56 Friday, February 14, 1975

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Emergence of Zionism as Major Libertarian Movement in New Book

Prof. Melvin Urofsky of Vir-
ginia Commonwealth Univer-
sity is exceptionally well quali-
fied to historicize American
Zionism. A dedicated student of
Jewish history and of the events
that marked the several devel-
oping eras in the 20th century,
his co-editorship (with Prof.
David W. Levy) of the several
volumes of "The Letters of
Louis D. Brandeis," brought
him in close touch with the con-
flicts that emerged in the Bran-
deis leadership years.
Therefore the Anchor Press-
Doubleday volume by Dr. Urof-
sky, "American Zionism from
Herzl to the Holocaust" is -a
work of great significance both
as a history of the Jewish na-
tional movement and of Ameri-
can Jewry as it relates to Zion-
ism.

Of immense value to stu-
- dents of American Jewish his-
tory are the many aspects of
communal changes that have
taken place. Dr. Urofsky
shows in his researches stud-
ies that Zionism had limited
support in the early years of
the American movement. The
Yiddish-speaking elements
were the pioneer supporters of
the libertarian movement.
The support in leadership that
developed with Louis D.
Brandeis, Judge Julian W.
Mack and others contributed
immensely towards the even-
tual transformations and the
growth of the Zionist idea that
came during and after World
War II upon the realization of
the immense needs to end
homelessness for the masses
of the oppressed.

were difficult to reach. Some of
the wealthy, like Jacob Schiff,
while opposing Jewish national-
ism, had a feeling for Judaism
relating to the ancient home-
land but could not then be en-
rolled into the movement. The
few rabbis, like - Stephen S.
Wise, who, from earliest days,
dating back to the end of the
19th century, supported the
cause, saw a step-by-step need
for action. The shtadlanim who
assumed spokesmanship for
American Jewry could not then
be moved. The first decades of
American Zionism were
marked by minimal responses.
Discussing the role of the
press, the initial impacts made
by periodicals like Dos Yiddishe
Vort, the Maccabaean, the
traditional - press, Dr. Urofsky
also deals extensively with the
rise of youth and women's
movements, of Young Judea
and Hadassah as emerging
forces in behalf of Zionism.
The Federation of American
Zionists, which - was later ren-
amed the Zionist Organization
of America, is the primary
movement under-review, and
the related fbrces are discussed.

The Chaim Weizmann-
Louis D. Brandeis conflict at
the 1920 Cleveland convention
rates important considera-
tion, and the roles of David
Ben-Guiron and other leaders
enter into consideration.

The emergence of the Jewish
Agency, the entrance of the
non-Zionists — Louis Marshall
and his associates in the Ameri-
can Jewish Committee — as co-
partners in Palestine's upbuild-
ing, the conflicts with the Bri-
Therefore the Urofsky his- tish through the formative
tory of the movement assumes years before the emergence of
special significance in the ela- Israel — many are the prob-
boration upon a leadership that lems that were linked in the
included spokesmen for the tensions of a movement that be-
masses as well as the classes.
gan to gain ascendancy in
There was a determination American Jewry.
on the part of men who were
Pressures from isolationist
viewed as assimilated but who elements and from the pro-Na-
assumed prominent roles in ef- zis may have created, as im-
forts of the great needs for re- plied, fears in Jewish quarters
lief from anti-Semitism and for to assert the right to establish a
havens for the helpless. Tragic home in Palestine. But the rise
events as well as high ideals of Hitler, the confirmed news of
motivated adherence to the mass persecutions and of incar-
Herzlian program and the lega- cerations in concentration
cies for national rebirth.
amps, helped to create a new
Dr. Urofsky points realisti- unity in American Jewry. As
cally to the enthusiasm with Dr. Urofsky asserts:

which Jews coming to this
country gloried in the
"Goldena Medina." The free-
doms attained in America
contributed to the joys of
achieving fulfillment of hopes
for the emergence of a new Je-
rusalem for the once op-
pressed. Now the settlers in
the New World attained the
great aim in life. Gradually,
as the needs of the kinsmen
abroad emerged out of the cal-
amities in Eastern Europe,
' the changes began to evolve.

contradictions between Her-
zlian Zionism and loyalty to
the United States had not only
been resolved, but the syn-
thesis had helped make Zion-
ism a legitimate part not only
of the Jewish experience in
America, but also of that gen-
eral humanitarian -impulse
that marked progressive and
liberal reform in this century.

