THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



343 



Photograph from C. W. Whitehair 



the: wailing place op the; jews: Jerusalem 



"May the kingdom soon return to Zion ! Comfort those who mourn over Jerusalem. 

 May peace and joy abide with Zion, and the Branch of Jesse spring up at Jerusalem." 

 Thus runs the litany of the Jews, which for centuries has been recited in this place. Today 

 the never-ending prayers of an exiled people are about to be answered. 



I was fortunate to be in Jerusalem at the 

 time of the laying of the corner-stone of 

 this institution. The day marked the 

 dawn of a new epoch in the history of 

 the Jewish people. 



The site of the university is on Mount 

 Scopus, across the Kidron River from 

 the city and north of the Mount of Olives. 

 On the day of the ceremony the crowds 

 began leaving the gates of the city in the 

 early afternoon. Most of them were 

 walking because they were too poor to 

 ride. Besides, when the Turks left Jeru- 

 salem they swept the city clean of car- 

 riages, wagons, and horses. 



But one forgot the poverty of the mul- 

 titude when he caught their spirit, for 

 over them hung an atmosphere of hope 

 and expectancy. They were happy, and 

 well they might be, for a new day was 

 beginning for all of them, and surely no 

 race has suffered longer or more intensely 

 than the Jews. 



With heads high the multitudes sang 

 their hosannas and hallelujahs. The lay- 

 ing of the corner-stone was marked by 

 simplicity and dignity. The actual build- 

 ing of the university will be delayed until 

 after the close of the war. 



It now looks as if, after nearly two 

 thousand years of exile, the Jews will 

 return to claim a home in the land of 

 their forefathers. Even under the unjust 

 Turkish rule, the Zionists had established 

 45 or 50 settlements, and any one who 

 doubts their ability to colonize has only 

 to visit some of these villages. 



The houses are better built than those 

 of the ordinary Palestine village. The 

 streets are clean and the farms are most 

 creditable. The colonists have greatly in- 

 creased the annual harvest of the acres 

 they cultivate, and have demonstrated 

 that Palestine has large agricultural possi- 

 bilities. 



The territory of Palestine is about one- 



