PLE erHOrr EWIRICARONICLIS
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oI1JEwINIORONICLE
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ist convention it cannot hope to retain the
prestige it has gained in the Jewish world.
The fact, also, that the final result was a
Published Weekly by The Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., 1st.
triumph for the Labor parties is not to be
Entered as Second-clad matter March 11, 1916. •t the Poet•
Tidbits and News of Jew-
office at Detroit, Mich., under the Art of March a, 1879.
gloated over. Dr. Chaim Arlosoroff and
ish Personalities.
Berl
Locker,
the
two
Labor
members
of
the
General Offices and Publication Building
By
DAVID SCHWARTZ
new
executive
committee
of
five,
are
both
525 Woodward Avenue
able men and devoted Zionists. But we
Telephone: Cadillac 1040 Cable Address: Chronicle
London Mad
MR. SOKOLOW'S METHOD
doubt whether it was wise politics for the
14 Stratford Place, London, W. 1, England
If Mr. Sokolow, who has just
I aborites to accept two seats on the world
been chosen successor of Weiz-
Subscription, in Advance
$3.00 Per Year
executive, with Labor's own ranks poorest mann, makes as good a Zionist
To Inure publication, all correspondence and news matter
in funds, which are indispensable in the up- chiftain as he is a linguist, the
mud reach this odic. by Tuesday evening of each week.
of the Jewish Homeland
When mailing notices, kindly use one sale of the paper only.
building of the Jewish National Home and worries
are over.
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle inviteecorrespondence on sub-
which must be gotten from sources other
I met Sokolow on his last visit
jects of Interest It dm Jewish people, but disclaim. respond.
than the controlling element of the World to the United States, and I asked
Wily for an indontenant of the view. eat, ,,,,, d by the writer.
him how he had mastered ao many
Zionist Organization.
tongues. Ile can speak in almost
Sabbath Nachamu (Sabbath of Consolation) Read.
An unfortunate occurence at the Con- every language except Eskimo.
ings of the Torah.
Sure enough, he had a method,
Pentateuchal portion—Pout. 3:23-7:11,
gress was the Revisionist demonstration, which
Prophetical portion—Is. 40:1-26.
was simply to study the
Not that it was an exceptional and unex- Bible in the particular language he
July 24, 1931 Ab 10, 5691
pected act, but because it so excited the wished to learn. The method has
outstanding advantages. In
impetuous Vladimir Jabotinsky that he two
the first place, knowing the Bible
should have destroyed his delegate's card in one language, you know what
Can Anti-Semitism Be Defeated?
any particular portion is about in
Elias Tobenkin, distinguished Jewish and left the Congress not to return. Mr. another
and thus have a general
journalist who recently returnnig from Jabotinsky has lost friends and admirers knowledge of context. In the sec-
Soviet Russia, describing factory anti-Semi- by this act and has in our opinion, for all ond place, it heightens interest by
the associations and comparisons
tism in the Soviet Union, in a special article time eliminated himself as a possible future it invites with other language's.
for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, makes head of the international Zionist movement, Let us hope he finds as good a
for learning the language
some interesting comments on Jew-hatred Without in any way minimizing his ability, method
of Arab and British diplomacy—
which is applicable everywhere. Mr. To- his cultural attributes and his dynamic pow- and conquering them.
benkin quotes a Danish physician, with ers over his followers, most Jews will be
BRAINS AND BEAUTY
whom he traveled recently across the At- compelled to feel that one who becomes so
Dave Gould, the well known
lantic, about the late Georg Brandes, the easily excited is not to be wholly trusted in dance director, is in the dumps. He
finds, he declares, plenty of beau-
noted literary critic. The Dane had this a position of world leadership in Jewry.
girls for his choruses, but
In the final analysis, the efforts of the tiful
to say :
few of the beautiful ones have
Jewish
Agency,
whose
sessions,
also
at
brains
enough to follow his in.
