Friday, January 3, 1964—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS-24
Zangwill's Genius Recalled on Centennary of His Birth
(Continued from Page 1)
the•Hovevei Zion movement, and
mentioned others whom he ad-
vised Herzl to see. Zangwill, a
co-founder of the "Maccabeans,"
a society largely composed of the
'Jewish intelligentsia, also sent
invitations to its members whom
he wanted . to acquaint with
Herzl's ideas. The meeting took
place on Sunday, Nov. 23, 1895,
Under Zangwill's chairmanship.
This was Herzl's first Zionist
-meeting, and thus it came about
that modern Zionism was pro-
claimed to the whole world.
Israel Zangwill's father, Mo-
ses, an orthodox Jew, had ar-
rived in England from Latvia
as a young man. A glazier by
trade, he soon married. His son
Israel had two "birthdays"; his
father, who could speak only
Yiddish, stated at the end of
February that Israel was born
on Jan. 21. It is possible that
the Registrar misunderstood his
Yiddish-English and entered the
wrong date. Zangwill, however,
mentions in an article that his
birthday was on Feb. 14, 1864,
the date to which the Encyclo-
pedia Britannica also. adheres.
First a pupil, then a teacher,
at the Jews' Free School, Is-
rael Zangwill, like Herzl and
Nordau, showed early promise
of literary talent. His name be-
came well-known in England and
in the world after the publica-
tion of "Children of the Ghetto"
(1892), "Ghetto Tragedies"
(1893) and "The, King of Schnor-
rers" (1894). He published a
regular humorous column, en-
titled "Mormour and Charoseth"
in the weekly Jewish Standard,
writing under the pseudonym
"Marshallik." Another contribu-
tor was Naphtali Herz Imber,
author of "Hatikvah," whom
Zangwill immortalized in the
character of Melchitzedek Pin-
chas in "Children of the
Ghetto," and whose Hebrew
song, Mishmar Hayarden" ("The
Watch on the Jordan") he
translated into English. Zang-
well may have sympathized with
the Hovevei Zion movement,
but he took no active part in
it.
In July 1896 Herzl paid an-
other trip to London and ad-
dressed the "Maccabeans,"
once more under Zangwill's
chairmanship. Herzl was no
longer a stranger to London
and his name was often quoted
in the British press. Zangwill
gave the first interview on
Herzl in the Sunday Times,
and the Daily Graphic pub-
lished an article about him,
reporting that "Dr. Herzl has
found a desciple in Mr. Zang-
will."
In April 1897, the Hovevei
Zionist Herbert Bentwich—in-
spired by Herzl's fervor and
charm—organized a "Maccabean
Pilgrimage" to Palestine. Zang-
will joined the first pilgrimage
and, in Jerusalem, visited his
father, a man of great piety,
who died there in 1908. Zang-
will traveled all over the Holy
Land, addressing meetings and,
after his return to London, pub-
lished his impressions of Pales-
tine.
Herzl invited Zangwill to at-
tend the first Zionist Congress
in Basle in 1897 and his name
enhanced the prestige of the
Congress. Actually, he went to
Basle to write a chapter for
his novel, "Dreamer of the
Ghetto" (1898), but it seems
strange that he, renowned both
as a thinker and orator, should
not once have addressed the
Congress. He confined himself
to watching the proceedings
and kept silent. Not until the
end of the Congress did he al-
low himself to be carried away.
in the burst of applaUse. "Zang-
will was the greatest . cheerer
in the whole room," a London
delegate reported later.
Herzl's acquaintance with Nor-
dau was of historical significance
for Zionism. The third to join
forces with Herzl was Zang-
ageously and fearlessly—in his
own characteristic manner —
frequently adding satirical com-
ments and critical observations.
He became renowned as a
spokesman for Zionism and the
British press published what he
said.
He was no respecter of
wealth or rank. His wit was
as incisive as a knife and he
often used both tragic and en-
tertaining anecdotes to make
his point. He divided anti-Zion-
ists into three groups; apes
(assimilationists), donkeys
(Jews who were waiting for the
coming of the Messiah), and
foxes (Jews who wanted to
"liberate mankind").
