The Denver Jewish news., 1920-03-10
The Jewish Question and
the Jewish Congress
REASONS FOR THE PREJUDICES
AGAINST THE JEWS ANALYZED
By ABRAHAM S. schooner.
Copyright !. ]. p. b.


''oFNEleht i'-" ny .. d. . 81
lowing to the large Importance which
the question of a Jewish Congress has
recently attained. We have approached Mr..
Abraham schooner. the we'll known play
wright, who was the originator OF the pro-
ject of a Jewish Congress. with the re-
his tonic. He has complied with the az
campaigning paper. which merits the most
earnest consideration.-EdJ
The Jewish Question Is said to be
due to anti-Semitism Anti-Semitism
in its generic designation, means hos
tility to the jew in any environment.
IL is erroneous, as some maintain,
that only certain classes Of people
partake of that hostile feeling. A
minute examination proves this hos
tility to be ommipresnet-alike among
the cultured and the rude, the conser-
Native and the radical, the Intelligent
and the ignorant. We find likewise
that this hostile emotion is by no
means restricted to Aryans. but That
Semitcs have their equal share there
in as others. The strangest circum-
stance about it is that Jews Them
selves have this hostile feeling exactly
Ike utHtT StsHH'IiiF VI Inv p'p'''''
ut large.
The answer to the yeXing question
of the roots of anti-Semitism are num-
erous: but searching analysis proves
them all to he remote from the truth.
queerly illogical, and sclf-contradic-
tory.
Here are few. and only II few,
of the answers to the question:
The Jew is hated, because he is n
Semitic: because he has II scparatistic
creed: because he has no creed at
all; because he lives apart from his
surroundings: because he seeks OBJ
str,isively to inter-penetrate them; be-
ca,,se his unwea ricd diligence survives
in the economic struggle; because ms
Unborn lazincss keeps him idle and
renders him n parasite; because he Is
n narrow minded rcactionary; because
he Is u revolutionary radical: because
She is the car,h's capitalist par eSce'-
lence; because lie is n mendicunt and
IA pauper: because he is landless anu
no patriot: because he is n pntriot
and yearns for his erstwhile inheri-
lance: because he is Il coward: be-
cause he is too daring: because the
lla tired against him is native to the
nations because the nations suffer OF
their own ills and enormously point 10
him rs the cause of their suffer.ngs;
because he is an idealist; because he
f,...t al
is n clIauvinist because he cringes and
fuwns; because the Jews are leagued
together into strong union: because
among Jews no union can prevail
and so on and so forth.
Upon entering on this problem OF
anti-Semitism from n solely objective
view point, one feels like lost. blind
folded in labyrinth. with the task OF
groping for an exit before hin-so
many doors and yet no ext! 1t is as
If this very multitude of answers were
II continuance to bewildcr the mind and
keep 1t forever from the right solu:aon.
TO find the way out Of this labyrinth
of anti-Semitism, one must keep II
IlTll Itltt VI tHt -Nhi
scientific subjective and objective in
Tliry.
The manifest contradictions appar-
ont in the mulsifarious answers re-
cnrdiu. the root of nnti-.Iewish hos
tiIity clearly show that not one of
them hits at the true root. but they
distinctly point to II prejudice against
the lew. This prejudice is evidently
not the result of some charges levelled
against the Jews-or of all of them
combined-on the contrary. all the
charges are clearly born IF this pre-
judicc 1t is obvious that if some of
the charges were true. they would noa
lac the result of prejudice but of posi-
lively known causes
Prejudice is n prejudgment-a bias
of mind 1t is an emotion caused by
the lack of clearness in preceiving the
nature of a thing. Prejudice in favor
or against "A thing is caused by lack
of clear understanding Of thing. In
the case of the jew prejudice turns
against him. Since the anti-Jewish
prejudice exists. il must he consider
ed along the same lines, and the ques
ton arises How does the Jew
evoke prejudice against himself?
The following remarkable phenomen-
on is quite frequently met with: III
jews come in contact with other peo-
pie who are unaware of their identity
az. sr.h NO praiu1ira no1pes into owl
dence; as soon as they are identified
as Jews, the prejudice bobs up as if
10y magic spell. BY the same token,
whenever non-Jews are mistakenly ac-
I.nntnd rs lows the nrpi ulicn agaiuSt