before the termination of hostilities, then the Congress Committee, with the National Workmen's Committee, will proceed to call the preliminary conference. If the National Workmen's Committee by that date also refuses to participate in the calling of the preliminary conference, then the Congress Committee, having exhausted all means for arriving at unity of action by American Jewry, will appeal directly to the people, and call the preliminary conference itself.
What a Congress Can Do.
A LARGE number of people, solicitous for the welfare of the Jewish nationality, think that the Congress need do nothing more than express the demands of the Jews for their rights. It is admitted that the expression of our demands, the articulation of our protest against the treatment accorded us by various governments and nationalities, should find place in the transactions of a Jewish Congress. But the formulation of demands are only incidental to the issue that confronts the Jewish people. What we want now is the abandonment of the "shtadlon" method. The Congress also would endorse the "shtadlon" method if it formulated our demands, and left the execution of them to a committee. This would mean the organization of Jewry in order to have democratically elected "shtadlonism," nothing more. We must radically alter our status in life. We are now called upon to recognize that demands must have muscle and power behind them if they are to be regarded as more than mere platonic exhortations. The breaking of the treaty with Russia by the United States was not a piece of "shtadlon" diplomacy, although it was effected by unofficial "shtadlonism." It was in reality the first genuine bit of Jewish diplomacy based upon real politics. There was power behind the abrogation of the treaty, power wielded by the Jews of this country. When Herzl engaged in diplomacy, he had in mind the assembling of power in the form of the Jewish Colonial Trust, the National Fund, the Congress, backed by men and women willing to sacrifice their lives for the Jewish cause. But when Jews of this country, through their government, make demands upon Russia or revived Poland for the Jews living in those lands, such demands will have no value unless the Jews formulating these demands are prepared to sacrifice material possessions, to sacrifice life, if necessary, in order that the demands may be conceded. Diplomacy nowadays deals with the balancing of power. Where there is no effective power, there can be no diplomacy worthy of the name. When the American Jewish Congress is convened, it will have to be the expression not only of the vocal or philosophic or literary ability of the Jews there assembled. It will have to be backed up by men and women willing to make appreciable sacrifices in order that the demands made shall be realized. The Congress is the first step in the organization of the Jewish people. It will be the first step in the direction of distributing the responsibility, as well as the privileges, connected with Jewish citizenship. Only when looked at in this way, will the Congress have value.
"The Forwarts" and Zionism.
RECENT attacks of “The Forwarts” upon Zionism may be taken as indicative of an interesting development in Jewish socialism. The organized form of socialistic propaganda among the Jews, the machine of Jewish socialism, which “The
Forwarts” has become after years of intrigue and unscrupulous internal politics, is now fighting desperately for control of its adherents. This machine, which for years consistently boycotted every vestige of Jewish interest, now finds that its followers are getting other ideas. The doctrine that denies nationality to the Jewish people, while conceding it to other peoples and other proletarian groups, is becoming a decidedly unpopular doctrine. In the face of the crisis in Jewish life precipitated by the war, the Jewish workmen, while socialistic, feel keenly their national kinship. The ideas of “The Forwarts” are meeting with obstacles, and they can no longer move the Jewish workmen and can no longer influence them. These same workmen, as was evidenced at the National Workmen’s Convention, are prepared to destroy the machine which aims to atrophy all Jewish national instincts. In the development of Zionist sentiment, “The Forwarts” group sees a menace to its control of the radical Jewish masses. This is a menace not to socialism, but to socialistic machine politics. Instead of acting like the socialists of other countries with regard to their national problems, the controllers of “The Forwarts” machine have decided to go ahead in blunder- buss fashion with an attempt to destroy the force that is bound to kill its power, as long as it resists the entrance of new ideas. The same machine has in times past met opposition in the same way. It killed the reputation of self-sacrificing socialists who build up the power of socialism in Jewish life not by machine politics, but by fine character, idealism, and self-sacrifice. If boycotted men who sought to teach the Jewish masses some thing more than can be taught by an obscene novel or.by the “bintel-brief.” It thinks to use the same methods in opposition to Zionism. “The Forwarts” has too long allowed its Jewish consciousness to slumber. It has too long served the idol of its own making. It is now unable to wield any effective weapon against Jewish nationalists, who stand upon a platform of Jewish dignity and self-assertiveness. It has lost the power to speak to the Jewish workman on subjects that relate to his spiritual well-being. Its leaders have waxed fat with power, They have lost contact with the ideals and aspirations of their followers.
The Emergency Fund.
WE regard it of importance to have Zionists understand the place of the Emergency Fund in Zionist work. There has been confusion in the minds of Zionists as to what the Emergency Fund was being used for. The Emergency Fund is that Fund of the Provisional Committee which enables us to maintain our Zionist institutions in Palestine, the administrative and organization force needed to enable us to do all our general work for Palestine, and uphold the Zionist position in Jewish affairs. The Provisional Committee has undertaken to transfer money for individuals here to individuals in Palestine. This work involves the Provisional Committee in a large expense, but no charge is made to the remitters of the money for the service rendered. This so-called Transfer Account is now sending on an average of $1,000 per day to individuals in Palestine. The cost of the Transfer service must be met by the Provisional Committee. The Palestine Relief work must be distinguished from the maintenance of Zionist institutions in Palestine. Our relief work is extra work. It does not come within the scope of the original program of the Provisional Committee. But the