The Denver Jewish news., 1925-01-29

side by side with this naivetc,
(Which does honor To their intentions
but not to their knowledge Of human
naturel, my Reform Rabbi critics dis
play a generous undcrestimation Of the
stubborness of what is called ''intol-
erance" 1t is n rather unfortunate
fact that Intolerance" has come to
be regarded as special sort of disease,
unrelated TO the fundamental psychic
misfOrtunes of man. But it Is not n
detached phenomenon. II is the inter
play Of the majority of human quail
ties, good and bad. Intolerance will
cease when human begins cease to he
stupid, selfish, igorant, boistcrous, am
bitious, and fanntical. And | submit
that human begins will he all these
things just as long as they are human
beings.
This looks like an admission that the
jew has to be disliked. 1t Is. And
because II is inevitable | have ceased
to protest against It, | am reconciled
personally to being dislikcd If | am
10 remain true to what | want to be,
and not to what others want me to
he. What do protest against Is giving
immoral vent to this dislike. II man
says: IL dislike Maurice Samnel, and
think he is an ass | do not object.
But if he says, Il dislike Maurice Sam
uel. and he stole a rasher of bacon
from me-" then | dcnOuncc the man
as liar and therefore n sinner. If,
further he says: Il dislike Maurice
Samuel and therefore shall deprive him
of his rights as citizen" then the
man Is a blnckguard.
Mr.. Smcrtcnko takes an easy fling at
me, and says that | do not care for
the welfare of my people, that, from
the safety of America, | commit thou
sands of my feIlow-Jews to outrage and
torture. Miss Wallerstein also init
mates that my statements. besides
being unscientific. will tend to increase
anti-Scmitism. My answer is that If,
to satisfy the anti-SemiteS, | deprive
myself of the liberty of speech, shall
have done precisely what the anti
Semites would like to do to me.
shall have betrayed the Jew much
more fundamentally than if (Which is
doubtful) | shall have provoked in
creased anti-Semitism. If You Gen
tiles" provides additional material for
anti-semites, it viii only be a super
fluffy. Besides, the book will find it
self in good company-that of the
Talmud, the Bible. and everything else
of value that the devil can quote to
his advantage.
Among those who decry the danger
Of statements in You Gentilcs' as IL
able TO lead to disastrous misunder-
standing there is DIR. Joel Blau, who
wrote his criticism in the B'nai Birth
Messenger. | must answer DR.. Blau
at some length on this and other points,
for his comments are by far the most
interesting of any have read, Let
me first pay tribute. DR.. Blau, even
when in the wrong. Is generally OF
greater value than most people when
they are in the right. On the whole
however. DIR. Blau is ready to agree
with my thesis as long as he can prove
that. even when I am in the right, ]
am of no value. AS he says, with eX
traordinary neatness: Docs what
say tend to prove the truth of Samuel'S
thcsisY II does not matter, as long as
show that his argument is wrong.
!, on the other hand, am Interested
chiefly in the thesis. and am willing
TO use another upproach if the Cne
have used is badly chosen. DR. Blau
would, in fact, be ready to grant every
thing | say. If he would only be per
mitted TO divide the Jews into two
classes Jews" and "Yids," with him
sclf ms the protngonist for the Jews
and myself rs the honored represcn
tativc and spokesman for the "Nids.'
must observe. Of course, that ht
makes out for his Jews. as dis
tinrriShed from his "Yids"--a case ot
scparntism much more formidable than
my own between lew and Gentle.
| was surprised. however, that DR.
Blau should even hint Mt the danger OF
misunderstanding. since he himself has
shown a fine disregard for the limita
tions of the vulgar. If / said that
Jews have no loyalty, Intelligent read
crs will remember the context, and ap
preciate the superior value of the quail
ity which displaccs loyalty in the jew
the quality Of love. Dr. Franklin o
Detroit thmders dcnunciation at M
because | said the Jews have no 10y
atty l certainly said so; but ! eN
planned that the Jew neither has no
needs loyalty because he has the luuda