The Right of Jewish Renationalization

Julius T. Loeb, “The Right of Jewish Renationalization,” Birmingham Age-Herald (Birmingham, AL), Aug. 22, 1909. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038485/1909-08-22/ed-1/seq-30/ 

The Right of Jewish Renationalization 

BY RABBI JULIUS T. LOEB

    It is a matter well recognized that political Zionism aims at the re-establishment of the Jewish people in a home and country of their own legal possession; but it is not generally known as to whether or not the act of Jewish renationalization might be justified in the sight of present conditions. The point or argument on the part of many is this: At a time when old Chauvinism is passing out of existence; when the vaunted pride of nations is gradually giving way to broader idealism, and humanity is said to take the place of nationalism—just at this time an idea of renationalization should strike a people that is dispersed and scattered all over the world, and which is known to have been politically dead for nearly 20 centuries in succession. Is this not rather too paradoxical a problem?

    Ere we shall attempt to offer an explanation to this seemingly curious manifestation anent the Jewish people we shall briefly revert the attention of the reader to the remarkable fact that at this new epoch many another nation, great and small, came into being. The past century thus witnessed the birth of several regularly established kingdoms, such as Belgium, Greece, Italy and Burgaria. [sic] Out of the revolution of 1848 there have emerged quite a number of new states and autonomies in Europe, while toward the close of this nineteenth century newly established states were formed even in distant isles and the remotest corners of the globe.

    It is perchance a most curious sight to behold at this time when commercial intercourse between the nations and modern means of communication are tending to bring about a consolidation of the varying elements in the human species, to break the barriers between the classes and the masses, and to make the whole world akin; at this time when the newer intentions, the railway facilities, the swift running steamboats, the telegraphs and telephones, the wireless, the aeroplanes and whatever else that might lead civilized nations to form a closer union with one another and to place themselves upon one equal plane, with one common understanding of mutual responsibility—that at this time the spirit of nationalism should rise from its antiquated lair to create a new sort of “clannishness” or “separatism” in the midst of the community. Is this not the same wondrous manifestation all over?

    The key to this mystery, however, appears to be concealed in the fact that it is through the very means of newer utilities and conveniences that such manifest awakening is in progress today, whereby man is become fully conscious of his equal right and opportunity.

    The slave lacks nothing, while the master is in constant search for means of advancement. When the working man lived in a hovel, received starvation wages, and looked up to the grace of the master in whose hand was thought to be his life and destiny—then the poor working man did not strike for better wages and shorter hours. But so soon as it was discovered that aside from God Almighty there is no such thing as “master” in the sense of absolute ruler; that there is none else but “employer and employe” [sic] to be reckoned with, and just as soon as it was learned that the one who engages and keeps another man in service is equally dependent upon what he can get out of this other man—then the clamor began on the part of the workman for advancement and equality. 

    In this same manner we behold the smaller nationalities, the “dependent colonies,” as they are usually termed. So long as they felt that their lack of physical strength had branded them “inferior beings” they knew they were doomed, and they patiently bore their yoke of oppression. But just as soon as they became aware of that progressive principle which entitled each man and nation to the inalienable rights on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, there came to them a peculiar longing for emancipation, for self-help and self-dependence. The Jewish people, for instance, seemed to have felt “at home” when they were locked in the ghettos, and the “pale of settlement” in Russia for a time appealed to them as their natural habitation. But once the gates of their narrow inclosure [sic] were broken open; once they were freed from the constant batterings [sic] of enemies and were given their “breathing spell” in the long run of captivity, they will not, and must not, let go until they have gained their fullest freedom and independence. Nothing short of a “Jewish state” will avail; nothing else will satisfy their demands. Despite of the unwilling and indifferent in their midst (as there have always been such among liberated slaves; even among those who went forth from Egyptian bondage), the idea of a Jewish state must sooner or later be carried into effect.

