Speaking yesterday before a City College Menorah Avukah Conference, Dr. Abraham S. Halkin, of the Semitics Department of Columbia University, bitterly assailed the Menorah, terming its ideals “empty and worthless.”
“Menorah is an organ that can exist only in America,” Dr. Halkin remarked. “The only reason why it still exists is that our people do not wish to run away from Jewishness entirely but at the same time do not desire to proclaim their Jewishness,” he said. Menorah, he pointed out, is the “easiest path.”
Members of the City College Menorah Avukah group apparently backed Dr. Halkin on every point and vigorously applauded him when he finished his address.
Dr. Halkin also attacked the Zionist movements and clubs which are established only “to play bridge and for other petty reasons.” Discussing these organizations he said “If Judaism should come to a point where one can Jewishly play handball it will be pretty bad.”
Urging the students to take definite steps on the Jewish problem, Dr. Halkin said that anti-Semitism in this country is sporadic but rapidly growing. He declared that should economic conditions remain adverse, a form of Nazism will take root. “Where will we be with our empty ideals then?” he asked.
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.
