Palestine awake!

I love cleaning out the garage and, conveniently enough, my wife loves piling stuff up in the garage. So I get to indulge my fancy, knowing that my wife will make sure I get the chance again... and again... and again.

The primary reason I love cleaning out the garage: organizing everything into those great storage tubs, labeling those tubs, and then stacking the tubs high into the rafters, hoping that my system of bungee cords and rope will keep everything in place. A second reason I enjoy this pasttime is that I frequently stumble upon something I'd forgotten I had -- case in point, a hardcover book from 1926 called Palestine Awake: The Rebirth of a Nation.

Author Sophie Irene Loeb was born in Russia in 1876 and died in New York in 1929. She was president of the Board of Child Welfare of New York, and in 1921 established the first child welfare building -- and she was also a proto-Zionist.

Her book, which includes 16 black and white plates, is just great to read (and look at -- the photo here is a"religious settler," as pictured in the book). As a page out of history, nothing beats books about pre-mandate Palestine.

Loeb interviewed (among other officials) Ragheb El Nashashibi, then the mayor of Jerusalem, on various Palestine-related matters; his answers are fascinating, and include gems such as:

"I can see no reasons why the Jews and Arabs cannot work together in this great country. There is room for all, and up to the present time there have been no serious quarrels."

But enjoy as it I do, I must part with it -- gotta make room, you know. If you're interested, check it out on eBay.