ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Uri Zvi Grinberg’s (UZG) attitude toward the Mandate Government in Jerusalem, as reflected in his poetry and journalistic writings, primarily in the mid-1920s. The starting point for this discussion is his portrayal of Jerusalem, as presented in the poem “A great fear and the moon” (1925), with special reference to the poem’s linguistic residues and a reframing of the spiritual position emanating from it regarding Jerusalem as a place. This restoration process is rooted in the historical-political context of the first decade of British mandatory rule in Jerusalem, which UZG considered to be an incarnation of the biblical Edomite Kingdom.
A special section is dedicated to the clarification of the significance of the dramatic figure UZG calls ‘the Minister of Redness’. The appearance of this figure in his poem inspires an atmosphere of fear and dread, threatening the poetic narrator by its very presence, though this character calls himself ‘the Jerusalemite advisor’. Was UZG referring to some specific, identifiable personage when fashioning the image of ‘the Jerusalemite advisor’, someone seeking to weaken the faith of the poetic narrator, while attempting to forcibly dominate Jerusalem? By studying UZG’s contemporary journalistic articles and essays and carefully examining their poetic texts, it is possible to spotlight the affinity between ‘the Minister of Redness’ and the dominant image of Sir Ronald Storrs, who served as the Governor of Jerusalem during the period from December 1917 to November 1926.
