Criticism of the attitude of Rabbi A. J. Cook, Chief Rabbi of Palestine, in the present controversy over the secession movement within Palestine Jewry because of the organization of the internal autonomy, was voiced by the “S.A.J. Review,” organ of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, of which Dr. Mordecai M. Kaplan is the leader.
In an editorial the “S.A.J. Review” states: “While the Orthodox secession movement in Palestine begins to be a serious menace to Jewish communal autonomy there, Chief Rabbi Kook describes his attitude in the crisis as one of ‘strict neutrality.’ This is the neutrality of a man who watches a house burn down and maintains an impartial and contemplative silence, when he might at least turn in an alarm.
“Rabbi Kook is known as Chief Rabbi of Palestine. His name is in the news as an official Jewish representative almost as often as Weizmann’s, and he is therefore presumably a Jewish leader. What sort of leadership is this? Clearly, this is sabotage born, of course, not out of malice, but out of moral weakness. Jews must be incurable romantics to suffer this kind of leadership.
“It happens that Rabbi Kook is not a man with any practical foresight, but a poet and a mystic. These qualities have made him the modern Jewish saint, and a superficial understanding of modern thought has in addition made him the modern Jewish oracle. Our romantic temperaments may take comfort from contemplation of a saint and an oracle, but a saint should not be official, and an oracle should be behind a veil.
“Rabbi Kook wishes, it is said, ‘to stand aloof from all party disputes and to continue to act as in the past on behalf of all sections of the Jewish population, regardless of party.’ Then he wishes to act for the Agudath Israel and the secessionists too! So that if the present insane tactics of the secessionists result in the disruption of the Jewish Community in Palestine, we shall have Rabbi Kook to thank, among others!
“Of course, Rabbi Kook does not mean that. What he doubtless means when he ‘wishes to continue to act on behalf of all sections of the Jewish population’ is that he would like not to act too much on behalf of any. He acts, in effect, on behalf of none. So let us certainly keep room for saints in modern Jewish life, but let us not confuse sainthood with practical moral energy, and let us be careful whom we announce to the outside world as our leaders.”
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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.
