Pope Paul Calls
•
for Jews to Join
in New Dialogue

_Berthold Feiwel: Tribute to Zionist Leader
Zionists for the upbuilding

By Dr. N. M. Gelber
Dec. 28 marked the 25th anni-
versary of the death of Dr.
Berthold Feiwel, a trusted as-
sistant of Dr. Theodor Herzl and
(Continued from Page 1)
a close friend of Dr. Chaim Weiz-
that of the Old Testament. Then
to the adorers of God according mann, a poet, writer and jour-
nalist, an economist and a man
to the conception of monotheism,
of action.
the Moslem religion especially, de-
serving our admiration for all that
Moravian Jewry which, de-
is true and good in their worship spite some assimilationist ten-
of God, and also to the followers
dencies at the end of the 19th
of the great Afro-Asiatic religions.
century, was generally steeped
in Jewish culture and tradition,
"Obviously, we cannot share
gave the Jewish national move-
these various forms of religion,
nor can we remain indifferent to ment some outstanding leaders.
To the inner circle of Herzl's
the fact that each of them, in its
intimate disciples and helpmates
own way, should regard itself as
belonged Berthold F e i w e 1, a
being equal of any other and could
young Moravian Jew with excep-
authorize its followers not to try
tional literary talents. Born in
to discover the perfect and defini-
1875 at Pohrlitz, he was the son
tive form, free of all error, which
of a well-to-do merchant who,
God has revealed as that in which
following the general trend of
He wishes to be known, loved and
served. Indeed, loyalty requests us that time, strove to strike roots
in the Austro-German culture
to declare openly our conviction
that there is only one true reli- without becoming estranged from
gion — that of Christianity. It is Jewish values.
While attending the "Gym-
our hope that all who seek God
nasium" at Bruenn, Feiwel as-
and adore Him may come to
sociated with Jewish students
acknowledge its truth.
and intellectuals like Max
"But we do nevertheless recog-
Hickel — who afterwards pub-
nize and respect the moral and
lished the first Jewish weekly
spiritual values of the various non-
in Moravia called "Juedische
Christian religions, and we desire
Volksstimme" — and Robert
to join with them in promoting
Stricker, leader of Austrian
and defending common ideals of
Jewry and perished in a Nazi
religious liberty, human brother-
concentration camp.
hood, good culture, social welfare
As an undergraduate of the
and civil order. For our part, we
University of Vienna Berthold
are ready to enter into discussion
Feiwel came in touch with the
on these common ideals, and will
first Zionist students associations
not fail to take the initiative where
"Kadimah" and "Unitas". He
our offer of discussion in genuine
took an active part in the flour-
mutual respect would be well re-
ishing literary and artistic life
ceived."
of Vienna, in which Jews played
prominent roles. Theodor Herzl
Referring to the need for a dia-
himself enlisted him for the
logue between the Catholic Church
Zionist Organization. Feiwel's
and non-Christian religions, and
asserting that that is a role which special field of activity were the
communities of Moravia and Bo-
-the Church "must take up with
hernia where he founded a great
renewed fervor today," the Pope
number of Zionist associations.
quoted from two books of the Old
He was also instrumental in pre-
Testament — Jeremiah and Psalms
— to the effect that "we must beg paring the First Zionist Congress.
Herzl recognised Feiwel's lit-
the Lord for the great and uplift-
erary abilities and appointed him
ing gift of speech" and "to enable
editor of "Die Welt". It was
our words to reach out to the ends
Feiwel's -editorial policy that the
of the earth." "The Church," he
affirm, "must be ever ready to paper should not only be the
political organ and mouthpiece
carry on the dialogue with all men
of Zionism but also pay atten-
of good will, within and without
tion to Jewish culture. He was
its own sphere."
the first to discover for Western
Jews the Jewish masses of East-
ern Europe and their spiritual
treasures. Himself a poet of dis-
By RABBI A. ALAN STEINBACH
tinction, he made excellent trans-
While Abraham was seated at lations of Yiddish poems into
the door of his tent—so the story German.
goes in our Rabbinic literature—
Feiwel held that Zionism
he spied an old man in the dis-
should not limit itself to the
tance. In accordance with his char-
political sphere, but that a full
acteristic hospitality, Abraham ran
Jewish national renaissance
forward to meet him and invited
could not be achieved by poli-
him to partake of food. Abraham
tical means alone. Under the
was shocked when he saw the vis-
impact of the writings of Ahad
itor break bread and eat the food
Haam and his acquaintance
without first offering a prayer to
with Jewish students from
God. Thinking it might be merely
Russia Feiwel arrived at the
an oversight, he waited to see if
conclusion that the Zionist Or-
the stranger would offer prayer
ganization should also engage
after the meal. When Abraham
in economic, cultural a n d
noticed there was no prayer, he
political activities in the coun-
asked the stranger for an explana-
tries of Jewish settlement, in
tion. The latter explained that he
what he called "Gegenwartsar-
was a fire worshipper and did not
beit" — coining a new term
believe in God. This incensed
which became widely used.
Abraham, and forthwith he drove
The first Austrian Zionist Con-
the visitor from his tent.
ference in Olmuetz in March
When the stranger had departed,
1901 gave him a chance to ex-
God called to Abraham and asked, pound his ideas. Like many other
"Why did you drive the stranger Zionists he was of the opinion
out?" "Why," replied Abraham in that the "Basle Program" was
a tone of self-righteousness, "I in need not only of interpreta-
drove him out because he did not tion and clarification, but also
acknowledge Thee ." Thereupon of elaboration and amplification.
God rebuked him with these poig- This speech at the Olmuetz Con-
nant words: "He was an old man, ference gave rise to a stormy
and although he was an idol wor- discussion in which his main op-
shipper I was tolerant with him ponent was Dr. Joseph Klausner.
during all the years of his life.
The "Democratic Faction" of
Could you not have tolerated him which both Feiwel and Klausner
under your roof for just one were members, adapted Feiwel's
night?" Filled with remorse, Abra- program but replaced the term
ham ran after the stranger and
"Gegenwartsarbeit" (work at the
begged him to return.
present time) with "palliative
work".
Michigan has the second longest
Feiwel was perhaps the only
shoreline of any state in the na- Western Zionist whose concept
tion — 3,288 miles. This includes of Zionism closely resembled
1,056 miles of island shore.
that of the Russian and Polish
Zionists. He was a good orator
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
who was at his best in discus-
sions and controversies. When
12 Friday, August 14, 1964

