Friday, April 26, 1957 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS-2

Purely Commentary

Hilaire Belloc's Reputation for
Anti-Semitism; Chesterton and the
Jews; Catholic Attitudes on Israel

Sir Max Beerbohm, the noted essayist, said
of Hilaire Belloc, upon the death of the eminent
Catholic writer, that "he wasn't merely a man
of genius; he was a man of many geniuses."
Readers of "The Life of Hilaire Belloc," the
authorized biography by Robert Speaight, pub-
lished by Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, will concur
in this tribute. Belloc was a distinguished
writer, an able poet, a man whose opinions were
reckoned with—in politics, in historical ana-
lyses.
But his anti-Semitic tendencies remain to
mar a career of eminence. His biographer
presents all the facts, which must lead the
readers of Belloc's life's story to the conclusion-'
that antagonism to Jews motivated many of his
attitudes.
True: in the latter portion of his book
Speaight seeks to leave the impression that
Belloc "had many Jewish friends; and his
desire was constant—ghat Israel may have
peace. ' " Speaight writes that Belloc was sad-
dened by the views of Jewish critics that his
book "The Jews" was anti-Semitic. It is dif-
ficult, however, to arrive at any other conclu-
sion. The earlier portions of "the authorized
biography" certainly add to such an impression.
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Two men in the first decades of this cen-
tury played destructive roles in their attitudes
towards Jews: Hilaire Belloc and Gilbert K.
Chesterton. They were coreligionists, close
friends, alike in their unshaken anti-Jewish-
ness.
At the very outset, the biographer informs
us that his mother "could not awaken in Hilaire
any deep attachment to the Hebrew Scrip-
tures." We learn, about Hilaire's youth, with
reference to a letter he wrote to Father Russell
on Holy Saturday, 1889:
"The anti-Semitic germ which he had
caught from French nationalism (the College
Stanislas with its scions of the great military
families must have been full of it) has already
been deep, and the letter reveals a temper little
suited to the rhythm of English politics. One.
feels the itch for the levee en masse, the Tri-
color' and the barricades."
Hilaire .. Belloc's deep hatreds are revealed
especially during the Dreyfus Affair. He was
revolted by Emile Zola. He despised Dreyfus.
expanded. Let his
Ins anti-Semitic =
biographer, Robert Speaight, relate it:
"Belloc's reputation for anti-Semitism was
tO dog him till the end of his life. . . Already,
at Oxford, he was incredulous that one of his
closest friends should have been in love with
a Jewess. But what labelled him in the public
eye as an anti-Semite was unquestionably his
attitude to the great affaire. When he wrote that
his point of view was shared by 'ninety-nine
Frenchmen out of a hundred' and in particular
by the 3,000,000 soldiers who were actually
serving in the Army, or composed its Reserve;
when he claimed that there was a greater
`percentage of men iri Pittsburg today who
sympathized with the Spanish cause in Cuba
than you could find in Paris who entertain any
doubt of Dreyfus' guilt' ; when he maintained
that of the men who signed the petition for
the retrial only Anatole France was 'a man of
reputation and well-received' ; when he as-
serted that the agitation for a retrial was
dictated by a small minority in control of the
money-power—when he argued thus, he was
plainly repeating the catch-cries and echoing
the prejudices of those Frenchmen among
whom he moved and whose general outlook
he shared. He boasted that his forebearers had
served in the armies of France before the
Revolution, and he. could not understand how
the word of a man like Zola, who was hardly
received in polite society, could be taken
against the considered verdict of seven honor-
able judges. He pointed out the great peril
to national security of disclosing the nature of
the document Dreyfus was said to have be-
trayed and the name of the power to whom he
was believed to have betrayed it. A state of
`bold' war existed between France and Ger-
many, and if open hostilities were to break
out again, France must choose the moment
rnost propitious for her military chances.
"This reasoning was set out in an article
in the Pittsburg Post (March 1898) and Belloc
repeated the gist of it in 'The Cruise of the
"Nona" '. He was not a man who easily changed
his mind. Time has established the innocence
of Dreyfus beyond any reasonable doubt, but it
has also established a distinction between
Dreyfus and the Dreyfusards. Belloc was
grossly unjust when he spoke of Dreyfus as
`an officer with the worst of records.' On the
contrary, Dreyfus had nothing against him but
the reputation of being something of a bore
and of occasionally frequenting houses of ill-
fame. If this last were to be regarded as a
military offense, the armies of Europe would
quickly be deprived of their effectives. But
Belloc was certainly right in seeing that many
of the Dreyfusards were actuated by less than
a pure love of justice. They did want to weaken
the Army; they did want to destroy the Church.

