It was 4:00 o'clock on Saturday afternoon that I visited Chief Rabbi Kook accompanied by Mr. Amdusky. Upon entering the spacious residence we were ushered into the reception room where there were many visitors, then through the library which room was equipped with shelves up to the ceiling on which were placed books of all kinds, and into the Chapel or Synagogue where a large congregation had gathered for the afternoon service. Rabbi Kook took his seat in the front. At the conclusion of the services everyone passed into the library where a long table was set with all kinds of food and wine. With the Rabbi at the head of the table, everyone sat down. Blessings were said over the wine and bread, and everyone enjoyed the appetizing food, after which everyone retired to the reception room. The Rabbi took his seat at the table in the center of the room. I at once approached him and presented him with a "Shield of David" of my own make. He looked at it, then arose from his chair and held a lengthy conversation on the Shield of David - of the good it would be for the Jewish children for educational purposes, and then he paid me a compliment on which he thought was the wonderful work I have done for the Jewish cause. I felt very highly flattered and after thanking Rabbi Kook I bid them adieu.
An auto called for me at 8:00 o'clock A.M. for a trip to Tel Aviv at which place we arrived at 9:30 A.M. I was given a very nice room at the Nahum Hotel. While here I visited the Hadassah Hospital which is kept nice and clean but is overcrowded with patients. It is very much in evidence that a larger hospital is needed and it should be in a more private place, as this is in the busy part of the city.
I visited the Synagogue for sabbath services and found a large unfinished building with a canvas roof and a seating capacity of about two thousand persons. The crude wooden benches were filled with worshippers. The downstairs, which was a finished chapel, had about six hundred worshippers.
After the services I returned to the hotel, had my dinner after which I took a walk down a street that led me to the Mediterranean Sea. I passed mostly business houses, newly built, and some under construction, large buildings which would be a credit to any city. Everything looked prosperous on the surface, but I learned that most of the buildings are in speculators hands and charge too high a rent for living rooms, the prices ranging from twenty to twenty-five dollars a month for a room.
These buildings were made by Jewish laborers only, carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, hod carriers, painters, camel drivers, architects and all other work. The Mayor, Council, Fire and Police Department Courts and Post Office are all under the direction of Jews. Only Jewish people can rent in Tel Aviv. This is the only exclusive Jewish city in the world. On the Sabbath everything is closed except the Synagogue. This city is only four years old and has over thirty thousand inhabitants, and I have no doubt that within ten years it will have a population of one hundred thousand. The inhabitants so far are mostly of Russian and Polish origin. Tel Aviv is a beautiful city with a very nice park system, bus lines for transportation, plenty of amusement places, and, in fact, everything to make a nice city.
I then went by train to Haifa and was very nicely accomodated at the Herzlia Hotel. While here I hired an automobile and guide and went to Tiberias. We passed Nazareth, Gallellee and other small towns made up mostly of Arabs who live in small dirty huts very similar to those in which the Mexicans live. They use the old plows made of bent wood, and they seem to be thousands of years behind times. The women are the main workers in the fields and everywhere else. Right here shows so clearly the contrast between these and the Jewish colonies. The Jewish homes are model, everything is up to date, farming implements are of the latest design, everything is carried on scientifically, the chaluzim look clean and healthy, the land is well tilled. I feel proud of the Russian and Polish settlers - they are the builders of Palestine.
I went to visit the large colony of Migdal, Pension Horwitz, from New York. It has many thousand acres of land under cultivation. I was shown rows of houses built on the American plan, by the superintendent, all of which are equipped with modern conveniences and improvements. The automobile then drove to Palm Grove which is about two miles in length. Here we found orange groves and fruit trees of all kinds, grape vines, flower gardens, wheat, corn, and, in fact, they raise a great deal of products to make the place profitable. This also is a credit to the Jews.
Haifa is a very interesting place and it has a great future. All business enterprises have been started in this city and they are growing rapidly, and besides being a very beautiful spot it is the principal seaport of Palestine. Lying in the valley of Mt. Carmel, the city is very old, and in the old section as in the principal business street, the streets are very narrow, nevertheless the large business houses together with the Jewish population of over ten thousand and the location of this city make it prosperous looking and one feels sure that within a very few years it will be a city of note.
On top of Mt. Carmel is a Hotel Herzlia, also owned by Mr. Epstein. We drove up to see the hotel and get a view of Haifa and the surrounding country. Mr. Epstein's son offered to guide me to all the interesting places of history which I readily accepted, and he conducted me to the top of the Hotel. In this panorama Mt. Carmel appeared to be half an island with the Mediterranean Sea half surrounding it, and a short distance away was the place where Elijah the prophet met the many prophets of Baal - where he mocked them and Elijah's offer was accepted by God. To the left was a small stream where the Isrealites fought many battles. Mr. Epstein pointed out another cave but he could not give the history of it.
Arter a seven o'clock breakfast I bid Mr, Epstein farewell and proceeded to purchase a ticket for Cairo. At eight o'clock I was on my way homeward. I changed cars in Lud and again at the Suez Canal, and, after a tedious journey through the wilderness reached Cairo at 10:45 P.M. I was very thankful to Mr. Epstein for the very nice lunch which he had had prepared for me on this trip. At Cairo I stayed at the Central Hotel, the proprietor of which was Mr. Bloom.
I wass fortunate in getting with a party of tourists, and, after a good nights rest we engaged an automobile and guide and at nine o'clock in the morning went to the Museum, which is most interesting, and where we saw many exhibites. We saw remarkable works of art from King Tutankhamen - from his childhood to his death - statues of fine mahogany and gold, beautiful alabaster cup transparent with lotus handles, the throne which was carved wood coated with gold of wonderful workmanship. I might go on and give pages of descriptions of these wonderful exhibites. I saw, in the glass case in his coffin, Pharoh (King Rameses) who plagued the Children of Isreal. There were statues over five thousand years old. I regret that I was able to give only one-half day to this museum, and never shall I forget the most wonderful ancient art of Egypt.
In the afternoon I visited the Pyramids and Sphynx, the Sunken Temple which was excavated and which is over five thousand years old.
The Turkish Mosque - a wonderful imposing building of exquisite architecture, with high minarets. The building proper is mostly constructed of the exterior of alabaster. On the inside was alabaster columns with rich decorations. A number of rich cut glass chandeliers adorned the ceiling with electric lights and the walls were adorned with costly paintings and the floors covered with beautiful oriental rugs. The stained glass windows were highly colored and showed rare art. I next visited the Dungeon or Prison where Joseph was incarcerated. Here it was where he explained the dreams. It was a deep pit, perhaps seven or eight stories deep, thirty-to thirty-five feet wide, and cut out of solid rock. a stairway led down into the various cells. The only reason for not having cut deper into the stone was the reason that they reached water. I must have taken hundreds of years to make that prison. Poor Joseph, what he must have suffered there!