Page Eight

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Judenstaat to Jewish State . . By Alfred Werner

(Ed.'s Note: On the occasion of
the 50th anniversary' of Dr. The-
odor II erzl's history-making
booklet.)

In the month of February, 1896,
the eyes of the world were direct-
ed towards remote Ethiopia where
a small, unprepared but patriotic
nation was fighting for its inde-
pendence against the imperialist
designs of Italy. Every lover of
freedom cheered the courageous
"Lion of Judah" - this being the
official title of the ruler of Ethio-
pia who traces his origin hack to
King Solomon and the Queen of
Sheba -- when, at Adowa, he and
his troops took the Italians by
surprise, completely routing their
boastful army. The official Ethio-
pian decree, announcing the vic-
tory, was prefixed by the usual
formula: "The Lion of the Tribe
of Judah hath triumphed!"

Der Judenstaat Appears

In the same month of February,
1896, the Lion of Judah scored
another, though less conspicuous
victory when a small but history-
making pamphlet of about 25,000
words, Der Judenstaat, Versuch
einer modernen Loesung der Ju-
denfrage (The Jewish State, An
Attempt at a Modern Solution of
the Jewish Problem), by Dr. The-
odor Herzl, appeared under the
imprint of Max Breitenstein, book-
seller and publisher of Vienna, in
an edition of 3,000 copies. This
was a victory insofar as a lone
man, backed by no organization,
dared to defy both anti-Semites
and pussy-footed Jewish assimila-
tionists, as he declared, openly
and proudly, "We are a people!"
King Menelik who fought the
superbly equipped Italians with
whatever weapons could be gath-
ered, risking life and throne, and
Hertzl who battled, single-handed,
a host of ill-disposed journalists,
rabbis, and civic leaders, jeopar-
dizing his own well-paid news-
paper job, had this in common:
an enormous courage, strengthen-
ed by the firm belief in the right-
eousness of their cause.

Starts at 34
Herzl was more than thirty-four
years old before he began to re-
alize the desperate condition of
his people, the Jewish people —
scattered all over the globe, tol-
erated, but not without occasional
outbursts of prejudice in the West,
and suppressed in Eastern Europe,
everywhere at the mercy of the
nations among whom the Jews
lived, prevented from mixing with
them completely, even if they
wished to do so. Herzl, the noted
essayist and journalist, the ambi-
tious playwright, had become con-
cerned with the problem in the
fall of 1894, the fruit of his pon-
derings being the drama, "The
New Ghetto." But it offered no

practical solution — unless one
considers the duel, in which the
Jewish hero of the play is killed
by his anti-Semitic opponent, a
solution.

