Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1878-12-12
JEWISH EXCLUsIvENESS.
A self-Imposed Ostracism Which should
BE Removed.

From the Jewish Times.
We are in receipt of several communi-
cations on the subject of our editorial en-
titled "Who is Ashamed to Be Jew?'
One lady writes to US, ut is all very well
for men to deny the existence of an anti
Jewish prejudice, they may not feel it, but
we ladies find it at the watering-place ho-
tells and in the society we meet. A Jew
ess is rarely treated by Christian like
Christian is. Our fair correspondent is
not entirely wrong. No doubt jew
esscs are treated somewhat differently
from Christians IN Christian society. But
whose fault is tins; is it due to an anti
Jewish prejudice? We believe not.
The time has come for enlightened lsra.
elites to decide for themselves. once for
all, if they will form part Of modern soci-
ETY., or if they will continue to be socially,
as well as rcligiously, Il peculiar people.
There can be no halting half way. There
is, we know, disposition on the part Of
some Jcwesses to tolerate the society OF
some Christian ladies and gentlemen
when they meet at summer resorts, rs
long as they are there, and to drop them,
as the phrase goes, when they return to
/ town. Christian men and women are
god enough for them in the country,
/ tdute de mieur, hut they can not, or will
not, invite them to their houses. And be-
cause seli-respccting Christians resent this
apparent assumption of social exclusive.
ness, they are accused of being preiudiced
against the Jews forsOOth.
/ Either Jews must form part OF general
society, or they must avoid 1t altogether.
They caa not play fast and loose with
| Christian acquaintances. They cannot be
intimate with Christian women, and re-
fuse to invite their male relatives to their
homes. This has been tried, and has
| failed. Our readers well know that we
are in favor of the most unrestricted inter-
course between Jews and GentlcS. Both
would be gamers by 1t. But such unre'
strictcd iEtCrcOurse can only exist when
perfect con idence has been established.
There may be among some people feel
ing against Jews, just us there exist
among others feeling against Catholics
and among many a prejudice against tli'
Irish. But all the weight of evidence i
against any decp.roOted, anti-Jewlsh PREF
udice on tie part Of the American people
For the most part the difficulties in til,
way Of complete social emancipation o
the Jews are the results OF th'
course that the Jews themselves hav'
pursued. Either from fear of inter'mar
riages with Christians or from Il feeling
of timidlty bcgOttcn Of European persecu
tions, or from fear of effect of Christian
associations upon the religion of thel
children. the American Jews certalnl,
have, bv their own acts, reared artliicla
barriers between themselves and Christian
society, and replaced the enforced socla
exile that their fathers complained OF by
system of social sclf-ostracism. which !
none the less burlcnsomc because it i
selt-imposcl.
+ One Of the results of this has been tha
Jewish young women sometimes hay
{ Christian acOuaintlncos, unknown tothcl
parents, because they know their parent
oniect to entertaining Christian men a
their honscs. This IS ,elfeyidcntly wrong
no girl should have any male arquaintanc
without the knowledge and approval o
her family. Then, again, Christian yOuni
, men, finding thcms Ives excluded tron
jewish houses, black-ball Jews in thei
clubs, and sometimes mistake the loves
type Of Jews for type Of the best class
simply because they know no better an
: because the Jews themselves prevent thcr
d from learning better.
l. All this should stop. As soon as Jew
$ ish houses are open to Christians, Chris
+ tan houses will be open to Jcws-and II
g deed they are already. If there exist. l
y New York society any prejudice again'
u the best classes of Jews, it would TAX
The lanterns of ten Diogeneses TO discovt
It 1t. Our brethren must not seek
/. excuse their own cowardice by preiemn
= false accusations against Christian societ,
$ 1t is as much cowmdice as anything els
, f,ot ,,otos thn levy routinuc bis selt.Ostr
10 cism and the social exile ol his chlldrel
" As we have repeatedly said, it is only ne
l. cssary to acqunint the Gentle world wit
e the real character of the Jew to rcmo'
T. from intelligent minds the last vestigc
prejudice that exists. When Jews N
K Christians cease to be strangers, we shu
~ have no moro of nti-Jcwish pleiudiccs.