"Brandes was a great man. He was one
structions. Beautiful but dumb.
of the very greatest writers Denmark has Basle, followed those of the Zionist Con-
But a good Jewish boy like Dave
produced. But the Danish people never gress, and the Zionist activities of the next should know better than complain
such a thing. Long ago,
felt quite at home with him. He over- two years, will be best comments on the about
the Talmud pointed out that such
awed them with his great brilliance, with results of the sessions which have just a thing was inevitable, "Lo yesh
the universality of his spirit. He was a come to an end, Those Jews who retain kol adam zothe lischtay sculcha-
(no persons merits to eat at
Jew in his ceaseless striving after truth and faith in the ultimate redemption of our peo- nos"
two tables). Or, in other words,
perfection, after the ideal. The Danes, ple from the uncomfortable position we you can't have everything. It's
too, strive, but they do not strive quite so hold in this world will no doubt find comfort the old law of compensation. Now
then some one manages to
in the Ilaftarah of this week, from the for-. and
consistently."
break the rule—to have both
Mr. Tobenkin goes on to say that an tieth chapter of Isaiah, which admonishes beauty and brains. But as a rule
it seems to hold good.
identical explanation was offered him by Israel to be comforted and to have faith. By
At least, we who are not so
a high Soviet authority for anti-Semitism retaining faith, the Jewish people makes pretty like to have that consola-
it is not without some
in the factories of Russia. This authority itself u n c o nquerable and its causes tion—and
subatantiation.
said that "the Jew works too well, while stronger.
—4--
SILENCE AND SEX
the Russian does not take his responsibili-
Let me present a hypothetical
Justice for Aliens.
ties quite so seriously. This is the crux of
case. Suppose you were one of a
We rubbed our eyes to assure ourselves group of young men, working in
the entire matter." Our author concludes
that we were awake, then re-read the edi- an office with other men. And
his article with this statement:
every day a girl from a neighbor.
"A Russian workman, honest and cap-. torial in the Free Press of Saturday, July ing department of the same busi-
able, goes home after four days of work 18, under the heading "Chinese Justice for ness had to enter the office in
which you worked. And always,
for his fifth day, which in the Soviet Union Aliens." After quoting instances of pre- as
she came in, she went up to you
is the equivalent of Sunday. He spends judiced dispensation of justice against —her face beaming, her tongue
his day of rest all too frequently in drink- aliens in China, the Detroit Free Press has wagging, her eyes winking, her
endocrine glands "endocrining."
ing. It sometimes happens that he drinks this to say:
And the next day—the same
"As
long
as
the
Chinese
let
anti-foreign-
until he is either too sick or too dull to re-
thing. And so on the next—still
the
And so it kept on for
port for work the next day. The Jewish ism invade their courts and dictate one day same.
after clay—for week after
workman puts in his tiny of rest for the brand of justice for natives and another for week. And meanwhile she ignored
most part in perfecting himself for higher foreigners, they need not be surprised at all the others—or only cast shy
at them,
work because the higher work is more in- the reluctance of the remaining treaty pow- glances
It's all fixed up for you. You
teresting. The Soviet government having ers to let their nationals out of the protect- begin to worry, whether you
should marry her or discourage
not a grain of prejudice rewards achieve- ion of their own courts."
her.
ment with honor and trust. This is the
Yes, the miracle has happened. In this
But you're all damp, as the ver-
chief cause of factory anti-Semitism. His case it is not the Nation that is pleading nacular puts it. For she really
love you at all.
temperament, his background keeps urg- for equal rights in courts for aliens and na- doesn't
At least, that's what I gather
ing the Jew on to higher attainment ; the tives, but the Detroit Free Press!
from a recent observation by that
peasant takes out his temperament in drink
For the first time, our local contemporary dean of the drama, George Jean
Nathan. When a woman loves a
has deviated from its consistent path of man,
and by playing the harmonica,"
saps the sapient George Jean,
While this diligence and devotion to duty anti-foreignism to plead for justice for the she becomes less talkative in his
presence.
may not be altogether responsible for anti- alien. The only trouble with this evidence
In other words, when she begins
Semitism, there is no doubt that it largely of liberalism is that the plea of the Free to talk too much to you, it's time
serves as the cause for the hatred against Press is for justice in China and not in the to make a (late with another.
the Jews throughout the world. It was the United States.
A READER PROTESTS
late Dr. Israel Abrahams, we believe, who
A reader complains: First,
that I referred in a previous col-
said: "If you wish to put an end to anti-
The Burning of Jewish Books.
umn to Ben Ilecht's book as "Jews
Semitism, make fools of your children."
A Jewish Telegraphic Agency cable from Without Love," and secondly, on
There is an interesting lesson in and com- Riga tells a story which is reminiscent of general principles, that the col-
mentary on anti-Semitism in this state- the dark (lays of the Middle Ages. Because umn is not sufficiently snappy. Of
course, "Jews Without Love" was
ment, and it is given weight by Mr. Toben- of the reaction suggested by this cable, we an error—a sort of glorified and
modified Spoonerism caused by a
kin's views.
quote it here in full:
momentary confusion in the speed
The Zionist Congress and Its Heroes.
The seventeenth World Zionist Congress
is now a matter of history, and the activi-
ties in behalf of the cause for the upbuild-
ing of Palestine in the next two years, be-
fore the convening of the eighteenth Con-
gress, will tell whether the results of the
proceedings are favorable, and whether the
Jewish people is prepared to co-operate
with the new executive by responding to
its calls for service.
In advance, however, we believe it may
safely be said that the triumph of the mod-
erate policies of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, in
spite of his personal retirement from the
leadership of the movement, is a veritable
boon for the cause. Had the Revisionists
and the extremists won their battle it could
have done the cause little good. On the
contrary, it might have brought great harm
to the Jewish settlement in Palestine and
might have injured our position with the
Mandatory power as well as with the Arabs.
Nevertheless, this Congress was not a
very happy one. After two weeks of delib-
erations it rushed through the election of
Nahum Sokolow, whose candidacy was
sponsored by the opponents of Dr. Weiz-
mann, By making a personal issue of the
question of leadership and by electing none
other than Dr. Weizmann's closest associate,
and most ardent supporter of his policies
the anti-Weizmannists certainly did not
dignify their position. It does little credit
to the Congress that the correspondent of
a leading American daily at the sessions
should have commented : "Presentation of
the name. .of Mr. Sokolow evoked some
cheers from the tired delegates anxious to
'have it over,' but a demonstration arose
when Dr. Weizmann was announced as a
member of the actions committee." If the
international Zionist Congress could not
rise above the politics of an American Zion-
0.9.Q.St
BY•THE•WAY
The solitary Yiddish book that has graced
the shelves of the library of the University of
Riga was today nothing but Ft small heap of
ashes as a result of the anti-Yiddish bias of the
university's student council. At a meeting of
the council it was decided that the offending
Volume should be burned but instead of doing
the burning themselves, the students turned
the book over to the university porter and told
him to use it instead of firewood.
The Yiddish book that aroused the students
ire was a publication of the Latvian press office
(or propaganda among the Jews. It had been
sent by the press office to the University of
Riga no that it might be circulated among the
Jewish students.
The practice of burning Jewish books,
the Talmud, the Hebrew Bible and other
sacred Jewish works, has been a sport of
anti-Semites for many centuries. When, in
1244, 24 wagon-loads of Hebrew books
were fed to fires in a public burning of
sacred tomes in Paris, a French rabbi wrote
to Rabbi Heir ben Baruch of Rothenburg:
"I have no book for study. The persecutor
has taken from us our treasures." Rabbi
Their, who was called "Light of the Exile,"
was also a poet. One of his best known
poems is the dirge on the burning of the
books in Paris. In this poem he lamented:
Ask. is it well, 0 thou consumed of fire,
IVith those that mourn for thee,
That yearn to tread thy court, that sore desire
Thy sanctuary,
That, panting for thy land's sweet dust, sore
grieved,
And sorrow in their souls,
And by the flames of wasting life bereaved,
Mourn for thy scrolls,
That grope in shadow of unbroken night,
Waiting the day to see
Which o'er them yet shall cast a radiance
bright,
And over thee?
