This is the fifth of a series of six articles, which we present in the belief that the viewpoint of the younger American Jew, with his roots in this country, is of vital interest at this time. The writer, born in Chicago, near where his father still operates a farm, is thirty-six years old. He is married and has three children. He studied art, but had scarcely finished school when this country entered the World War, and he enlisted in the flying forces. After the war he went into publishing and advertising and has been successful in both. He puts out several popular magazines and is national advertising representative for nearly 100 newspapers. He spends a great deal of time in the outdoors. Amateur exploration is one of his chief hobbies. Until recently he resided in Chicago. His home is now in New York.
Establishment of unity like that suggested yesterday in these columns should be encouraged all over the world, and yearly a council of authorized leaders should be held internationally, exactly like the World Baptist Convention recently held in Berlin.
We can count on a large group of stomach-less Jews who will throw up their hands in horror over any kind of international assembly. All others meet and organize internationally where their own interests may be affected, but our caftanned Jeremiahs seem to prefer the Wailing Wall. To Hades with them! Our enemies will hate and libel us anyway. What we will not do openly they will assert we do secretly —and more. If we earn strength and self-respect through our own efforts, we can count on the respect of our fellow men, and that must suffice us.
This international conference should elect an authoritative leadership which will deal with Jewish difficulties in all countries where Jews do not have full and equal protection under the law.
Every Christian nation in the world interceded for the Armenians, but when German Jewry, one of the most sensitive and intellectual groups which ever existed on this earth, the very flower of present-day humanity, was slaughtered, maimed and tortured, all it received in the way of help was a few meetings.
Efforts to sustain even the refugees have been badly bungled. In the denouement the scoundrelly Hanfstaengl could still come to America and drag his oversized feet into the drawing rooms of the very cream of American society.
The British, who express the most unctuous sympathy and revulsion, actually did nothing at all about it. As a matter of fact, they deliberately kept these stricken unfortunates out of Palestine in favor of a lot of ignorant, murderous Arabs. They soon afterwards took the side of Germany in the councils of the nations and were it not for Hitler’s high-handed dishonesty in Germany’s attempt to cancel its debts, as well as the vicious attempt to rape Austria, England would still be found in the line-up as Germany’s friend and rescuer from dilemma.
HERE’S HOW IT WOULD WORK
Unified we could make the most vigorous representations to all countries where Jews are deprived of their basic rights. Our members everywhere would use their influence in the face of every outrage, to lobby with their Catholic and Protestant friends, so that our voice would be found more effective. What a dignified and happy contrast this would be to the wailings, loud oratory and mass meetings with which we now seek to solve our problems!
In dealing with an international menace like Nazism we could make alliances with the Liberals, Catholics, Orthodox Lutherans and others who also have reason to fear the further rise of this monster.
In short, the Jews of the various nations would continue to place their citizenship in these nations first, and might logically, in fact, be the bitterest enemies in everything else—commerce, political opinions, etc.—but when Jews anywhere are attacked merely because they are Jews, when a world conspiracy exists with Berlin and its headquarters aiming to degrade and destroy us, we have a common ground from which no forces can deter us.
Certainly if the Catholics of the world can fight to aid the Catholics of Mexico, the world Mohammedans to assist the Mohammedans in Palestine, if Christians everywhere resent the mistreatment of Christians anywhere, are we Jews without the common feeling of manhood, love and loyalty for what is our own?
THE PARADOX OF JEWRY
In seeming paradox the Jew, while accentuating his Jewishness, must swing entirely away from the peculiar, exclusive character which has previously been his history.
Hitler, with a single gesture, has added several million part-Jews to our fold. His persecution has also visited those non-Jews whose only fault is that they have married someone of Jewish descent.
All these should be welcomed into the Jewish community and the part-Jews all over the world should be unceasingly propagandized with information as to their fate and the fate of their children if the threatening world thrust of Nazism should ever succeed.
The German Liberals and exiles, they of non-Jewish stock, are also in a quandry. They cannot return to Germany and no other nation wants them. They should be invited to make common purpose with Jewry, to join us, and we should sustain them.
This policy of gaining by worthy accretion has been followed by other great races and religions of the world and should be a part of our general credo.
IS THIS HERESY?
Some of our old fogy Jews will throw up their hands in fright over this terrible heresy, yet if the Jews had not absorbed the Phoenicians in Spain, the Khazars in South Russia and innumerable other individuals in the course of history, how then explain the visible physical differences between Jews of all countries? And did these Jews ever hear the story of Ruth and Boaz?
In this manner, by at least taking back to our bosom what is ours, we might be a group of 40,000,000 instead of 15,000,000. In a practical-minded world these millions are a direct and tangible asset and from any viewpoint we should welcome them if they will join with us.
On the same score we should do away with our present dislike of intermarriage. Intermarriage will continue anyway. It cannot be stopped. In our present situation the net result is always a loss to the Jew. We should about face on this proposition and at the same time propagandize a pride in the persons of our young people which will cause them deliberately to wish their children to remain Jews instead of plotting their escape to some other haven.
If we consider that our children will be fairly selective in these marriages, we can fairly assume that the additions to our group will be worthwhile and that we will have no cause to be ashamed of them. In many cases that have come under my personal notice this result has transpired. The great Rothschild family of Europe has consistently intermarried while still retaining its Jewish identity.
If we are not well knitted into a compact group, this might prove a dangerous policy, as it has indeed been traditionally, but as is obvious, conditions alter cases. The present Hitler phobia, which is being secretly plotted and propagandized all over the country and which makes the man who marries a woman who had a Jewish grandmother suffer all the stigma and disability of Jews, should make a policy of this sort not only possible but logical.
To Be Continued Tomorrow
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