    During the time of the middle ages, when darkness covered the earth, and ignorance blunted the facilities of reasoning beings; when brutal force was rampant and might was construed to be right—those standing lower in the order of the human spheres could hardly hope for equalization. They dare not raise their eyes toward the quality of manhood, nationalism or social advancement, whichever the case might be, as they knew they must yield to their inevitable lot. But the newer “renaissance” has lifted the peoples of the earth out of mental stagnation, and has at the same time redeemed them from social oppression and opened up a pathway for their freedom and happiness. For as soon as the spirit of progressiveness has entered the world’s scene and man began to realize the truth that he is the arbiter of his own fate; that it all depends upon his own labors and a personal effort on his part will raise him up to a level with the rest; just as soon as the world began to recognize the fact that “all are equal before nature and nature’s God”—each one of the human species naturally felt it his right and his duty to seek for advancement and strive to become as good as the other man. 

    Together with the imbued ideals of freedom and equality there comes to man a feeling of self-consciousness, as awakening of individual worth and personal dignity. And this same rousing up of the inner self-consciousness is manifest within the race or nationality, which finds itself justly entitled to be on a level with the rest of the families of the earth, each of whom is calling for individual right, each craving for an automatic state—a state of self-dependence. 

    It is the established opinion of noted sociologists that nationalism will never cease, but that it will always develop in one form or another. The newer scientific investigations have shown it beyond doubt that nationalism is in no way antagonistic to cosmopolitanism; the peculiar characteristics of civilized nations cannot, and should not, destroy their international cosmos, or underlying unity. And for this very reason that unity and differentiation are both necessary for the organic, as well as the social, life. Differentiation, or variety, is the stamp of wholesome development, the sign of true progress. 

    Even socialism, according to its most recent interpretation by noted theorists in various countries (Vernerstorfer [sic] of Austria, Vallian [sic] of France and Henrice Perri [sic] of Italy) does not propose to destroy the individualism of nations, any more than it is to wipe off the lines of demarcation of the individual home, or the peculiar attributes of the individual person. On the contrary, the broader the plane of humanity—the more distinctly recognized the individual worth of each person; the more widespread the rule of equality—the more of a self-consciousness must be evoked in the individual being, and the better the chance for each and everyone to thrive and develop in his peculiar and personal qualifications. And such widely recognized individualism must necessarily redound to the common good of humanity.

    Now, therefore, on beholding an individual being, be it person, people or nationality, that asserts its rights and its claims as a special and separate entity, and for which privilege it is ready to strive and struggle continually—help it up; give it a fair chance for self-help and an independent existence. All these nationalities that recently come into being are doubtless entitled to their independent living by virtue of the cohesive bond of mutual interest that characterizes each of them. 

    To lift a people out of distress is no less a virtue than to help up an individual person. To free a nation from the shackles of tyranny, as the United States has done in the case of “Cuba libre,” Porto Rica, etc., is as much of an altruism, as much of an act of bravery as it is to save an individual life from murderous attack, which every good citizen is ready to do under all circumstances. Both are to be classed in the category of “Stand not (idle) by the blood of thy neighbor” (Lev. xix 16) and both are included in the injunction “Deliver not to his master the servant that may escape,” etc. (Deut. xxiii, 16.)

    Civilized mankind today can do no better act than redeem itself by aiding in the plan of Jewish renationalization, which is the only peaceful solution to an ever-agitating and tormenting problem. To atone for the blood-stained history of many generations, which this ever-martyred race has left behind by persisting to call itself a people, the whole world must now see the justice of the Zionist demand to procure for this homeless people a “fatherland,” a legally assured home in the land of ancient Israel. And that to be accomplished by no force of arms, but through the sympathy and moral support all peace-loving humanity.