On Tolerance

the Zionist students of Geneva,
led by Weizmann, were chal-
lenged to a public debate with
the Russian revolutionaries head-
ed by Plekhanow, Weizmann in-
vited Feiwel to take part in the
discussion because he appreci-
ated the simple and persuasive
manner of his rhetoric art.
After the 5th Zionist Con-
gress at which Feiwel had
joined the opposition against
Herzl, he went to Berlin and
became, with Ephraim Lilien
and Davis Trietsch, a co-found-.
er of the "Juedischer Verlag"
whose object was the dissemi-
nation of Jewish cultural val-
ues. At his initiative the
famous "Jewish Almanac" was
published. Among its contribu-
tors were leading Yiddish and
Hebrew writers, Israel Zang-
will and Herzl himself.
During his stay in Berlin
Feiwel, together with Weizmann
and Martin Buber, worked out
the project of a Hebrew Univer-
sity and brought out a special
booklet on the subject which met
with wide response among the
Zionist intelligentsia. After the
pogrom of Kishinev Feiwel went
to investigate matters on the
spot. The result was a book en-
titled "The Anti-Jewish Riots of
Kishinev," brought out by the
"Juedischer Verlag" and illus-
trated by Lilien. It was an in-
dictment of the cruelty of the
pogromists and of the callous-
ness of the authorities and an
appeal to the conscience of the
world. Feiwel reported on the
general situation of the Jews in
Bessarabia, described relations
between the Jews and the non-
Jewish population and empha
sized that the pogroms had not
come as a spontaneous outbreak
but only after careful prepara-
tion on part of the authorities
who had resorted to the blood
libel and incitement of the ig-
norant masses.
When the seat of the Central
Zionist Office was in Cologne
Feiwel worked for some time in
the Secretariat of the World
Zionist Organisation and tempo-
rarily resumed his work in "Die
Welt". In 1910 he returned to
Berlin to become a free-lance

writer. After the 11th Zionist
Congress in Basle Feiwel sus-
pended his Zionist work and
settled in Strassburg where he
engaged in building and bank-
ing activities, which were his
previous successful spheres of
activity.
During World War I he settled
in Zurich and again became
closely associated with Zionist
work and with the Zionist Com-
mittee at The Hague, headed by
Dr. Julius Simon, his former
business partner in Strassburg.
In 1917 he submitted a
memorandum on the future of
Zionist political work in vari-
ous countries to Dr. Simon and
to Dr. Tchlenow. He favored
an international solution on
the future of Eretz Israel, be-
cause he thought that a British
Protectorate over Palestine
would encounter the jealous
opposition of France and Italy
which also had interests in the
Middle East.
After the Armistice • Feiwel
was invited to come to London
to head the Central Zionist Bu-
reau, since Weizmann relied on
his advice in political matters.
When the Keren Hayesod was
founded in 1920, Feiwel was ap-
pointed its first managing direc-
tor, a post that he filled for six
years. He set this fund on sound
foundations and, in cooperation
with Dr. Arthur Ruppin, expand-
ed its activities. As Weizmann's
adviser he furthered the estab-
lishment of the "Enlarged Jew-
ish Agency," because he was con-
vinced that the time had come
to enroll the support of non-

of
Eretz Israel.
During the crisis in the rela-
tions with American Zionism he
used his influence to avoid an
open breach with Louis D. Bran-
deis. He was nicknamed "The
Grey Eminence of Zionism,"
working behind the scenes, be-
cause he shunned the limelight
and had no personal ambitions.
His highest aspiration was the
maintenance of peace within the
movement and the abatement of
inter-party tension.
After the transfer of the head-
quarters of the Keren Hayesod
to Jerusalem in 1926 Feiwel was
appointed director of the Jewish
Colonial Trust. When this insti-
tution was visited by a grave
crisis Feiwel was wrongly made
responsible for it. Depressed by
unjust accusations and a sick
man, he tendered his resigna-
tion in 1932 and settled in Safed.
He withdrew from all public ac-
tivities and devoted himself en-
tirely to literary work. After a
prolonged illness he died on
Dec. 28, 1937.

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