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None but Jews Can Depict Jewish Character Says Martha Norton

September 4, 1923
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Martha Morton, well-known playwright, who in private life is Mrs. Herman Conheim, wife of the Treasurer of the Keren Hayesod in America, is quoted by the New York American as saying:

“It is only a Jewish woman with the tragedy of the race in her blood and in her bones, who can truly express the spirit of the people. I often get impatient and disgusted with writers who are not Jewish yet strive honestly to make their Jewish characters appeal. Their motive is high but their knowledge wretched. They go about it the wrong way and, accentuate the simplest characteristics. The same holds good of the playwright who is not Jewish yet tries to portray the Jew.

“The sort of play which is daily thrust upon us is supposed to depict the problems of the hour, which seem to center chiefly on ‘modern unrest’. I advocate an establishment of a people’s theatre where healthy, normal plays only are produced at an admission price within the reach of all.”

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