Editorial Statement of The Palestine News’ Literary Supplement

From the hour of distress (Psalms 118:5) as if [emerging] from the suffocating darkness of troublesome nightmares, we woke up; from the expanse, the lights of dawn welcomed us . . .

Lights from darkness. From smoky mists of the menacing war, the faith of hope and the comfort of safety shines for us—our field of vision widens before us, expanding and clarifying our surroundings. Before our eyes, shovel and sword appear together! Plow and cannon, cornerstone and artillery, the song of labor and the cries of war—they call us all at once.

“O nation of the army of redemption, forward unto the war of redemption, aided by the nation at the pinnacle of culture [i.e., British], forward unto the great labor of culture. O saving nation, onward to salvation!” Thus, every joyous heart cries out, every waking soul exalts, yet their voice has yet to be heard . . .

And all around, every ear hearkens, every Jewish heart listens, and one asks the other: “what news is there and what deeds are done there in the Land of Israel?”

And from the Land of Israel—no one answers . . .

Behold this platform has been built for us—from which they will speak to us—and upon it we too shall make our voices heard.

From the camp that is pitched in our land, from the platform of the redeeming [British] army, this time we shall speak.

From that camp a tribute [shai], a sign of good, shall be brought from us: a small supplement for a small remnant, for the authors who still survive and who remain with us, emerging from slavery to redemption. And this supplement shall be unto you, my friends, when you begin to sow from its columns the seed of our literature—that young literature abandoned in those dark days when men starved for more than bread alone.

It is for you—in it you shall recount the utterances of your soul and the desires of your heart; all your good thoughts, and your faithful requests shall you express. Speak and tell of our lives from the past and now in front of our eyes; let our hopes and visions of the future also be heard.

Israel shall know, and it shall be known among the gentiles as well, not only what is done but also what is thought in our midst—from the time Judea [southern Palestine] emerged from darkness to bask in rays of light [i.e., the beginning of British rule].

To a nation meted out and trodden under foot whose land is cut off by rivers (Isaiah 18:7) speak unto the heart of Israel and to the heart of the world from the heart of Jerusalem, let our sentence be spoken and reach [others]!

And your words, O scribes—timely words, word in their proper place—they shall give content and structure to this literary supplement.

The Editor