This lament was written in the middle of
the thirteenth century. But it is equally as
applicable today, when supposedly enlight-
ened university students accept a Yiddish
book as a bogey and use it for fuel.
of writing of Ilecht's work with
Mike Gold's recent book "Jews
Without Money."
As to the more serious charge
—of the want of snappiness—let
me see. Maybe it's due to the fact
that I am not altogether sold on
this business of being snappy.
CRACKERS AND STUMPS
I was born in South Carolina—
the crackerest part of the state,
and you know the old story how
they tell the difference between a
stump and a Georgia cracker.
Well, if you don't—it is simply
told. If you want to know how to
tell the difference between a stump
and s Georgia cracker, just look
out in the woods. if the thing
moves—it's a stump.
That might help to explain my
lack of snappiness.
BRICKS AND OTHER THINGS
Furthermore, what little educa-
tion I have had has not contrib-
uted to ameliorate that condition
of non-snappiness. My favorite
sentence—and the motto which
some day I am going to frame over
my desk, is the sentence of Emer-
eon. "Why so hot, my little man?"
I've read somewhere that mod-
ern invention has made it possible
to produce 14,000 bricks in the
time that in the old days, by hand
work, a craftsman made one brick.
Now it seems to me that I there-
fore have the right to be 14,000
times less snappy than my ances-
tors. Or at least 12,000 times.
Otherwise, what's the use of in-
vention.
—4
SNAPPINESS AND HAPPINESS
I don't like snappiness. In gen-
eral I snap my fingers at snappi-
ness. What's the hurry—what's
the rush? So you'll make more
money that way! You'll start a
hank! I can show you some very
snappy bankers who are now sit-
trng in jail. I'm not snappy—
and my quarters are very pleasant
—almost luxurious.
So you're snappy—so you can
write a book. They need it very
much. Every day the Library of
Congress gets in 500 new books.
Besides, have the people all read
(Turn to Next Page.)
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A BOOK CHAT
lt: V614,
Charles It Joseph.
surprised to hear from one of my old friends
I WAS
of an earlier day, Rabbi Tobias Schanfarber, of
Chicago. Before I comment on the communication
I must say that in the days when I found time to
attend rabbinical conferences and Dr. Schanfarber
was one of the active leaders of the rabbinate, it
seemed to me that they were the "salad" days in
American Judaism. I recall Dr. Isaac M. Wise, the
great inspirational leader of the Reform movement.
Then we had Emil Hirsch and J. Leonard Levy, and
Leon Harrison and Moses Gries and Joseph Kraus-
kopf and Henry Berkowitz, Gustav Gottheil.
Kaufmann Kohler—and others equally outstand-
ing who have passed to the Great Beyond. Per-
haps all of us think that the good old days were the
best days and the men of yesterday were of
greater stature than the men of today. But I imag-
ine that's due to the lack of perspective—we are
too close to humans and events at the moment to
properly appraise them. Nevertheless I cannot
help believe that perhaps QUALITY of the rab-
bis of yesterday was a trifle better than that of the
AVERAGE of the students who are trying to
enter the rabbinate. By that I mean the young
men of the earlier days were inspired by a DIF-
FERENT SPIRIT in taking up the work. Now,
please don't misunderstand and charge me with say-
ing that ALL students at the II. U. C. do not meas-
ure up with those of former years, but I do feel
that the AVERAGE do not feel the CALL to enter
the field of religion in the spirit of SACRIFICE
and who do not look upon themselves as MISSION-
Lewis Browne'• "Since Calvary" Heads List of Sum-
mer's Beat Books; "Yehuda" by Meyer Levin a
Great Zionist Novel; Three Interesting Jew-
ish Books Published in England.
The Jewish vacationist who is
anxious to while some of his lei-
sure hours away by reading a good
Jewish story or essay is well pro-
vided with excellent material pub-
lished in the past month. American
and British publishers announce
the appearance of a number of
books, many of which are certain
to be listed among the best sellers.
