, perhaps I am Androcles, and maybe there is a thorn that has to be
pulled out.... The thorn, as I see it, is your dette publique."7 Herzl's strategy
was clearly first to get the Sultan to agree to the principle that he (Herzl)
should help him financially. With this agreement secured, he could then
raise Jewish capital for funding the Ottoman public debt. He would then
return to Istanbul and get his charter on a quid pro quo basis.8
It did not quite work out that way. Early on, Istanbul would seem to have
suspected what Herzl's real purpose was. At the same time, it was interested
in getting any financial assistance it could, provided such assistance was on
Istanbul's own terms. Herzl left his audience with the Sultan with the latter's
general blessing that he could seek Jewish capital to fund the Ottoman debt,
but with nothing more.
From internal evidence in Herzl's Diaries it would seem that work on the
actual drafting of the charter for the JOLC began after the audience with the
Sultan. On 29 May 1901, for example, Arminius V'ambery asked Herzl for a
draft of the charter "which he intends to present to the Sultan and get it
signed by him without any Secretary or Minister finding out about it."9 On
21 August 1901 Herzl "returns" [sic] to Vambery "Draft I" of "the Charter,
specifically, to the Jewish Colonial Trust for the formation of the Compagnie
Ottomane-Juive pour lAsie Mineure, la Palestine et la Syrie.
"
10 This is the sole
mention of the full designation of the JOLC in the Diaries as published in
English.
The Provisions of the Charter
It was during his February 1902 sojourn in Istanbul that the real discus-
sions relating to the charter took place. But before dealing with these, let us
have a look at the text of the JOLC draft.
The draft has a preamble and eleven articles, article VII being subdivided
into four sub-articles.
In the preamble as drafted by Herzl, the Sultan "grants and guarantees the
JOLC the following special rights and privileges for the purpose of settling
Palestine and Syria with Jews who assume Ottoman citizenship [in order to
enable them] to open up the natural food and occupational resources of these
countries.... " The articles spell out both the rights requested and the
conditions under which they are to be granted.
The rights requested fall under three general headings: rights of owner-
ship and usage; the status of the JOLC; and the powers of the JOLC.
The JOLC would have the following rights of ownership: to buy outright
all private landholdings, large and small (article I); to own state domain be-
longing to the Sultan in return for a yearly payment of three Turkish piasters
per dunum; and to occupy all land for which there is no legal title on the
same terms as the state domain (article II). Concerning usage of the land, the
company would have the following rights: to use these lands for "agriculture,
horticulture, forestry, and mining . . . [to] build all installations, roads,
bridges, buildings and houses, industrial and other facilities, which it consid-
ers appropriate, without being restricted in the choice of means to be used";
and to establish "small and large settlements, and to settle Jews in them"
(article I).
The JOLC would have "complete autonomy, guaranteed by the Ottoman
Empire." The president of the JOLC would head the administration in the
territory (article VI). He would be elected by the JOLC but approved by the
Sultan (article IX). He would have political immunity and would be account-
able solely to the Sultan whom he represents in the territory (article IX). The
president would send a permanent representative to Istanbul who would be
the sole conduit for transmitting the president's reports to the Sultan and the
Sultan's "wishes and orders" to the president (article IX). Jews already set-
tled in Palestine and Syria "who consider themselves proteges of the JOLC"
could sign a document to this effect. Colonists who enter as proteges of the
JOLC would "ipso facto abandon their former citizenship" and acquire the
Ottoman citizenship, like the Jews "already settled" there (article VII A).
The powers of the JOLC are impressively extensive. They include the right
(1) to build and operate railroads, to construct canals, and to build harbors
and shipyards and a merchant fleet; in general, the JOLC may use the rivers
and bodies of water "which are on Company territory industrially . . . and
utilize their resources" (article IV); (2) to assume all responsibility for edu-
cation, the construction and maintenance of schools and institutions of
higher leaming, in which peoples must be educated "not only in their na-
tional language and history, in religion ... but also in . .. patriotism in order
to make them reliable Ottoman citizens" (article VII A); (3) to levy taxes and
tariffs and "to reform taxation and make it more efficient" (article V); and
(4) to assume responsibility for "the personal security and the property" of
the inhabitants, and for this purpose to pay and equip its own civil servants
and police (article VI).
Perhaps the most striking power requested is the right to create the "Impe-
rial Ottoman Syrian-Palestinian Land or Navy division." All male proteges of
the JOLC upon reaching the age of 19 would serve one year in the standing
army followed by a half year's service in a special formation. Until age 26,
they would serve in the militia, with three week's reserve duty a year. From
that time until age 35, they could be called up for service at any time as part
of the general levy (Landsturm). The armed forces are to be "entirely com-
posed of Jewish soldiers," and foreign nationals can only be "accepted tem-
porarily as instructors and trainers." The equipping of these forces would be
undertaken by the JOLC. The formation of the land forces "is to begin im-
mediately" and that of the navy division within ten years (article VII B).
