Pluto Journals

Zionists and the Ottoman Foreign Ministry during the Reign of Abdulhamid II (1876-1909)
Author(s): Blent Kemal ke
Source: Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Fall 1980), pp. 364-374
Published by: Pluto Journals
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857551 .
Accessed: 18/02/2015 07:02
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Pluto Journals is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Arab Studies Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Zionists
and the Ottoman
Foreign
Ministry
during the Reign of Abdulhamid
II (1876-1909)
Blent Kemal ke
By the late 1800s, Palestine had become the focus of the European
Zionists who were offeringto deliver their followers to the Promised
Land. Palestine, however, was neitherempty nor free of an existing
sovereignty.It was part of the Asiatic provinces of the OttomanEmpire,
inhabitedby the Arab subjects of the Sultan. Having elevated the Zionist
movement from a disunited collection of philanthropicsocieties to an
actor in internationalrelations, Dr. Theodore Herzl admitted that the
"decision is in the sole hands of His Majesty the Sultan."1 In orderto win
AbdulhamidII to his plan of establishinga home forthe Jewsin Palestine,
he made five journeys to Constantinople between 1896 and 1902.
During his stay at the Ottomancapital, he was summonedto the Porte as
well as to the Palace, negotiated"fromPower to Power," as he described
it, with various dignitariesof the State, includingthe Grand Vezir, and
was even granted an audience with Abdulhamid II.
Herzl was soon to discover thatthe Sultan of Turkey was vehemently
against the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine.2 At a time when the
Macedonian uprisingsin the West and the Armenianrevolts in Anatolia
were threateningthe territorialintegrityof the Ottoman Empire, the
TurkishGovernmenthad no desire to nurtureanothernationalityproblem
withinits domains. Thus, the Ottomanstook the Zionist movementseriously fromits inceptionand devised theirpolicies to deal withit accordingly. It was Abdulhamid II himselfwho laid the cornerstone of the
Ottoman reaction toward the Zionists. He was determinedthatthe Turkish Government should prevent Jewish immigrationand settlementin
Palestine to the best of its efforts.3The Sultan, in turn,asked the Cabinet
to carefully discuss the entire question at its meetings and work out
detailed policies to cope withthe Zionist phenomenonboth at home and
BlentKemalkeis LecturerinInternational
ofPoliticalScience,
Politics, Institute
of Istanbul.
University
1. R. Patai(ed.), TheCompleteDiariesofTheodorHerzl(London,1960),iii,p.
909.
l. Diaries, i, p. 5 lis.
3. A. Osmanoglu,Babam Abdlhamid(Istanbul,1960),p. 46.
364 ASQ Volume 2 Number 4

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

365

Ottoman Foreign Ministry

abroad. The finalprogram,as formulatedby the council of ministersand

approved by the Sultan,entailedfoursets of policies, forwhose execution
ministrieswere responsible.4While the Ottoman Foreign Minisdifferent
to persuade the Powers not to lend any support to the
asked
was
try
Zionist movement,the Ministryof the Interiorhad to findways of preventingthe Zionistsfromenteringthe country.5Despite the effortsof the
the country;it was
ministriesconcerned,some Jews managedto infiltrate
to
ensure
that
to
the
Grand
Vezirate
did
not
they
acquire foreign
up
protectionand become entitledto capitulatoryrights.6Furthermore,it
was the task of the Department of Land Registrationto prevent their
acquisition of land in Palestine and its environs.7
The Ottoman Foreign Ministrycame to be involved at every level of
decisionmakingin Turco-Zionist relations. Abdulhamid II and his advisors' image of Zionism was shaped by the way Turkish diplomats
abroad perceived Zionism and by the way they communicatedthis phenomenon to Constantinople. Second, the Ottoman Foreign Ministry
proved to be highlyinfluentialin the formulationof definitivepolicies
toward the activitiesof the Zionists, both in the diplomatic field and in
Palestine. Third,the ForeignMinistry,compared withthe otherOttoman
ministries,bore the heaviest burdenin the implementationof the Turkish
Government'santi-Zionistregulations.

