The Young Turks and Zionism : International Implications
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Isaiah FRIEDMAN

For generations, Turkey's attitude toward Jews settling in Palestine was very liberal. The turning point came in 1856, when Ottoman Empire first raised the question of abrogating the capitulatory rights of the foreign Powers, holding them to be harmful to Ottoman interests. Henceforth, the twin objects of Turkish policy were to impress upon foreign Jews the necessity of adopting Ottoman nationality and to deny the Powers the right of protection. As I showed in my book,1 Turkey's attitude toward Jewish settlement in Palestine was determined several decades before the Zionist movement came into existence. At the root of the problem lay the system of Capitulations and the refusal of foreign Jews to adopt Ottoman nationality.

When Herzl appeared in Constantinople at the turn of the century, he was unaware how remote were his chances of making his scheme acceptable at the Golden Horn. The idea of "German Protection of a Jewish chartered company," which Kaiser Wilhelm II proposed on Herzl's behalf, could not commend itself to the Sultan, Abdül Hamid II. Fear of complications with the Great Powers out-weighed any economic or financial benefits Turkey could have derived from a large-scale Jewish settlement in Palestine.2

The Young Turk Revolution of 24 July 1908 and proclamations of liberty and equality were widely interpreted as the beginning of a new era. It evoked tremendous enthusiasm among all the peoples of the Empire. Many Zionists, too, were optimistic. The climate of opinion changed for the better. Early in September, both Ahmed Rıza, a prominent Young Turk leader, and Ahmed Tevfik Pasha, the Foreign Minister, made some exceptionally friendly statements about Zionism and were willing to lift former restrictions