Lord Nathaniel Rothschild, rice-president of the Board of Jewish Deputies, published a letter in the London “Times” in reply to the series of articles in which the naturalized English Jews were attacked.
“Your correspondent treats naturalized Jews and British-born children of aliens living in East London as aliens”, Lord Rothschild states in his letter. “We contend that every British subject has the same rights and duties. Naturalized Jews and British-born children of foreign Jews are not below other British subjects. Their patriotism is of great value to the nation. Twelve thousand Jews enlisted during the war, fifty thousand served and time thousand were killed.
“There is no evidence that Jews from East Europe have failed to be assimilated, if assimilation means absorbing British traditions while retaining their religion. There is no justification in the re port of a flood of alien immigration into England.”
The author of the series of articles published a reply to Lord Rothschild’s letter, stating that three-fifths of the population of Stepney, Whitechapel and Mile End are of comparatively recent origin. He did not mean the naturalized aliens. He agreed with Lord Rothschild that the British-born Jews of East London are patriotic British citizens.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
