[The purpose of the Digest is informative. Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.–Editor.]
This term is suggested by the “Jewish Morning Journal” as a new definition of the type of anti-Semitism represented by Ford and the editor of his paper, who preach Jew-hatred and at the same time attempt to disclaim anti-Semitic motives.
The paper makes its suggestion in the course of the following interesting analogies (Mar. 28 issue) provoked by the developments of the Ford-Sapiro trial:
“It is not altogether new to see persons who are accused of being enemies of the Jews attempting to deny this. But today this occurs more frequently than in the past, and it is to be observed even in the old world. The Polish government, seeking an ‘ugodah’ or understanding with the Jews, is also inspired by the new spirit; even Roumania is making greater efforts than before to extricate itself from the class of anti-Semitic countries. A keen observer can readily see that Jew-hatred is not such a flourishing business as it used to be, that many who refuse to get out of it completely seek to conceal their hatred. Thus the big distiller of anti-Semitism becomes a ‘bootlegger’ or a ‘moonshiner’. He denies that he is in the business and seeks to keep the fact as secret as possible.
“This situation is new and, just as is the case with new inventions, it has not yet been given a recognized or well known name.”
The latest developments at the Sapiro-Ford trial have thrown light on the motives behind the “Dearborn Independent’s” anti-Jewish campaign and have proven that, despite the rulings of the Judge, the Jewish issue cannot be kept out of the libel suit, declares the “Jewish Daily News” of yesterday.
“Officially,” the paper explains, “the attacks on Sapiro have been separated from the attacks on the Jews, but a ray of light is creeping into the case which is enlightening even for those who desire to keep the ‘Jewish issue’ out. It is becoming clear to everyone that after all there are more than attacks on an individual involved here, that these attacks had a relation to the whole ‘enterprise’ of the ‘Dearborn Independent’, an enterprise calculated to arouse hatred and do harm to others.
“The ‘Dearborn Independent’ is a costly luxury for Ford. The business manager of the paper divulged the ‘secret’ well known to everyone that the ‘Dearborn Independent’ was a financial failure and cost Ford a fortune, proving that the paper is of no use to anyone except Ford. The question is: What does Ford need the paper for? Would a man waste millions on a paper if he had no special purpose in it? What can be Ford’s purpose if not to agitate against the Jews? The Key to the attacks on Sapiro has already been revealed. This leads to the next logical conclusion: in the attacks on Sapiro it was not important whether he was guilty or not of the charges laid to him, the essential thing was the fact that he is a Jew.”
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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.
