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The Southern Israelite
Anti-Semitism, A Healthy Influence
By ARTHUR SCHNITULER
As Told to David Ewen
Arthur Schnitzler, the world-
fatuous Jewish novelist and dramat
ist presents some intcresinij views on
the moot question of anti-Semitism.
Himself touched by the hand bigotry,
Schnitzler has some unique ideas on
the problem and lima best to solve it.
—Editor.
More than once during the course of
my life have I come into contact with
anti-Semitism. The first time I stumbled
against it, 1 remember today very clearly;
evidently it had made a very profound
impression on me at the time. I was
then a medical student at the University,
here in Vienna, and a few of us were
handed together into a sort of philan
thropic society whose mission was to give
charity to needy students—not very much,
just a few shillings to help them some
what. Before the society was very many
months old, discrimination set in. When
a man was suggested for help, and his
name was unmistakably Jewish, immedi
ately he was subtly removed from every
consideration. 1 was so struck by this
unfair treatment that poor Jewish stu
dents received, that for a long while I
fought bitterly against it. It was a hope
less fight, as l soon realized—and before
long 1 was compelled to resign from the
society. But after my graduation from
the University, 1 was to learn that anti-
Semitism was an every-day problem. As
a physician I personally encountered so
much of it that this, 1 am sure, more than
anything else served to bring me sharply
to Judaism and to an understanding of
and a sympathy for its problems.
However,—although when l first en
countered it, 1 was alarmed and infuri
ated at all anti-Semitism, however slight
it might have been—1 am not one of those
who today look upon it as a very grave
problems. Not that I deny the existence
of anti-Semitism everywhere, but, frankly,
I do not think that it is a very important
problem. As a matter of fact. I look
upon anti-Semitism as a healthy influence
in the life of the Jew. Every once in a
while a Jew will come to me, his face
red with anger, his eyes flaming and
desperate, and he will tell me how he has
been the object of some anti-Semite’s
obvious discrimination. I always try to
calm such infuriated Jews and to tell
them that they should not, after all, take
such discrimination very seriously. It is
just such discrimination—more than all
the legends and religious worship—I tell
them, which has kept Judaism palpitantly
alive through the ages. And it is true.
At least, I am convinced of it. Religion,
that is strict religious beliefs according
to age-old customs and traditions, has
with each passing century become a
weaker and weaker influence in the life
of the ordinary Jew. We all see, each
day, how little it plays a part in the
everyday life of you and me, who, not
withstanding our disregard of the laws,
still remain good Jews at heart. But
though religious worship is becoming a
weaker influence, racial patriotism per
sists tenaciously in the heart of every
Jew, and as strongly as ever before. And
the reason it does so, is because the aver
age Jew well realizes that he is envied,
abused, the object of the Christian world’s
scorn and contempt. I do not, for ex
ample, believe that Jews were ever so
racially patriotic as in these sordid years,
of the past century, when they suffered
the lash of persecution.
Persecution, fortunately, has died out.
Its legitimate offspring is anti-Semitism.
And this anti-Semitism, I say, is serving
a very useful purpose in constantly re
minding the Jew that he is, after all,
very individual; that lie is, after all, very
different from his Christian neighbor;
that his only salvation in this world is to
recognize this difference and to openly
acknowledge it. Anti-Semitism, I feel,
is constantly serving the healthy purpose
Buried deep in the darkness,
Far from the sun’s warm light,
Se you not the blind worm
In his night?
He was horn in the darkness.
Fated there to creep.
Sleepless, in the kingdom
Of eternal deep.
Like a worm in the darkness,
Dumb and blind and frail.
You pass childhood’s wonder-years,
Weak and pale.
Near your cradle your mother
Sings no song
Of a happy, quiet life-time,
Sweet and long.
of bringing into the heart of every Jew,
far more forcefully than any other in
fluence I know of at the present mo
ment, a patriotism for his race, and a
love for his brother-Jews. That is why
l say that anti-Semitism is a healthy in
fluence.
And then, why should we not reconcile
ourselves gracefully to something that is
so obviously inevitable as anti-Semitism
is? Nothing that we can do can possibly
overcome and put an end to anti-Semit
ism ; it is simply out of the question.
Anti-Semitism is a perfectly human fail
ing of a perfectly human society. When
a group of people is different from the
vast majority, that group of people is
certain to be scorned and held in con
tempt. And when that group, though in a
minority, succeeds in forging to the front
—in the world of art and industry and
finance—envy is almost certain to light
up the contempt of the majority into the
mighty flame of hate.
Re
alizing
this, name
ly that
anti-Scmit-
ism i
is inevit
:able in a
human
society,
the
Jew
can do
either of
two
things.
He
can
either
eliminate
anti-Semitism
by
Nor of fields and gardens
W here a boy
Plays and spends the daylight hours.
Wild with joy.
No, a fount of grief and sadness
Ever springs ,
Bitter, hitter is the sorrow
That she sings.
Low, sad sighs, and hot, hot teardrops,
Low, sad sighs,
Grow forever in the forest
Where your pathway lies.
You were born in the darkness,
Fated there from birth
Ever to be creeping
In the earth.
elimiting that which causes it.
other words, he can surrender 1
and its heritage. An absurd sob .to.
be sure! The other, and far m<>n H -n-
sible, plan is simply to tolerat. anti-
Semitism as the fate that inevitably be
longs to the Jew, a fate which c
be changed. Spinoza once wrote that an
evil which is inevitable ceases to be an
evil. For example, we die—certainly one
of the most colossal tragedies in the life
of the human-being (can anything he
more evil than death?) Yet, do we ever
stop to worry over it? No. The fact
that it is inevitable simply eliminates it a>
an evil; we accept it as a fact. Just m..
should anti-Semitism be accepted. T--
fight against it is useless and merely
serves to augment anti-Semitis'm, and tint
to diminish it. One cannot expect human-
beings to be anything but human. Their
shortcomings, however painful they may
be sometimes, simply have to be under
stood—and tolerated.
I am often asked if I believe that anti-
Semitism will ever die. All things die
in this world and some day, in some way
that I cannot for the moment foresee.
anti-Semitism will go the way of all
flesh. But that day is far. far oft
Anti-Semitism is destined to linger ;
long as Jews remain Jews. For one
thing, the causes of anti-Semitism can
never be eliminated. Jews will always be
different; Jews will always. I am sure,
continue to be at the front of human
activity; Jews must always be hated
And then, anti-Semitism is such a con
venient thing! It is so convenient t
discriminate, when discrimination
necessary. If, for example, a univerdt
is crowded, isn’t it convenient to put a
ban against Jews? And in the case <
our little philanthropic society wasnt di>-
crimination against the Jew started h
cause it was convenient—namely, nn-r
of the money could go to Christian stu
dents? Why, then, should society abandon
anything so convenient? Especially duct
there is cause, from their point of \icu-
for their discrimination No. Some day
perhaps a race of Supermen will appear
in this world, in whom envy. hate, ma
and contempt will be altogether tortiun
But until such a time comes, the Jew
destined to suffer the stings and arrow
of anti-Semitism.
However, as I have already said li
the Jew should not feel too deeply :
' anti-Semitism. Strange to say.
Semitism is an evil which gi' c >
good. The Christians hope to an
us with their contempt; their <■
really makes us flourish. For t
we Jews more truly consciom
race as when we realize th
hated.
(Copyright 1930, J. T. A.. I
—S. FRUG
Translated from the Yiddish by JACOB ROBBINS.
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he Jewish Child