I
of Jewishaffairswiththe congreWhen Zionism came to the forefront
Basle
of
First
at
in
the Ottomanrepresentatives
the
1897,
Congress
gation
abroad did not lose any time in feedingthe capital detailed information
concerningthe developmentof the entireZionist movement. While the
detailed reportsand newspaper cuttingswere readilydispatched to Con4. TahsinPaa, Abdiilhamid
ve YildizHatiratari(Istanbul,1931),pp. 7-9.
London(laterto be citedas PRO), ForeignOfficeFiles
5. PublicRecordOffice,
(laterto be citedas FO), 78/5479,no. 71, Dicksonto Bunsen,Jerusalem,29
27 January
1901.
December1900;no. 34,O'ConortoLansdowne,Constantinople,
6. ForeignRelationsof theUnitedStates (laterto be citedas FRUS), (1886),
5 January1886;FRUS (1893),end. to
no. 445,Cox to Bayard,Constantinople,
no. 3, Mavroyenito Gresham,22 November1893,Therapia.
7. FRUS (1898),no. 78, Angelito Sherman,Constantinople,
5 January1898;
25 April
FRUS (1906),no. 1370,Jayto theSecretaryof State,Constantinople,
no. 35,Dicksonto Clare-Ford,
30 December
Jerusalem,
1906;PRO, FO, 195/1765,
1892.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

366

Arab Studies Quarterly

stantinople,8Turkish diplomats tried to interviewZionist notables and

even sent agents under disguise to their congresses.9
Turkishdiplomats did not perceive the Zionist phenomenonfavorably.
In 1898 Ali FerruhBey, the Turkishministerin Washington,reportedthat
Zionism 44vitallyconcerns Turkish sovereignty."10The Turkish ambassador in Berlin, Ali TewfikPasha, wrote to the Porte on 17 August 1900
that"we musthave no illusionsabout Zionism. Althoughthe speakers at
the Congress dwelled upon vague generalitiessuch as the futureof the
Jewish people, the Zionists, in effect,aim at the formationof a great
Jewishstate in Palestine whichwould also spread towardstheneighboring
countries."11Two years beforethismessage reached Constantinople,the
Turkish ambassador in London, Antopulos Pasha, had already warned
the Porte that 44withthe increase in the numberof flourishing
colonies in
not
be
content
to
live under
the
Zionist
would
colonizers
Palestine,
Ottoman municipallaw."12 He added thatthe Zionists, contraryto what
theyhad said at Basle, would press forinternationalrecognitionunderthe
law of nations.
After analyzing these reports, the Sultan, as the principal decision
maker of the Ottoman Empire, admitted that he 44understood their
[Zionists'] evil projects, and as much as he protectedhis Jewishsubjects,
he was still an enemy of those Jews who entertainedcertain chimeric
ideas about Palestine."13 AbdulhamidII thoughtthatthe immigrationand
settlementof the Jews in Palestine were harmfulto the interestsof the
OttomanEmpire insofaras theywould lead to theemergenceof a 4'Jewish
Question," and were especially dangerous at a time when the Turkish
Governmenthad the Armeniantroubles on its hands.14
Having communicatedto the Portethe emergenceand the development
8. These were all kept in a dossier entitled"The Questionof Zionism,"
Archives(laterto be
cataloguedunder332/17of the OttomanForeignMinistry
citedas OFM).
9. OFM, 332/17,no. 1205/30,
Missak Effendito TewfikPasha, La Haye, 17
MahmudNedimto TewfikPasha, Vienna,21 July
August1907;no. 23600/182,
1898;Yildiz Palace Archivesat thePorte,Istanbul(laterto be citedas YPA), C
20 May 1898;6 11/48Ali FerruhBey to the Palace, Washington,
11/67/54/136,
49/54/136,27
April1898.
10. OFM, 332/17,
no. 9597/81,
Ali FerruhBey to TewfikPasha,Washington,
23
July1898.
11. OFM, 332/17,no. 1683/136,
A. Tewfikto TewfikPasha,Berlin,17 August
1900.
12. OFM, 332/17,no. 23598/216,
Antopulosto TewfikPasha, London,8 June
1898.
13. Abdlhamid,
Siyasi Hatiratim(Istanbul,1975),pp. 76-77.
14. C. R. Atilhan,Ittihatve TerakkininSuikastleri(Istanbul,1973),pp. 200-1.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Ottoman Foreign Ministry