During peacetime these troops would "secure the borders of Syria and Pal-
estine against attack" and maintain "law and order in the interior of the
country" (article VII C). In case of war, they would be used "for the defense
of Asian parts of the Ottoman Empire. . ." (article VII C). In this latter case,
the JOLC would incur the expense in the form of a loan to be repaid by His
Majesty at 4 percent annual interest rate (article VII E). Moreover, the JOLC
would provide the means for "the required military academies, barracks, de-
pots, weapons and ammunition factories" as well as the ships needed by the
navy for training purposes (article VII D). To cover the expenses of con-
structing and maintaining these military installations, the JOLC would retain
40 percent of the revenues owed to His Majesty for the right to own his state
domain (article XI).
The most crucial right requested by the JOLC is formulated in article III.
It pertains to the Palestinian and other Arab owners and inhabitants of the
three categories of land to be purchased/owned by the JOLC-the large and
small private landholdings, the Sultan's state domain, and the land for which
there is no title. Herzl's proposal is that the JOLC has "the right to ex-
change" these lands with land "procured by it [the JOLCI in other provinces
and territories of the Ottoman Empire" (article III). These lands would be
"of equal size and quality" (article III). The JOLC "will not only compensate
these owners with the costs of resettlement from its own funds . . . it will also
grant modest loans for . . . housing . . . and . . . equipment" (article III). The
loans "are to be repaid in equal installments over several years . . . "
(article
III). Only Jerusalem is specifically exempted from the provisions of article
III (i.e., the territorial "exchange"), but "the proteges of the JOLC there are
still subject to its jurisdiction," and with regard to taxes Jerusalem belongs to
the JOLC territory. To be sure, the supervision of the holy places remains
with the Sublime Porte and "can only at the wish of the same be taken over
by the JOLC" (article X).
Negotiating with the Sublime Porte
The JOLC charter is remarkable not only for its content, but also because
of the circumstances that prevailed at the time it was conceived around the
turn of the century. At that time, the World Zionist Organization was still in
its infancy, commanding few resources. No great power had recognized it.
Herzl himself was a private citizen. The Jewish community in the area that
subsequently became Mandatory Palestine numbered at the very utmost
34,000,11 or 5.7 percent of the population. In 1900, Jewish land ownership
totalled 220,700 dunums, or 0.8 percent of the country.12 There were at the
time 22 colonies with a rural population of 4,950,13 most of whom lived on
the charity of one single individual, Baron Edmond de Rothschild.14
Be that as it may, by the time Herzl retumed to Istanbul in February 1902,
the final draft of the JOLC charter had most probably been completed,
although from the Diaries it is almost certain that it was not actually passed
on to the palace. Since the audience with the Sultan the previous year, the
fifth Zionist Congress had been held at Basle 26-30 December 1901. Herzl
arrived at Istanbul by a Rumanian steamer and headed straight to the palace
on the aftemoon of 14 February.
Herzl's task was delicate. His real purpose was to obtain a charter along
the lines of those spelled out in the JOLC draft. But how much of this could
he reveal without alienating the Sultan? Despite all his talk during his audi-
ence with him nine months earlier about Jewish finance to consolidate the
Ottoman public debt, he was retuming empty-handed except for personal
presents: fruits from "the foremost Viennese gourmet food shop" and a
warming pan.15
Herzl was received at the palace by Ibrahim, the Grand Master of Ceremo-
nies. The Sultan was too tired to grant him an audience that day, but asked
him to regard himself as his guest during his entire stay.16 He should return
at 11 A.M. the following day. And when informed that His Imperial Majesty
did not accept "comestibles" (foodstuffs) as presents, Herzl asked the palace
officials "to be kind enough to accept the fruit from me; we would consume it
together."17
During the morning of 15 February, Ibrahim asked Herzl point-blank what
"the aims of the Zionist Congress" were. Herzl replied that "the purely na-
tionalist Judaism of the Zionists" was opposed to "absorption by other na-
tions . . . desired by our Jewish opponents." Ibrahim said that there had
been "distorted" reports to the effect that Herzl had announced at the Con-
gress (December 1901) that the Sultan had "permitted the immigration of
Jews to Palestine for the purpose of establishing a Jewish kingdom." This
Herzl denied, and Ibrahim remarked that they had not believed the reports,
as evidenced by the Sultan's invitation to Herzl to be his guest.18
The afternoon was spent in a meeting between Herzl and Izzet al-Abed, a
Syrian Arab who was court chamberlain. Izzet began with "rudesse"
(brusqueness): "What was the purpose of your visit last May?" Herzl re-
plied:
"
. . . To come to the aid of Turkey if she in tum wants to aid us. We
Jews need a strong Turkey....
"
Izzet pointed out that little "moral or
material aid" had "materialized" since Herzl's last visit, to which Herzl re-
torted that he had in fact succeeded in creating "a favorable climate of opin-
ion for His Imperial Majesty."'9
Clearly Istanbul had been doing its homework on Zionism. Izzet now
said: "I shall give it to you straight," and proceeded to outline his govern-
ment's position. The empire would be opened to Jewish refugees from all
countries. The immigrants would renounce their previous nationality and
would be subject to Ottoman law, including military service. They could
establish themselves in "any of our provinces except-at first-Palestine."
