the banker wrote Mack, who in fact had agreed to Schiff’s conditions, that
the more he saw of Zionist leaders, except for Brandeis, the less he re-
spected them. Nevertheless, he determined to continue his cooperation
from the outside.^117
Some prominent Zionists, like Mack, attempted in 1918 to revive the
overtures to Schiff. While Professor Israel Friedlaender of the Jewish
Theological Seminary told the banker that the best way to put religion into
Zionism was to fight for it from within the ranks, Horace Kallen appealed
on behalf of the Jewish people: “I know at this moment of no act that
would be more genuinely helpful to the future of Israel and the realization
of your hopes for our people... than your regularly joining the [Zionist]
organization.” However, such efforts that argued the right of different
opinions under the umbrella of the Basel program proved futile. Schiff,
who blamed the Zionists for the breakdown of negotiations, told Mack in
April 1918: “I wish I could ... see my way ... to join the Zionist organiza-
tion. You know I was very ready to do so four months ago, but my ex-
pressed consent was received with little courtesy, and not acted upon.”^118
Nevertheless, true to his word, Schiff contributed generously for the
physical restoration of Palestine. Since Brandeis aimed for a rapproche-
ment with Schiff and Marshall toward that same goal, Schiff’s nonaffilia-
tion did not stop Mack from frequently consulting the banker on Palestine
matters. When Mack and Brandeis discussed the financial needs of postwar
Palestine with a sympathetic Schiff in 1919, the latter responded by calling
a conference at Temple Emanu-El for the purpose of launching a fund-
raising campaign for Palestine together with that of the JDC. His remarks
at the conference underscored both the centrality of Palestine in the
“larger Jewish question” of Jews in eastern Europe and the ongoing need
for unity among Jews. “It is high time,” he said, “that American Jewry for-
get its differences ... and join hands with those who have heretofore made
the Zionist Problem their specialty, in order that, united, they may find a
solution for the Jewish question... which shall prove satisfactory to all,
and of which I verily believe Palestine has become the corner-stone.”
Schiff’s idea of joint fund-raising was rejected, testifying yet again to the
difficulties of achieving communal unity. Schiff never joined the ZOA, but
until his death in 1920 he continued to preach unity for the rehabilitation
of Palestine. “It is not the duty of every Jew to be a Zionist, but it is the
duty of every Jew to help restore Palestine.” A self-appointed peacemaker,
he juggled the interests of both sides in an attempt to assure each faction of
his genuine sympathy.^119
In the interests of the non- or anti-Zionists, Schiff urged the Zionists
to ignore nationalism and concentrate on the physical “redemption” of
Palestine. His opposition to national rights and his assertion that “I am as
little as ever interested in political Zionism and the establishment of a
232 Jacob H. Schiff