"The Enemy Within the Gates"
THE individuality of a people, its place in the community of peoples, its group personality,—in brief, everything that is connoted by the word character, colors every phase of human life and activity; but not always with the same intensity. Every people has its own sphere, in which its peculiar character is vividly reflected; in other spheres of activity or culture, this character is only dimly apparent. On the other hand, there is no people anywhere which confines all of its manifestations to any one sphere. That would be an incomprehensible anomaly, not to be explained from either the historical or psychological standpoint.
"Assimilation" has produced a queer people, that is, not the people itself, but the theory of such a people. This theory asserts that the Jewish people long ago lost its national characteristics, that it no longer possesses a single national trait to distinguish it from neighboring peoples. The only distinguishing sign of the Jew is his religion. In other words, the whole sphere of Jewish life is limited to the religious function. It will be sought in vain in any other sphere,—for it has disappeared. There is no Jewish art, no Jewish literature: meaning that Jewish art and Jewish literature bear no common hall-mark by which they are recognizable anywhere. Jewish art and Jewish literature are no more than aspects of the art and literature of the various peoples among whom the Jews dwell. The Jews all over the world have but one characteristic in common—the Jewish religion.
Such a theory could be evolved only by people who have broken away from Jewish life, withdrawn themselves from Jewish activity and striving, and gradually lost all feeling for what is specifically Jewish. It is unnecessary to refute this theory. It can be refuted from every page of Jewish history, ancient as well as modern: it is negated by the spirit that pervades present-day Jewish life.DR. SCHM.
The fact is that the whole Jewish people wants to regain Palestine. Out of the 14,000,000 Jews scattered over the whole world, it is conceivable that a few hundred of thousands would be outspoken opponents of Palestine out of loyalty to their Assimilationist philosophy. Part of this tiny minority will consist of Reform Jews, part of the radical intelligenzia and part of out-and-out Assimilationists. The Jews of the Diaspora have numerous synagogues to pray in—where, then, does the desire for Palestine spring from? It is not for us to reply. Let the Assimilationists seek the answer. And if Assimilation is honest, it will admit its own bankruptcy. The desire for Palestine is the most important proof of the indestructibility of the Jewish national character. To bear love for a land whence one was exiled thousands of years since—that requires a character of granite.
It might be urged that we really need not trouble about Assimilation, that we can afford to ignore the injury it has inflicted upon us, because, after all, it has torn away from our folk-organism only small and insignificant
parts. That attitude would serve if we faced only a Passive Assimilation, if we were dealing with Assimilationists who had left the Jewish world altogether and have no more connection with it. That we could endure. The difficulty is, however, that we must reckon—and particularly in the course of our political activity—with an Active Assimilation, with Assimilationists who are not content with leaving their people themselves, but who exert all their powers to induce others to follow their example. On one hand they are strangers, and on the other, they remain in their old environment and seek to stultify its development.
And in this consists the greatest tragedy of Jewish life.
Assimilation must be regarded as civil apostasy, and its relation to real apostasy is as the relation of civil marriage to religious marriage. Fundamentally, it is the same thing, only differently labeled. If one accept another faith, one is religiously baptized. If one accept another nation, it is a civil baptism. The transgression involved in this civil baptism is even greater than that of the religious baptism, because in matters of religion there is always the excuse of "moral conviction." In matters of birth and historic development, however, facts and not convictions count. A fact can only be denied, but cannot be changed. How would we regard a state of affairs in which baptized Jews wanted to concentrate the control of our religious affairs in their hands, or even to interfere in our religious concerns? We should shoulder them aside with contempt, and show them their places on the other side of the wall that they had built up between themselves and their people.
The Active Assimilation is organized in England, in France and in Germany. Perhaps it has connections with other groups in other countries. That has not yet been ascertained. This organized Active Assimilation has set itself the task of preventing the recognition of Jewish Nationality by the outside world. It has energetically striven to prevent the realization of the Zionist idea. The three above mentioned groups are not large in numbers, but they wield an important influence in their respective Governmental circles, because, until quite recently, they were the representatives of Jewish diplomacy, and their Governments regard them as experts in Jewish concerns. They are daily losing ground in England and in Germany, because other forces have come to light there, with positive relationships to the Jewish nation, and with a positive Jewish national program. In France, matters in this regard are worse than anywhere else. French Jewry is still led by Active Assimilation, and no antidote has thus far been found. The French Government is therefore less well informed than other Governments concerning the tendencies in modern Jewish life. Naturally, there are men in France who have attempted to enlighten their Government on the Jewish national question. Unfortunately, the influence of the Active Assimilation is still