Mr. Max Levy reminds us, in the following, of the eighth anniversary of the death of Israel Zangwill. I am most happy to surrender the column to Mr. Levy for this occasion.
May I intrude again upon your space, this time to note an anniversary. On August first, it was eight years since Israel Zangwill died, and he seems almost forgotten. It would be a pity for Jews to forget Zangwill. It is not as though he was one among many who spoke merely for his own day. For thirty years continuously he remained the most talked of personality in Jewish life and his death left a gap which has not been filled; he dealt with problems which have not changed, and his bold spirit, not to speak of his genius, have not been transmitted.
The range of his literary versatility alone was amazing. He prepared the way in 1882 for The Human Touch with one of the first English columns in a Jewish paper. His literary gifts had no limits; he used every form, the novel, short story, drama, essay, and poetry in rhymed and blank verse. He wrote sparkling farces, from “Merely Mary Ann,” in 1893, to “Too Much Money,” in 1924, and his mystery story, “The Great Bow Mystery,” published forty years ago, makes in 1934, an exciting screen play called “The Crime Doctor.” From his pen came a political novel, “The Master,” in the Disraeli manner, and a charming portrayal of life in rural England, “Jinny the Carrier.” “Italian Fantasies” won for him recognition as a poet in prose. As a humorist, he drew, as always, upon life of his own people and produced the fascinating “King of Schnorrers.”
PLAYS’ DOUBLE APPEAL
His plays were for the library and the stage alike. Zangwill loved the theatre and mastered its craft. His plays dealt always with social ideas. “Plaster Saints” and “The Next Religion” discussed ethical problems, and “The Cockpit” and “The Forcing House,” which should be revived now, are prophetic studies of the war making impulse. His tragedy in stately blank verse, “The War God,” may safely be called a great work, qualifying the author, as a noted critic suggested, for the Nobel Peace prize. “The War God” is a Jewish contribution to the modern peace movement upon the loftiest level.
I believe that Zangwill would have attained first rank in general literature if he had not purposely chosen to be known chiefly as a Jewish spokesman. He once approved, as an “exact description of my life purpose” this writer’s statement that “Zangwill is the missionary of the Jewish spirit to all the children of men.” His artistry found fullest expression in his work on Jewish themes. He did not always please Jews, because he loved his people too well to conceal their weakness. He was controversial and offended the super-sensitive, but this ruthless criticism was perhaps his greatest service. I regard these lines from a short story as the dominant note in Zangwill’s message to Jews:
“To suffer two thousand years for an idea is a privilege that has been accorded only to Israel, ‘the soldier of God.’ That were no tragedy, but an heroic epic … The true tragedy, the saddest sorrow, lay in the martyrdom of an Israel unworthy of its sufferings.”
In his most bitter poem, he catalogued examples of Jewish faithlessness:
“Wedded neath Hebrew awning, buried neath Hebrew sod,
Between not a dream of duty, never a glimpse of God.
Hear O Israel, Jehovah, the Lord our God is One,
But we, Jehovah, His people, are dual and so undone.”
SELF CRITICISM
Throughout his eloquent pleas for just treatment of his people and his devotion to their welfare, runs angry impatience, in the prophetic strain, with their fears and pettiness. “Children of the Ghetto” is a sympathetic portrayal of the beauties of our fathers’ manner of life, but it is also pitiless self-criticism which made many Jews shudder. Too many of us do not want the world to learn about our problems.
Zangwill felt that Jews had no right to wish for survival unless they were prepared to live worthily and proudly. Jews could not fittingly resent chastisement from one who set for them high standards, and placed before them for emulation the “Dreamers of the Ghetto.” That powerful collection of biographies of great Jewish figures stands alone for sound learning, beauty of form and prideful presentation of a nation’s heroes.
Emerged from London’s Ghetto, with which in a real sense he never lost contact, he was not content with helping his people merely with his gifted pen. He was a man, not alone of ideas, but of action, a rare combination. An eloquent speaker, he responded to the call of many reform movements, but for Jews, he founded movements, directed them, and like all who undertake to organize Jews, he spent half his time struggling with those who basically agreed with him. He was amazingly forbearing, although an entire volume could be compiled of epigrams from his ironic moods which a critic once called “Zangwillainous.”
A FORCE AND PERSONALITY
His generous encouragement of all who turned to him for aid was a glorious fault for one who had neither the time nor the means to assist, as he did, young writers, persons with plans for social salvation, and those whose only claim upon him was that they were his fellow Jews.
We have already waited too long for a biography of Zangwill. He was a colorful personality, an aggressive and dynamic force. As an artist, he prepared the way for the Jewish novel, and the current work of men like Golding, Lewisohn, Samuel and Fineman. As a Zionist, he held radical nationalist views which, despite the brutal rudeness of American Jews during his last visit, subsequent events have justified. As a spokesman for Jews to the world, making demands bravely for a people loyal to its past and offering its culture and character to the fellowship of mankind, Israel Zangwill, modern Dreamer of the Ghetto, had an unparalleled equipment. In his passionate zeal for justice, through the use of literary talents made effective with stinging wit and irony, he resembled no one so much as Voltaire. Once asked his Christian name, Zangwill replied: “I have no Christian name. My first name is Israel.” His name was Israel, and his life was dedicated to Israel. Upon the eighth Jahrzeit of his departure, you should urge your readers to turn back to his pages. They will find them timely, and they will also discover first rate literature and noble thinking.
(Signed) Max Levy.
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.