367

of Zionism as theyperceived them,the membersof the Turkishdiplomatic corps were also enthusiasticin advising the Turkish Governmenton
ways to cope withthis movement,which, accordingto them,threatened
the territorialintegrityand political sovereigntyof Turkey. On 31 November 1903 the Turkishambassador in Berlin urged the Porte to elaborate the existingspecial regulationsprohibitingthe Zionists fromacquiring land in Palestine and preventingthe colonization of the country,
activities which, according to him, aimed at the establishment of an
independentState withinthe domains of the Ottoman Empire.15
As earlyas 1898, Ali FerruhBey wrotea letterto the Sultan- a copy of
whichhe also sent to the ForeignMinistryat the Porte16- suggestingthat
the "time has come forthe Governmentof His Imperial Majesty to take
certainmeasures to repairthe faultwhich theirancestors had committed
by allowing the non-Moslem communitiesto settle in Palestine. As the
journey of the German Emperorto Jerusalemclearly showed, Catholics,
Protestants,Orthodox and Jews prepare the ground for the Powers to
enhance their respective spheres of political and religious ambitions
(withinthe Ottomanlands)."17 Ali FerruhBey, whose fatherhad been the
governorof Jerusalem,furtherinformedthe Sultan that on a recent visit
to Palestinehe had seen theway the Zionistswere plunderingtherichesof
the country,to the detrimentof the local Muslim population. In order to
rectifythisstate of affairs,he suggestedthatthe Governmentfacilitatethe
immigrationof Muslim communitiesinto Palestine to leave fewer places
forthe Jews to settle. AbdulhamidII musthave shared Ali Ferruh Bey's
anxiety,for he declared: "We must forgetthe idea of allowing Jewish
into Palestine. Otherwise,as theywould in due course musimmigration
ter all the power in theirhands whereverthey settle, we would sign the
death warrant of our religious brothers."18On another occasion, AbdulhamidII said, "we could onlyopen our bordersto those who belong to
the same nationalityand religionas we do. We should tryto buttressthe
Turkishelement in our body politic."19 When Muslim Turkishrefugees,
in the face of growing repression in the Balkans and Russia, fled to
Turkey,Abdulhamid II settledthem in the valley of Hauran, Palestine.
the Turkishpolicies, the Foreign MinisWhen it came to implementing
A. Tewfikto TewfikPasha, Berlin,31 Novem15. OFM, 332/17,no. 3309/178,
ber 1903.
Ali FerruhBey to the Palace, Washington,
27
16. YPA, C 11/48-49/54/136,
April1898.
no. 9550/63,
AliFerruhBeyto TewfikPasha,Washington,
29
17. OFM, 332/17,
April1898.
18. Abdiilhamid,
op. cit., p. 76.
19: Ibid., p. 68.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

