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As in the geographical reference to Palestine, we have been
compelled to be content with mere traces, the same will be the case in our
historical account of this country. There are nowhere to be met with regular
documents in respect to its history, states, and towns; the past seems to have
been entirely forgotten; so that the whole country cared, so to say, only for
the present, and took no cognizance of what had preceded or was to follow. It is
true that some few Arabic historians have written something concerning
Palestine, such as Abulfeda and Serif ibn Idrus; but their works have almost
entirely disappeared, as was to be supposed would be the case under
a government which had not and suffered not a free press. Read more
Ulysses S. Grant and the Emissary from the Holy Land
Rabbi Hayim Tzvi Sneersohn, a great-grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the "Alter Rebbe" of Chabad Hasidim, visited the United States in 1869 on a mission for the Jewish community of Palestine. He was received at the White House by newly inaugurated President Ulysses Grant.
The Washington National Intelligencer described the reception of Rabbi Sneersohn, wearing traditional Palestinian Yerushalmi costume, by the President of the United States.
Rabbi Sneersohn said, "Mr. President: Permit me to give my thanks to the Almighty, whose mercy brought me here to behold the face of the chosen by the millions of this great nation... I come to your Excellency from the East, to entreat you in the name of G-d, who created all men equal, to listen to the prayer of your humble servant, standing before you to advocate the cause of his oppressed brethren in the Holy Land. The Israelites in Palestine possess no political or civil rights whatever, and oftentimes deprived of protection by the representatives of the civilized nations which the Christians enjoy, are exposed to violence and arbitrary rule. The only shelter the Israelites occasionally find is in the courts of the different European consulates, where one of their co-religionists is employed either as interpreter or deputy consul, who convey their grievances to the proper channel. This free Republic alone, whose banner covers the oppressed, whose foundation is based on equality, toleration, and liberty of conscience, has no Israelites employed near the consul at Jerusalem. I do pray, therefore, your Excellency, to turn your attention to the deplorable condition of my brethren in the Orient, that the principles of this government may be truly embodied in its representatives abroad; and I do further pray that your Excellency may show me that mark of favor which will enable my brethren in the Holy Land in the hour of need to seek refuge under the Stars and Stripes, that this free country and its exalted chief should be blessed on the sacred spot of our common ancestors." Read more
An American Hebrew's Heroic Life
Unlike the mass of war literature of the period, the following sketch in place of
treating of the generals in command is simply a chronicle of passages in the war record of
the "rank and file." A humble sergeant, who among the many generous
high-spirited young men volunteered in "61" to fight for the perpetuation of the
Union, and who through a self-negation equal to Sidney [Carton]'s heroic act, suffered captivity
and death in the prison pen at Andersonville. Read more