Review of an Eventful Year

B’Nai B’Rith Magazine, October 1929.

5689, a short span of time in the annals of the world and the annals of the Jewish people, has been an eventful year. To review it adequately one would have to compress international history for the period into a single chapter, plus the specific repercussions of international and local events in Jewish life.

The politics of Immam Yechia or of Ibn Saul of Arabia had its effects on Jewish life, as did the presidential campaign in the United States. The ignorance of a state trooper in Massena, New York, had an effect equal to that of the bigotry of the Polish nationalist students in Lemberg; and the political machinations of Josef Stalin, the iron man of Soviet Russia, affected one or more aspects of the life of the Jews in that country, as did the courses chosen by Mussolini in Italy, Pilsudski in Poland and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

The near-action of the legislature of Connecticut in passing an anti-schechita bill, which was killed, would have had a result similar to that in Norway where the Storthing passed a schechita prohibition, overcoming many years of strenuous opposition on the part of enlightened public opinion and the Jewish community.

The decline of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States had its counterpart in the rise of the Iron Wolf in Lithuania and the continuation of anti-Semitic campaigns, accompanied by cemetery desecrations and synagogue invasions, in Germany.

As it has been said of Spain of old times, and the British empire of today, that over their realm the sun never sets, it can equally be said of the periphery of Jewish life, that the sun never sets within it, with the qualification that darkness never passes entirely from its horizon.

Latter Part of Year Darkened

Jewish life in 5689, as the life of humanity of which it is an integral and a most sensitive part, proceeds along its orbit in cycles of light and shadow. And the shadows which have accumulated toward the decline of the period under review are likely to becloud the course for a considerable time.

Sometimes one of those who are affected by the vicissitudes of Jewish life startles the world with his unparalleled discoveries concerning the course of light, announces new conceptions of time and space, enriching the knowledge humanity has gained up to now. Humanity then stops for a moment in admiration of the genius and in celebration of his achievements, but then returns to its normal workaday world, forgetting the people and the tradition which produced him.

Seventy-five years after the emancipation of the Jews in Western Europe and 200 years after the birth of Moses Mendelssohn, the record of 5689 would fit into any chapter of written Jewish history for any known period of our indeed extraordinary people. With equality guaranteed on the statue books by nearly all properly constituted governments of civilized nations, a vigorous fight for real economic, social and legal equality was carried on in the principal countries where Jewish communities in larger numbers are to be found. Whatever may be the form – economic need, cultural or religious problems, questions of immigration or emigration, combating the forces of bigotry that is physically harmless or actual attempts at violence – the Jew’s will to live and to adjust himself to the conditions that exist, while striving to improve these conditions by a march toward progress and good will, has manifested itself under the most diverse political conditions in the zigzag march of events.

Anti-Semitism Declines in U.S.

In the United States, notwithstanding the effects of the political campaign, 5689 witnesses a definite decline of anti-Semitism, judging, of course, by the Jewish scale and taking a long view by the method of comparison. Fewer manifestations of anti-Jewish feeling came to the surface and in the few incidents that were recorded, deplorable as they may have been, they were accompanied by vigorous steps, demonstrating the self-respect of American Jewry and its sound constitutional status, as well as a reassuring symptom of the attitude of the enlightened American public. The speedy disposition of the Massena ritual murder tale, the position of the United States Supreme Court in validating the New York State Law against secret societies, aimed at the Klan, as well as the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia in the attempt to bar Jews from jury duty, showed a trend in a reassuring direction. The announcement of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America of its intention to carry on the work of its Committee on Good Will Between Jews and Christians. Notwithstanding the recent controversy, coupled with a new assurance that this work has no ulterior motive of missionary propaganda, is another symptom. The overwhelming sympathy of the American public for the Jewish victims of the Palestine events and the human and friendly attitude of President Hoover, as well as the United States government during the Palestine emergency, have been most helpful in a critical moment.

B’Nai B’rith Leads Progressives

Internally American Jewry has continued to make considerable progress in the consolidation and cohesion of Jewish religious and cultural life. Among the agencies that led a vigorous fight for the consummation of this end, the Independent Order of B’nai B’rith added new laurels. New synagogues and temples were built, new school houses were opened, new Hillel foundations began functioning, new centers of Jewish studies were formed, new leaders for the Jewish communities, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox, took their places and of course, the “gentlemen’s agreement” to “take care of their own” was more than carried out. Jewish social service agencies for home and abroad continued to work in full swing and the manifold Jewish contributions to American life in all of its phases, economic, cultural and philanthropic, were continued.

The adherence of American non-Zionists to the program of the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the participation of a number of representative American Jews in the first session of the Jewish Agency seems to have ushered in a new era of concerted American Jewish effort in behalf of Palestine. It also holds greater promise for Jewish unity in the United States, and created many possibilities for concerted efforts in the solution of problems which are common to all sections of the community. It paves the way for a joint campaign to continue the colonization work in Russia, the relief work in Europe and the reconstruction work in Palestine. The American Jewish Congress at its last session decided to seek cooperation with the American Jewish Committee and the two bodies have appointed representative committees to confer on methods of unity.