U there was prejudice on one side, there was

By Philip
Slomovitz

Israel Military Attache to Speak
May 5 at Independence Celebration.
Marking Israel's Ninth Anniversary

also prejudice on the other. Where Belloc did
himself infinite harm was in not seeing, or
Col. Katriel P. Salmon, Mili- dresses by leaders of Detroit
in not coming later to admit, that the great tary Attache of the Embassy of Jewish community organiza-
principle of fiat justitia ruat caelum was at Israel in Washington, will be the tions.
stake; and that this principle, which has always keynote speaker of the Detroit
been the pride of Liberalism, was one that Jewish community's celebration Eban's First Book Rushed
every Christian should be proud to make his of the ninth anniversary of Is- for Israel's Anniversary
own. The Dreyfus case brought out into the rael's Independence Sunday,
Abba Eban, Ambassador to
open those contradictions in Belloc's political May 5, 8:15 p.m., in the Mum- the United States, has finished
philosophy which made some people regard ford High School Auditorium.
his first book, "Voice of Israel,"
him as a radical and others as a reactionary.
The annual celebration is
It made them wonder how disinterested was sponsored by the Joint Commit- which is being rushed for pub-
his search for truth when, in this capital in- tee of the Jewish Community lication by Horizon Press, New
stance, it was so manifestly impaired by pre- Council and the Zionist Council York, on Israel Independence,
judice."
Day- , May 6.
of Detroit.
*
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*
"Voice of Israel" opens with a
Col. Salmon, a veteran of the
This, as indicated, is "an authorized bio Israeli War of Independence, glance eight years back to the
graphy." Robert Speaight writes as an intimate was born in Jerusalem and has first day of Israel's Independ-
friend of Belloc. He had gotten data for the served in various military ad- ence. Eban continues by survey-.
book for him. It is most interesting, therefore, visory capacities in the Israeli ing all that has befallen his na-
that he should be so critical of him. That diplomatic corp. An expert on tion since then. In a year-by-
speaks well for Speaight's objective approaches. military science and desert war- year examination of Israel's for-
Nevertheless, exception. must- be _taken to sev- fare, Col. Salmon combines tunes at times of historic deci-
eral of his comments.
first-hand knowledge of Israel's sion, - the Ambassador reveals
In the first place, the charge that Dreyfus defense problems with up-to- Israel's position on security in
had. frequented houses of ill-fame was dis- the-minute briefing on diplo- the Middle East; on the Arab
proven. On the contrary, he emerged as a man matic strategy in the continuing refugee problem; on Jerusalem
who lived a good life and was loyal to wife Middle East unrest.
and the Holy Places; on the
and children.
The Detroit Israel Anniver- Suez Canal; on border clashes
Then there is Speaight's observation that sary celebration will include and their remedy; on American-
Dreyfusards wanted to weaken the Army and special musical and dramatic Israel relations; and on the un-.
destroy the Church. We question the fairness presentations to tell the story of derlying factors in the conflict
of these assertions. Clemenceau may have been the building of the new State. between Israel and the Arab
anti-religious, but he certainly was not dis- In addition, there will be ad- Empire.
loyal, and an effort to weaken the army would
have meant disloyalty. This applies to the
■
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other Dreyfusards. Zola himself was disinter-
ested in the case, and only when he learned of
Boris Smolar's
Dreyfus' innocence did he make it his life's
aim to help 'free him, thereby sacrificing his
own career, being compelled to go into exile
in England, abandoning income and an op-
portunity to continue to advance his literary
ambitions.
Indeed Dreyfus and the Dreyfusards did
(Copyright, 1957,
not click; Dreyfus surely was a bore—but he
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
was hardly worse. It is now admitted that if
he were not Dreyfus he would be an anti- United Nations Reflections:
There is not much love lost between the Israel government
Dreyfusar•. What was involved, however, was
not the man, but a principle, and his defenders and United Nations Secretary General Dag Ham_maskjold. Mrs.
Golda Meir, Israel's Foreign Minister, makes -no secret of it.
stood for a principle.
*
*
*
She openly criticizes Hammarskjold for being too lenient toward
A bit later in his biography, Speaight re- Egypt in matters affecting Israel. Hammarskjold, on the other
turns to the subject of Dreyfus with these ad- hand, feels he was snubbed by Israel during his recent visit to
Cairo. He expected to proceed from Cairo to Israel, but the
ditional facts:
"Dean Inge would later reproach Belloc Israel government gave him the cold shoulder by not inviting
with being the only man in England who did him to come. Hammarskjold's appearance at the annual meeting
not take the side of the accused. Belloc replied of the American Jewish Committee last week came, therefore,
that he knew at least half a dozen prominent as a surprise to many. Zionists felt that Hammarskjold should
Englishmen, qualified to judge, who remained not have been invited by the American Jewish Committee. They
in doubt of Dreyfus' innocence. Notable among thought his appearance before a Jewish organization may be con-
those were Lotd Russel of Killowen and Henry sidered as "whitewashing" him of charges made against him by
Labouchere. Belloc admitted that of those Israel. However, the Committee felt it was an honor to have the
