Texas Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 4, 1937 Page: 2 of 6
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Page 2
THE TEXAS JEWISH HERALD
WAR PROPAGANDA AND THE JEWS
(Continued from Page 1)
*
that the donor is free from com.
fnunieable disease* such as
gyphilis and malaria, and further,
that the blood of both Is com.
patlble.
To dispose of the ridiculous
charge that all peoples in war.
times are not blood-brothers. It
is interesting to point out that
soldiers during the World War
fell into one of four grows for
the purpose of blood transfusion:
Group I, 5 per cent; Group n,
35 per cent; Group III 10 per
cent, and Group IV, 50 per cent
There were men and women of
each blood group in every race.
Thus, the chief problem of the
various nations in wartime is
how to get men of each race and
creed so aroused that they will
enlist and fight for the sake of
ideals. In the case of the Jaw.
Whose life has been lived for
centuries in the midst of cross-
currents of recial prejudices and
national antagonisms, the prob-
lem in thf past has been to
make him feel grateful to the
nation which calls upon him for
aid. Granted this, his patriotism
has usually soared to the limit,
giver, in both his possessions and
his life. How, then, in the World
War, could nations that had
wronged their Jews win them
back? How could those who had
served Israel well, enlist the en-
tire support of. their Jewish
populations, and beyond that
gain the support of the power-
ful Jewry In America?
On February 12, 1917 — two
months before America declared
war on Germany—Rabbi Stephen
S. Wise informed the congrega-
tion of the Free Synagogue of
our duty to influence the Ger-
man people to overthrow Hohen-
zolleren Prussianism Although
he was moved by the loftiest
ideals of humanitarianism—and
reflected the views of our out-
standing Jewish leaders — his
enee, and declaring;' Russia's
enemy, Germany, to have been
the cradle of anti-Semitism.
In the middle of July, 1916,
Grand Duke Nicholas/was said
to be offering the Jews in the
Russian Army an opportunity to
found a united and independent
Jewry, by rethklng Palestine.
In October 1, 1915, came the
news that a Jew, M. Weinstein,
had been elected to the Czar’s
Council. Professor B. S. Basch
in a speech in the Bronx, New
York City, opposed an attack
on the Czar by the Jews in the
Uryted States. As showing its
humanitarianism. the Russian
government announced that it
had given traveling permission
to the wives and children of men
who had emigrated to the United
States before the war. It was
reported that Deputy Zamyslov-
sky was howled down when he
attacked the Jews in the Russian
Duma. (In June, 1916, however,
the American Jewish Chronicle
offered photographic proof from
official documents that the
Russian government was insti-
gating pogroms.
In September, 1916, the Russi-
an Government was pleased to
tell the Jews of the world that
Mr. BroidcVs request ffor per-
mission to be enrolled as an
Assistant Advocate in Moscow,
which had been refused by the
Ministry of Justice, was never-
theless granted by the Czar! On
October 1st, came news that the
Russian government had en.
larged Jewjsh educational op-
portunities. Refugees from Po-
land told of hardships and
cruelties under German rule. By
January, 1917, the American
Jewish Committee itself publish,
ed two Russian press items pur-
porting to show that opposition
to equal rights was waning Soon
thereafter, news appeared that
Minister Protopopoff proposed to
plea against Germany evidenced I enact into law a measure for the
the success- of years of AllietfT™1^
efforts to lore American Jewish
opinion into the Allied fold by
playing on the delicate emotions
of a Jewry whose brethern in
•astern Europe had suffered far
more than the narmal horrors of
war since 1914. How the Allies
enemies failed, can now be told.
KomUb Prafaganda
When England in August, 1914,
entered the war on the side of
Russia, she realized that she
would have to dress the Russian
bear in sheep's clothing in order
to attract Jewih support for the
allied cause. And so, within two
weeks, it was announced that
England was fostering a spirit of
liberalism in Russia! It was re.
ported that the Czar was about
to grant the Jews equal civil
and political rights. Soon there-
after it was announced that
Jkwish students and doctors
would be admitted to the courses
of the Russian Red Cross Society.
To show that the Russian beer
and Jewish lamb would dwell
together In unity, the Jews were
reminded that the Czar had ap-
pealed to his Jews in Yiddish
tongue. Announcement was
made that Jews were to be made
officers in the Russian army and
navy. The Jews of the world
were expected to rejoice because
a non-commissioned Jewish offi-
cer in Russia had been recom-
mended for the Order of St
George. They were asked to be-
lieve that German charges of
Russian persecution were untrue.
The fall text of a Russian mani-
festo against persecution of the
Jews was published by the
American press.
