Scores Jews Who Desert Fold Because of Ostracism; “Earn Contempt of Kin Without Gaining Admiration of Others,” he says; Palestine National Loan is Possibility. Declares Alexander Lyle-Samuel.
Interesting observations concerning Jewish life in England and the United States, and the prospects of the development of Palestine, were expressed by Mr. Alexander Lyle-Samuel, representative of the Panama Corporation and former member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, when interviewed yesterday at the Hotel Ambassador by a representative of the “Jewish Daily Bulletin.”
The interviewer called upon Mr. Lyle-Samuel in the belief that he was a member of the famous Jewish family of Samuel. He was delighted to learn however, that although Mr. Alexander Lyle-Samuel is not of Jewish origin, he is intensely interested in and well-posted on Jewish affairs.
Mr. Alexander Lyle-Samuel readily expressed his views on the question of the development of Palestine, on anti-Semitism in the United States as it finds expression in social discrimination in comparison with the lack of such discrimination in the high social circles of England, on the unfounded charges of anti-Semitic agitators, and on the disloyalty towards Judaism displayed by certain Jewish families in the United States.
“I have been greatly surprised at the strong anti-Semitic sentiment which I have observed in the high social circles in the United States. I have observed that many members of these circles will avoid social intercourse with Jews. I was made to understand by some of my friends that if I wanted social intercourse with Jews I would have to forego meeting them together with my non-Christian friends. In attending social affairs I have found the company made up of either only Jews or only non-Jews. I personally have many Jewish friends in the United States and count myself fortunate and privileged in this.
“This social discrimination which I observed in this country is absent in England, where social intercourse with Jews is taken as a matter of course. No one would question the religion of a guest at a social gathering. Religious prejudice is very low in England. A Jew, Rufus Isaacs, has become the first Jewish Marquis in England–a little which is next to a Duke, or nearest to one of royal blood. He will soon receive the Order of the Garter. which is the highest order in our country. These honors have been conferred upon Reading without consideration of his religion. The only question was whether his achievements merited such distinctions. If they did, no anti-Jewish prejudice could have any weight. We Britishers can no longer be stirred by racial or religious prejudice.
“I have found that in the United States the scions of a few prominent Jewish families have attempted to escape social ostracism by adopting the Christian faith. As far as I could observe, they have earned by this step only the contempt of their own community, without gaining the admiration of the community they have sought access to.
“This world, while it should be looking forward derives its strength mainly from the traditions of the past. There is nothing of greater value to the future progress of this world than the traditions of the past, no matter what these traditions may be. It is particularly true of the traditions of the Jewish people, with their manifold contributions to civilization and culture. If the Jews, whose service to the world equals that of any other nation–in science, literature, etc., were to be extinguished, it would be a serious loss to mankind. I am surprised the Jew does not realize that he is heir to one of the oldest traditions and races of the world which justifies his being proud of his forefathers’ history and culture.
“Viewed from this angle I was amazed to observe that a number of socially prominent Jews in the United States, out of social ambition, have even embraced Catholicism. I have always considered Catholicism as the last refuge of the doubter. If I were to lose all faith, I would swallow the Catholic text book. Rather than be an atheist, I would believe the unbelievable and prostrate my judgment before the incredible.
“I must say that I have found that those Jews who rank highest in the Jewry of America have not followed this example, and have remained faithful to their fold.
“I know of the agitation Henry Ford has put forward in this country. I have high regard for what Henry Ford is, but I am not confused about him when he changes from the mechanical genius to the childish political prophet and the medieval cherisher of ancient grudges. It is fortunate for him that his cars are more up-to-date than his ideas on religion.
“In business I happen to be closely affiliated with various enterprises which specialize in all kinds of essential metals. The accusation levelled by Ford against Jews, that they monopolize a number of essential metals is absurd. The Jews undoubtedly play a prominent part in the international market of certain metals. I merely want to mention the Guggenheims and the English Rothschilds in regard to zinc and copper, the British Joels with regard to gold and diamonds and the Samuels in the silver industry, but I have found the Jewish influence in no way detrimental, either to the producer or the consumer. Quite the contrary. The Jew has a particular inclination for going into the market of such products of unfixed value, while the non-Jew is inclined to deal with commodities of fixed value. This speaks for the enterprising spirit with which the Jew is imbued.
“There is in this regard a similarity between the Jew and the Englishman. We are both willing to go to distant corners of the world, and risk without being gamblers.
“I believe deeply in the future of the Jewish race. I was always interested in their attempts to rebuild Palestine as the Jewish national homeland. As a member of Parliament I supported the Balfour Declaration, and I have done my bit toward obtaining parliamentary support of the policy embodied in the Declaration. Sir Alfred Mond, who is one of the ten outstanding men in our country, is directly interested in the rebuilding of Palestine.
“The British Parliament would readily give its moral and financial support to the Zionist ideal, but the difficulty arises out of the fact that the Jewish community in Britain is divided on the subject. If a British Parliament were convinced that the Jews are united in this matter, their support would be stronger.
“I was interested to learn of the attempts with regard to a Palestine national loan. The Jewish people have won the admiration of the entire world for their enterprising spirit and their admirable method of taking care of their own and it may be assumed that Jewish financial houses would issue it. Nevertheless, I believe that if the loan offered were economically sound, British financiers would not hesitate to participate on its merits. Money knows no racial prejudices.
“The outlook of the world has changed radically in the last hundred years. It is literally a new world within this century. The rapid means of transportation has made this a communicative world and cancelled distances and reached beyond space. Peoples who are now compelled to reach each other must be compelled to understand each other by realizing that all the fruits of the earth are in the same soil and have the same economic roots. The modern methods of cabling, of transportation, the miraculous means by which even photographs made in London can on the same day appear in American newspapers–all this has made all parts of the world neighbors. Now we must learn to be neighborly. For example, in rural life as it existed a hundred years ago in England, which until the introduction of steam had not changed for centuries, communities could reach each other only after days of travel. Each, therefore remained a world in itself. Now they move in minutes and share in national and world thoughts. Hours make an interminable journey. Transformation and transfusion have resulted.
“In such an atmosphere a spirit of intolerance is indeed an anachronism, and must disappear. The Jew can play a particularly important role in the process of international consolidation and world peace because, being scattered over every part of the world, yet joined as one great family, the Jews can help bring about a better understanding among the nations of the world and carry everywhere their enriching gifts,” he concluded.
Alexander Lyle-Samuel was a Liberal member of parliament from Eye Division of Suffolk in 1918. He is the son of the late Rev. George Samuel of Christ Church, Aston, Birmingham. He was born in 1883 and was educated at King Edward’s School. Birmingham, and Cambridge. He is a member of the Honorary Society of the Middle Temple. He has travelled extensively in America, residing in the United States from 1913 to 1915 when he returned to England to serve in the War, where he was a Lieutenant until 1917, then being invalided out.
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.