Heading the list of the best of
the past month's publications is
Lewis Browne's "Since Calvary."
In this "Interpretation of Christian
History," the author of "This Be-
lieving World," "Heine" and a ser-
ies of other best sellers makes an
interesting job of a very difficult
undertaking It will generally be ad-
mitted that a task which calls for
a critical resume of Christianity's
life from the day of its birth until
the issuance of the Pope's Encycli-
cal on marriage last January is an
exceedingly trying one. Naturally,
Mr. Browne's work is not perfect;
neither will it meet with total ap-
proval. But the result is such a
fascinating mass of reading matter
that even his severest critics will no
doubt have their compliments for
this author.
He Spares No One.
"It is only when a Jew leaves his faith that he
leaves money in his will to a religious institu-
Mr. Browne paints an interest-
ing picture of the early apostles
and of the founders of Christianity.
Throughout his story he spares no
one, and "Since Calvary" is there-
fore a study in black and white—
the black for the many cruelties
committed in the name of Christ-
ianity, such as by the Inquisition
and by the Crusaders; the white
for the many great and good deeds
and for numerous good men, such as
Francis of Assisi sod others.
Perhaps the most interesting
opinion of the whole book is Mr.
lirawne's view of the "hysteria that
took hold of Christendom" during
and as a result of the war. The
following is worth quoting:
tion. Jesse Winburn, a banker, died last year
and left an estate of over $1,000,000. Ile gave
"The whole bottom of the capitalistic
order VIdEtenly fell through and the
ARIES. Now I am sure that I will be misunder-
stood and will bring wrathful protestations down
upon my head.
I QUOTE Dr. Schanfarber from his column in the
Reform Advocate of Chicago, which I am sure
will be of interest to our readers:
I was pleased to note that Charles Joseph,
who has syndicated his Random Thoughts,
takes up the matter in his column of the Jew
failing to remember the synagogue in his last
will and testament. In this connection he says
$125,000 to the Christian Science Mother
Church and to other Christian Science organ-
izations." Mr. Joseph is of the opinion that
the gift given by Mr. Winburn to the Christian
Science Church is larger than that left by any
Jew to a Jewish congregation, and says that
he should like to be corrected if that is not the
case.
It is one of my favorite criticisms of the
Jews of America that they rarely, if ever, re-
member the synagogue in their last testaments.
It is only a month or no back that I wrote on
this subject in these columns. My remarks
were called forth by a similar occurrence in
the city of Chicago as the gift of Mr. Winburn
to the Christian Science Church. Mrs. Rose
Mandel Loeser of Highland Park, Illinois, passed
away and in her will let a certain amount, not
stated, to the Christian Science Church of
Highland Park, and also to the Mother Church
of Boston. I then called attention to the fact
that the Jew remembers liberally in his will
institutions of all character, even non-Jewish
institutions, but forget, the synagogue and
treats it in a stepfatherly way. I pointed to
the fact that there were numerous memorial
churches in Christendom built through the mu-
nificence of the gifts of Christians but only
one memorial synagogue in the United States
that I knew of, the Barnett Memorial Syna-
gogue in Paterson, New Jersey. There have
been some rather large money gifts to congre-
gations building new synagogues. When K.
A. SI. was built one man gave as high as
$50,000. I believe that a Jewish woman of
Portland. Oregon, gave a very large sum
toward the building of the new synagogue in
that city—something like $100,000. Nor should
we overlook the fact that two years ago the
Jews of the United States of America spent
$63,000,000 in the erection of new temples.
This is no small sum to spend in one year for
synagogue building, And yet with all this Mr.
Joseph is right when he sacs that it is only
when the Jew leaves his religion that he gets
the zeal of a real convert and hequeathes
money to his new church affiliation. It is about
time that the Jews were beginning to endow
the synagogue even as they endow other char-
itable and educational institutions when they
draw un their last testaments.
