Grand Island is a 27-square-mile parcel of land located midway between Buffalo and Niagara Falls in Western New York. Grand Island is also the site of the first modern-day attempt to establish a national Jewish homeland.
At the root of this unlikely scheme is Mordecai Manuel Noah. Born in Philadelphia in 1785, Noah gained notoriety as U.S. Consul in Tunis, Sheriff of New York and editor of a half-dozen newspapers. A skilled orator, he became chief spokesman of the 30,000-member American Jewish community, where he pushed strongly for Hebrew and Torah education.
In his extensive travels through Europe and North Africa, Noah observed the persecution of the Jews and called for "a new fatherland where they will be free to preserve their nationality." The Land of Israel, inhabited by hostile Arabs, seemed like an unrealistic site to settle Jews, and Noah saw a temporary alternative in Grand Island. It was an ideal site for industry, surrounded by hydroelectric power and situated close to the Erie Canal trade routes. Besides, the island was largely uninhabited except for some American Indians -- whom Noah appropriately considered to be "descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes."
With full sincerity, Noah proceeded boldly with his plans. In 1920, he petitioned the New York State legislature for rights to Grand Island, and later levied a "redemption tax" upon each Jew in the world. Reports of Noah's scheme appeared in newspapers from London to Moscow. Jewish leaders responded by demanding proof of Noah's authority, and sarcastically asked to see the prophetic text which named a swampy island in the Niagara River as the spot for Israel's redemption. Noah responded simply that America, "under the influence of perfect freedom," provided the best conditions to mobilize for a modern Jewish state. Undaunted by mounting criticism, Noah proceeded to purchase land on Grand Island -- and sponsored a celebration to dedicate the new Jewish state. The event was marked by a program of psalms and chorales including Handel's Judas Maccabeus." At the ceremony, Noah, dressed in a crimson judicial robe, named his new colony Ararat, in recognition of an earlier Noah who'd landed his ark at Mount Ararat. A description from the time reads as follows: "Against the background of hymns, Noah, the self-appointed Judge of Israel, arose to deliver a meandering discourse on theology, politics, patriotism, ethnology, delusions of grandeur and... real estate." To climax the affair, a sandstone monument was inscribed, and a parade was held through the streets of Buffalo -- complete with 24-gun salute. After this auspicious beginning, the dream of Ararat was soon but a memory. Noah left town, accepted a judgeship in New York City, married a wealthy Jewish woman -- and forgot about Grand Island. Yet he continued to fight for the revival of a Jewish homeland -- this time in the Land of Israel -- and remained dedicated to this goal until his death in 1851.
