I shall not return to Poland. My work in Poland is finished, Deputy Isaac Gruenbaum, former President of the Club of Jewish Deputies, said at a farewell gathering given in his honour before his departure for Paris, by the members of the staff of the Yiddish daily “Najer Hajnt”, to which he is one of the principal contributors.
I begin a new chapter of my life, Deputy Gruenbaum went on. People ask me why in the midst of all that is going on I am leaving Poland. I know that whatever I reply they will not be satisfied. The real reasons are of an intimate personal character, and I cannot speak of them. I shall pass through a certain international period, which should lead me to Palestine. I may come back here for a short time, perhaps for the next session of the Seym, but I shall come here only temporarily.
I can tell you this, however, that the new chapter of my life, too, will be linked with Polish Jewry.
There has been much talk about a feeling of resignation among the Jews of Poland, but I do not agree. Polish Jews are disillusioned. Something was expected of the new powers in Poland, and they have disappointed those expectations. We are being given all kinds of things – concessions in school affairs, in Rabbinical elections, and so forth, but there is one thing that we are not given – there is no work for us, there is no means of our earning a livelihood. There is a powerful protest movement growing among the Jews of Poland. There is a new wave coming, and the “Hajnt” must control this wave, lest other irresponsible elements control it.
I shall not sever my contacts with Poland, Deputy Gruenbaum continued. The “Hajnt” remains my organ. I shall have no other organ and there is no other organ I can have. I shall endeavor to have events in Poland reflected in the world.
I leave Poland with a feeling of calm, Deputy Gruenbaum concluded, because I know that there are fresh forces here who will take my place. They are not yet known but they are already here, and they will find themselves. I have faith in Polish Jewry. It is full of energy, and it will very soon produce new leaders.
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.
