“It is sad to admit: Nevertheless, we must say that the only interne in the Notre Dame, Hotel Dieu, St. Justine, Misericorde and St. Jean de Dieu Hospitals who acted not only as a Christian but also as a civilized being was Dr. Sam Rabinovitch,” is the conclusion drawn by Oliver Asselin, editor of the French Canadian newspaper L’Ordre, in two articles he has written on the anti-Semitic affair culminating in the internes’ strike. The writer boldly exposes the clique responsible for unsavory reflections on the French Canadian element of the population.
The articles concerned were written after a thorough investigation of the incident and after Asselin had received a delegation of the striking internes, who tried to convince him that they were championing the interests of the French Canadians. His inference is that the strike was a plain act of racial hatred sponsored by members of Young Canada, who in their turn are strongly influenced by the Jesuits.
Among those who bombarded the authorities of the Notre Dame Hospital, asking them to dispense with the services of Dr. Rabinovitch, relates Asselin, are to be found the Order of the Native Sons of Canada, of which the anti-Semitic mayoralty candidate, Salluste Lavery, is a leading spirit.
The Association of Catholic Travellers, an organization which has been in the forefront of all anti-Semitic manifestations; likewise several sections of the St. Jean Baptiste Society; the Chevaliers de Cavillon; the Maple Leaf Association, and others. Asselin accuses certain elements of exploiting the young internes to further their own nefarious interests.
Asselin brings out some facts worth noting. One point, more or less known, is that the late Sir Mortimer B. Davis had bequeathed $100,000 to the Notre Dame Hospital. The same hospital receives an annual subsidy of $25,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation, of which Dr. Flexner is president. The well-known Jewish communal worker, Lyon Cohen, is a life governor of Notre Dame Hospital, and contributes generously towards French-Canadian institutions.
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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.