dikt. "It is like a boomerang
which may recoil on you." Franz
Bather regarded Zionism as a
"misfortune," while anti-Semitism
seemed to him a "transitory"
On January 5, 1895, however, though "uncomfortable" m o v e-
when he covered for his paper, ment.
Two Jews Help
the Neue Freie Presse, the public
On the other hand, Herzl found
degradation of the Jewish cap-
at
least two Jews who understood
tain, Alfred Dreyfus, a thorough
change took place in him and he him immediately and who were
suddenly saw the light. Herzl nev- ready to support his enterprise
er forgot that scene on the grounds with all of their power. One he
of the Ecole Militairo in Paris, met in Paris. It was Max Nordau,
when Dreyfus, degraded and watch- the famous German writer. Though
ed by his guards, marched away Nordau had been for a long time
"like a man who knows himself alienated from Judaism, Herzl now
to be innocent" while the masses encountered from him a "light-
were shouting "Death to the ning-like understanding." In Lon-
don Herzl met Israel Zangwill, the
Jews !"
author of "Children of the Ghet-
Many Noble Frenchmen
to," who helped him spread his
The France of 1895 was not as ideas in the British capital.
After this hegira through West-
sick as, for instance, the Ger-
many of 1935; there were quite a ern Europe, Herzl returned to
few noble-minded Frenchmen, who Vienna, at the end of November,
convinced of the captain's inno- 1895, determined to put his vision
cence, took the cudgels up for down on paper. This was to be his
him, not resting before he would immortal book, "The Jewish State."
be acquitted 'and restored to his He could make use of a diary
former rank again. But as a diag- he had started in June under the
nostician, Herzl diagnosed the title, "The Jewish Question," and
sickness — Judaephobia — cor- of a draft of the lengthy speech,
rectly. The symptoms were the "Address to the Rothschilds,"
same in either case; it was just which he originally had planned
a question of degree. There were to deliver before the family coun-
other Jewish journalists who wit- cil of the Rothschilds, following
nessed the captain's degradation his failure to convince Baron de
and heard him shout, "I am inno- Hirsch.
Pinions of An Eagle
cent!" but they failed to grasp the
He worked in a sort of feverish
fact that it was not the outcry of
an individual, per se unimportant, excitement, relieving himself, so
but the sigh of millions of fright- to speak, of all the apprehensions
ened people, some living in the in- and hopes accumulated in a stor-
visible and rather comfortable my year. "I do not remember ever
ghettos of Berlin, Vienna, Paris having written anything in such
and London, others in the more an exalted mind as this book," lie
real ghettos of Tsarist Russia, Ru- stated, years later. "Heine says
mania, and other eastern Euro- that he heard the pinions of an
eagle fluttering over his head
pean countries.
when he wrote certain verses. I
Herzl's genius understood the also felt that I heard a simila.
messages carried in that Jewish rustling over my head when I
officer's protest. Throughout the wrote this book. I worked at it
year 1895 Herzl pondered over a daily until I was quite exhausted.
therapy for that disease, anti- . . I wrote walking, standing, ly-
Semitism, • which disturbed the ing, in the street, at meals, at
peace of millions of human be- night, when it drove me out of
ings. The solution which he found sleep."
was obvious and simple: the Jews
While we are celebrating the
must have a state of their own, fiftieth birthday of "The Jewish
like all other nations. For the State," shots are falling in Pales-
Jews are a nation, though scat- tine, killing Jews, Arabs, English-
tered all over the globe. He dis- men. Palestine is closed to Jewish
cussed the idea — previously con- immigration, while more than a
ceived by Moses Hess, Judah Leib hundred thousand "Displaced Per-
Pinsker, and others, but forgotten sons," the remnants of large Jew-
in the course of time — with some ish settlements in Eastern and
leading Jews of the era, like Bar- Central Europe, are' anxiously
on de Hirsch and the chief rabbis waiting to go to the only land
of Paris and Vienna, Zadoc Kahn which would welcome them with-
and Moritz Guedemann, respec- out any mental reservations. Jews
tively. These men disliked the are fleeing from Poland, and thou-
plan; Baron de Hirsch was skep- sands are dying in primitive camps
tical. The great philanthropist pre- in Allied-occupied Germany, while
ferred to see the Jews settle as in the capitals of the world long
individuals, not as a group, in debates are going on as to wheth-
various sparsely populated over- er or not a Jewish commonwealth
seas countries. Herzl's employers, should be permitted in Palestine.
the publishers of the Neue Freie
Is the situation hopeless? We
Presse, were frightened : "Your idea do not know how long it will take
is frightening," said Moritz Bene- to establish a Jewish state where,
at present, some 650,000 Jews have
been turning what had once been
the most backward region of the
Middle East into the most pro-
gressive part of Western Asia.
These Palestinian Jews cling to
their land, and they will see to it
that "this dream can be trans-
formed into a thought of the
bright daylight." Herzl anticipated
these brave pioneers of an entire-
ly new world when he wrote in
the closing chapter of his pamph-
let:

Northwest Hebrew Congregation Signs
Contract for Erection of Synagogue

Maccabeana Will Rise
" . . . I believe that a wondrous
generation of Jews will spring in-
to existence. The Maceabeans will
rise again. Let me repeat once
more my opening words: The Jews

who wish will have their State.
We shall live at last as free men
an our own soil, and die peace-
fully in our own booms. The world
will be freed by our liberty, en-
riched by our wealth, magnified
by our greatness. And whatever

we attempt there to accomplish
for our own powerfully and bene-
ficially fur tie' welfare, will reuet
good of mankind "

Prady Heads T.O.T.

At a recent meeting of the TUT
club. hessian Trudy was electod
pit bitten( fin 11446 Other elected
officer+ were Ruby Sklar, via •
1,1#1.iiirsil
Saw Margolis iwere•
No' and
thusiberg,
itetseusso
l'irtly hie &lum•n Ills'
lull...sing HAD to 1008111 4 %lb C.4141-
111( r to la) hill
$41 Br4:l ■ P*4• d the 11001
141114ts •
lussul 4 4111181, 411881140'
Iwo upper Auras ul clorsorrazine, 10.4414y. and othwr town. bb Inch mash•
it*
alli4.418811116111
up ih• eusiplsrlloh of Go . Met *108 of (hi' lielsiimuatur piroLel flu &Ise • 11/01s
4 'lisss.so
4.11,4■■ AP
•thirtu
will (-continuo'
bora Arlo/ pa OM 144 Hasty VGA , .
TM C10684 variiiii0 4.
Plans fro Ira so.cusal *mural slucius
1k/11 1 Junc k awl fur the as (si ► ioo mai, 10-lasso Sly 404 :1,15110V
S1r
Iwo
os,ssal 14411
444,114‘14, 1 PIO
Lb. tiur ww
41 possiths upon
to4 t 1 N i : i44011444444 1 all' ii•
No1.e45 , aunt 14 swan Ibb
011.101.10 MIW
00 41 ssi IL, 144040 of 6,0, • tto bleati4 oho/ Allred hart.
1WW1414 (AA' 1410-11 tie aiiiai
i‘Mt‘iil , / id 1$4411..toi
oh 41
tibia',
bclifikko