The Brandeisian argument
that by becoming Zionists
American Jews would be both
better Jews and better Ameri-
cans indelibly molded the
Zionist movement here in the
activist, efficient, and practi-
cal image that has marked so
much of American life. The
forces that shaped it have
been both Jewish and Ameri-

The new American Zionist
history is a positive contribu-
tion not only to the evaluation
of the Zionist ideal; it also en-
riches the researched studies
that are continually conducted

in gathering facts about Amer-
ica and American Jewry.
"American Zionism from Herzl
to the Holocaust" is a superb
work and ranks as must read-
ing by all American Jews. It
merits a place as a textbook on
Zionism in schools of higher
learning and is a tribute to an
accomplished student of Jewish
history.—P.S.

"Heal" a Tribute to the man and Zionism

Amos Elon, who has won rec-
ognition for his analytical
works on Israel, especially his
"The Israelis: Founders and
Sons," repeats his role as an
historical researcher in his
newest work, "Herzl," just pub-
lished by Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
His biography of the founder
of the political aspects of the
Zionist movement and the crea-
tor of the World Zionist Con-
gresses that emerged as the
Jewish parliament in exile, is a
dramatic description of a man
of genius who also had many
'idiosyncrasies and whose life
was marked by pirsonal trage-
dies.
Elon, an Israeli who hiinself
stems from a Viennese back-
ground, describes Herzl the
lover of the theater and the au-
thor of plays with motivations
based on his sentimentalities;
the socially inspired who soon
learned the effects of anti-Sem-
itism on his people's miseries
and their need for a solution.

Herzl's approach to the so-
lution, his "Jewish state" and
its effects on his generation,
the opposition he encountered
and friendly support he re-
ceived from the limited few—
these and the search for gov-
ernmental support form a ba-
sis for the impressive narra-
tive about .one of the most
effective Jewish developments
in history.

ily, all his children and a grand-
son, provide the reader with
knowledge about one of Jewry's
greatest personalities whose
devotion to his people may have
resulted in sacrifice of time
away from his family.

Neither did he have an easy
time with the Jewish people
and his search for support for
his vision of a Jewish state.
His prophecy of statehood in
50 years, was made by him
towards the end of the last
century, but the Jewish sup-
port was minimal. The weal-
thy shunned him. He had seri-
ous opposition in Zionist
ranks.

Because he expressly links
the Herzl story and the begin-
nings of the Z onist political
movement with its aftermath,
the status of Israel as the fruit
of Herzl's labors, Elton's
"Herzl" must be judged as a
contribution to contemporary
It is all related in the Elon
Jewish history. •
- book, and his description of the
The totality of facts in
final setback, the anger that
Herzl's life, while generally
was aroused by his willingness
known from the several biogra-
to accept the British offer of a
phies that have already been
nachtasyn—a watch in the
published, are well linked here.
night—temporary shelter in
The sympathetic treatment
Uganda. Herzl was a very sick
given to the personal aspects of
man by then and he died
Herzl's life, the tragic end of
shortly after the Congress at
nearly all members of his fam
which he met with great opposi-
tion to the Uganda project. His
closest friend and co-worker,
Dr. Max Nordau, supported
him out of personal friendship
and the issue ended in a com-
promise.
The Russian delegation, Men-
ahem Ussushkin and Chaim
Weizmann, opposed the
Uganda plan strenuously. The
insistence upon the Holy Land
as a future state was immense
and Herzl merely wanted tem-
porary relief for Jews suffering
from anti-Semitism.

i

"When Great Britain, in
whom the Zionists had put so
much trust, reneged on its
promises and then closed the
door to further immigration at
the precise moment when Hit-
l er's refugees needed a home-
I
and most, American Zionists
Popular- photo of Dr. Theodor Herzl taken at the Three
realized that only a country
Kings Hotel in Basle, Switzerland.
controlled
by
the
Jews
them-
s
elves would meet the needs
not only of Zionism but of
Judaism itself. It is doubtful
whether
a strong Zionist na-
t
ionalism could have appealed
Opposition to Zionism by
t o American Jewry before
NEW YORK — The Forging
In that capacity he success-
Reform Jews was rampant
Hitler; but with the Holo- of an American Jew: The Life
fully fought a "quota"
and the German Jews of the
c aust, an independent Jewish and Times Of Judge Julian W.
against Jews at Harvard and
early years of the century s tate became the sine qua non Mack, by Harry Barnard, has
discrimination against blacks
were especially antagonistic.
f the Zionist movement. De- just been issued by the Herzl
in the 1920's. During the
Dr. Urofsky points out, for ex-
s pite opposition from some Press.
Progressive Era, Judge
ample, that Dr. Kaugman j ews_ who still feared the old
This authoritative biography
Kohler, president of Hebrew b ugaboo of divided loyalty, provides a vivid insight into the
Union College (one-time rabbi t he ZOA finally came to grips life and activities of a modern
of Detroit's Temple Beth El)
w ith the essential meaning of American Jew who, like Louis
identified the Russian Jewish j ewish redemption.
D. Brandeis and Felix Frank-
immigrants — the staunch
In 1940 and 1941, the ZOA furter, reached eminince both
Zionist backers — with "or-
e mbarked on several under- as a jurist and as a national
iental" aspects and Zionism t akings designed not only to
leader.
was defined by him as an - b ring unity to American Je-
Judge Mack's "great judicial
"alien" philosophy.
ry, but to spread the Zionist career" encompassed more than
Viewing the realism of the
m essage to non-Jews as 30 years as U.S. Circuit Judge,
Zionist struggle, Dr. Urofsky
ell."
as well as vital service on the

