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The welcome arch constructed by Jerusalem's Jews in honor of the German Emperor Wilhelm II |
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Wilhelm II and Augusta Viktoria |
Preparations were undertaken throughout Turkish-controlled Palestine: roads were paved, waterworks installed, electrical and telegraph lines laid, and sanitation measures -- seen today as basic -- were implemented. The Turks even breached the Old City walls near Jaffa Gate to construct a road for the Emperor's carriages.
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Interior of the arch. Note the curtains hanging. |
The visit was photographed extensively by the American Colony photographers. The popularity of the Emperor's pictures led to the establishment of the Colony's photographic enterprise and eventually the 22,000 pictures that were donated to the Library of Congress.
The Jews of Jerusalem were caught up in the excitement. Some of the Jews with ties to Europe were actually under the Emperor's protection. Others expected to benefit from the Emperor's largesse. And still others wanted the opportunity to recite a rarely said blessing upon seeing a king, according to David Yellin, a Jerusalem intellectual who described the visit in his diary.
Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Yaakov Shaul Elissar |
The Jewish community constructed a large and richly adorned welcome arch to receive the Emperor. The arch was located on Jaffa Road (near today's Clal Building) and bore the Hebrew and German title, "Welcome in the name of the Lord."
Torah crowns and breastplate on top of the arch |
Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shmuel Salant |
The enlargements show that one curtain came from the Istanbuli synagogue in the Old City, another was donated by the Bukhari community, and a third belonged to Avraham Shlomo Zalman Hatzoref, a student of the Gaon of Vilna and a builder of Jerusalem who arrived in Eretz Yisrael exactly 200 years ago. We can deduce that the third parochet came from the Hurva synagogue which Hatzoref helped to fund (actually arranged for the cancellation of the Ashkenazi community's large debt to local Arabs). For his efforts he was killed by the Arabs in 1851. Hatzoref is recognized by the State of Israel as the first victim of modern Arab terrorism.
Curtain from the Bukhari community |
Curtain from the Istanbuli synagogue |
The curtain lists several names besides Hatzoref. Their names are followed by the Hebrew initials Z'L -- of blessed memory. The fact that Hatzoref's name is not followed by Z'L suggests that the curtain was made prior to his death in 1851.
Hatzoref's parochet, suggesting it came from the Hurva Synagogue |
According to the New York Times account of the visit, two Torah scrolls were also on display in the Jewish arch, but they are not visible in the photographs.
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Photo montage of Herzl and the Emperor at Mikve Yisrael school |
Also absent was the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, Rabbi Chaim Yosef Zonnenfeld. According to some accounts, Zonnenfeld believed that the German nation was the embodiment of Israel's Bibilical arch-enemy Amalek, and he ruled that no blessing should be recited upon seeing an Amalekite king.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews in their Sabbath finery, standing along the Emperor's parade route |
Actually no, this is how they dressed on Shabbat.
Yes, the German Emperor arrived on Saturday, and the Jewish community turned out for him and displayed their synagogue treasures in his honor.
A version of this article appeared in the Jerusalem Post Magazine today.
This site has some additional pictures including one I used last year (but can't locate right now) of the Kaiser walking out of the El-Aqsa Mosque.
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