In retum, Herzl would form a syndicate for the consolidation of the public
debt and assume a concession for the exploitation of all mines "already dis-
covered and yet to be discovered" including gold, silver, coal, as well as oil
wells. The company in charge of the concession would be composed of a
board "entirely of Jews and Moslems."20
Herzl took all this in his stride, assuming that this was "only the first offer
and that they would be open to bargaining." He wanted His Imperial Maj-
esty to be assured that he could count on "my sincere and determined
devotion."
Before they parted, Izzet accepted a snuff box as a gift from Herzl ("He
said he was crazy about snuff-boxes") and asked him for a reply in the form
of a memorandum by the following day.21
Herzl seems to have spent most of 16 February composing the reply. He
accepted in principle "the mission of establishing an Ottoman company to
exploit all the mines." The details would have to be decided later. The other
matter was His Imperial Majesty's willingness "to extend paternal protection
to the persecuted Jews of the whole world and to receive them as Turkish
subjects . . . on condition that they do not establish themselves in large num-
bers in a predetermined place." In return for this, His Imperial Majesty
"would desire to see a Jewish syndicate formed for the consolidation of the
Debt."22
In "this form," the latter proposal was "difficult of realization." Publicity
was needed for the success of the proposal, but "if restrictions were added to
the generously intended welcome," the ensuing publicity would have "a bad
effect, at least a dubious one." Besides, it was not the poor colonists who
were going to supply the capital.
Herzl now came to his main point: "It is a matter, then, of finding a link
between Jewish colonization and the execution of the consolidation of the
Debt. This link, in my very humble opinion, can be found only in a general
concession for the formation of a great Ottoman-Jewish company for coloni-
zation. "23 Herzl had now come full circle. He had started off the previous
May with an exclusive discussion of the public debt, only to end with an
inextricable linkage between it and the JOLC.
The 17th of February saw the climax of the negotiations. Herzl handed his
reply in French to Ibrahim at the Yildiz Palace. Presently Izzet joined them.
He read through Herzl's reply and "with his usual penetration demanded an
explanation of the Cie. Ott. -Juive pour la colonisation. Was it to have a choice
of places for settlement, that is, be able to buy areas anywhere at all, and
gather the Jews under it?" "Yes," replied Herzl. "That is indispensible . . .
"
And he explained that he was not concerned with "protection individuelle" but
with "protection nationale.". What did that mean, Izzet and Ibrahim ("Their
Excellencies") asked. And Herzl explained: "a great public gesture in our
favor such as an invitation to immigrate without any restriction" (emphasis in
original). This was as close as Herzl got to the core of the JOLC draft. At
this point, Izzet took Herzl's letter to the Sultan.24
Later in the day, Izzet returned with the Sultan's reply. The Sultan was
"willing to open his Empire to all Jews who become Turkish subjects, but
the regions to be settled are to be decided each time by the government, and
Palestine is to be excluded." Herzl notes in his Diaries: "The Comp. Ott.-
Juive is to be allowed to colonize in Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, anywhere
at all, with the sole exception of Palestine! A Charter without Palestine! I
refused at once."
Izzet suggested that Herzl should reconsider, but the latter regretted that
this was "unlikely" and announced "IF I. don't find a solution by tomorrow, I
shall ask His Imperial Majesty for permission to leave." Taking this as a
threat, "Izzet said frostily: 'Sans doute!'" At this point Herzl, recognizing
"how seriously the negotiations had miscarried," whispered in Ibrahim's ear
the possibility of "a double contract-that is, a public one which protects the
Sultan from opposition, and a secret one for me and my friends." This was
an idea which Vambery had already discussed with Herzl precisely in con-
nection with the draft of the JOLC. The inference is inescapable that the
JOLC draft was prepared on the assumption that a secret deal could be struck
between Herzl and Abdul Hamid; this idea is given further weight by a
phrase in article VIII of the JOLC concerning the mode of disbursing reve-
nues from the JOLC to the Sultan, which are to be "paid to the Treasury of
His Majesty the Sultan or upon his direction to another account to be placed at his
disposition" (emphasis added).
It is significant that Izzet promptly shot down Herzl's proposition for "a
double contract" without referring the matter to the Sultan: "That isn't pos-
sible. The ministers wouldn't be willing. There are some . . . whom you
could convince. But there are others who cannot be convinced-at any
",25
price.
Herzl returned to the hotel to compose his farewell letter. It was with
"sincere and profound regret at not being able to be of use to Y.I.M. under
the existing conditions" that he prepared to take his leave. He must "re-
spectfully bow" to His Imperial Majesty's "lofty wisdom." There was only
one thing that perhaps might "smooth the difficulties." If "colonization
without restriction" were accorded, he "would persuade [his] friends to found
a great Turkish bank . . . charged with the modern organization of credit in
the Ottoman countries." Thus it would be proved that the coming of the
Jews was "a piece of luck for the interests of the entire country." If this
proposal were unacceptable, he would be "most happy" for the "signal
honor of . .. a farewell audience." If His Imperial Majesty "does not have
time for me," he "begged" him to do him "the favor of" accepting two small
gifts: one of his books, and an Arabic-Turkish typewriter made in America,
which would arrive "in about two weeks." He concluded the letter with the
promise "to continue to foster in the great Jewish organization that I repre-
sent sentiments of respect and love for the august person of the Caliph, the
only great friend we have on earth."26
The letter was sent to Yildiz, followed by Herzl himself. It was translated
and sent to the Sultan. Presently Izzet again appeared and repeated the Sul-
tan's earlier propositions, which Herzl rejected "just as flatly. I said I could
use immigration only without any restriction, or not at all." Izzet relayed a
"message" from the Sultan to the effect "that he could not grant me unlim-
ited immigration under the administration of my Land Company even if he
wanted to .... He would not only not win the support of the majority of his
people . . . but not even of the minority." It was left to Izzet to remind Herzl
of the error of the belief "that an absolute monarch could do whatever he
wanted."27
Izzet now changed "over to a confidential tone" and gave Herzl advice as a
friend. The Jews should enter the country as financiers and make friends.
They should attend to the mining business and after that to the banking
business. "And finally, we would see what could be done for your coloniza-
tion request." Herzl should leave (as he had said he would) the following
day, create the syndicate, earmark a sum of money to be deposited (but kept
at Herzl's disposal) as security, and then
thefinnan
(decree) would be forth-
coming for the mine concession, for example.
Herzl divined deep ulterior motives in these words and believed that he
and Izzet had reached a new level of mutual understanding, when Izzet
sprang on him: "The govemment needs a million pounds now. Can you get
it for us?" Aha, the Hijaz Railroad, thought Herzl to himself. "Yes," he
promptly said. "Give me unrestricted colonization and you will have the
million in very short order." But Izzet dismissed this as impossible "at the
moment." Finally (never mind about his gall), Herzl proposed that although
he could not agree to the Ottoman government restricting immigration, why
could not the Ottoman-Jewish Company itself undertake not to admit "more
than a certain number of colonists"? But Izzet wanted to know "How many,
for instance?" to which Herzl replied that he hadn't given the matter "enough
thought"-the idea had just "popped into" his mind. The negotiations came
to an end, with Izzet repeating his advice that Herzl should "First of all at-
tend to our finances."28 As Izzet saw Herzl out to the corridor, he asked him
in the Sultan's name to return to the palace the next moming as the Sultan
wanted to show Herzl une amabilite d'adieux (a farewell kindness).
Very early on the moming of 18 February, Herzl repaired to the palace
hoping ("I thought it possible-expected it in fact"29) that the Sultan would
not let him depart. But he had packed the evening before and asked his aide,
the English Jewish businessman Joseph Cowen, to pay the bill at the hotel.
Despite the invitation to regard himself as the Sultan's guest, "no one had
come from the Palace to advise the hotel." He assumed that "the orders had
been cut off somewhere and that the money had been stolen."'30
At the palace, Herzl was met by Ibrahim and Izzet. Presently someone
came from the Sultan "bringing me, on his instructions, 200 pounds as reim-
bursement for my travel expenses." Herzl shrugged his shoulders, "with due
respect and smilingly asked" if he could offer the sum "to charitable
projects." Izzet replied: "Accept it and sign for it first, then you can do what
you like with it." So Herzl wrote out a receipt: "Received from the Imperial
treasury the sum of two hundred pounds for traveling expenses. Dr.
Th.H.",31 Having done this, Herzl began to reflect on whether to leave the
money with Ibrahim and Izzet or take it away. "The idea of keeping these
5,000 francs, which by rights are my personal property inasmuch as they are
an honorarium for my efforts, never occurred to me for a moment." So Herzl
decided to make a gift of them to "our poor A.C. [Actions Committee, i.e.,
Zionist Executive] treasury."
As he took his leave of Ibrahim and Izzet,
"
'I leave loaded with gold,' I
said to them with superior humor, and they bowed low before my noncha-
lance in the face of such a sum.' 32
And as he passed through the palace gates he "showered" gold pieces
"like an Oriental prince." For "if I give so much even to the doormen, how
much must the Excellencies be getting with whom I have such long secret
conferences.... All Yildiz probably thinks that, and soon the Porte, the city,
the country will too. These gold pieces which I lose at the gate are among my
most fruitful investments."33
Looking back at this last episode in the light of the vastness of the sums
Herzl claimed he could secure "in very short order," could it be that Izzet
and his master had seen through Herzl's pretense and intended to put the
issue to a practical test by calling his bluff?
Herzl in Palestine
As a postscript to the negotiations on the charter, it is perhaps pertinent to
look into Herzl's attitudes towards the indigenous population of Palestine.
Typically, there are very few references in Herzl's Diaries to either Arabs or
Palestinians, but such references as do occur are eloquent testimony to the
unexpressed premises underlying the entire concept of a colonization charter
to be obtained over the heads of the local population, and particularly the
JOLC's bland assumption of the transfer of the Palestinian to make way for
the immigrant colonist.