The reactions to all these
developments are _as well de-
fined as the life of Herzl by
Elon. The story of an emerg-
ing Jewish national move-
ment and the links of the past
with the present-day Israeli
experiences attest to the real-
ism with which Elon treats
his thesis.

There are worshiping notes in
Elon's new biography about his
hero, such as:
"By temperament an aristo-
crat, he became a populist

rouser of masses. By conviction
a conservative, he initiated the
great Jewish heresy of the 19th
Century. Contemptuous of de-
mocracy, he constructed a Jew-
ish parliament. A profoundly
pessimistic man, he helped to
mold Eastern European Israeli
pioneers into a movement of
incurable optimists, fired by a
messianic dream of a new
world, another Eden purged of
suffering and sin.
"His personality, which so
many found disarming, con-

tained a grain of self-hypno-
tism. He was a master of drop-
ping veiled hints and deft in the
use of reticence. With the ex-
ception of D'Annunzio, Herzl
was the only modern European
politician who was also a play-
wright."

Elon comments factually
that 'Zionism was not begun
by Herzl. It had existed before
him. He developed the move-
ment politically.

Because he treats the story of
Herzl as the' history of the
movement that started with
Herzl's "The -Jewish State", de-
veloping it into its present posi-
tion of Israel's reality, Elon has
contributed a work based on
realism. His biography becomes
a contemporary work about the
great Jewish national move-
ment and its major hero in this
century. As such "Herzl" by
Elon merits a welcome addition
to Jewish biographical litera-
ture.

Biography of Judge Mack Cites Growth of Jewish Communa
vir

-

describes the minuteness of
adherents to the movement,
mostly from the Yiddish-speak-
ing Russian immigrants. The
rich Jews and the Reform, in-
fluenced by the Reform rabbis,

can, and its subsequent diffi-
culties and success have been
the result of that unique mix-
ture."

The Brandeisian influence is

g iven full credit in this history

trailblazing Juvenile Court of
Chicago.

"Thanks to the genius of
L ouis Brandeis, the essential

At Harvard University
Mack helped found the Har-
vard Law Review, and later
served as a Harvard overseer.

0 f American Zionism. Dr. Urof-
s ky points out:

JUDGE JULIAN MACK

Mack, often together with
Jane Addams, pioneered new
concepts in social welfare.

In addition, this "most gold-
en-hearted man" as Felix
Frankfurter described him, was
a major factor in every phase of
Jewish life — a founder of the
American Jewish Committee,
president of the first American
Jewish Congress, first presi-
dent of the Zionist Organization
of America, and chairman of
the Committee of Jewish Dele-
gations at the 1919 Paris peace
conference.
This biography 'strikingly
tells the story of the rise of the
Jewish community in America,
its problems, fears and
triumphs, with four major ci-
ties — San Francisco, Cincin-
nati, Chicago and New York —
as background.

More than that, this work
illuminates why a highly
"assimilated" Reform Jew of
German-Jewish origin came
to cast his lot with Zionism at
a time when Zionism was re-
jected by most upper-class
native American Jews, and
why he was instrumental in
the drafting and implementa-
tion of the Balfour Declara-
tion.

How Mack, like Brandeis,
helped commit American Jewry
to the Zionist idea is told in fas-
cinating detail. This theme —
in the development of which
other striking characters
emerge, such as the romantic
Palestine Jew, Aaron Aaron-
sohn — makes this book histori-
cally important, and relevant to
today.

