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Friday., Decenierii 1912
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Luther's Anti-Semitism Recalled
By RABBI JACK
GOLDMAN
The year 1983 marks the
400th anniversary of the
birth of the great champion
of the Protestant Reforma-
tion, Martin Luther. Al-
ready, in progressive Chris-
tian circles, one hears
murmurs of the need for
change, modification, or re-
direction of some of the
views expressed by Luther
in his early writings.
Luther goes down in his-
tory as one of the most veh-
ement anti-Semites of all
time whose vitriolic out-
bursts served as a constant
guide for the paragon of
Jew-hatred, Adolph Hitler.
Very little that Hitler did
was original. In his ideas, in
his motivation, in his entire
approach to the "Jewish
problem," which he
envisioned as total Jewish
annihilation, he was a de-
votee of Luther.
We are being deluged,
almost on a daily basis, from
' within and from without, by
forces that would love to see
the demise of the Jewish
people. There is no question
that, from a perspective of
world history, one of the
first in modern times to ar-
ticulate this anti-Jewish
venom was Luther.
In 1543, Luther wrote
and published a little
pamphlet called "Con-
cerning the Jew and
Their Lies." In it, Luther
gave advice to the pr-
inces, dukes, lords, ba-
rons of German prin-
cipalities.
He says, "First, their
synagogues should be set on
fire, and whatever does not
burn up should be covered
with dirt so that no one may
be able to see a cinder or
stone of it. And this ought to
be done for the honor of God
and of Christianity in order
that God may see that we
are Christians, and that we
have not wittingly tolerated
blaspheming of His son and
His Christians . .
"Secondly, their homes
should likewise be broken
down and destroyed. For
they perpetrate the same
things there that they do in
their synagogues. For this
reason they all ought to be
put under one roof, or in a
stable, like gypsies, in order
that they may realize that
they are not masters in our
land, but miserable cap-
tives.
"Thirdly, they should be
deprived of their prayer
books and Talmuds, in
which idolatry, lies, curs-
ing, and blasphemy are
taught. Fourthly, their rab-
bis must be forbidden,
under threat of death, to
teach anymore.
"Fifthly, travelling
privileges should be
absolutely forbidden to
Jews. Sixthly, all their
cash and valuables of
silver and gold should be
taken from them and put
aside for safekeeping, for
everything that they pos-
sess they robbed from us.
Seventhly, let all young
and strong Jews and
Jewesses be pressed into
hard labor . . .
lie exposed in the pages of
the New Testament itself,
in the 23rd chapter of
Matthew, in John 8.44 ff,
and other passages where
the Jew is villified, and in
the writings of the early
church fathers.
How can we combat this
venom, this perverse think-
ing of a "theology" based
upon our destruction? Only
by teaching Torah to Jews,
only by movements like
Jews for Jews, only by the
type of dedication to Klal
Yisroel that is evinced by
the World Lubavitch
Movement can we sur-
vive. Our deciation to truth
will tear down the lies and
bigotry that feed the flames
of racial and religious
hatred that abound in the
world.
(See Purely
Commentary, Page 2)
"If, however, these meas-
ures seem uninviting, let
them be expelled from our
land, as has been done by
other nations, such as
France, Spain, Boheniia,
etc. . . . for God's rage is so
great against them that
they only become worse and
worse . . . Therefore, away
with them . . .
"To sum up, dear princes
and nobles who have Jews
in your domains, if this ad-
vice of mine does not suit
you, then find a better one
so that you and we may all
be free of this insufferable,
devilish burden: the Jews."
(Taken from the article on
Anti-Semitism, Encyclope-
dia Judaica, III, 106.)
We can see, from the
pages of the Holocaust, how
faithful a disciple of Luther
Hitler was. And this is one
of the princes of the church!
It must be said, in all re-
spect to the church's an-
tiquity, that Christian
anti-Semitism does not
begin with Luther. Its roots
'Tisn't life that matters.
'Tis the courage you bring to
it.
—Sir Hugh Walpole
INVITATIONS?
Rabbis Warn
Assimilation
•
PORT CHESTER, N.Y.
(JTA) —"The only practical
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losses of American Jewry to
assimilation is the massive
effort to involve every Jew
in Torah study," was the
central message of three of
the nation's leading Torah
sages at the 60th national
convention of Agudath Is-
rael of American last
weekend.
Speaking to more than
3,000 people from nine
countries and 25 states, and
to a live radio audience,
Rabbi Mordechai Gifter,
dean of the Telshe Yeshiva
in Cleveland and a member
of the organization's Coun-
cil of Torah Sages, said that
"Jews who study Torah
must shoulder the burden of
raising the personal integ-
rity of the Jew in general."
Rabbi Moshe Sherer was
re-elected president of
Agudath Israel of America.
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