368

Arab Studies Quarterly

trywas asked to persuade the Powers not to lend any assistance toward
Zionism. Since Germany was the European Power most sympathetic
toward Turkey,the Ottoman Governmentthoughtthatit should firstwin
the supportof the Kaiser forits anti-Zionist policies. It is curious thatof
all the Powers, Germanywas the countrymostfavorablydisposed toward
4
the Zionist movement. The Kaiser had admittedthat the 'fundamental
idea of Zionism has always interested[me] and even aroused [my] sympathy."20In September, 1898 Count Evlenburg,the Germanambassador
in Vienna, wroteto Herzl that44His Majesty has declared himselfreadyto
intervenewiththe Sultan and preparedto undertakethe protectionof the
Jews in the Orient."21 When the German Emperor attemptedto discuss
4
the matter with the Sultan and told him that the Zionists were 4 not
dangerous to Turkey, but everywherethe Jews are a nuisance of whom
one should like to be rid," Abdulhamid II was reportedto have replied
that he was quite satisfiedwith his Jewishsubjects.22TewfikPasha, the
Turkish foreignminister,told Wilhelm II on his tour of Jerusalemthat
44the Sultan would have
nothingto do with Zionism and an independent
Jewish Kingdom."23 As a result, WilhelmII, anxious not to arouse the
suspicion of his host over such a project, lost all his enthusiasm for
Zionism. Biilow was extremelypleased to see this change in the Kaiser
and furtherconvinced him that since Zionism was a serious threatto
Turkishsovereignty,Germany's supportof Herzl' s plans was incompatiof the
ble with the traditionalGerman policy of maintainingthe integrity
line
of
the
same
used
Turkish
authorities
Ottoman Empire.24
argument
with the Powers which had a vested interestin the preservationof Tur44
key, namely, that they should renounce the idea of introducingthe
Jewishpeople into the internationalcommunityas a state, because this
project, by creating a state withina state at the center of the Ottoman
Empire, would assure the ruinof Turkey."25 Turkishpropaganda in this
connection was so powerful that the Allegemeine Zeitung wrote on
11 August 1900: 44Liveand let live; this is the policy of the Great Powers
not only towards the Jews, but also towards the Turks."26
It appears that Germany played a pivotal role in the shaping of other
and Zionism1897-1918(Oxford,1977),p.
20. I. Friedman,Germany
, Turkey
65.
21. Ibid., p. 68.
22. Diaries, iii, p. 770.
23. Friedman,op. cit., p. 79.
24. Biilow,Memoirs(London, 1931),ii, p. 250.
A. Tewfikto TewfikPasha,Berlin,17 August
25. OFM, 332/17,no. 1683/136,
1900.
26. Ibid.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

369

Ottoman Foreign Ministry

Powers' attitudestoward Zionism. In her withdrawal of support from

Herzl, Russia followedGermany'sexample. Plehve, the Russian minister
44
of the interior,had writtento Herzl in August 1903 that so long as
Zionism consisted of wantingto create an independentstate in Palestine
. . . , the Russian Governmentcould be completelyfavourableto it."27 It
seems thatthe Russians gave theirsupportto the Zionists to take the wind
fromGerman sails. Suspicious as it was of Wilhelmstrasse's ambitionsin
the Near East, St. Petersburgmusthave thoughtthatifthe establishment
of a JewishState were unavoidable, it would be betterto have it under
Russian ratherthan Germanprotection.Once the Germans backed down
fromfosteringthe Zionist cause in Palestine, the Russian Government
must have realized that there was no need to complicate international
relations with another nationalityquestion. Thus, it placed the Jewish
Question in cold storage.
With respect to the French, it must be said that Paris was always
againstHerzl's project. "It was clear," Bodenheimer,who accompanied
Herzl in his Middle Eastern tour,wrote,"that Paris watched suspiciously
over events in Palestine. Any incautiousdeclarationof a protectorateor a
Jewish State would have led to dangerous complications. Should the
French fleet, alerted at Toulon, have anchored off the Syrian coast,
troublewould certainlyhave ensued."28 Having recognized the potential
dangerto world peace, Britainwas contentto offerHerzl and his followers less sensitivespots, like Uganda and Cyprus,to fulfilltheirirredentist
aspirations.
II
Having done its homeworkin the diplomaticfield by convincing the
Powers to withdrawtheirsupportfromthe Zionist movement,the Ottoman Foreign Ministryturnedits attentionto anotherfacet of the Turkish
Government'santi-Zionistpolicies. The Ottomanswished to make world
Jewrybelieve that,fromthe point of view of the Jewishpeople, Herzl's
plans were neitherfeasible nor desirable. They hoped that if they were
successful,therewould be a drop in the numberof Jewishconvertsto the
Zionistranks.This would indeed deprivethe Zionists of theirmain source
of strength.A typicalmethodused by theTurkishForeignMinistrywas to
A. Tewfikto TewfikPasha, Berlin,31 Novemno. 3309/179,
27. OFM, 332/17,
ber 1903.
Preludeto
28. H. H. Bodenheimer
(ed.), TheMemoirsof Max Bodenheimer:
Israel (New York, 1963),pp. 124-5.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