Mr. Joseph seem. to think that the number
of Jew, who have affiliated themselves with the
Christian Science Church is nothing short of
"startling." I believe that he would be very
much surprised to learn that the number is
much less than he seems to think it is. At
that the number, of course, is too large—no
matter how small it is. It hag been estimated
that the entire number of Christian Science
followers today does not exceed 300,000 and
some (won say that the number does not reach
that high. With only 300,000 Christian Scien-
tists in America it is fair to say. I think. that
there are not more than 5,000 Jew, affiliated
with the Christian Science Church in all this
country. Would that number "startle" Mr.
Joseph? Even if the number were larger
than that would it "startle" him? Perhaps
the number does not even reach our estimate
of 5,000. At any rate it is indeed surprising
that the number reaches into the thousands.
For Christian Science has no esoteric truth
within its keening that cannot be found in the
thought of Judaism. Who Jews wander into
the Christian Science fold passes my under-
standing.
MAGDA LUPESCU, King Carol's companion in
exile. according to an interview with a rep-
resentative of the Seven Arts Feature Syndicate.
is not a Jewess by religion, but by birth. She as-
serts that she was converted to Christianity and
does not want to be known as a Jewess. It is
truly • remarkable situation, one worthy of the
most imaginative movie writer. Here it a Jewish
woman become the companion of the king of one
of the worst anti-Semitic countries of modern times.
Regardless of the fact that she desires to be recog-
nized as • Christian the world refuses to do it and
insists that she is Jewish. The result is that what-
ever is done or not done in Rumania the Jews have
to pay the price because the king is accused of
being influenced by Lupescu. It is difficult to sp.
praise such a woman. That she must be possessed
of unusual talents to win a king is self-evident.
But she has to pay the price of such an alliance and
today it is reported that she is exiled from Ru-
mania. Whether it is true or not no one knows,
but it is interesting to the Jews to ponder the
strange irony of fate that makes this Jewish wo-
man a power to be reckoned with in the court of
Rumania. It remit that the story of Esther has
been revived in modern garb and who knows that
one day as a result of the influence of this modern
Jewess, her people may be rescued from an oppres-
sive condition,
q1=
`;.4
world discovered itself plunged into a
wsr without a parallel In all Its history.
The immediate consequence nun a gal-
s •nic stir in most of the religious estab-
iishments. Hysteria took hold of Christ-
endom,•nd the churchmen, mistaking it
for right°. seal, became full of hope
nce more. The sweep toward rdricur-
anlis m got its sre
uprt
po from the masses,
and was therefo
a far more formid able
d evelopment. It h ad its origin, it uld
wo
seem. in the common in.', belated re-
cognition of what the new knowledge had
done to his•nrient faith. Until then he
had not looked to see, for he had felt
sure that hi. faith was safe. But the or•
deal of the World War had impelled him
to reach out. and . 1o, he had discovered
his faith was no longer there! The new
knowledge had taken it away. and he wad
left now to drift without sign of • moor-
ing. Ile himself had been reduced by
this new knowledge to the status of •
mere animal. and his earth to a mere
crumb of stellar dust. Ills familiar God
had been banished from the sky, and his
virgin•born Son of God front history.
What nag there left for him to believe
In?
"It was the shock of this discovery
that impelled the 'foolish of the world'
to throw theorise'''. WI then did into the
obscurantist movement. Mind with ter-
ror. they clutched at the fragment. still
left of their old religion, made a tower
of them and screamed curse. at those who
work! tear it down. They were finished
with science: it was too dangerous.
Henceforth they would he 'Fundamenta-
list,. believing the Bible from cover to
cover. and clinging eve
of the
traditional assurance.. They would be-
lieve as had their father—with all their
heart. and with all their soul and with
all their might. And befall, their will
to believe was very desperate in the ter•
rm. of that day. they did believe had
their father."
The reader most have already
guessed that
"Since Calvary,"
which Was published by the Mac-
millan Co.. ($3.50), stands highly
recommended.
"Jewish View of
While on the subject of Christ.
ianity, another Macmillan volume
appear of unusual interest. Under
the title "Jewish View's of Jesus,"
the Rev. Thomas Walker of London
has written "on introduction and
an appreciation" of the views of
six Jews on Jesus. In his intro-
duction Rev. Walker deals with
the early Jewish tradition on Jesus
and the later form of this tradition.
The views of Orthodox Jewry are
those of Paul Goodman and Gerald
Friedlander. Those of Jewish
Liberalism are quoted from C. G.
Montefiore and Israel Abrahams.
Jewish portraits of Jesus by Jos-
eph Jacobs and Joseph Klausner
form an interesting chapter of the
book which concludes with "some
reflections on Jewish views o
Jesus."
The Orthodox view is that Jesu.
ass no prophet; the Reform the
•r
;4
:
=
z
he was. "All are agreed that the
talk about Jesus being an illegiti-
mate child should be dropped, but
while one takes up the attitude that
even if it were possibly true, it
would not affect his ultimate esti-
mate of Jesus, most are ready to
take him to hove been the legiti-
mate son of Mary and Joseph." In
his reflections Rev. Walker states
that "one's first reflection surely
must be. that Christianity for very
obvious reasons was born within
the Jewish synagogue, and that
greater justice niust be done to the
synagogue of Jesus' time than has
been usual with Christian exposi-
tors."
.)
The Zionist Novel "Yehuda."
One of the finest of all novels
published in recent years is Meyer
Levin's "Yehuila." ($2.50). It is the
first novel of Jewish pioneer life
in Palestine, and is a most authen-
ic picture, and because of the im-
portant place this work is certain
to occupy in Anglo-Jewish litera-
ture the publishers' story of the
book and the author will be of in-
terest. Jonathan Cape and Harri-
son Smith, 139 East forty-sixth
street, New York, state:..
"Two years ago Mr. Levin gave up his
Job as star reporter and columnist for
the Chicago Dally News and went to
work on the soil of Palestine aong the
members of farm-communes engaged in
foundling • new Israelite nation. "Yehuda
his first novel since his experience there.
is also the first American presentation
in a fictional setting of the Zionist move.
ment.
)
-7
•• • •ti
"Many of the incident. •nd almost
of the people in "Yehuda"—including
Yohud• himself—are real. It may inter-
est the reader to know the sequel to
"1' eltutl•! . Mr. Levin writes that "since
"Yehuda" w. written the commune ha.
become possessed of an excellent water•
pumping plant. and several co
ncrete
honors have been built. "Hersche l" amt
his young wife went off to work in the
villages. Herschel got • lob an night-
w•tchm•n in • farming town. One night
he wan •tacked by dogs. He shot •t
them, accidently wounding himself, and
died. His young wife. one of the most
active of feminists. Is working at • man's
job in Tel Aviv. laying tile in the new
Hebrew Opera House. Elightt Levin •nd
"little Dvoraleh" who took care of the
hens are m•rried. Cherkasi died. weak-
ened by m•laria •nd dysentery. Kishen-
evsky, the morose book-keeper. married •
very spritein young pioneer girl. Fishkin
threw himself under • railway train and
wax killed. Feldman and his wife still
hogs the place. There are Pie or .seven
more children. Mr. Paley went back to
America. promising to send • victrola.
but it never arrived.
"Meyer Levin wan born in Chicago in
1905 and graduated from the University
of Chicago in 1921. Ile traveled for a
year •fter that, and studied art In Paris
with Ferdnand Leger. At the close of
the year he went to Palestine. returning
in 1924 to work in a farm-commune. In
between hie trip. to Europe •nd Pales-
tine he worked ns feature reporter and
later as columnist for the Chicago Daily
News. His "Reporter" was published in
1929. followed be "Frankie and Johnny"
the next year. In 1929 Mr. I.evin was
back in Palestine, working in a fa m•
commune. He later bought • sall
piece
m
of land on the coast. where he planted
orange trees. At present he Is free-lan-
cing in New York."