In May. 1913, an item appear-
ed, blaming Russian persecution
of the Jews on German inilu-
of Jewish dElabflltter with-
out domicile. March, 1917,
brought a revolution to Russia,
thereby eliminating that coun-
try as a moral liability on the
lands of the Allies
Romanian Propaganda
In June, 1917 — two months
after America entered the war—
Premier Bratiano cabled the
Jewish Morning Journal that
the government had decided to
grant Jews equal civil and po-
litical rights. eJwish suffering
in Rumania both before and after
this declaration is, however, a
matter at history.
-o-
Dickstein Quotes Confi-
dential Document To
Prove Hitler Is Son
Of Jewess
Washington, D. C. (WNS) —
Evidence furnished him by a
woman described as a former
archivist to the German ministry
of propaganda who was a mem-
ber of the Zazi Party before
1932 but was forced to leave
Germany because of her associ-
ation with Jews and her engege.
ment to s Jewish official, proves
that Chancellor Hitler is half-
Jewish, Representative Samuel
Dickstein said to a statement
made public here. His evidence
shows, he declares that Hitler’s
mother’s name is a Jewish one
and that he has a sister and a
niece to Vienna who has refused
to hep because they work for
Jews. ( Dickstein also declared
that General Goering's wife is
Jewish and that the wife of Pro-
paganda Minister Goebbles was
the adopted daughter of a Ger-
man Jewish druggist by the
name of Quaint.
Has Reform
Judaism Faded?
(Continued from Page 1)
Judaism to Germany. Some of
us doubt whether such a return
is the best next step to the de-
velopment of Reform Judaism.
It is the aim of Progressive
Judaism to bring God into the
life of the Jewish community
and of the Jewish individual, and
to make the Jewish community
stand for the belief to God and
the Jewish individual live by
that belief to God. That function,
living and important and vital, is
one which Progressive Judaism
undertook because traditional
Judaism failed to preform it for
a large number of individuals.
However, one statement to the
report of Dr. Levy’s comment
or address calls for somewhat
more detailed investigation. Re-
form Judaism, he is reported to
have said, has failed to influence
the bulk of Jewry. If we trans-
late “bulk” into “majority” that
I suppose, is a fact we have to
recognize. Of the sixteen million
Jews in the world, Reform Juda-
ism has entered the life of only
a proportion and not the ma-
jority. But which form of Juda-
ism has, In recent years, in-
fluence the bulk of Jewery?
Which form of Judaism influ.
ences the Jewry to Russia or to
Poland? Can it be said that that
kind of Judaism has influenced
the bulk of Jewry to those
countries?
The position of Judaism as a
religion to Eastern Europe to-
day is not one of which • any
section can be propd, and if
there is to be any judgment as
to failures or success, there is
a lamentable failure which does
not lie at the door of Reform
Judaism. Reform Judaism may
not have influenced the bulk of
Jewry in those countries, but
neither has any other Judaism,
and U may be said in extenu-
ation for Reform Judaism that it
did not get the chance. Other
forms of Judaism did get the
chance. They had these people
as their adherents and they lost
them. That is why some of us
think that there is no salvation
in going back, that salvation lies
in going forward.
Something like twenty years
ago to London I was asked to
attend a meeting of a Liberal
Jewish congregation of working
men and women which was be-
ing established at that time, in
order that I might answer ques-
tions about Liberal Judaism. An
old man got up at this meeting.
He had a little boy by the hand.
“May I speak Yiddish?” he ask-
ed. I said: “Yet, do! I cannot
speak it enough to risk it, but
I can understand.” "Well,
then, ” he said, “I want to tell
you to Yiddish what Liberal
Judiasm means to me. I am 75
years old. My whole life long
I have looked for this kind of
Judaism and now I have found
it The Judaism I was brought
up in I cannot possibly believe
in, but the Judaism I now have,
this little grandson of mine can
believe," That was a Yiddish,
speaking, working-class Jew.
But let us be completely frank
—and here I go back to Dr. Levy.
If Reform Judaism has failed
to influence the masses of Jews
to the countries where Reform
Judaism is established, the fault
is not with the Reform Judaism
but with its leaders. For Re-
form Judaism has the power to
influence Jews of all kinds and
all classes, and if it has not done
so, let us not speak of the failure
of Reform Judaism, but let us
speak of ear failure.