370

Arab Studies Quarterly

contradictthe optimisticspeeches about Turco-Jewish relations which

notables of the Zionist movementgave at theircongresses. In 1899, the
ForeignMinistrydeclared: "although Dr. Herzl was cordiallyreceived by
His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, he was by no means grantedthe rightto
settle the Zionists in Palestine."29 Such communiqus, which meant to
discourage the Jewish people's involvementin plans about Palestine,
sometimescarried an elementof threat.Notingthatthe Jews "in Turkey
have always been, and theyare, free,happy and prosperous," Ali Ferruh
Bey overtly told the news media: "It did not seem wise that they
forthe TurkishGovernment
[Zionists] be encouraged to create difficulties
by attemptingto put chimericideas into execution. I am afraidthat the
only results which would flowfromthis attemptwould do harm to their
peaceable and happy co-religionistsin Turkey." He also added, in this
connection, that the harmonyand happiness which governed relations
between the Ottoman authoritiesand theirArmeniansubjects were disturbedby a handfulof rebels who "commited the follyof listeningto the
Machiavellian advice of outsidersand lived to regrettheiraction without
obtaining any result."30 The Turkish minister'sexplicit statementwas
veryeffective.On 17 June 1898theJewishMessenger reportedwithsome
reliefthatthe speech had a "salutary influenceon our Don Quixotes."31
Indeed, a year laterthe presidentof the New York Federationof Zionists,
J. Bluestone, complained that it was "becoming increasinglydifficultto
attractnew members or even to hold on to the old ones."32
Establishing an alliance with certain anti-Zionistgroups to form a
commonoppositionwas anotherprecautionin whichtheTurkishMinistry
soughtrefuge.It was again Ali FerruhBey who established contact with
MuhamrnedWebb, the presidentof the AmericanMuslims, in May 1898;
he asked Webb to aid the Caliph in the anti-Zionist crusade of the Ottoman Empire. Webb intercededwithRichard Gothel, the chairmanof the
American Federation of Zicnists,to persuade the latternot to pursue any
endeavors concerning Palestine.33
Turkishdiplomats also hoped to recruitsome Jews into theireffortsto
to all the Ottomandelegationsabroad, 1899.
29. OFM, 332/17,unnumbered,
15 June
Ali Ferruhto the Palace, Washington,
30. YPA, C 11/85-86/54/136,
23 July
no. 9597/81,
Ali Ferruhto TewfikPasha,Washington,
1898;OFM, 332/17,
1898.
23 July
Ali FerruhBey to thePalace, Washington,
31. YPA, C 11/98/54/136,
23
Ali FerruhBey to TewfikPasha,Washington,
no. 9597/81,
1898;OFM, 332/17,
July1898.
32. M. Feinstein,AmericanZionism(1884-1904)(New York, 1965),p. 150.
12
no. 9557/66,
Ali FerruhBey to TewfikPasha,Washington,
33. OFM, 332/17,
May 1898.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Ottoman ForeignMinistry

