The American Jewish world. [volume] (Minneapolis ;) 1915-current, 1920-04-16
The Valiant Man Bowed Down
JOSEPH S. BLOCH THE CHAMPION ISRAEL'S CAUSE
SUSPENDS HIS PAPER
of ntiSemitm by Dr. Goohard Deutsch

came the decisive move of the anti
Semitic forces through the organiza-
ton of the christian Socialist party"
under the leadership of the Prussian
court-chaplain, Adolph Stoecker, in
1879. The movement began to assume
political shape in Hungary, where
distinct anti-Semitic party was
formed in the parliament, and it led
to most revolving case Of ritual muir
der charge in Tisza Eszlar, 1882.
This case, which together with
those Of Konitz, 1899, Poland, 1900,
and Kiev (Mendel Beilis) 1911, is one
of the darkest blots on modern civil
cation, and has recently been made
the subject of soul-stirring tragedy
by the Vienna poet, Arnold Zweig.
The poet gives the facts with historic
accuracy, although interspersed with
scenes of allegoric mysticism. A
young girl, Esther Solymosi, was
raped by an anti-Semitic estate own
er, choked to death and thrown into
the river. AS it happened shortly be-
fore Passover and as the country had
been stirred UP by anti agita-
tors, the charge of ritual murder was
0PI Cdus IO dlCl-oClIllCCO WOulu HUI
give up their game when the body
was found and the post norton clear
ly showed that there was no trace of
any wound which could justify the
charge that blood was taken from the
body. and so the agitation continued
for fifteen months until jury rem
dered a verdict of not guilty. During
this agitation Rolling who had in the
meantime become profess in
Prague published pamphlet in which
he claimed that authoritative Jewish
books taught that the killing of Chris
tian virgins was most acceptable
sacrifice. He at the same time con-
tinued his attacks on the moral teach
ings of the Talmud. In his campaign
of slanderous lies he was assisted by
some born Jews, one of them, for
mer Rumanian Hasid, named Aaron
Brimann, going by the pseudonym Of
Justus, and another bird of the same
feather who called himself Paulus
Meyer and whose actual name is said
to have been David Leib Ashkenazi,
the son of a Softer from Wlozlawek.
Both served terms in penitentiaries
and have not been heard from for a
long time. They are probably dead,
and the latter is supposed to be
identical with the Jean de Pavly who
translated the Zohar into French.
It must be acknowledged with
gratitude that some Christian scholars
defended Christianity from being
identified with such a lying attack on
Judaism, and foremost among them
was the great scholar and orthodox
Lutheran, Franz Delitzsch, but the
most courageous and impressive
champion of Judaism against Roh-
ling's malignant ignorance was Jo-
seph Samuel Bloch, then rabbi of
suburb near Vienna, called Florisdorf.
Bloch, born in Galicia in 1850, and
educated in Germany, had previously
written on scientific topics, but began
now to devote himself exclusively to
the defense of Judaism against anti
Semitic SANDER. His criticism of
Rolling appeared first in Vienna
daily, the Allgemeine Zeitung, which
afterwards turned anti-Semitic. His
articles created sensation and made
him so popular that upon the death
of Rabbi Simon Schneider of Cracow,
49, 41o Do1oe FOL -, o,.o h.,