“Hitlerism stands for what Pharaoh stood for–the enslavement of man, for what Pontius Pilate stood for–despotism and the degradation of a race, declared Rabbi Stephen S. Wise in his Passover-Easter sermon at the Free Synagogue. “Hitlerism means hate, not love, enmity, not brotherhood, subjugation, not freedom.
“Against Hitlerism, the Jew has only one weapon–not hate, but the love of an idea. Let us face the truth–Hitlerism means war, and the Jew is the prophet of the end of war. Let them call us cowards! Who can be cowards who stood conqueror against the world?
“Let us say we are done with war. Everything which makes for war must go whether it be nationalism or capitalism.
“If I were to die today, the word Hitlerism would be found on my heart. Yet I as a Jew would not take a weapon in my hand to end Hitlerism, for Hitlerism was born of war. War breeds Hitlerism as Hitlerism breeds war. War bred Pharaoh, war bred Pontius, and war breeds Hitlerism.”
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.