among his intimate acquaintance who were on - UN Secretary General address its 50th anniversary meeting.
the spot and competent to give an opinion, a Especially since this was the first time that Hammarskjold had
majority were for the innocence of Dreyfus; agreed to appear at a Jewish gathering. Hammarskjold himself
but for himself (writing in 1925) he pretended took the risk of being criticized by the Arabs for addressing a
`to no certain conclusion in the matter.' One public gathering of Jewish leaders. This explains why he de-
thing, however, he always maintained: that voted most of his speech to the problem of human rights and
the vindication of Dreyfus, by destroying the carefully avoided touching upon the Arab-Israel issue, except
French Intelligence Bureau, had permitted the to praise the kibbutzim in Israel.
German surprise on Mons and Charleroi in
1914, and thus tragically prolonged the Great Like Father, Like Son:
The number of Reform rabbis whose fathers are also Reform
War."
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rabbis is growing in this country. This interesting fact is brought
In a letter -on March 19, -1932, with ref- out by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, which is
erence to the Irish problem, criticizing the posi- holding its 44th biennial convention next week in Toronto. Very
tion taken by members of the old Catholic few people know, for instance, that Rabbi Abba. Hillel Silver's
families in England, Belloc said: "During the son, Daniel, is also . a rabbi. The same is true of Rabbi Barnett R.
whole of the Irish struggle they sided with the Brickner, of Cleveland, whose son, Balfour Brickner, is a rabbi
vilest form of Protestant hostility to the Cath- in Washington. The son of • RabbiSamuel Wohl, of Cincinnati,
olic culture, during the whole of the Dreyfus graduates this year of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Insti-
struggle they sided with the filth of Zola and tute of Religion. Rabbi Mordecai Soloff of ''Los Angeles, known
the anti-Catholic Freemasons . . " And his for his religious . textbooks, has a son, 'Ray, who is, a rabbi in
Newark, N. J. The two brothers,. Rabbis Abraham Rose and
biographer comments:
"It is really desperate to find Belloc, in Morris Rose, each have a son—David and Herbert—who have
1932, still unable to see the innocence of Drey- been ordained as rabbis. Another son of Rabbi Abraham Rose,
fus through the smoke of his more unsavory Emanuel, will become a rabbi this June. Rabbi Ernest I. Jacob,
of Springfield, Miss., has his son Walter as chaplain in the Air
supporters."
*
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Force. Rabbi Julius Kerman, of Natches, Miss., had his son Daniel
Belloc is revealed as having "discoursed of serving as rabbi in Kilgore, Texas. Reform rabbis following in
the Jewish Peril." He drew repellent Jewish the footsteps of their lathers are: Dr. Jonah B. Wise, New York,
portraits in his "Emmanuel Burden," published son of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of American Reform
in 1904. In the discussion of the Marcni-Isaacs Judaism; Dr. James G. Heller, who is the son of the late Rabbi
case, Speaight comes to Belloc's defense and Maximilian Heller of New Orleans; Rabbis Samuel S. Mayerberg,
to disprove charges of "atavistic anti-Semitism" of Kansas City; David Zielonka, of Tampa; Joseph Weiss, of
made against him. The major defense is made Neponsit, N. Y.; Solomon Kaplan, Chataqua, N. Y.; Elkan Voor-
sanger and Alfred Barnston, both of San Francisco; and several
when the biographer states:
"Belloc was not unsympathetic to Zionism. others.
*
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Palestine was the natural home of the Jew,
Lingual
Culture:
Bi
and his presence there in increasing numbers
The Yiddish Scientific Institute-Yivo deserves much credit
offended no civil right. He bought his land
at a high price, and Belloc could find no evi- for taking the initiative in publishing the works of the great
dence' of coercion put upon the native farmer. Jewish writer I. L. Peretz in a bi-lingual edition: the original
His superior skill was tapping new sources of Yiddish faced on opposite pages with an English translation. The
power, light, transpOrt, and mineral produc- translation is by Prof. Sol. Liptzin, who also provides an ex-
tions. Through Jewish money, the British had cellent analysis, in English, of Peretz' personality and the spirit
built the harbor of Haifa, which was the only reflected in his writings. Many American Jews have heard much
modern and secure port in the Eastern Levant about Peretz—there is even a square in New York named for him
between the Turkish boundary and Alexandria. —but they have no opportunity to read him, since very few of
It was also the only one capable of fortifica- his works have been translated into English. They will have their
tions. But in improving the country the Jew chance to appreciate him now, by reading the bi-lingual edition
was coming to dominate it. The position was, of his selected -works. They will be able to understand why
therefore, unstable to a -dangerous degree. Peretz is immortal as a writer. The volume published by the
Belloc compared it to a Pyramid standing upon Yiddish Scientific Institute, addressed to the general reader, con-
its apex 'only prevented from falling if the na- tains primarily Peretz' folk tales which remain classics, and
tural effect of gravity is counteracted by some- Peretz' philosophic-al writings on the subject of Jews and Jewish.

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`Between You
and Me'

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