Of interest in association with
Meyer I,evin's "Yehuda" is the fol-
lowing brief article by "Mordecai",
Washington correspondent of the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, recent.
ly released:
cost
Sinclair Lewis in • recent lecture in
W.hIngton, referred rather cynically to
Meyer Levin's new novel "Yehuda".
which drain with life on the soil In Pale—
tine. Put Lewis had not yet read the
hook. so hi. allusion thereto wan er•rcely
,4;
of •ny portent It w unfortunate that
Lewi• did not taket
as he precaution of
mentioning thin fact in his lecture in-
stead of confessing it privately behind
stage. He took • rap at Levin when
he cited the hook •n Inntance of the
tendencyo
OT
f R!
writers to describe ••••
Pert. of life with which they were not
intimately acquainted. The novel should
deal with an enviornment the writer
thoroughly understands. hemaintained
s1;
Lewis wan indignant: "Here in • Young
Chinon totwttritoerm•n who goes on •
trip to Palestine anti writ. • novel about
Zionist life there called "Yehuds." Back-
stage. however. Lewis not only confessed
not having read the book. but expressed
• keen desire and an Intention to do sn
• t his erliest
a
opportunity. Perhaps
ps
e
Nobel pr ixe winner will speak diff erent!,
of this novel after he has familiarixecl
himself with its contents.
-7
Meanwhile.
Levin scarcely hat any real rson
ea
to
..1;
ornplain. Even to be mentioned he the
•7
distinguished !auburn-haired man of let-
ter. i• good publicity for any book- ty
especially in the fall• of Lev in.
The
writer happens to he one of the young-
est before the public.
■
is
7
Much has been written to fas-
cinate Jews about the life of the
-7
(Turn to Next Page).
'a
Jewish pioneers in Palestine. But
VIEWS OF LEADING JEWS
VLADIMIR
JABOTINSKY: "The Zionist Congress concluded with
resolutions which mean a new policy and with an Executive which will
continue the old policy which is jus
t like all Zionist Congresses."
• •
LOUIS LIPSKY: "The protests
that have already been registered at
the outcome of the Zionist Congress are fully justified. The majority
of the American delegates, by joining the Revisionists, must assume
full responsibility for the unfortunate results. The American
tion
delega -
was responsible for the first bloc against the Labor group ever
formed at any Zionist Congress, and for the removal of Dr. Chaim
Weizmann."
•
•
•
DR. ABBA HILLEL SILVER: "The seventh World Zionist Con-
gress had beyond a doubt been the most weighty and difficult one since
the famous Uganda Congress in 1908. This year's gathering was
des-
tined to be a tempestuous one,
coming, as it did, after two years of dis-
illusionment and of resentment, caused mainly by efforts of the manda-
tory government to restrict Jewish enterprise in Palestine and to nullify
the intent of the mandate and of the Balfour Declaration. A stormy
and tempestuous Congress it was, but it left Zionist
ranks unbroken,
cleared up the air, and opened the way for a full program of con-
structive Zionist effort in the future."
•
•
•
:3
: 3,
: 3
•3
-a
.3
PROF. SELIG BRODETSKY, London Zionist Leader: "The Zion-
ist Congress was signalized by the departure of Dr. Chaim Weizmann
from leadership but this does not mean that the Congress rejected the
fundamentals of the
policy which Dr. Weizmann brilliantly led for so
many years. Jewry sacrificed its leader, I
believe, temporarily in order
to demonstrate the grave apprehension created by the events of the
last two years. I
hope
Jewry,
and
particularly
the Zionist movement,
will now be in ■
position of determination to work together for the
realization of our aims. The Congress allowed that our spirit as a
nation is not broken. On the contrary, we stand united in the firm will
to achieve in Palestine Ilerzl's dream and the internationally recog-
nize daim of a Jewish National Home."
.
•
•
DR. STEPHEN S. WISE: "The change in
Zionist leadership proves
to the doubting that the Zionist movement is greater than any man.
The Jewish National Home will yet be our own."
•
•
•
ISAAC NAIDITCH, French Zionist Leader: "The Zionist Congress
had killed a man but did not kill the system."
@9R.9
. QQ
a.