⁨⁨The Hebrew Standard⁩, 14 March 1919⁩ — THE ANTI-ZIONIST PETITION [⁨ARTICLE⁩]

THE ANTI-ZIONIST PETITION

THE formal protest' presented to President Wilson at Philadelphia last week by Congressman Julius Kahn on behalf of himself and his associate^ who strenuously oppose political Zionism, especially that phase of it which aims to erect in Palestine a national home for segregated Jews* is an important document. It must not be lightly considered. Its implications are far-reaching, and its effect on the future j course of Jewish history is very likely to be profound. s First and foremost, the document offers President Wilson u concrete evidence, if such were needed, that the Zionists have ( encountered an opposition of the gravest character within the j ranks of the Jews themselves. In short, this protest crystallizes ^ and articulates all the animadversions against the Balfour { »t declaration, against the idea of a national home for the Jewish t people in Palestine, which have been heard since November 3, 1917. How can the Peace Conference dispose of Zionist claims, or of Jewish aspirations as colored by Zionist inclina- * tions, in the face of such a dignified and adequate protest from < a powerful and representative section of American Jewry? 1 Doubtless this protest will evoke similar memorials from Jews ] - opposed to nationalism in other parts of the world. e Secondly, the document wisely and unequivocally differentin ates "nationalism" from the struggle for Jewish rights and 5 ,f rightly points out that, in seeking to attain the former of these ' a ideals, Zionists may in all likelihood foreclose themselves of 1 •e their inalienable claim to the latter. j Thirdly, the document was necessary because the Zionists I have secured control of nearly all, and certainly all the Ameri- ] -<5 can, organized Jewish media of publicity, and have given the ] i world the impression that their leaders speak for a united and < supporting Jewry. That this erroneous impression has come to prevail is most unfortunate, but entirely due to Zionist i leaders themselves. \ g Finally, in all frankness we ought to point out that, while a few of the signatories to this American Jewish protest are men < whose interest in Jewish affairs has been conspicuous by its absence and who have coquetted with Ethical Culture and 1 similar impossibilities for the true Jew, yet a sufficient number t L of the signatories are sincere, enlightened and zealously loyal 1 Jews whose opinions are entitled clearly to a great measure of weight. ( We deem it rather unwise for a Jewish journal to criticise t ^ the Jewish Publication Society on the score that this organiza- ( , tion has not issued any works in the nature of propaganda 1 and defense of our people, when practically every publication c ^pearingits imj)ri|tt£ha£ in reality; a .message of this nature for 1 ; tne general reader. Take the late Solomon Schechter's 1 f "Studies in Judaism" or Israel Zangwill's novels which the , Jewish Publication Society published and which are, in truth, striking presentations of the claims of the Jewish race for fair 1 J and human treatment. As a matter of fact, the Jewish Publication Society has issued a number of pamphlets designedly in the nature of propaganda works, such as the little booklet dealing with the persecutions of the Jews in Russia and the many separate reprints of important articles appearing in a various issues of the "American Jewish Year Book." Naturs ally, the first consideration of an organization like the Jewish ; Publication Society is to serve its constituency adequately and well and propaganda works, properly so-called, are often out < of place in such a program. ^ The recent recrudescence of anti-Semitism among certain * private schools in this country throws light upon the distinctive characteristics of these educational establishments. For their ~ prototype we must have recourse to the pages of Dickens, and J other great novelists, who depicted .these institutions with firm ; and unerring hands. The priva«f schools in Anglo-Saxon countries are hotbeds of snobbishness, where outworn notions regarding the state, the church and the relation of the citizen thereto prevail. If a private school has attained to an estab)f lished clientele it must of necessity set up certain "standards" ,s demanded by the parents of the children attending it. One of ~t the first of such "standards" is that the scholars be preserved B_ lrom "contaminating" influences, and, in consequence, antin Semitism, usually mild though sometimes very virulent, flourr ishes there. The philosophy of such a manifestation is that, ~ not only should Jewish children remain away from such an environment but the state is badly served by such teachers of youth and the youths themselves poorly equipped for their future duties in the battle of life. ^ In the smaller cities of this country which contain not very ie large but closely-united Jewish communities the best workers ie in and for Jewry are oftentimes to be discovered. They r» usually are men who participate actively in all that makes for >e the progress of their home-town, are influential in its com.s, mercial and professional life and, at the same time, take an ct abiding interest in the affairs of Jewry. Such men flourish best te in the atmosphere of smaller cities; New York, with its ot tremendous community, has many choice spirits among its worthy communal workers, but for the best examples of this genre we must hie ourselves to the "provinces." Indeed, with — but few exceptions which prove the rule, our national Jewish iy leaders served their apprenticeships as communal workers in smaller cities of the kind indicated. There they won their nr spurs in service and as a result they graduated thence into the ;d ranks of the men whose doings fill the columns of the press re whenever matters Jewish are to the fore. So often has new e- York in attempt emulated this example, and so often, alas, er have we had to confess failure and hark back to the country ;r. for those whom we call to positions of leadership in our midst.