A good place to begin for Herzl's views on this subject is in the entries
during his first and only visit to Palestine. The visit lasted for ten days, from
26 October to 4 November 1898. Its sole purpose was to meet the German
Kaiser there. Herzl had already had an audience with the Kaiser on 18 Octo-
ber in Istanbul, where the latter was en route to Palestine. Herzl had then
asked for a second audience in Palestine, about which the Kaiser was politely
non-committal.34
Herzl landed in Jaffa just ahead of the Kaiser, accompanied by four Zionist
colleagues who, like him, had not set foot in Palestine before. The delegation
spent the 27th of October visiting the neighboring Jewish agricultural school
at Mikveh Israel and the two colonies of Rishon Le Zion and Rehovot. A
group of "daring" Zionist colonists on horseback who greeted him at the
latter reminded him of "the Far West cowboys of the American plains,"
bringing tears to his eyes.35 His plan was to position his delegation at the
agricultural school, which the Kaiser was bound to pass on his way to Jerusa-
lem. On the 28th, in 41-degree heat, the Kaiser, leading his cavalcade, no-
ticed the bunting by the road where Herzl and his colleagues stood. The
Kaiser pulled up his horse, at which Herzl signalled the Mikveh choir to
intone (to the tune of "God Save the King") the German song "Here Dir im
Siegerkranz" ("Hail to thee with the victor's wreath").36 The two exchanged
a few pleasantries before the Kaiser rode on to Jerusalem, whither Herzl fol-
lowed by train.
In Jerusalem Herzl and his colleagues had a single overriding preoccupa-
tion: whether and when the Kaiser would grant them an audience. They
agonized over the wording of the address to him, the questions he might ask,
the replies they should give. Herzl nagged his colleagues about their deport-
ment in the Kaiser's presence and fussed over their appearance: "Their
clothes, linen, neckties, gloves, shoes and hats.'
37
Five days later, on 2 No-
vember, the audience was finally granted. It lasted a little over 30 minutes.
As they left the imperial tent, Herzl summed it up to his colleagues in
French: "II n'a dit ni oui ni non. "38 After a short visit to the neighboring
colony of Motsa, where it was with the help of Palestinians that they planted
a cedar and a date palm, the delegation returned to their hotel. There Herzl
enjoined his colleagues not to pack until nightfall "so as not to have attention
of any sort at our departure.... "39 They took the early morning train to
Jaffa, with Herzl yearning "to leave the city and the country without delay"
and willing to do "anything to avoid staying here any longer."40 After a
frantic search for accommodation on a ship, on 4 November they boarded the
English orange freighter Dundee bound for Alexandria.
Herzl's entries on his Palestine visit cover some twenty-six pages in the
English edition. What is most relevant to us in these pages are Herzl's reac-
tions to the existence of Palestinians in the country. And what were these
reactions? The answer is that there were none. Having landed in Jaffa, the
main port of the country, did he evince any interest in its buildings and in-
habitants? None at all. What he saw was "poverty and misery and heat in
gay colors. Confusion in the streets, at the hotel, not a carriage to be had. I
was already on horse to ride to Rishon [le Zion].... X41 Crossing the main
orange belt between Jaffa and Mikveh Israel, did he wonder who planted
these groves? He did not. What he noticed was a "countryside neglected in
Arab fashion . . . [t]hick dust on the roads, a bit of greenery."42 On his visits
to the colonies near Mikveh a doctor had told him about the prevalence of
fever. He immediately thought of the Arabs: "Such Arabs as are immune to
the fever might be used for the work [of drainage]."43 Awaiting the Kaiser's
cavalcade at Mikveh, he did notice "a mixed multitude of Arab beggars, wo-
menfolk, children" lining the highway.44 These were his only direct or indi-
rect references to the Palestinians before entering Jerusalem. In the exchange
of pleasantries with the Kaiser at Mikveh, the Kaiser had said: "Very hot!
But the country has a future." And Herzl, who had arrived two days before
and seen a tiny portion of it, had promptly replied: "At the moment it is still
sick.'45
In Jerusalem there is not one single mention of Palestinians. But in his 29
October entry he notes: "The streets were crowded with groups of Jews
strolling in the moonlight."46 Otherwise, when he looks out of his hotel
window that afternoon, he sees "the Kaiser pass through the triumphal
arches....
47
On the way to the imperial tent for the audience "[a] few Jews
in the streets looked up as we passed." He also notices "wild ducks . . .
flying overhead.' 48
What about the visual impact of Jerusalem? "Jerusalem by moon-dust
with its grand outlines made a powerful impression on me. Magnificent the
silhouette of the fortress of Zion, the citadel of David. "49 He seems unaware
that the fortress/citadel is a Muslim structure. And does he notice the Otto-
man walls and gates? Not confessedly. In the 31 October entry, "From the
gallery of an ancient synagogue we enjoyed a view of the Temple area, the
Mount of Olives, and the whole storied landscape in the morning sun-
shine. "50 Does he have a word to say about the majesty of the Dome of the
Rock and al-Aqsa mosque? He does not. On the way to Motsa and back,
does he notice the oceans of terraced olive groves to the north and south?
Not at all.
We probably get an inkling of what Herzl might have thought of the Pales-
tinians from his observations about Sultan Abdul Hamid-whose six-hun-
dred-year-old dynasty had unconditionally given refuge for over four
centuries to the people Herzl aspired to lead-and his entourage. Having just
had an audience with the Sultan, who had throughout treated him graciously,
Herzl wrote in his entry of 21 May 1901:
I can only compare this anonymous band of bums to a tangle of venomous
snakes. The weakest, sickest, and least noxious snake wears a little crown.
But this army of snakes has such a peculiar structure that it looks as though
its crowned head were the one that bit and poisoned everything.5
Continuing about Abdul Hamid's person, he says:
I can still see him before me, this Sultan of the declining robber empire.
Small, shabby, with his badly dyed beard.... The hooked nose of a Pun-
chinello, the long yellow teeth with a big gap on the upper right. The fez
pulled low over his probably bald head; the prominent ears "serving as
pants-protector," as I used to say about such fez-wearers to my friends'
amusement-that is, to keep the fez from slipping down onto the pants
52
And yet in his 17 May entry just before his audience, Herzl had been re-
hearsing in front of a mirror: "Est-ce que Sa Majeste permet queje parle simple-
ment, ouvertement, serieusement [Will His Majesty permit me to speak plainly,
frankly, seriously] ... ?"53 During the audience, he had told the Sultan that
he was "devoted to him because he was good to the Jews." Jews all over the
world are grateful for this, and "I in particular was ready to render him any
service . . . great services."54
The contrast between Herzl's impressions of the Sultan and his entourage
and those of the Kaiser and his is too striking to be merely coincidental. It
probably tells as much about Herzl himself and his feelings about the nation-
alities they represent as about the individuals themselves. Thus, on his way
to the audience with the Kaiser in Istanbul:
I went up the stairs rather calmly. At the top there stood, most splendidly,
the aide-de-camp on duty, a gentleman of Prussian elegance, who watched
my ascent l'oeil narquois [with a quizzical expression]. Still he seemed to be
satisfied with my coat, the crease of my trousers, and my patent-leather
shoes. . ..
Having entered the audience chamber, the Kaiser
looked at me grandly with his great sea-blue eyes. He has truly Imperial
eyes. I have never seen such eyes. A remarkable, bold, inquisitive soul
shows in them . . . I kept my gaze on his fine, frank, genial and yet bold
eyes, which fairly bewitched me. . . . He looks at you squarely and
strongly-the Kaiser!-and when a remark . .. appeals to him, his magnifi-
cent eyes . .. say: I got you . . . There are innumerable portraits of him, but
because this ... glance, a most original, powerful flash, cannot be painted,
people don't know what his eyes are like.56
*0 0
Long after Herzl had despaired of securing a charter from the Sultan and
had turned to other capitals (e.g., London, for charters in the Sinai and East
Africa), he kept his sights on Istanbul. On 14 May 1904, in the penultimate
entry of his Diaries, he addresses a memorandum to a senior Austrian foreign
ministry official. In this note, he solicits the participation of the Austrian
government in an international effort to persuade Turkey to grant a charter
very much along the lines of the JOLC. He adds a detail absent in the JOLC
version examined above: he envisages "a settlement area in Palestine and the
vicinity large enough for five to six million Jews."57
NOTES
1. Theodor Herzl, TheJewish State (New York: Ameri-
can Zionist Emergency Council, 1946), pp. 98-123.
2. Aharon Cohen, Israel and the Arab World (New
York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1970), p. 39.
3. Theodor Herzl, The Complete Diaries
of Theodor
Herzl, 5 vols., ed. Raphael Patai, tr. Harry Zohn (New
York and London: The Herzl Press and Thomas
Yoseloff, 1960), hereafter, Diaries, p. 734.
4. Adolf Bohm, Die Zioniistische Bewegung, 2nd ed., vol.
I (Berlin, 1935), p. 191.
5. Ibid.
6. Diaries, pp. 1135-36.
7. Ibid., pp. 1114-15.
8. Ibid., p. 1113ff.
9. Ibid., p. 1144.
10. Ibid., p. 1174.
11. See Justin McCarthy, The Populationi of Palestinie
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1990). The
figure in 1900 for Jewish Ottoman subjects was 23,662
(p. 10). To this must be added the non-citizen Jews.
Ottoman statistics of resident non-citizens for 1893 to-
talled 8,200 for the Beirut Vilayet and Jerusalem Sanjak
combined, of which McCarthy assumes 4,000 for Pales-
tine. For 1900, he estimates a maximum of 10,000 for-
eign Jews, though this "may be exaggerated" (see p.
23).
12. A Survey of Palestine, 2 vols. plus Supplement
(Washington, D.C.: The Institute for Palestine Studies,
1991), p. 372.
13. Ibid.
14. See Derek J. Penslar, Zionism anid Technocracy. The
Enginieering of Jewish Settlenment in Palestinie, 1870-1918
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991), pp. 4,
20f.
15. Diaries, pp. 1216-17.
16. Ibid., p. 1216.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid., p. 1217.
19. Ibid., p. 1218.
20. Ibid., pp. 1218-19.
21. Ibid., p. 1219.
22. Ibid., p. 1220.
23. Ibid., p. 1221.
24. Ibid., p. 1222.
25. Ibid., p. 1223.
26. Ibid., p. 1224.
27. Ibid., p. 1225.
28. Ibid., pp. 1227-28.
29. Ibid., p. 1229.
30. Ibid., p. 1228.
31. Ibid., p. 1230.
32. Ibid., p. 1231.
33. Ibid., p. 1232.
34. Ibid., p. 733.
35. Ibid., p. 742.
36. Ibid., p. 743.
37. Ibid., p. 748.
38. Ibid., p. 757.
39. Ibid., p. 758.
40. Ibid., p. 759.
41. Ibid., p. 739.
42. Ibid., p. 740.
43. Ibid., p. 741.
44. Ibid., p. 743.
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid., p. 745.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid., p. 755.
49. Ibid., p. 745.
50. Ibid., p. 747.
51. Ibid., p. 1128.
52. Ibid.
53. Ibid., p. 1110.
54. Ibid., p. 1113.
55. Ibid., p. 726.
56. Ibid., pp. 727-28.
57. Ibid., p. 1629.
APPENDIX
A DRAFT OF A CHARTER FROM THE "HERZL-
ARCHIVE" IN VIENNA
[The text appeared in Appendix I of AdoWBJhm 's Die Zionistische Bewegung
vol I, pp. 704-9, and was translatedfor this article by Norbert
Scholz.]
AGREEMENT
concerning the privileges, rights, liabilities, and duties of the Jewish-Ottoman
Land Company (JOLC) for the settlement of Palestine and Syria.
His Majesty the Sultan grants and guarantees the JOLC the following spe-
cial rights and privileges for the purpose of settling Palestine and Syria with
Jews who assume Ottoman citizenship [in order to enable them] to open up
the natural food and occupational resources of these countries under the fol-
lowing conditions, and in return for assuming the obligations listed below.
I. A special right to purchase large estates and small farms (Jifliks of
whatever kind), and to use them for agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and
mining (the latter without having to purchase the entire surface of the ground
to be used). On these areas [the JOLC] may build all installations, roads,
bridges, buildings and houses, industrial and other facilities, which it consid-
ers appropriate, without being restricted in the choice of means to be used,
and without having to apply for special permits. [The JOLC is entitled] to
drain and utilize swamps (if there are any) by planting or in any other way, to
establish small and large settlements, and to settle Jews in them.
II. The limited proprietorship of all estates and landed properties be-
longing to His Majesty the Sultan in the above mentioned "Privileged Territo-
ries." [The JOLC shall express its] eternal recognition of his supreme
proprietorship through a permanent annual payment of 3 Turkish Piasters
per dunum. This refers to the areas which [the company] has the right to
utilize according to article I of this agreement. Likewise, a special right to
occupy all those areas for which nobody can prove legal title or the right of
ownership. This occupation has to be carried out in the name of His Majesty
the Sultan, and the occupied areas have to be treated like the estates men-
tioned in the first paragraph of this item with regard to the supreme proprie-
torship, the annual payment, and the utilization.
III. The right to exchange economic enclaves of its territory, with the
exception of the holy places or places already designated for worship. The
owners shall receive plots of equal size and quality procured by it [the JOLC]
in other provinces and territories of the Ottoman Empire. It will not only
compensate these owners for the costs of resettlement from its own funds,
but it will also grant modest loans for the building of necessary housing and
THE JEWISH-OTTOMAN [AND COMPANY 45
the acquisition of the necessary equipment. These loans are to be repaid in
equal installments over several years, and the new plots can be used as collat-
eral [for the loans].
IV. The right to purchase railroads [Bahnen] already existing on the terri-
tories of the Company, including all rights, privileges, and any other special
authorities, from the legal owners by means of free agreements. Moreover, an
exclusive privilege to build and operate such railroads and railroad links with
the same special rights and preferences which have been granted to any pro-
ject of this kind in the Ottoman Empire, or will be granted in the future.
Likewise [the right] to build canals between rivers or to the adjacent sea, to
construct shipyards and harbors, and to allow navigation in them by its own
or others' commercial ships; in general, [the JOLC] may use the rivers, lakes,
seas or parts of seas which are on Company territory industrially and under
special law, and utilize their resources.
V. The JOLC will take over taxation in the "Privileged Territory," stipu-
lating that it [the company] is entitled to reform taxation and make it more
efficient. The purpose of this measure is [to enable it] to cover its needs
resulting from its liabilities mentioned below, as well as for the payment and
amortization of the annuity-loans (mentioned in article VIII) which the
JOLC will take out, and for which the "Privileged Territory" will be charged
for the account of His Majesty the Sultan. On the other hand, if it imposes
customs duties, it has to respect the international treaties of the Ottoman
government, adhering to the customary procedures and amounts.
VI. Within its "Privileged Territory," and under the protection of His
Majesty the Sultan, the JOLC has complete autonomy, guaranteed by the Ot-
toman Empire. But it is obligated to ensure on its territory the maintenance
of law and order, as well as the personal security and the property both of the
inhabitants and of peaceful visitors and groups of pilgrims from foreign
countries. [In addition] it has to secure the borders against attack, and to
equip and pay from its own funds the officials, civil servants, policemen and
constables, who are required for the administration of justice and public af-
fairs. The president of the JOLC is at the head of the administration (article
IX).
VII.A. All Jews whom the JOLC has settled in the "Privileged Territory"
become subjects of His Majesty the Sultan by virtue of their acceptance as
colonists or their employment as functionaries; they enjoy full Ottoman citi-
zenship. By joining the JOLC as colonists or as its functionaries they ipso
facto abandon their former citizenship. The same applies for the Jews who
are already settled in Palestine and Syria, who consider themselves proteges
of the JOLC, and who sign a certificate of admission of the Company. The
JOLC is responsible for keeping the legal register, as well as for building and
maintaining schools and institutions of higher learning, where the children
and pupils must be educated not only in their national language and history,
in religion and general science, but also in physical education and patriotism
in order to make them reliable Ottoman citizens and grateful subjects of His
Majesty the Sultan.