hiltiN FUR SYNAGOGUE IIII . 114)ING
)eft to !tight: J. 31atirice hurt, Chairman of the /Sulldisig tonuilitter;
ire ti. itaufmtm, i'r•aidesil of Ilse I' ungrocatluit; SAUL* 1:11illor, CUD
trketur ; 4.6bb. it. llMUrlip, l'Yeabakera,
With Ube los mid sign* ut tio. Luntruet fur trt 411801/00 ut the
Cungleguttuil aid COMA' "All •
/synagogue ut the Nurtisiternet
aunt& of
o
rearnatur, Charles dlige*
$iletso1,
ti that misiditho
Boast wie uu
1 1 49444' bat' IMO 8144e4voll by few ii:Cr iructivitIMI

•

Friday, February 8, 1946

Anfenger Elected Head
Of Jewish Hospital

SEGAL AUX. PLANS DONOR
The Molly Segal Auxiliary of

Detroit Jewish Consumptive Relief
Society of Denver, Colorado will
hold its Annual Donor Luncheon
Tuesday, May 28 at the. Riviera
Auditorium, Joy Road and Grand
River.
The chairman of the affair is
Mrs. Greenfield, 2740 Grand Ave.,
TO. 8-6020, and tickets can be ob-
tained from her.

MILTON L. ANFENGER

DENVER — Milton L. Anfenger,
Denver attorney and civic leader,
has been elected president of the
National Jewish Hospital at Den-
ver by the Board of Trustees. He
succeeds Alfred Triefus, who re-
signed after serving as president
eight years.
Mr. Anfenger is the sixth presi-
dent of the institution since 1899,
when it was opened by Bnai Brith
to provide free service to the tu-
berculous poor on a nation-wide,
non-sectarian basis.

GETS SCHOLARSHIP

A scholarship to Wayne Univer-
sity was awarded by the Board of
Education to Sarray Finkelstein,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. Fin-
kelstein, of Lawrence Ave.

atim
SMART
alma DURABLE

atway4COMFORTABLE
aeleara HE BEST

Tailored
to the

Individual
Car

The Crest Company

* 5756 CASS AVE. *
MA. 2747 * NEAR PALMER

FREDSON'S

KOSHER
Restaurant and Dining Room

UNEXCELLED FOOD

Air Conditioned—Open 24 Hours
Pi-hate Dining Room for Parties

12017 DEXTER BLVD.
NOrthlawn 9786

50th Anniversary

1896

1946

VICTORY MILITARY BALL

Department of Michigan

JEWISH WAR VETERANS

of the United States
SATURDAY EVE., FEB. 23, 1946
Drill Hall, Masonic Temple — goo (Tax Incl.)
Dancing — Valuable Prizes

Music by

PAUL LEASH

For Tickets Call TR. 1.8899

rhrttlres

Ten Quality Drug Stores

Flaw Building

MAdison 5384

Health and Beauty
Need the Same Attention

9801 Linwood at Rodman;

T Yier 4.8465

19181 Grand Rivit
Rosedale Park

REA( ord 6900

Almost everyone gut.s to a doctor at
the first nun of clanger to health.

Neigh at Atkinson

TOwnsend 8 - 4200

;Jut so few realize that this rule
thould apply to appearances too.

McNichols at Thitd

UNiveiwy 1-1 311

004 Whitney Olds.

kAndolph 0540

Cosmetics cannot make up fur the
lack of radiant glow of health in
the skin, or the gleam of eagerness
in the rye that indicates abundant
bita ► ti. T h e one Ism thing to do
whop look. are nut up to par is to
ere yp r physician last

111 haw Roost
cepa. nuns

Nlosiolo 3453

15/84E. Walton

Cuomo P. hub

LEnos '2500
19116 Listosog As. aHl ■
Uritc 44110 Read

3.421/

#.406494

“4141.01

UN,r1,4111V

4 104

PROF ISSIONAL

•

lie

probabh do ouch tut )uo.

y FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS

