Israel Zangwill urged the Jews of America to unite for political action, saying that there should be a Jewish vote, and adding: “If there is no Jewish vote today, it is a disgrace”, the Christian Science Monitor states editorially.
“If this advice of one of their racial leaders is generally followed by the 3,000,000 Jews in the United States, it would seem almost certain that there will develop another of those race conflicts that have done so much to prevent the establishment of peace in certain European countries.
“Coming at a time when America is being appealed to for co-operation in solving the problems of the war-swept countries of Europe, this counsel to transport across the Atlantic racial divisions that have existed for centuries will doubtless meet with a nationwide protest.
“If there is to be a Jewish party in the United States, its advocates will incur a grave responsibility for raising an issue incompatible with the spirit of American institutions.
“Mr. Zangwill has specified no grounds for a Jewish vote. Why should there be a Jewish vote, any more than a Welsh, Scottish, or Danish vote? There are no national or state laws that discriminate against the Jews. They fill public positions on an equality with all other races. If there is to be an organized Jewish vote, as Mr. Zangwill advises, is it to be used to obtain special privileges for a race constituting about 3 per cent of the American people?
“That there is a prejudice against certain types of Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe may be admitted without conceding that this can be lessened or abolished by political action. American political life has been troubled in the past by efforts of this or other party to secure votes by professing to be the special friend of some race or nationality. It was hoped that the attempts to divide Americans along the lines of racial groups were diminishing. Is there any good reason for reviving them on behalf of the Jewish people?, the Monitor concludes.
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.
