THE CAUSE AND CURE OF ANTI-SEMITISM
A SHORT time ago there appeared a small volume entitled "The Primary Cause of Anti-Semitism," by Abraham S. Schomer. Here and there it was favorably commented upon in the Jewish and English press, but it did not receive the earnest and thoughtful consideration which I believe it rightfully deserves. In a large measure this was undoubtedly due to the fact that, although the chief idea projected in the book had been made fairly familiar by Mr. Schomer through newspaper and magazine articles, still he was comparatively unknown to the general public as an author, this having been his first book; for there is nothing that is approached more cautiously than the new—particularly the new writers—although in the majority of cases this is an instinct we are to be truly thankful for. Partly this indifference was undoubtedly also due to the fact that there is a prevailing idea in the general Jewish mind that the cause of anti-Semitism has had endless and adequate treatment and that there are innumerable standard works on the subject. Hence, a general feeling exists that nothing new can be added to the solution of a problem that has been treated by master minds. But as a matter of fact, nothing is further from the truth than to believe that the cause of anti-Semitism has been thoroughly analyzed or adequately treated. There is a vast literature extant on a multitude of subjects concerning the Jew. Every conceivable topic connected with him, whether remote or immediate, his religion, economic, ethical and racial status, every phase of his life in relation to the peoples among whom he has lived, have been written about in a
sound and often scientific manner; but it is a curious and surprising fact that the cause of anti-Semitism by itself, independent of any other subject, has not been given thorough consideration.
In countless books the subject is spoken of, but invariably in an unsystematic manner, the writers making no attempt at thoroughness or research. Even so brilliant a pamphlet as Dr. Herzl's "Jewish State," a work that attempts a solution of anti-Semitism, does not undertake a thorough analysis of it. Dr. Herzl dismisses the entire baffling, mystifying subject with a few brilliant sentences, and Pinsker, one of the profoundest writers on the Jewish question, to whom Mr. Schomer seems to be indebted for the nucleus of his theory, although comprehending the subject as few of his predecessors or successors, contented himself with broad generalizations, however lucid and original, on the subject of anti-Semitism.
To some it may seem bold and irreverent to speak thus of men whose identification with the question stands out in such splendid relief on the Jewish horizon; yet it is an incontestable fact that however noteworthy their services and achievements were in other directions, in the analysis of the Causes of anti-Semitism, they are undeniably deficient.
It is for this reason that Mr. Schomer's book seems to me to be particularly valuable. Regardless of the fact that he presents a very striking and original theory of the causes of anti-Semitism and its solution, he has, unlike most of his predecessors, taken hold of the subject in a direct, firm and systematic manner, so that, however one may differ with him in his