The British Press and Zionism in Herzl's Time (1895-1904)* BENJAMIN JAFFE, MA., M.Jur. A but has been extremely influential; on the other hand, it is not easy, and may even be It is a to to the Historical privilege speak Jewish to evaluate in most cases a impossible, public Society on subject which is very much interest in a subject according to items or related to its founder and past President, articles in a published newspapers many years the late Lucien Wolf. Wolf has prominent ago. It is clear that Zionism was at the period place in my research, owing to his early in question a marginal topic from the point of contacts with Herzl and his opposition to view of the public, and the Near East issue Zionism in later an which years, opposition was not in the forefront of such interest. him to his latest The accompanied day. story We have also to take into account that the of the Herzl-Wolf relationship is an interesting number of British Jews was then much smaller chapter in the history of early British Zionism than today, and the Jewish public as newspaper and Wolf's life.i readers was limited, having It was not an venture to naturally quite easy prepare were regard also to the fact that many of them comprehensive research on the attitude of the newly arrived immigrants who could not yet British press at the time of Herzl. Early read English. Zionism in in attracted England general only I have concentrated here on Zionism as few scholars, unless one mentions Josef Fraenkel reflected in the British press in HerzPs time, and the late Oskar K. in Rabinowicz, though 1895-1904. I have not been able to elaborate within the framework of the Israel, universities, were on other Jewish issues or events which of some work has been conducted on the good re? interest to the English public or on the history of British pre-Zionism, mainly on partial actions in the press to such events, except those aspects. which were closely related to Zionism. The Dreyfus affair, the situation of the Jews in A Marginal Topic Russia and Rumania, and the Kishinev pogrom of 1903 were covered to a very large In the present paper I have not discriminated degree in the pages of the English press, and too much as far as newspapers and periodicals each of these reactions deserves special research. are concerned. I made a survey of all kinds of Within the compass of my work I have not sur? paper, national and provincial dailies, Sunday veyed the interest of the British public in papers, and evening papers, weeklies, month? Palestine and the support of quite a number of lies, and even quarterlies, as well as some Englishmen for the idea of the return of the Church papers. It is clear that not every paper to the Land before the Herzl era, with a circulation has influence Jews Holy large greater at nor the special interest of Englishmen the on public opinion than papers with a more time of Palmerston in the Holy Land, a subject limited circulation. The Times, for example, of great fascination.2 has always had a relatively limited circulation, * This paper was delivered to the Jewish Histori? cal Society in London on 22 November 1972. B It is based on research prepared under the auspices of the Weizmann Institute of Zionist a History, It is extremely difficult to find out why University of Tel Aviv, under the supervision of 2 Dr. Alex Bein. I dedicate it to Josef Fraenkel. See N. Sokolow, History of Zionism, Vol. I, 1 See J. Fraenkel, 'Lucien Wolf and Theodor London, 1918; B. Tuchman, Bible and Sword, chap. Herzl', Trans. J.H.S.E., Vol. XX, London, 1964. 9, etc., New York, 1956. 89 Jewish Historical Society of England is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Transactions & Miscellanies Jewish Historical Society of England ® www.jstor.org 90 BenjaminJoffe a a newspaper publishes certain item or editorial. expensive newspaper with somewhat sen? Is it an outcome of the interest of the public sational flavour, and by the end of the '90s or is it on the initiative of the editors? It is not reached the figure of 1,000,000 copies daily.5 easy after 70 years to suggest, in most cases, why a certain paper was more positive towards Different Papers' Attitudes Zionism than another paper. It is hardly a possible to identify the writers who wrote the It will be useful to survey in few words the unsigned editorials. In certain cases it would colouring of the main British newspapers and certainly be helpful. Only through Herzl's periodicals of the period in question and their letters do we know in which cases Herzl asked attitude to Zionism and Jewish topics. The different people, such as Jacob de Haas and Times, as already mentioned, was the most the Haham, Dr. Moses Gaster, to initiate influential; it