    Though dispersed and scattered over the whole world the Jews are still a people, united by one common tie of interest, held together by an endless chain of suffering and recognized by the peculiarity of racial and religious distinction. Throughout the many centuries of Jewish dispersion there was one star of hope which linked Israel together in every land and clime; which illumined the path of the exiled and led them safely through the avenues of darkness and cruel persecution. This is the hope of Zion; the continuous longing of the Jewish people for the historic land of their forefathers; the land that is connected with so many sacred associations, with so many sweet and precious memories of their glorious past; the land which like themselves went on shifting and drifting from under the rule of one master into that of another; and yet even to this day it remains without a mastering hand to upbuild and develop it along the lines of human progression. We might safely venture the supposition that while devoid of Jewish activity and Jewish personal interest, this holy land cannot but remain an eyesore to the world, as it has been during all the centuries of the past.

    However, the recent transformation in the political aspect of the holy land, with the friendly call extended to the Jewish people that they may come to settle in the land and trade therein, is an unmistakable sign for the opening of a new era of peace and prograss, [sic] both for the land hitherto barren and deserted, as well as for the homeless and downtrodden people who may find no other consolation save in the rehabilitation of this their ever-cherished fatherland. 

    To have endured 20 centuries of martyrdom for an ideal in which this land figured supremely is no small task, and if we are to assume that Judiaism [sic] is still destined to live we must at the same time be convinced that Jewish persecution will not cease as long as the Jew will persist in clinging to his ancestral faith and remaining “a people that dwelleth alone.” In order, therefore, to remove a source of endless trouble with all the world there is but on remedy to be applied, and that is to give the Jew the land of his yearning, the home which he may call his own. Since it was sufficiently proven that the Jew will never assimilate and never lose his identity among the nations of the earth, it is to the interest of himself and all the world that he be given possession of the one and only spot which he may claim as his own. Restore the Jew to his ancient soil, give him the land of his inheritance, and you will find in him a defender of all that is good and manly within man; and you will then see “the Jew at his best,” as the editor of the Boston Transcript has well remarked. Give the Jew a free scope of action in his own home and you will soon find in him the uplifting influence for which he is destined to be. Let there be a protectorate of the Jewish destiny—a Jewish state—and the sons of modern Israel, wherever they may chance to be, will soon turn a new leaf; will soon be filled with a sense of responsibility to themselves and all the world, and mankind will soon recognize in them the children of light, the God-fearing and humanity-loving seed of Jacob; the real Jew—not the imitation of a Jew—the proud product of Zion’s hills—not the crawling, cringing and favor-seeking Jew, the “bit of apology” Jew, as he always was forced to be in the lands of his oppression.

    True it is, there is no immediate prospect for Jewish autonomy in Palestine at this moment, when Turkey needs her peace and rest from all around; when all must combine to form the untied commonwealth; when all must work in unison for the one great end of guarding and unbuilding the newly formed state, and all must stand ready to defend its cause, protect its liberties, and guarantee its freedom for all men and ideals in civilization. The Jew is today requested to come as a citizen free to worship his God, pursue his daily vocations and add to the prosperity of the land by his useful activity. However, the outlook for the Jewish autonomic state is not weakened in the least by the present conditions. In-as much as the Armenians, Syrians, Macedonians, and other distinct nationalities inhabiting the land may now justly hope that in the near future each of them will secure a satisfactory amount of home rule or self-government, so in due course of time the Jewish people, too, after having increased in umbers and properly established themselves in commercial, literary and agricultural lines, may likewise form a special contingent in the union of states, or colonies, which will constitute a sort of united kingdom, or “United States” similar to those of Western Europe, or even those of the American republic. For in this wise [sic] only free Turkey will prove a success.  

    Of course, this question of autonomy is one to be settled not by any arbitrary means, but by the peaceful deliberations of the people’s representatives on the floor of the Turkish parliament at some future period when all questions of immediate import will have been solved.

    It is not to serve a policy of aggression, nor to become a menace to the world that the Jew seeks to re-establish his political career, but to solve that pressing political problem which was, and is today, the most vexing and knotty question with the whole of civilization.

    The proposed plan for the re-establishment of the Jewish nation, together with the rehabilitation of old Zion-land on a civilized basis, is in no way antagonist to the principles of humanity and the progress of the age.