Situation of 400,000 Jews of Czecho-slovakia Not As Bright As Outside World Believes; Numerous Troub

Of all the countries of the “Little Entente,” and perhaps of all the countries of Central Europe, Czecho-Slovakia is most praised for its democratic and satisfactory solution of the Jewish problem. If one views superficially the Jewish situation in this country during the year 5690, one finds this general view confirmed and one realizes why this young republic has drawn to itself the sympathy of the outsid world.

The past year was distinguished by the fact that it gave the Czecho-Slovakian Jews the opportunity to reap the practical benefits from the law which had been passed giving them equal rights as a minority group. As a consequence of this act they elected two Jews to Parliament, of whom one comes from Bohemia and the other from Slovakia. This apparently great victory, which resulted in the election to Parliament of Dr. Ludwig Singer and Dr. Julius Reisz, is the result of a fight which the Jews have been waging for more than a decade, a fight which included many defeats, since many parties were out to capture the Jewish vote and since a part of the Jewish community itself was opposed to independent Jewish political action.

However there are still several very fundamental Jewish political demands which remain unfulfilled. The most acute among these is the question of a fundamental change in the citizenship laws. This question still hovers like a shadow over the good international repute of Cezcho-Slovakia which contains such a large number of minority nationalities within its borders. As far as the Jews are concerned there still remain 10,000 in Slovakia and Carpatho-Russia who are deprived of citizenship. In spite of all explanations the Ministry of the Interior, which is now ruled by the Agrarian Party, has proved itself hard and unyielding towards these people who are deprived of all the rights of citizens.

In another question too, the governing circles have shown very little understanding and sympathy. In contrast to other countries, Czecho-Slovakia lacks a modern, unified and responsibility – bearing religious law. The new religious law which the Ministry of Cults announced a few months ago is unsatisfactory if only for the reason that it doesn’t take into consideration the most important aspect of such legislation, to wit, territorial unity. But besides, it pays absolutely no attention to the question of the voting rights for the Jewish kehillans. In Carpatho-Russia there are communities of 10,000 Jews where only 300 are entitled to vote in the kehillah elections. Such a plutocratic system leads to dire consequences, and under such circumstances it is impossible to raise the cultural level of the Jews of Carpatho-Russia.

POSITION CLEARER

As a result of the recent parliamentary elections the position of the Jews among the various parties became somewhat clearer. That doesn’t mean however that it improved. On the contrary, many of these parties have, now that they are not dependent upon Jewish votes, uncovered their masks and wherever possible carry on an anti-Jewish political agitation. This is especially true of the Agrarian Party which wields great power in Carpatho-Russia and Slovakia, sections which contain dense Jewish populations. The Agrarian press has been carrying on an anti-Jewish agitation, which, though it hasn’t taken on so violent a form as in other countries, has served the purpose of poisoning the atmosphere, blaming as it does the Jews for any economic crisis that may come up. That the clerical parties, whether they are German, Czech or Hungarian, do not sympathize with the Jews, is shown by the interesting questions which clerical deputies in parliament put to the Ministers. The “Right” parties too, Fascist and others, cannot resist the temptation of imitating the reactionary parties of other countries and of putting more “pep” into their programs by adopting anti-Semitic slogans.

The anti-Jewish outbreaks in the Czecho-Slovakian higher schools a year ago came as a result of this anti-Jewish agitation by various political parties. The serious attempt which was made to introduce a “numerus clausus” in Czecho-Slovakian higher schools should not be explained only by the economic motives of the students and intelligentsia, but also by the constant agitation of the various reactionary parties. Even the influential Industrial Party of Carpatho-Russia, which not so long ago was catering to the Jewish vote there, has now joined in the anti-Jewish chorus.

CURTAILMENT OF RIGHTS

On the other hand one should note that all attempts to curtail Jewish rights in Czecho-Slovakia have been rejected by the greater part of Czecho-Slovakian public opinion. Only in one aspect of this question will the Jewish parliament deputies still have to fight: on the question of the full recognition of Jews as a Nationality. But even now the Jews have achieved much in their struggle for such recognition.

The same motives which led the Czecho-Slovakian Jews to enter politics as a separate group and to elect their own members of parliament are also now beginning to lead them to act in the economic field as a separate entity. One notes in Slovakia and Carpatho-Russia a strong sentiment in favor of the creation of Jewish credit associations. In Slovakia especially, where a year ago there was no Jewish credit association, there are such societies in ten places. The economic situation of the Jews in Slovakia and Carpatho-Russia is bad. The cooperative tendencies that manifest themselves in the economic life of these places and the inability to export goods because of the high tariffs placed upon them by the neighboring countries have shaken the Jewish economic life to its very foundations. The Joint Distribution Committee has during the past five or six years done pioneer work in Carpatho-Russia, which is now bearing fruit. There is still much work to be done in this respect, however. The promotion of Jewish trade, the industrial education of the Jewish youth—all these are problems which cause a certain anxiety, since their solution is very difficult. But with the help of the Joint Distribution Committee and other philanthropic institutions from abroad and with the proper political action, these problems may eventually be solved. For a long time, however, the question of making the 150,000 Jews of Carpatho-Russia a productive element in society will be a hard nut to crack. The governmental circles in Carpatho-Russia sooner or later will have to realize that without their help, without the erection of trade and industrial schools for Jews, the problem can hardly be solved.

Of especial seriousness is the Jewish cultural situation in Czecho-Slovakia. In the Western part of the Republic the cultural assimilation of the Jews is an inevitable process which has been going on for years. But in the Eastern part the situation is radically different. Here the Czecho-Slovakian government has allowed a highly developed Hebrew shcool system to go under. Because of lack of funds the number of Hebrew schools there has declined from more than thirty to three or four. The cultural problem of Carpatho-Russian Jewry is a governmental problem. If the government will in the future continue its policy of erecting Czech schools for Jewish children in a Ruthenian environment, the contrast between the Jews and the Ruthenian majority in the district will become ever greater and will lead to conflicts, which might perhaps be of passing help to one political party or another, but which will not be in the interests of the state as a whole, and will surely not be in the interests of the Jews of the country. Equally deplorable is the lack of interest shown by the government towards the cultural problems of Slovakian Jews. Here the Jewish political leaders have innumerable opportunities for creative work.

MAY CAUSE SURPRISE

Perhaps this survey of the Jewish situation in Czecho-Slovakia will cause surprise because of its note of pessimism. But it is self-evident that if one is to judge the Jewish situation in this country, and in any other one as well,