Jewish leadership, however, suffered an irreparable loss with the death of Louis Marshall. The absence of the President of the American Jewish Committee, beloved and respected as he universally was, and admired for his sterling qualities, will be greatly felt for a long time to come. The grief of American Jewry and of world Jewry at his death was convincing proof that of the gratitude of a people which has suffered so much for the lack of outstanding leadership, and was at the same time an encouragement to those who feel the urge to continue championing the cause of Judaism. No less catastrophic was the death of Dr. Boris D. Bogen, great social worker and Secretary of the B’nai B’rith. If one may be permitted to indulge, in a review of the past, in a prediction for the future, there will be no abatement of Jewish activities in the United States in the years to come, but there will undoubtedly occur what might be called an interregnum until a more or less recognized leadership again steps forth.

Year Was Normal in Many Places

In Australia as well as in South Africa, in the British Isles as well as in France and the Netherlands, in Canada as well as South America, 5689 was what might be termed a normal period. Different, however, was the fate of the Jewish communities in Central Europe and Italy, in Eastern Europe and in Russia, in the Near East and in Palestine.

The hideous face of the ritual murder agitation reappeared with shocking regularity in Poland and Lithuania, in Yugoslavia and in Germany. Even in Russia under the Communist regime it was not missing. Fortunately it was without serious results, due to the firmness of the authorities in suppressing this medieval libel and to the enlightened attitude of some of the Christian clergy as, for instance, the action of the church authorities in Cologne and in Belgrade. Damascus, notorious for its ritual murder case in the 19th century, again witnessed an attempt to awaken this libel which was nipped in the bud by the action of the police. An event of the same class was recorded in Lemberg, Poland, where the medieval charge of mocking the Christian religion was renewed by political intriguers who sought to embarrass the Pilsudski government. The action of the central Polish government in suppressing the riots, in stamping out the libel, and in arresting the perpetrators, was noteworthy.

The general position of the Jews in Poland, two and a half million in number, has slightly improved politically, inasmuch as the government has shown its lack of interest in furthering anti-Jewish sentiment. From this to positive action for improving the Jewish situation there is still a long road to be traveled. Czaristic restrictions, which are annoying if not greatly affecting the population, are still not on the statute books, notwithstanding the pressure of the Jewish deputies for their abolition. Overshadowing all the political questions, however, is the economic plight of the largest Jewish community in Europe, which obviously faces the need of mass emigration without a place to emigrate to and without the means to transplant themselves.

In Russia the split in the Communist Party, leading to the exile of Leon Trotsky and to the loss of power of the Trotskyites, is controlled by Jews. The rigors of the Communist government have not been diminished and the campaign of the Jewish section of the Communist Party against the Jewish religion and Jewish forms of cultural life as it is understood by Jewries outside of Russia, are still in force. In Russia, however, as in Poland, the overtowering question is of an economic nature. The action of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Agrojoint and the Rosenwald Fund for helping the settled Jews on the land, has brought succor only to a small number. The Jewish five-year plan for industrialization is still in the state of discussion as is the general Soviet five-year plan for the industrialization and electrification of Soviet Russia. A community that has been largely uprooted and declassed in the process of the social upheaval is still in the throes of a hopeless crisis.

Prejudice Rampant in Russia

The situation is still further aggravated by the emergence, or perhaps continuation, of anti-Semitism which is rampant even in the ranks of the Communist Party, leading frequently to violence and the murder of Jews at the hands of the Communist workers. It must be added, however, that the attitude of the authorities is unmistakably opposed to anti-Semitism and that a vigorous and continuous campaign is being carried out by the Soviet press against this plague.

The Jews of Bessarabia and Lithuania might be compared to the Jews of Russia in that they were exposed to suffering and starvation due to the famine which affected these regions. The Jews of Lithuania suffered in addition by the frequent excesses of the chauvinist elements which ended not without inflicting serious wounds. In Hungary and Romania the wave of militant anti-Semitism seems to have abated. In Hungary the new form of the numerus clausus limiting the number of Jewish students in the universities is still being enforced, notwithstanding the official promises made by the government to the League of Nations that it will be abolished. In Romania, where hope was held out with the coming into power of the Maniu government for a real “American era of democracy and prosperity,” disappointment is setting in.

Jews throughout the world watched with great interest the developments in Italy as a result of which the Quirinal and the Vatican concluded a treaty of peace. Following which the Catholic Church regained temporal powers in the new state added to the European map, the Vatican City. By the terms of the concordat, the canon law of the Catholic Church has again come into force in Italy in the important fields of domestic relations and in the field of education. This created a difficult situation for the Jews of Italy.

