Morris (Maishel Arriz in Hebrew)
was born there in 1874. Svadish was one block long with very small
one-story houses, except for the Harris house that had two stories.
The first floor of this house contained their blacksmith shop, icehouse
and saloon. The townsfolk gathered in the saloon on Saturday nights
to drink and listen to the Harris family entertain, for they were
also the village musicians.
Life was very hard for Russian Jews.
They were not permitted to own or farm the land. When they were attacked
during the horrific pogroms of the 1880's, many Jews fled Russia.
In 1891 Morris' family, his father, mother, sister and brother joined
the thousands immigrating to America - A Land of Freedom and Golden
Opportunity!
Arriz had been Morris' family name in the old
country. It meant Cedar Tree in Hebrew. (Other relatives are called
"Cedarbaum" (Yiddish-German). When the Ellis Island official
asked their name - they answered "Arriz!" The official wrote
down "Harris!" - and so it was from then on.
The
Harris family settled in New York City with relatives who lived in
Harlem.
To earn some money Morris and his father bought a pushcart.
They sold soft drinks (a saloon on wheels). One day after a severe
windstorm, a store owner asked Morris if he could repair a torn awning.
Because his mother, Lena, was an expert seamstress, Morris took the
awning to her. Thus began Morris Harris' career in awning repair,
upholstery, and flag decoration.
Eventually the family opened a shop called the "Harlem
Upholsterer" on 116th street, between Lenox and 5th Avenue. They
specialized in canvas products, awnings, bags, and covers. They also
created flags and banners for parades and special affairs.
Morris was designer and inventor.
When his father died before the end of the century, Morris
became the head of the family. He welcomed into his home many relatives
and friends newly arrived in America. They were known as "Landsmen"
(coming from the same town or same area.) They would be helped and
housed temporarily until they found their own way to make a living.
One of these houseguests was a young, beauty with curly red hair named
Mary Kahn. Love bloomed. Soon Morris and Mary became man and wife.
The young couple became interested in a social group known
as "Chovevei Zion" (Lovers of Zion). This group had
a goal of saving money to buy land in Palestine for a Jewish settlement.
The money they saved was returned after a year because the Ottoman
Empire discouraged Jewish group settlement in Palestine. But the dream
did not die.
In 1897 the first international meeting of worldwide Jewry
was held in Basil, Switzerland, to consider establishing a homeland
for Jews in Palestine. It was to be a haven for oppressed Jews from
all over the world. Representatives from Chovevei Zion groups
attended this meeting. The returning New York Chovevei Zion
representative was greeted with a reception in which various members
contributed their talents in cooking, baking, etc.
Morris Harris used his talents to design a suitable banner
and decorations for the reception. He created a flag of Zion. He made
it the same size as the standard American flag - 6 x 10 feet. He chose
the colors from the traditional Jewish prayer shawl the "Tallis."
It was sky blue and white, symbolic of heaven and earth. He designed
two horizontal stripes with the biblical six-pointed Star of David
between the stripes. His mother, Lena Harris, actually sewed the flag.
They also made twelve smaller flags representing the 12 tribes of
Jews.
Chovevei Zion loved the flag. Soon other groups were
requesting Zion flags for their organizations. It was accepted as
the official Zionist flag at the second International Congress held
in Switzerland in 1898. Morris Harris continued making flags of Zion
for many years until he gave the design to the American Flag Company.
The Flag of Zion was used as the "Jewish Flag"
everywhere in the world until 1948. Then, when the State of Israel
was born, it too adopted Morris' creation as the official flag.
Morris
Harris lived to see this great honor. When his mother Lena died, to
honor her part in it, he had inscribed, "The first Zion flag
was made by her" on her tombstone.
Although he never left his adopted country, America, Morris
Harris was a dedicated Zionist who wanted all Jews to have the option
of returning to the ancient homeland of their people. His dream lives
on as the Flag of Israel flies high over the Jewish State.
Signed: Madeline Harris Rabinowitz
© Ice Pond Studio 1998
The
Birth Of The Flag Of Israel