Page 179 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

The First World War and after

At that time I was active in Zionist work. I became secretary of
the society in Los Angeles, and later was the president. There was
more work than honor: I had to attend meetings late into the night,
leaving the wife and baby alone. That made Mama complain, but
there were few young people in that society, so the burden fell on me
to do all kinds of publicity, circular distribution, and collecting money
for different funds. Not only was this work, but I lost business.
Then Carmel arrived. The family increased and Mama had a lot of
hard work in the house. She never shirked labor. She did all the work
and took care of Carmel, who was not as strong as Hilda. When the
war spread, and this country joined the Allies, I felt it my duty to
contribute something to the fight for freedom. I had two children
and was over thirty years of age, so I joined as a civilian in the
Quartermaster Corps. I had to go to Chicago, where the Western
Department was located. There I inspected army uniforms and
received one hundred dollars a month, out of which I had to pay
food and lodging. Actually, I did not receive any pay, but it was nice
to have the Jews do their part, whatever they could. I left Fannie with
two children and was away for four months. Carmel was not well,
and Fannie was overworked. She developed hay fever, and suffered
the rest of her life with it.
In that point in the war, England was fighting Germany, Austria,
and Turkey, and an English army was moving towards Palestine.
Many Jews, who hoped to gain a foothold in Palestine by helping
England defeat Turkey, joined the British army in special brigades.
The Zionist organization expected England to declare a home for the
Jewish people in Palestine when it was captured. The organization
held a special convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Zionist
society in Los Angeles delegated me to represent it there. I took a
furlough, and went to that greatest gathering of Zionists and
prominent American Jews like Supreme Court Justice Brandeis. The
Pittsburgh program was the foundation of the present Israel.
That same year, Germany surrendered and the peace congress in
Paris brought up the Jewish problem. Then came the great moment,
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