IMAGInInG ThE “ISrAElITES” • 183al-Hilāl’s version. Obscured, though, in al-Hilālare the Yiddish words
that appear on the (cartographically imprecise) globe in the Der Groy-
ser Kundes version. In the original, amerika (america), Frankraykh
(France), rusland (russia), Daytshland (Germany), and holand (hol-
land) are identified as the journal exclaims: “A big world and nowhere
to go!” Lola’s cartoon was not concerned with the promised Land but
with any land, and palestine is noticeably absent from the potential
places of refuge. Zaydan, in other words, through the caption he cre-
ated and the interpretation he offered, transformed this American Yid-
dish cartoon from one about the inability of Jews to find a haven in
europe to one about the Jews’ search for the promised Land.
Zaydan’s compassion for Jewish suffering during the war is notable.
he emphasizes that more than 550,000 Jews are on the battlefields,
with “brothers fighting brothers.” At least four million Jews, moreover,
have been “forced to emigrate from their countries and to endure the
hardships of long- distance travel to flee approaching armies.” These
refugees include “old men, women, and children who have left their
homes, their land, and their possessions in order to save their lives.”^158
It is evident that Zaydan pities europe’s Jews for their unfortunate
situation in the war.
But immediately after Zaydan expresses this concern, he proceeds
to quote, with no apparent disapproval, an article from an unidentified
journal that takes a decidedly anti- Jewish stance. after citing statistics
indicating the disproportionate involvement of Jews as soldiers in the
various warring armies, the quoted article adds: “If we consider the
influence of the Jews in this war and the important positions that they
hold, we are shocked at the obedience of the nations to their [the Jews’]
power and their confidence in their abilities.” The article then discusses
the prominence of Jews in Britain (e.g., the rothschilds), Belgium (e.g.,
the first Belgian taken prisoner during the war was a rothschild), Italy
(e.g., prime Minister Luigi Luzzatti), Germany (e.g., Karl Marx, Ferdi-
nand lassalle), Austria (e.g., high- ranking Jewish military officers), and
russia (e.g., the dense population of Jews).^159 all this is to highlight the
extent to which Western countries are dominated by Jews.
how can we make sense of Zaydan’s lengthy quotation of a most
unsympathetic article about Jews’ domination over and exploitation
of europe when we know that Zaydan generally viewed Jews favor-
ably and repeatedly expressed pity for their misfortunes? Given the
many texts we have reviewed in this chapter, one may conclude that
this seeming contradiction was very much the norm among these arab
(^158) al-Hilāl 24 (October 1915– July 1916), 401– 2.
(^159) Ibid., 402– 4.