Daily Digest of Public Opinion on Jewish Matters

[The purpose of the Digest is informative: Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does indicate approval.–Editor.]

The statement of the Bartel government in Poland, heralding a new attitude toward the Jewish question there, is greeted with enthusiasm by the Jewish press.

“For the first time since the resurrected Polish state came into being, we Jews hear from the Polish government words which can be considered as the beginning of a new epoch in the relations between the Poles and our people,” observes “The Day” (July 22).

“The Jews in Poland have waited a long time for these words. The Jewry of the world has also waited for this. These are simple words, but they carry with them the conviction and honesty of simplicity. If these honest words had been heard at the beginning, there would have been no disputes and the Polish Jewish question would have been solved a long time ago. However, we have lived to hear them. The Jews of the world will share the joy of the Jewish deputies in the Polish Sejm and with them wish that these words do not remain merely in the Premier’s declaration but that they be immediately applied.

“We wish that the situation in Poland would change. Poland itself will gain most by it. It will soon find out what a source of rejuvenation for the young state there lies in a Jewish population which is not tortured, persecuted and not prevented from applying its energy in all fields,” the paper states.

The “Jewish Daily Forward,” Socialist paper, referring to the statement of Prime Minister Bartel that the government would not enter into a separate, secret agreement with the Jewish population, states:

“We have pointed out on several occasions that the course adopted by the Club of Jewish Deputies under the leadership of Dr. Leon Reich was not only a false one, but also harmful. The special Jewish agreement with the Grabski government brought no good to the Jews in Poland, while it might have brought much harm. The special agreement was, one might say, an expression of consent on the part of the Jews in Poland to the opinion that the Jews stand outside of the general laws of the state.

“We are, therefore, pleased with the statement of the Polish government that the question of Jewish rights must be solved by the provisions of the Polish constitution and in the same manner as the question of the rights of the other national minorities in Poland.

“We do not want to say that we rely on the promises of the present Polish government. We will give it credit for what it deserves when it will have carried out its promises. So far it has only talked. We want to say, however, that we are satisfied with the manner in which the Jewish question was put. Jewish rights must be carried out as a state matter and not through a backdoor policy and special agreements. This principle is in this respect of great importance.”

The “Philadelphia Jewish World” observes: “It appears that in Lithuania and in Poland better times have come for the Jews with the change of the governments there. Whether or not an economic betterment has arrived, the political and the legal attitude toward the Jews has completely changed. We are glad to hear these messages from Lithuania and Poland.”

THE NINE DAYS AND THE NEW YORK MEAT MARKET

The information that the Nine Days, observed by Orthodox Jews as days of mourning to commemorate the destruction of the Second Commonwealth and the Temple of Jerusalem, has had its effect on the New York meat market, is made known by the “Jewish Daily News.” Orthodox Jews abstain from eating meat on these days. Says the paper: “When the Nine Days have an influence on the New York meat market, one may arrive at the conclusion that the observance of Judaism in New York is not in such a bad state. According to reports, New York Jews consumed less meat than usual during the Nine Days.

“Exact figures are not available to determine how great was the percentage of Jews who observed the Nine Days, just as no figures are available in more important matters, as, for instance, we do not know how great is the percentage of those Jews who observe the Sabbath in New York. All that can be said about it is no more than an hypothesis. The fact alone, however, that the Nine Days have a bearing on the meat market is sufficient to show that there are perhaps many more who observe than some may imagine.”

The bulk of the estate of Elias E. Heller of Baltimore, Md., was given by him to Jewish charitable organizations in his will probated in the Orphans’ Court.

The only specific legacies in the will were $1,000 to the Jewish Home for Consumptives and $2,000 to the Jewish Children’s Society, for the care of infants until they are five years old. The residue of the estate is to be divided equally among the Jewish Home for Consumptives, the Hebrew Hospital and Asylum Association and the Jewish Children’s Society, to be used for infants until they are five years old.