On the other hand, Reform
Judaism has, to what is after
all a comparatively short time,
achieved great results. The
World Union hs been in exis-
tence eleven years. Daring that
time it has given evidenc that
Reform, Liberal or Progressive
Judaism is a world movement,
not only a movement belonging
to two or three countries and
characteristic of those countries
in one way or another. If the
World Union had not achieved
anything rise but that, it would
have achieved a lot. Bat the
success of Progressive Judaism
has been shown in each country
to a growing extent I had cause
to look up some figures and I
found that to America the Union
of Amercan Hebrew Congrega-
tions has almost trebled its
membership in the last twenty
years. I cannot speak for every
country; I can only speak for
the country from which I came,
where cjf course the develop-
ment has been marked. Under
the auspices of th World Union,
organizations standing for Pro-
gressive Judaism have been
established to Holland, to Aus-
tralia, to South Africa and now,
with the help of the World
Union, organizations are being
maintained for Progresisve Juda-
ism to Palestine. For eleven
years that is no little achieve-
ment, but I am speaking of what
it has done in order to show
what it can do. Even more im-
portant than the growth of the
Progressive Jewish organization
is the growth of Progressive
Jewish influences.
If anyone doubts the strength
of Reform Judaism he- can
which it has to meet Nobody
tries to oppose anything that is
weak; it fa ills through its own
weakness. But wherever Reform
Judaism has established itself
and seeks to establish itself,
every means is used to oppose
it and to detroy it The measure
of the opposition is the measure
of the strength and the influence
which Reform Judaism possesses.
It is important that Reform
Judaism has grown to influence
and power at a time when re-
ligious influence to general has
grown less. During the three,
quarters of a century or more
of the existence of Reform
Judaism, the influence or re-
ligion in the world has grown
weaker and weaker. Yet Re.
form Judaism has been growing
in strength. What an evidence,
what a testimony to the in-
herent power of the ideas of the
movement for which we stand!
But we have the confess, not to
a spirit of opposition, not even
to a spirit of criticism, but in a
spirit of pure realism, that Re-
form Judaism has grown to
strength because the older kind
of Judaism has weakened. Or-
thodox Judaism cannot hold
those who adopt the modern
views of *iife and thought and
of the universe. It is only Re-
and women of that temper and
form Judaism that can win men
tnat attitude. We do not oppose
Orthodox Judaism! we do not
oppose any kind of Judaism.
What we oppose is the lack of
Judaism, and It is to meet and
to overcome that lack that we
have banded together for our
work. But we have to recog-
nize our responsibility as Pro-
gressve ews. Our responsibility
is not only to ourselve but our
responsibility is to world Jewry.
It is only by the ideals of Pro-
gressive Judaism that we can
win the eJws of the future for
the religious heritage of our
people. If Judaism has a future
it is based on the growth and
increased strength of Progres-
sive Judaism. That growth is
responsibility.
The Weekly Sedrah
by Rabbi David B. Alpert
“and there was a famine in the
land, .and Isaac prospered..”
(Genesis 26-28) P* Toldot
Shadowy outlines of history’s
repetitions appear to this section.
Isaac remains something of a dim
figure, never given to th* clear
outlines that his father was; here
be heralds, like a symbol, some-
thing of the fortunes at the Jew.
ish people themselves.
A time of great distress and
famine appeared on the land
Food was lacking and prices
were high. Wells ran dry; and
where new wells were attempt
ed, they were often dry. An-
other of those dim and early
depressions to the experience of
man, with all the difficulties that
follow. In spite of the general
distress, Isaac prospers; his crops
and cattle thrived. Isaac (as the
prototype of Jews) was blamed
for the distress; even the king
who had befriended Isaac now
took up the popular cry, of the
unfortunate and jealous; and the
king was compelled to order
Isaac: “Go from us. You have
grown too powerful.” The de-
pression or the famine had to
be blamed on some one; it was
Isaac who was blamed. And
Isaac went to search of a home,
and was lucky enough to find a
well of running water which
again embittered those whose
water supply was gone. And
the same king who exiled Isaac
later came to him, begging his
return to the former home be-
cause “we have seen that God
is with you.” How familiar the
entire story to Jewish wander,
togs! Yet there it is plainly told
in Generis of a person or a
people.
The rivalry between two bro-
thers, Jacob and Esau, may also
be the outlines of a rivalry be.
tween two civilizations and two
peoples. Esau was the hunter,
a man of the fields and woods.
Jacob was the dweller to tents.
It was the contest between two
civilizations: hunting against that
which builds cities and communi-
ties.
Malachi, from which the haft-
arah comes, pleads “for a cove-
□ant of life and peace, .and the
aw on each mouth”: valid for
individuals ''and communities
alike!
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Dannenbaum, Cecil E. Texas Jewish Herald (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 4, 1937, newspaper, November 4, 1937; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1102236/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .