[The purpose of the Digest is informative. Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.–Editor.]
The opinion that the Jews should not insist on stressing the Jewish issue in the Sapiro-Ford suit and regret at the fact that the case ever arose are voiced in the “Day” by S. Niger, who fears that the only element to profit from the trial, no matter what the outcome, will be the anti-Semites.
“We Jews gain nothing,” Mr. Niger says, “from the fact that the American press tells its millions of readers daily that there is such a publication as the ‘Dearborn Independent’ and that it made charges about some kind of ‘Jewish conspiracy’, ‘international Jewish bankers,’ ‘a Jewish band exploiting the farmers’, etc. But the dark forces behind Mr. Ford’s agitation will be pleased at the unexpected publicity given to the ‘Dearborn Independent’ by Aaron Sapiro and his attorneys.”
The suspicions aroused by Ford’s charges cannot be eradicated by any array of facts and proofs, Mr. Niger contends, pointing to past experience of the Jews in the matter of anti-Semitic charges and libels. Hence, now that the trial has come up, the Jews should not insist that there is a Jewish issue in the case, he argues, observing further:
“Comparison is made between the Ford case and the Beilis trial and the Dreyfus affair. It is forgotten that in those instances the Jews did not take the initiative. The Jews throughout their history always sought to avoid controversies with Gentiles. That was not because the Jews lacked ‘proofs’. Logical and theological proofs were not lacking. But a healthy historical sense told us that it was not a matter of logic, nor of theology, nor of facts. If there is a feeling of suspicion, distrust and enmity, it is better to let it be, not to provoke it.
“Perhaps formerly we were too timid in our attitude to Gentiles. Today we are freer and bolder. When necessary we come out with plain speech. But it remains yet to be proven that there was really a great danger in the utterances of the automobile manufacturer’s sheet and that it was necessary to make a fuss about it.”
Comment on the Sapiro-Ford trial is made by Tracy, columnist for the N. Y. “Telegram” and the other Scripps-Howard publications. Mr. Tracy remarks:
“It would be better for everyone concerned if the Jewish issue could be eliminated from the Sapiro-Ford libel case.
“It would be better still if this issue could be eliminated from the life and work of Henry Ford.
“It is an issue that should never have been raised, especially in an age and country like ours.
“It makes for irritation without benefit.
“By and large, the Jews have played a most constructive part in the development of this republic.
“By and large they have played a most constructive part in the development of all modern nations, even though they suffered all kinds of humiliation while doing so.
“If their temperament is peculiar, and if they have enjoyed success in particular lines of endeavor, it is mainly attributable to the injustice with which their progenitors have been treated by a Christian world for more than 1,500 years.
“No people on earth deserve greater praise for the heroic manner in which they have ‘muddled through’.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