Herzl and Zangwill met fre-
quently and also corresponded.
Zangwill's name often appears
in Herzl's diaries, sometimes
under the pseudonyms of Bern-
stein, Klesmer, Weissmann and
Zang. Zangwill tried, though in
vain, to bring about a meeting
between Lord Nathan, Meyer
Rothchild and Herzl. He then
invited Lady Battersea, Lord
Rothchild's cousin, to his flat
and Herzl explained the meaning
of Zionism to her. Both she and
Lady Rothchild became Zionists,
but Lord Rothchild himself re-
fused to receive Herzl. Not un-
til 1902 did the two men meet
and their friendship was to be-
come a blessing for Zionism.
In November 1901, a reception
for Zangwill took place in the
exclusive "Article Club". Poli-
ticians, high civil servants, gen-
erals and writers were present
and listened to Zangwill the
Zionist. Lord Suffield, who was
in the chair, explained that he
was a friend of Zionist aspira-
tions. In his address on the
"Commercial Future of Pales-
tine", Zangwill described the
country as it had been in the
past and how he envisaged it in
the future when it would be re-
turned to the Jews. "Give the
country without people to the
people without a country",
Zangwill entreated, and this slo-
gan was to travel all around the
world. Zangwill was followed
by G. B. Shaw who said that
there was only one remedy for
the persecution of the Jews, the
establishment of a Jewish State
which command universal re-
spect.
Zangwill was a political Zion-
ist. He could see the "treeless
and arid" land as well as the
"beauty and fertility of Pales-
tine, glowing still in its ashes".
He warned of difficulties, both
internal and external; at one
moment he would be an optimist;
soon after a pessimist. He hoped
that Russian Jewry would go to
Palestine but at the same time
he was haunted by the Biblical
saying: "Pharaoh would not let
the people go". For Zangwill,
the "Pharaoh" was Russia.
His speech on the "Millions
of the JCA" created a sensa-
tion at the fifth Zionist Congress,
held in Basle in 1901. Baron
Hirsch had bequeathed millions
to the Jewish Colonisation As-
sociation and Zangwill demand-
ed that the JCA should also use
these funds for settling Russian
Jews in Palestine. "Give the
millions without a purpose to the
(Zionist) purpose without the
millions", Zangwill appealed.
The next Zionist Congress,
in 1903, was the Uganda Con-
gress. Even before the vote
on East Africa was taken,
Zangwill delivered a speech
on "Zionism and charitable'in-
stitutions." He believed that
"at least part" of the funds
and activities of the JCA and
other institutions of this kind
should be extended to include
Palestine. He was interrupted
almost 40 times—by enthu-
siastic applause. There was
nothing to indicate that Zang-
will, the fervent Zionist, would
ever change
When Herzl first reported on
Englanru.s offer of East Africa
;
, f"
Tschlenow, the Russian Zionist
leader, was so deeply moved that
he made a "Sheheheyanu".
Chaim Weizmann, too, originally
took a positive view of the East
Africa offer. But the jubilation
of the first wonder was followed
by a sober reassessment and
both Weizmann and Tschlenow
became outspoken opponents of
the scheme. Not so Zangwill.
After Herzl had, on behalf of the
Jews, thanked England for the
offer irrespective of whether it
was accepted or not—Zangwill
arose and called for "Three
cheers for England." The min-
utes record: "The Congress a-
g r e e d enthusiastically. A p -
plause for several minutes. Hats
are raised and handkerchiefs
waved. The meeting rises to its
feet." Though he did not actually
take part in the East Africa de-
bate, it was soon known in Basle
that Zangwill was one of the
most fervent supporters of the
project.
Before the conclusion of the
Congress, Lucien Wolf, the
well-known anti-Zionist, h a d
published a letter in the Times
expressing himself against a
"Polish Ghetto" in East Africa
and asking England to withdraw
her offer. Haham Dr. Gaster also
protested against it from the
Zionist point of view; he wanted
Jewish colonization nowhere
else but in Palestine. Zangwill
led the fight for E. Africa. The
Times favored Lucien Wolf,
writing that should Jewish col-
onisation„ in East Africa succeed,
this would only encourage the
Zionists to press their claims
to Palestine.
The Russian pogroms, partic-
ularly in Kishinev, had made a
deep impression on Zangwill.
For him East Africa was the
half-way house to Zion, a terri-
tory where the homeless Jews
could gather and prepare them-
selves for their subsequent mi-
gration to Eretz Israel. He like-
ned Palestine to a high chair
which could only be attained by
means of a low stool—East Af-
rica.
When Weizmann was in Lon-
don in October 1903, he had a
lengthy conversation with
Zangwill. In a letter hitherto
unpublished, Weizmann re-
ports that he told Zangwill:
"You are a photographer of
the Ghetto, but not its psychol-
ogist". Weizmann was under
the impression that he had
persuaded Zangwill "to recon-
sider the matter before tak-
ing another step." But Weiz-
mann was wrong.
In the end, the report of the
East Africa expedition was un-
favorable and the 7th Zionist
Congress in 1905 rejected any
colonisation outside Palestine.
Following this, Zangwill was
treated with such hostility and
harshness that he felt compelled
German Poll Reveals Startling
Facts About Attitudes on Nazis
(Continued from Page 1)
One question shows political apathy on the part of a con-
siderable segment of the West German populace. Asked what
would be their attitude to a new Nazi party trying to come
to power, 18% said it would make no difference to them, while
12% did not bother to answer the question.
These are the figures for the question: "Assuming a new
Nazi party would try to come to power, what would be your
attitude?":
Would favor and support it
Would favor it but do nothing
specific
Makes no difference to me
Would be against it but do noth-
ing specific
Would do everything in my pow-
er to prevent it
No reply
June August June June July
1962
1959
1957
1958
1956
2
3
3
4
3
9
21
6
21
5
20
6
24
5
18
27
28
26
26
29
25
15
28
13
27
19
27
14
34
12
Another question asked was: "Who was really responsible
for the outbreak of the war in 1 939?" The answers were, in
percentages:
Germany
The other nations
Both sides
Prevailing conditions
International capitalism
Other answers
No answer
May
1955
43
14
15
3
5
1
19
June
1956
47
12
11
3
5
2
20
June
1959
50
11
10
3
5
2
19
July
1962
53
9
10
5
3
1
19
This table shows an increasing awareness over the years in
the Federal Republic of the Nazi responsibility for the last war.
The answers to the next question: "What was, in your
judgment, the reason for the German defeat?" show a similar
tendency, although to a lesser degree:
February December May
1959
1952
1952
40
32
Germany's weakness, strength of the enemy 28
15
23
26
Treason, sabotage
9
14
16
Wrong leadership, policies
11
13
13
Hitler's responsibility
6
6
8
Wrong war conduct
4
1
6
The Nazis
6
6
6
Internal discord
2
1
1
Persecution of Jews
2
10
11
Other reasons
9
10
14
No opinion
* The percentage of those who attribute defeat to treason or
sabotage dropped to almost one half between 1952 and 1959.
But the views that wrong leadership, the Nazi. Party or Hitler
were responsible for the defeat have become rarer in time.
It is not clear whether the conviction developed that the war
was dcided by the strength of the combatants or the white-
washing of Hitler and the Nazi Party grew.
The question: "Would you say that, without defeat in the
war, Hitler would have become one of the great German
statesmen?" provided the following answers:
May June June July June
1961
1960
1956
1959
1955
41
30
48
42
34
Yes
1
2
1
Yes, conditionally 2
42
43
36
43
38
No
22
26
17
14
18
No reply
July May
1963
1962
35
36
1
2
44
43
19
20
This indicates a drop in the number of those who regarded
Hitler "as a great statesman," although the percentage increased
somewhat between 1961 and 1963. At the same time the number
of those who had no view increased, probably because of the
numerical rise in the younger generation.
This question was supplemented by the query: "Which
great German did the most for Germany?". The answers were:
Bismarck
Adenauer
Hitler
Others
•
Jan. Aug. Nov. Jan. Sept. Jan. Oct. July May
1950 1952 1953 1955 1955 1956 1958 1962 1963
23
21
30
32
27
23
35
36
32
_
15
24
26
28
28
3
9
17
4
5
8
4
9
7
6
10
9
46
41
47
45
52
50
46
47
55
While Adenauer's popularity increased at the expense of
Bismarck, Hitler's showed a practically constant decrease.
These figures leave the question open as to whether the
"careful" are those with a Nazi taint or others. Knowledge of
to resign. Had he not received
such unfriendly treatment from
this Congress, he might have
remained in the Z. 0. Zangwill
then founded the Jewish Ter-
ritorial Organization (JTO) for
the purpose of acquiring land
for the Jews in East Africa or
elsewhere. Many anti-Zionists
and Zionists joined the JTO,
among them Lucien Wolf in Lon-
don and, later, Haham Dr. Gas-
ter.
Zangwill was looking for a
JTO land. A people without land,
without an ambassador or even
a consul, he felt, was at the
mercy of all other peoples. He
tried to find a suitable territory
in Australia, Angola, and in Cy-
renaica, and set up a Jewish Im-
migrants' Information Bureau
in Galveston, Texas. Though
success often seemed near, the
JTO never triumphed. While
there were frequent and serious
conflicts between the Z. 0. and
the JTO, it must be acknowledg-
ed that thousands of Jews were
able to leave Europe thanks to
the JTO. Their timely emigra-
tion meant that their decendants
were saved from the Nazis.
The debate on territorialism
aroused the interest of a number
of British and other statesmen
who came to favor Zionism.
Lord Balfour, Churchill and
General Smuts were at first
territorialists, but later called
themselves Zionists. Fleet Street
regarded Zangwill as a Zionist,
in spite of his presidency of the
JTO. "Punch Almanack" pub-
lished a cartoon of Zangwill, en-
titled "Lord Zion", and "London
Opinion" described him as the
"Prince of Zionists".
When the first World War
broke out and Turkey came in
on the central powers, H. G.
Wells published a letter to
Zangwill in the Daily Chron-
icle asking: "And now, what is
to prevent the Jews having
Palestine and restoring a real
Judea?" Memories of Herzl,
of El Arish and East Africa
were revived and there was
a presentiment that the his-
torical moment for political
Zionism was not far away.
Zangwill too recognized the
possibility of Palestine now
being restored to the Jews and
he was one of the few who had
the courage to give public sup-
port to Jabotinsky's efforts to
create a Jewish Legion. Zang-
will sent a message of good
will to Col. John H. Patter-
son, the Commanding Officer
of the Jewish Legion, and he
replied: "Pray with me that
I should not only, as Moses
`behold Canaan from afar' but
be divinely permitted to lead
you into the Promised Land".
In 1917 a "reconciliation" be-
tween Zangwill and Weizmann
took place and at the grand cel-
ebration of the Balfour Declara-
tion on Dec. 2, 1917, under Lord
Rothchild's chairmanship, held
at the London Opera House,
Zangwill was one of the speak-
ers. One of the members of the
"Zionist Commission", which
went to Palestine in March 1917
under Weizmann's leadership,
was Dr. David Eder, the repre-
sentative of the JTO and a rela-
tion of Zangwill who later joined
the Zionist Executive. Gradual-
ly, the JTO's activities came to
an end in 1925 and it was offi-
cially dissolved. After the Bal-
four Declaration, Zangwill, who
always commented on Zionist af-
fairs, called for a radical and
courageous Zionist policy. He
criticized E n g 1 a n d, Herbert
Samuel and Chaim Weizmann
and warned of the dangers be-
setting Jewish Palestine.
One year after the liquidation
of the JTO, Israel Zangwill died
on Aug. 1, 1926, at the age of
62. He was a child of the Ghetto,
a Zionist visionary who always
strove to serve his people. He
is recognized to this day as An-
glo-Jewry's greatest writer who
enriched both Zionist history