371

halt the developmentof Zionism. Certain sections of the Jewishcommu44

nity,such as the Orthodox" and the "reformists," did indeed prove
helpful.Orthodox Jews believed that only a Messiah could deliver the
Jews into Palestine; thus Dr. Herzl, who appointedhimselfto this divine
with the will of God,
task, was a charlatan. He was not only interfering
but also promisingthe Jews a mission which he, with his mere human
Reformistsalso did notthinkhighlyof Zionism.
powers, could notfulfil.34
ReformistJewsof WesternEurope thoughtthatJews did not constitutea
to and settlingin Palestine with
nation,but a religion.Instead of migrating
the hope of establishingtheirown State, theyshould absorb the cultureof
the nationsamong whichthey lived. They were worriedthatif Dr. Herzl
could convince the Turks, then theirposition would be threatenedby a
sudden upsurge of anti-Semitism,as their hosts could insist that they
leave theircountriesand migrateto Palestine.35AssimilatedJews had no
desire to leave WesternEurope, where, apart fromoccasional tragedies
like the Dreyfus Affair,they lived in peace and prosperity.Thus Ali
FerruhBey foundthe reformistJews in the United States very cooperative. Reverend Stoden, the grand rabbi of Washington,told him that a
large section of the Jewishcommunitybelonged to the reformistschool
and had no sympathywhatsoever with Zionism.36
As a last measureto preventthe Zionistsfromcolonizing Palestine, the
Ottoman Foreign Ministryordered the Turkishdiplomatic corps not to
give visas to those Jews who belonged to the Zionist movement.37Jews
who had hoped to evade the Turkish restrictionsand had embarked on
theirjourney withoutvisas were surprisedto see that the Ottoman customs' authoritieswere already alerted about theirarrival. The Turkish
police more oftenthannot knew the homeland,the date of embarkation,
as well as the numberof Zionists aboard a ship even beforeit reached the
shores of Haifa or Jaffa.The Turkish representativesabroad had no
inhibitionsabout spyingon the Zionists. Once theylearned thata partyof
Zionists was on its way to Palestine, they immediatelyinformedthe
Turkish authoritiesat home with a cipher telegram.38It was indeed
34. OFM, 332/17,no. 60, Ali FerruhBey to TewfikPasha, Washington,
23
April1898.
35. OFM, 332/17,
no. 23598/216,
Antopulosto TewfikPasha, London,8 June
1898.
36. YPA, C 11/35-37/54/136,
Ali FerruhBey to the Palace, Washington,
22
Ali FerruhBey to TewfikPasha, WashingApril1898;YPA, C 11/48-49/54/136,
ton,27 April1898.
37. YPA, C 11/275-276/54/136,
Ali FerruhBey to thePalace, Washington,
24
January1899.
38. YPA, C 11/226-229/54/136,
Ali FerruhBey to the Palace, Washington,
1
Ali FerruhBey to thePalace, 15September1898.
October1898;C 11/218/54/136,

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Arab Studies Quarterly

372

remarkable that the Turkish Foreign Ministryand the Ministryof the

Interiorachieved such a state of coordinationand cooperation.
Ill
Despite Ottoman intransigence,the Zionists managed to penetratethe
bordersand to settlethousandsof theirfollowersin Palestine. By 1909the
Jewishpopulation of Palestine had risen to eightythousand, threetimes
the numberin 1882, when the firstentryrestrictionswere imposed; the
Zionists had acquired some 156 square miles of land and set up twenty-six
colonies.39 The wide gap between the theoryand practice of the Ottoman policies and its results was attributableto the interventionof the
Powers on behalf of the Jewish colonizers.
Thanks to the effortsof the Foreign Ministry,the Ottomans were by
and large successful in persuadingthe Powers not to lend any supportto
the Zionist cause. The Powers did not mediate betweenthe Turks and the
Zionists. If the Zionists lost on the diplomaticfrontand failedto obtain a
charterfora home in Palestine,theywon in anotherway. On theirarrivalin
Palestine, the Jewish settlerswere not naturalizedas Ottoman subjects,
but preferredto acquire foreignnationalityin orderto enjoy the privileges
accorded to the Powers under the Capitulations. As the immigrantsobtained certificatesof protection(by very doubtfulmeans), the European
consuls in Jerusalem were compelled to recognize them as their subjects.40 The Powers made it clear to the Porte that the rightof their
subjects to traveland to settlewithinthe Ottomandominionswas secured
by the Capitulations; therefore,anti-Zionistregulationswere considered
to be ipso facto null and void as far as they concerned persons enjoying
their protection.41Thus, the delegations of European (and American)
Powers did not hesitateto intervenewiththe Turkishofficialson behalfof
the Zionists. As a result,each regulationof anti-Zionist legislationof the
Ottoman Governmentwas evaded.
Seeing thatits effortsto check the establishmentof a Zionist stronghold
withinthe OttomanEmpire were wasted, the ForeignMinistrymade a last
desperate demarche. It tried to explain to the Powers that the Jewish
migrantswere fraudulentlyacquiring certificatesof protectionand that
39. N. Sokolow,Historyof Zionism(London, 1919),ii, pp. 326-31.
40. PRO, FO, 78/1692,no. 218, Finn to Russell,Jerusalem,iy June1862;
21 November1898.
no. 408, Dicksonto O'Conor, Jerusalem,
195/2028,
41. PRO, FO, 195/1575,
Whiteto Moore,Therapia,19 October1887;FRUS
19 May 1888.
(1888), no. 1083,Strausto Bayard,Constantinople,