was a conservative paper a news sense publication of item whenever he felt in the wide of the word, although was it important.3 independent.6 Owing to its many important are a Editorials read only by limited number correspondents throughout the world The of readers, but if such editorials appear in an Times concentrated mainly on foreign policy important newspaper they are read by moulders and foreign news. Throughout the period the as of public opinion. As far letters to the editor paper was quite cautious towards Zionism and are concerned, the opinion expressed in them is always strove to be on its guard against what usually a minority opinion. Altogether we have might be the effects of its editorials on Anglo difficulty in defining public opinion and its Jewish leaders, including the Chief Rabbi, influence, especially in a marginal issue such Dr. Adler. The Times covered news of Jewish as Zionism was then. interest in many countries. The Daily Chronicle The British press at the end of the nineteenth had a liberal flavour and was more 'popular' was a century very important 'pillar of British than The Times. Several times the Chronicle were Democracy' and an editorial in The Times on expressed opinions which far from being was even 6 December 1858 states as follows: 'Every in favour of Jews or Zionism, and it issue of an English journal speaks to the whole accused sometimes of antisemitism. The Stand? world. That is its strength. It lives by its ard, an independent Tory daily, which was was to universality.' The importance of London as quite important at the time, indifferent a. the metropolis of the Empire and as one of the Zionism. The Daily News, popular and liberal most influential political centres of the world paper, was alive to foreign news and often enhanced the importance of the British press. published items on Jewish life in Russia and a At the time in question the number of import? other countries. The Daily Telegraph, Tory ant dailies and other political and cultural Unionist paper, was quite sympathetic to we periodicals was much more numerous than Zionism. In addition to these find two a today. The English are nation of newspaper of the main provincial papers, the Manchester readers, but at the end of the nineteenth Guardian and the Yorkshire Post. The former, was a century, before the era of radio and television, under the editorship of C. P. Scott, they were much more so, though the circulation liberal, serious, and influential paper, and its as of the national press in the '70s and '80s was cautious sympathy for Zionism started far was not more than 300,000 copies. In the provincial back as the HerzJ period. (C. P. Scott towns not more than 40,000 copies were sold instrumental in assisting Weizmann from 1915 a daily.4 But the '90s brought complete revolu? in getting the Balfour Declaration.7) The tion in the British press. Alfred Harmsworth Yorkshire Post, a Tory paper and a leading daily (later Lord Northcliffe) introduced the in 5 F. Williams, The Dangerous Estate, 1957, p. 160. 3 6 Herzl, Iggerot (Letters) (Hebrew), Vol. II History of The Times, 1935, Vol. 3, deals with the (1958), pp. 135-139; Vol. Ill (1957), p. 150. period in question. 4 7 A. Wadsworth, Newspaper Circulation 1800-1954, D. Ayerst, Guardian, Biography of a Newspaper, Manchester, 1955, pp. 18-25. London, 1971. The British Press and Zionism in Herzl's Time 91 was in the North of England, also fairly positive Tablet, the Catholic Weekly, the Christian towards Zionism. Herald (a Catholic weekly with provincial editions), the Christian Age, etc. Their coverage of Zionism was limited, but on the whole for Zionism Support sometimes a positive, though with missionary In addition to these, the Observer, a Tory flavour. Sunday paper, and the Sunday Times, conserva? In our research we surveyed about 110 news? tive and independent, were less occupied with papers throughout the British Isles. I believe was the problem. The most pro-Zionist newspaper that sufficient to give the general trend. throughout the period was the Spectator, which In summing up we can say that while the was a were 'liberal, unionist and independent' conservative papers mainly positive to weekly, and dedicated most of its pages to Zionism, they were more cautious and took political, literary, and artistic subjects. Its into consideration the views of Anglo-Jewish editor, St. Loe Strachey, from 1898, raised the leaders, but became much more involved when a paper to very important position and followed Zionism became a 'burning issue' at the time of social, civil, and reform problems with great the alien immigration controversy and then were a interest.8 There number of afternoon the East Africa project.