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Page 54
The Southern Israelite
Let Jezvs Be Americans
(Continued
no stretch of the imagination or of tol
erance can an American, be he Jew or
Christian, recognize him as an American.
Yet he demands admission to the most
exclusive clubs. He wants to be one of
the four hundred, nothing less. If he
finds the door to social recognition closed
—to him as a man, not as a Jew—he
raises the cry of discrimination. I have
always found that it is those who do
not deserve a free passport into the social
life of America who are the first to make
an issue of the matter, to transform
their individual case into a racial one.”
Mr. Ochs-Oakcs was thoroughly
aroused now. He banged his fist on the
table and, in a determined tone, ecxlamied :
"A racial issue! Can you imagine? I
do not recognize that there is such a
thing as a Jewish race or nation. Those
who know something about anthropology
laugh at the designation ‘Jewish race’.
I am an American, not a Palestinian. It
is high time that this foolish talk about
Jewish nationalism were stopped. When
Herzl, the Zionist leader, sprung that
formula of a Jewish nation over thirty
years ago 1 fought him and delivered
speeches against this demagogic theory.
Whenever an American reads about Zion
ist activities his reaction is: ‘What did I
tell you? Those Jews are no Americans.
They don’t want to he. They want to
have their own country in Palestine.’
and while all this goes on the Jews—
some Jews, the very ones who propa
gandize Zionism—speak of discrimina
tion in this country. Don’t they under
stand that this Zion talk makes them
look like visitors in the United States?”
The interviewer: ‘‘Yet you have a
man like Felix M. Warburg, surely a
patriotic American, at the head of the
Administrative Committee of the Jewish
Agency for Palestine, which is the su
preme body for the upbuilding of the
Jewish homeland in Palestine.”
Mr. Ochs-Oakes: ‘‘I understand his
philanthropic interest in Palestine. I
cannot understand his political attitude.
Dealing with Great Britain as power to
power, Jewish ‘nation’ versus the English
nation, is preposterous. If he is doing
this he is rendering a disservice to the
Jews of this country, I am sorry to' say.
‘‘I consider myself a good Jew. I
married a Jewish woman. My two sons
graduated with gold medals from the
Sunday School of Temple Emanu-El. I
am thoroughly Jewish in my faith. But
I will not stand for my American citizen
ship being tampered with by this Pales
tine movement.”
The interviewer: “Your point of view
is perfectly clear. Do you, however, take
into account the fact that there are some
Jews who simply cannot assimilate? If
they try their fundamental difference in
character makes them appear tactless, as
you say. What are you going to do with
them ?
Mr. Ochs-Oakes: “Of course I real
ize that. There is a difference that can
not be bridged, that does not need to be
bridged. The thing that matters is that
the Jew must make every effort to be
come a part of America, that he must
disregard this Jewish nationalist propa
ganda which is the basic reason for the
line of discrimination. He must have
patience. He must convince his co-citi-
merican
from Page 9)
zens that his Jewishness is p,
ter of faith. Maybe he nui
vince himself of that. Th
respects genuine religious f ct
“All this will be a slow
course. The second generati
be able to achieve integration
not even the third. Gradual!,
the American citizen of I
will emerge, just as in the d
the great East European inin
a hundred per cent American
from his compatriots in his t
iation only. That should be !
"If I were to condense m
a few sentences I would say t
only thing we Jews can do t, rrnmv
discrimination against us is. fir
phasize that there is no such t
Jewish race; secondly, not to countenance-
the turning of the private affail
dividuals into collective, national i
thirdly, a sincere effort on the part hi
immigrants to integrate into American
life. We must realize that there arc
many human reasons why Jews are fre
quently disqualified socially and commer
cially, reasons that have no connection
with their Jewish religious affiliations.
Once we understand that and will attempt
to correct ourselves non-Jewish Ameri
cans will adopt toward us the attitude \u
shall deserve.”
The interviewer: “Would you. then,
oppose a separate Jewish university n
this country?”
Mr. Ochs-Oakes (rising, very vehem
ently) : "By all means. It would only
make conditions worse. It would i
crease discrimination in the colleges.
Now when my son John applied for ad
mission into the Lawrenceville School I
was told, indirectly, that that institution
was keeping down its percentage of
Jewish students. My son, however, w.o
accepted. And his brilliant studies
pressed the dean so much that lie told
me that he considered my sou one of the
very best pupils he had ever had unde
him; this although he knew full well
that my son was a Jew. By such ex
amples, I believe, we can do more t"
remove unjust discrimination in the e !
leges than by advocating or building
own schools. We must preach by e
ample, not by answering discrimination
with discrimination.”
At that moment George Ochs-Oako,
Jr., son of the editor of Current Histon
entered the room. A splendidly bail
college man, not in the least Semitic ii
appearance. Turning to him. his lath i
said: “Junior, this gentleman A
terviewing me on separate Jewish uni
versities in this country. W hat
idea?”
The young man smiled and, withou
undue emphasis, replied:
"it would be a grave nib
know that there is such a thine
discrimination in American col ~
Alma Mater, Princeton, is *
it. But we have to combat it
spirit. To accentuate our gIn
to put the reverse on any g< 1
ment. We must trust in Air
play and play the America
selves according to the bc-
sportsmanship, regardless of
win or lose.”
(Copyright, 1930, by S- A