B. Every protege of the JOLC is subject to military service in the Imperial
Ottoman Syrian-Palestinian Land [I.O.S.P.L.] or Navy [S.P.N.] division: Upon
reaching the age of 19 he is subject to a year-long service in the standing
army and a 1/2-year long cadre service [Cadredienst]; until he reaches 26 he
serves in the militia [Landwehr], including three weeks of maneuver per year;
finally, between the age of 27 and 35 he is part of the general levy (Land-
sturm]. The two divisions mentioned above are to be entirely composed of
Jewish soldiers, and foreign nationals can only be accepted temporarily as
instructors and trainers. The JOLC is responsible for equipping and paying
the I.O.S.P.L. and the navy divisions. The formation of the land division is to
begin immediately, the formation of the navy division within ten years.
C. During peacetime the trained troops of the standing army and the
cadres of the militia have to secure the borders of Syria and Palestine against
attack; they have to be used for the maintenance of law and order in the
interior of the country. In the case of war with a foreign power the entire
militia can be used for the defense of Asian parts of the Ottoman Empire, to
be determined in more detail.
D. In the latter case, the Sublime Porte is responsible for the equipment
and payment of the troops for the duration of the war. During peacetime, the
Sublime Porte also provides the JOLC with the means for the required mili-
tary academies, barracks, depots, weapons and ammunition factories, as well
as ships [Sch.] which the navy needs in the initial period for training pur-
poses.-The general levy may only be used for the defense of Palestine and
Syria in the case of an actual or impending invasion of these territories, and
the S.P.N. [Syrian-Palestinian Navy] division may only be used for the protec-
tion and defense of the coastal areas of the countries mentioned above.
E. The Sublime Porte will repay the money which the JOLC advances for
the S.P.L.D. [Syrian-Palestinian Land Division] of His Majesty the Sultan
under item D. paragraph one, including an annual interest of 4 percent, not
later than at the contracting of a subsequent S.P. [Syrian-Palestinian] annuity
loan (article VIII).
VIII. Using as collateral its income, privileges, and other capital, which
are guaranteed by the Sublime Porte, the JOLC contracts an annuity debt of 4
million Turkish pounds, which shall be subject to 4 percent interest per an-
num; after the first ten years, payments of principle shall begin, which shall
be paid off within a period of another forty-five years. The loan revenues
[interest and principle] shall be paid to the Treasury of His Majesty the Sul-
tan, or upon his direction to another account to be placed at his disposal. In
order to ensure the punctual payment of interest during the initial period, [the
JOLC] will be exempted from one quarter million pounds, while the systema-
tization and regulation of the income of the JOLC is being carried out. But
this amount has to be considered as an advance to the JOLC, and must be
repaid within five years. After thirty years, another annuity loan of the same
amount and subject to the same modalities shall be contracted. But first of
all, the revenues [interest and principle] from this loan have to be used to
refund whatever money may have been advanced by the JOLC under Article
VII.E., if that money has not been repaid at that time.
The JOLC will also be entitled to take out other loans, in the form of
bonds for public purposes, or to issue preferred shares to create or improve
industrial and transportational facilities. The former have to be secured by
the JOLC's general revenues; the latter by the individual enterprises. How-
ever, the "Syrian-Palestinian Sultan bonds" have priority over all other [forms
ofl loans by virtue of their collateral, being backed by the revenues of the
"Privileged Territory."
IX. The president of the JOLC, who is elected by this company and ap-
proved by His Majesty the Sultan, enjoys personal immunity and is subject to
the special protection of His Majesty the Sultan, to whom alone he is ac-
countable. Within the "Privileged Territory" he is the deputy of His Majesty
the Sultan. He has to send a permanent representative to the Sublime Porte;
[this representative] alone is to convey the wishes and orders of His Majesty
the Sultan to the president, as well as the reports of the president to His
Majesty. This representative can only be a Jew or a Muslim.
X. As the holy site of all religions, the city of Jerusalem is exempt from
the special rights of article III. The proteges of the JOLC there are still sub-
ject to its jurisdiction and administration, and it [the company], like any other
Ottoman citizen, can make acquisitions there. But the supervision of the holy
sites is left to the Sublime Porte, and can only at the wish of the same be
taken over by the JOLC. With respect to taxes and duties, Jerusalem is also
part of the "Privilege Territories." But [the company] is responsible for
equipping and paying the troops which the Sublime Porte provides for guard-
ing and protecting the holy sites.
XI. His Majesty the Sultan exempts the JOLC from 40 percent of the
permanent payment which it has to submit according to article II. [This is
meant] as a partial compensation for the means which according to article
VII.D., the Sublime Porte during peacetime will grant for the Syrian-Palestin-
ian divisions of His Majesty the Sultan for the purpose of establishing military
academies, depots, ammunition and weapons factories, etc. The remaining
60 percent, however, has to be paid on time to the treasuries of His Majesty
in two equal semi-annual installments.

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