Jews in various lands have been active in the movement for international peace. Leading among them was Salmon O. Levinson of Chicago, who was received by President Hoover following the ceremonies attending the putting into effect of the Kellogg-Brian bilateral treaty for the renunciation of war as national policy. Mr. Levinson was credited and honored for his work in this direction, having been the author of the slogan for the outlawry of war and having worked toward its realization. Prominent journals in opinion in America and Europe have urged the award to Mr. Levinson of the Nobel Peace Prize. In Germany, Professor Einstein, together with Rabbi Leo M. Baeck, leader of the German B’nai B’rith lodges, head a recently created body advocating international peace. The body is composed of leading Jews and non-Jews. Among the agencies furthering amity and brotherhood was the Independent Order of B’nai B’rith.

International peace, together with the safeguarding of the fixity of the Sabbath and peaceful reconstruction in Palestine were the three major questions which have occupied the minds of Jews, regardless of boundary lines. The menace to the fixity of the Sabbath arose with the proposal of the introduction of a 13-month year beginning in 1931, when the first of January will occur on Sunday. With the introduction of such a plan and the observance of blank days, the fixity of the Sabbath and of Jewish holidays would be affected. American Jews, through the League for the Safeguarding of the Fixity of the Sabbath, as well as Jewish leaders in Great Britain and Europe, have been actively engaged in opposing this plan in representations to a Congress Committee and to a committee functioning in behalf of the League of Nations. An international conference to consider the change of the calendar is still under discussion and the danger to the fixity of the Sabbath has not yet passed.

Arab Outbreak in Palestine

The question of the rebuilding in Palestine of a Jewish National Home toward the end of the year claimed the attention of world Jewry and of the world at large in a degree unparalleled before. While on July 1, 1929, Sir John Chancellor, High Commissioner of Palestine, appeared before the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations to report that the relations between the Arabs and the Jews were satisfactory, 54 days later the world was aghast at a series of Arab outbreaks, starting in Jerusalem on August 23 and leading to the massacres and atrocities at Hebron, Safed and Motza, where 127 Jews, 87 Muslims and 10 Christians lost their lives, hundreds were wounded and damages to property which was built up with so much energy and zeal during the past quarter of a century, were destroyed in the savage attack. A preliminary estimate places the amount of Jewish damages suffered at $5,000,000 and although the response of American Jewry to the Palestine Emergency Fund has been generous, securing immediate first aid for the victims, reconstruction will now become a serious problem, as will be the continuation and the expansion of the rebuilding work. The reaction of Jews, irrespective of group or party affiliation, Zionist or non-Zionist, has been that violence cannot retard the peaceful reconstruction work, However, the key to the situation lies in the hands of the British government as the Mandatory for Palestine, and although the British Labor cabinet has reassured the public that there is no intention of reopening the question of the Zionist policy, the final word will be uttered not before the parliamentary Commission of Inquiry will have completed its work, which is not expected to be before 1929 is over. In the meantime, a section of the British press which has never been reconciled to the Palestine Mandate has renewed its campaign for the repudiation of the Mandate. The announcement of the British government’s intention to bring about a new relationship between her and Iraq, also a British Mandate, on lines similar to the Labor government’s settlement of the Egyptian question, has added impetus to this demand concerning Palestine.

The Palestine outbreaks had their origin in the exploitation by various elements of the extremely delicate and aggravated question of the Jewish right of access for worship at the Western Wall, the last relic of the enclosure of the Temple, known as the Wailing Wall. The pavement before the Wall, constituting a narrow alley, is legally the property of the Muslims religious foundation and although the ground is not sacred to Muslims, its use to any comfortable degree by Jewish worshippers is opposed by a section of the Muslim Arab population of Palestine which finds in the prolonged controversy a vehicle for expression of their opposition to the Zionist policy and for making political capital of it. In this process, the Waling Wall is being declared a part of the Mosque of Omar and various innuendos and rumors of Jewish designs on the Muslim Holy Places have, without foundation, been given currency among the Muslims of Palestine and the neighboring countries.

Controversy a Year Old

Having started a year ago on the Day of Atonement, September 23, 1928, the controversy has grown deeper and wider, having had resonance throughout the Jewish and the Muslim world and reaching the British government, the Permanent Mandates Commission, and the League of Nations. Just as the Jews in Palestine formed committees for the defense of the Western Wall, so have the Muslim leaders formed groups for the defense of the El Buraq (Western Wall) and so far none of the learned and high bodies have attempted or succeeded in cutting this Gordian knot. It is to be hoped that the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, whose main purpose it is to determine the cause of the outbreaks, will at least settle the question of the Western Wall in conformity with the dignity of Jewish worship at this Jewish Holy Site and in a manner convincing the Muslims that undisturbed Jewish worship at this place does not encroach upon their rites or involve designs on their Holy Places.