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Ottoman Foreign Ministry

373

theywere using themto evade the anti-Zionistregulationsof the Porte.

Believingthatthe protg systemconstituteda "source of inexhaustible
abuses," Said Pasha, the foreignministerof Turkey,in a note dated April
1887,asked the Powers to withdrawtheirprotectionfromthe Zionists.42
4
AlthoughBritain agreed in principle,London still thoughtthat 'owing
to theactual persecutionof theJews in Russia, it mightbe injudicious as a
matterof policy to deprive the Jews in Syria and Palestine suddenly of
Britishprotection."43The Porte did not findGermany and Russia very
cooperativeeither.Both countrieshad genuineinterestsin the promulgationof Zionist policies. As Herzl told the Kaiser and Plehve, the exodus
of theJewsfromthese countriesmeantthatthe Socialist movementwould
be deprived of its leaders and supporterson the one hand, and antiSemitismwould be sapped of its impetuson the other.44Withrespect to
external considerations, both the Germans and Russians must have
thoughtthat these Jewishelements, once placed under theirprotection,
would prove themselvesagentsfortheirincreased influencein thatpartof
the Ottoman Empire.
As a last effort,the Foreign Ministryturnedto the United States. The
U.S. stand vis--vis the Zionists was leftto the discretion of the U.S.
ministerin Constantinople,Oscar Straus, who was favorably disposed
toward Zionist aspirations.45As a result of Straus' continuous attemptsto champion Jewishrights,Ali FerruhBey wired the Sultan that
Straus was blocking America's acquiescence to the Turkish policy of
the stay of AmericanJews in Palestine.46Abdulhamid II had
restricting
him removed fromhis post in Constantinople. On 28 August 1893 the
Turkishministerin Washingtonappealed to the State Departmentthatthe
question of Zionism was an internalaffairof the Ottoman Empire, and
Americans should abide by the principles of the "Monroe Doctrine,
namely no one should mix himselfeitherdirectlyor indirectlywith the
affairsof others."47These protests,however, fell short of changingthe
American attitudetoward the Zionists in Palestine.
In 1911, seeing that all his Government's effortshad been in vain,
Abdulhamid II, deposed and exiled by then, admitted to his private
42. PRO, FO, 83/1723,enei, to no. 394, Whiteto Salisbury,Therapia,10
September1891.
43. PRO, FO, 195/1510,
no. 14, Elridgeto Granville,Beirut,25 May 1882.
44. Diaries, ii, pp. 669-671.
45. FRUS (1888),no. 1101,Adee to Straus,Washington,
6 November1888.
46. YPA, C 11/275-276/54/136,
Ali FerruhBey to thePalace, Washington,
24
January1899.
47. FRUS (1893),Mavroyeni
to Gresham,Washington,
with
Correspondence
theLegationof Turkey,28 August1893.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

374

Arab Studies Quarterly

physicianthat the achievementsof the Zionists in Palestine were just an

introduction,preparingthe groundworkforaccomplishingtheirultimate
goal: "I am sure that withtime they can and will be successful in establishingtheirown state in Palestine."48
48. Atif HiiseyinBey, Hatiralar,TurkishHistoricalAssociationLibrary,
Y-255,p. 18.

This content downloaded from 152.118.24.10 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 07:02:40 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions