Hyde's 'Lord Reading': Fascinating Biography
Depicts Remarkable Career of Jurist, !Diplomat
2
H. Montgomery Hyde, British
historian of note and a member
of Parliament. admires Lord
Reading, the first Marquess of
Reading, who was b or n Rufus
Isaacs and had a turbulent ca-
reer. In his biography, "Lord
Reading." published by Farrar,
Straus and Giroux, he treats the
eminent English Jew not only with
respect but also with marked af-
fection.
Lord Reading, who rose from
Rufus Daniel Isaacs who was city
clerk, ship's boy, stockjobber on
Stock Exchange and was the first
British Jew to become attorney
general, lord chief justice, am-
bassador, viceroy and foreign sec-
retary; the first commoner to be-
come a Marquess since the Duke
of Wellington, gained these dis-
tinctions:
"Marquess of Reading, Earl of
Reading, Viscount Erleigh,
count Reading, Baron Reading,
Privy Councillor, Knights Grand
Cross of the Bath, Knight Grand
Commander of the Star orIndia,
Knights Grand Commander of the
Indian Empire, Knight G r and
Cross of the Victorian Order .. "
and held many more offices, pos-
sessing additional titles, as a re-
sult of his being British Ambassa-
dor to the United States, Viceroy
of India, Lord Chief Justice of Eng-
land, etc., etc., etc.
Rufus Daniel Isaacs was born
in an Orthodox Jewish back-
ground. With his brother Harry
he was "packed off (from Lon-
don) to a kindergarten kept by
a Polish Jew named Barcynsky,
in Gravesend. After a year
there, the two boys were re-
moved, as their mother was ap-
parently dissatisfied with their
progress in foreign languages,
in which she was anvious that
they should shine . . " Later
they went to an Anglo-Jewish
private school, learned Hebrew,
In later years Rufus Isaacs was
to experience the venom of anti-
Semitism, and in a positive way
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he showed a deep interest in the
Zionist Palestinian efforts.
He had some sad experiences on
the Stock Exchange and he was
severely "hammered" for it when
he could not meet his obligations.
According to his able biographer:
"Gossip had it long afterwards
that Rufus Isaacs owed his down-
fall on the Stock Exchange to
the behavior of a fellow Jew in
the South African diamond in-
dustry, the redoubtable J. B.
(`Jack') Joel, who had 'caused
Isaac's bankruptcy by some
stockbroker's trick,' and that
Isaacs had threatened to "get
even with him' one day and in
fact had done so. Whether there
is any truth in this story cannot
be substantiated. What is beyond
doubt, however, is that 24 years
later Rufus Isaacs was to worst
Jack Joel in a dramatic criminal
trial."
Biographer Hyde calls attention
to an interesting relationship of
Isaacs: "Among his particular
Stock Exchange friends was an en-
dearing and popular character
called Jack Angle. He was a noted
amateur boxer of his day, and
when he discovered that Rufus was
a grandnephew of the celebrated
Daniel Mendoza and could himself
put up quite a good showing with
his fists, he suggested that he
should improve his technique in
the ring by taking lessons . . . "
Isaacs' career was so varied, his
rise to high offices so rapid, his
experiences so numerous, that it is
difficult to touch even upon all the
major factors in a review. As
barrister, as parliamentarian, as
associate in government with many
of the very great in British poli-
tics. Lloyd George spoke highly of
him and even Arthur James Bal-
four of the opposition respected
him.
When he was appointed so-
lictor general, March 7, 1910,
Hyde writes that it "was an
honor not only to him but also
to his race, for he was only the
second Jew , to become a Law
Officer of the Crown. (Hyde's
footnote states: The first was
Sir George Jessel, who was ap-
pointed Solicitor - General by
Gladstone in 1871)."
With Herbert Samuel and Lloyd
George he was involved in the
Marconi scandal b u t Winston
Churchill, Asquith and others stood
by them and the government of
which the two Jews were members
did not fall, as the opposition
aimed. Herbert Samuel at the out-
set had written Isaacs that "it
would not be a good thing for the
Jewish community for the first two
Jews who have ever entered a
British Cabinet to be enmeshed in
an affair of this kind." The length-
review of the case, the committee
hearings, charges and counter-
charges form a most interesting
chapter in Hyde's "Lord Reading."
When, soon thereafter, fsaacs
was appointed lord chief justice,
there was criticism in the Con-
servative press, notably the Morn-
ing Post, and "nothing exceeded in
ferocity the attack by a popular
and highly regarded literary fig-
ure, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, who
was moved to write what must
surely be one of the most vitriolic
poems in the English language, in
which he likened the new judge to
another Jew, one Gehazi, the serv-
ant of Elisha in the Old Testament
story. Although the poem did not
appear in print until some years
later, its text was freely passed
round London society at the time."
Only the first two stanzas and the
last four lines are part of Hyde's
account, the four lines being:
"Stand up, stand up, Gehazi,
Draw close thy robe and go,
Gehazi, Judge in Israel,
A leper white as snow!
When, by this time as Lord
Reading, he came to the U. S. as
his country's ambassador—he pre-
sented his credentials to Presi-
dent Wilson Feb, 13, 1918 — he
soon began to receive many invi-
tations from Jews and was asked
for statements on the Balfour
Declaration. He made courteous
and encouraging responses. He be-
friended Louis D. Brandeis. But
he really was not so enthusiastic.
He did not "feel strongly about a
national home for the Jews." In
later years he showed greater en-
thusiasm.
With his second wife, the former
Miss Charnaud who was his first
wife's secretary, he visited Pales-
tine, and while never a Zionist it
was known that he favored the Bal-
four Declaration. Also, it was ad-
mitted that Lord Melchett inspired
him to labor in behalf of the Jew-
ish National Home.
When Lord Reacting married
Miss Charnaud, he was 70 and his
second wife 37. "Although the fact
that his intended wife was a Gen-
tile did not commend itself to
Orthodox Jewry, there was no
Jewish or other friend who did
not wish his happiness," Hyde
writes.
The second Lady Reading has
become a world famous figure in
Jewish ranks, heads the British
section of the World Jewish Con-
gress and is popular in many
Jewish circles.
It should be stated that Read-
ing and Melchett, the former Sir
Alfred Mond, were close friends,
Lord Melchett's daughter Eva
having married Reading's son
Gerald.. The Melchetts, having
played a great role in behalf of
Zionism, assumed important
positions in Jewish ranks.
To return to Lord Reading: the
Hyde biography covers his many
activities in government, in India,
on the international arena. Hyde
produced a remarkably fine biog-
raphy and the eminent Rufus
Isaacs, who rose to become Lord
Reading, emerges in a most inter-
esting light in a most sympatheic
description of one of the most ex-
citing careers of one of the most
distinguished English Jews. —P.S.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
NPD Members to Reach
`40,000-Plus by July'
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
BONN — Adolf von Thadden,
chairman of the right-wing Na-
tional Democratic Paity, predicted
at a press conference Tuesday that
his party's membership would ex-
ceed 40,000 by July and would
grow to 50,000 next year.
Government sources have esti-
mated the NPD membership now
is about 28,000, But the party,
which many Germans describe as
neo-Nazi, has ' achieved substan-
tial electoral success in various
provincial elections.
The party now holds seats in
seven of West Germany's 11 states
and expects to win seats in the
Bundestag (lower house) in next
year's national elections.
A Colony Called `Sholom'
Jewish merchants of Sephardic
origin appeared in New York City
in the 17th Century but the first
New York Jewish community
came into being in 1837 when 12
families founded a short-lived
colony called "Sholom."
Larry Freedman
Orchestra and Entertainment
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MAX M. FISHER, chairman of
the board for Fisher-New Center
Co. and Safran Printing Co., re-
ceived the doctor of business ad-
ministration degree during recent
commencement exercises at Albion
College. As the degree was con-
ferred, Dr. Louis W. Norris, presi-
dent, cited Fisher as "outstanding
enterpriser in harnessing natural
resources for human benefit, coun-
selor sought for in business de-
velopment through many fields,
and humanitarian concerned with
enrichment of cultural, educational,
community and health opportuni-
ties for men of all conditions."
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Col. Arthur Becker Runs
for County Supervisor
Col. Arthur C. Becker, 25275 Kil-
dare, Southfield, is the first person
to file for the office of Oakland
County supervisor, 14th District,
on the Republican ticket in the
August primary. Col Becker is
the civil defense director of the
city of Southfield, vice president of
Becker Brothers Printing Co. and
chairman of the 18th District of
the Civil Defense American Le-
gion.
Becker has received certificates
on sanitation, roadology, political
science, business administration
and civil defense.
He holds three Purple Hearts,
five battle stars and a bronze star
from service in World War II.
Acapulco Paper Prints
Anti-Semitic Articles
MEXICO CITY (JTA)—A news-
paper in the resort city of Acapul-
co has published a series of anti-
Semitic articles in which Hitler
was referred to as "the century's
greatest man."
The articles, which alleged Jew-
ish responsibility for the deaths of
historic personalities from Christ
to Abraham Lincoln and John F.
Kennedy, were denounced by
Sergio Nudelstejer, director of the
American Jewish Committee's
Mexico-Central American office
here.
Nudelstejer said publication of
the
articles in the newspaper
"Tropical" represented dangerous
anti-Semitic provocation.
Computer Firm Builds
TEL AVIV — Orders for more
than $400,000 worth of electronic
instrumentation were received by
Elbit Computers Ltd., of Haifa,
from the United States and from
France, at the time when the Is-
rael company began construction
of its new plant. Elbit now pro-
duces a small versatile computer,
and plans to expand production to
several new models.
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