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The Southern Israelite
By MRS. FELIX LEVY
Mrs. Felix Levy, of Chicago, was
the guest speaker of the Atlanta Sec
tion of the National Council of Jewish
Women at their October meeting,'when
she spoke on ‘‘What I Saw in Russia”.
Mrs. Levy, who was past president of
the Chicago section of the Council and
chairman of the National Committee
on Religion, has traveled extensively
in Europe, Palestine, Egypt, a,1( l the
Crimea, assuring her of an effective
background upon which to base her
impressions gathered during the month
she spent in Russia the past summer.
She feels that the newspaper reports
of the situation there are false, not
that they are untrue, but they reveal
such a small part of the truths exist
ing until the effect created is errone
ous. For this reason Mrs. Levy was
particularly careful to remain unbiased
in her opinion of the conditions there,
based upon her own conclusions en
tirely. Being a person of keen obser
vation and intelligent understanding,
she was able to render a discerning
and impartial summary of her experi
ences and impressions.
Mrs. Levy feels that probably the
most serious handicaps in studying the
plight in Russia were twofold. First
of all, she was not familiar with the
language, which is exceptionally diffi
cult to learn. Consequently the outside
world misinterprets the ordinary terms
of the government, as well as their
slogans. Many of the Russian Jews
speak some German and a form of
Yiddish, however, so that communica
tion with them was fairly satisfactory.
The other handicap was the fact that
Mrs. Levy knew the old Russia otdy
through books, and since the Revolu
tion the entire old order is completely
broken down and reorganized in ideals
and in practice. The only difficulty
encountered with the customs agents
upon entering the country was the ex
amination of all printed and written
material to guard against counter
revolutionary propaganda. All money
brought into Russia is also examined
to avoid a collapse of the ruble, as was
the case of the mark in Germany, be
cause a ruble is worth 50 cents in Rus
sia and about 15 cents outside of the
country.
The fundamentals of the new regime
are entirely changed, but Mrs. Levy
was able to explain a few of the basal
and vital features of the present gov
ernment. To her the outstanding foun
dation is the complete abolition of per
sonal property, which any government
official has the right to take from an
individual, including food, clothing,
stores, hotels, restaurants. Thus every
one is an official of the government,
which condition eliminates all compe
tition and, incidentally, advertising in
any form. In addition to the vast size
of Russia and the poverty resulting
from the Revolution, the complete
government control of private prop
erty ignores the capital necessary to
develop the wealth of resources that
Russia owns, causing greater difficulty
in creating a firm new order.
Another caustic fundamental of the
present regime is absolute equality of
everything theoretically, exerted in
sex, color, and religion. Women are
engaged in the same positions as men
and receive equal salary for their work.
All races are recipients of equal treat
ment from the government. Mrs. Levy
illustrated with the case of an Ameri
can negro school teacher who took
her children to Russia last summer be
cause they will have an equal chance
there, whereas in the United States
they will be handicapped because of
their color. The Soviet Government
also stands for equality in religion in
that they are not anti-Semitic or anti-
Protestant, as the case may be, al
though they are anti-religious. No
religion is persecuted because of its
particular identity. In fact, the gov
ernment is opposed to persecution on
any grounds except to carry out the
principles of the government itself.
The sole hope of Russia today is to
convert the world by overthrowing
capitalism. For this reason former
professional men and merchants, now
declassed, are overcharged, while the
working men are favored with almost
nominal prices. Because of this situa
tion alone, the Jews, are in such a
tragic state in Russia, since the ma
jority were merchants and well edu
cated in their manner before the Revo
lution, resulting in their being de
classed and impoverished today.
Because the Jewish problem is natu
rally one of primary interest to her
Jewish audiences, Mrs. Levy went into
fairly full detail explaining the three
classes of Jews in Russia. First, there
are the Jews who have become Com
munists. While the Communists arc a
comparatively small group, they are
powerful and the worst enemy of the
Jews, even though they seem safer in
the Communists’ ranks for a time. It
is a rigid matter to enter the group
and certainly unprofitable in the long
run. The second class number the de
classed middlemen, or capitalists, who
suffer most under the new form of
government and who are living only on
money from the United States after
they are gradually ousted from the
government-owned shops through high
taxation. The third class include the
colony Jews, who on the farm are
barely able to exist, even helped by
United States support. They literally
exist, for while they are rarely har
assed, they are like empty souls that
are hopelessly wandering. Their spirits
are so completely destroyed and their
souls are so thwarted that Mrs. Levy
feels the most that can be done for
Russian Jewry is to save their bodies.
They are entirely dependent upon the
assistance they receive from American
Jewry, making it almost shameful to
realize the little sacrifice the American
Jews are really making to relieve the
5 ?
calamitous condition of th
brethren in Russia.
To Mrs. Levy the new
education is theoretically a
although practically it is not s
because of lack of funds. Ti
the system is to teach each . hjlii t } u .
principles bearing on his ever.
He is taught to employ the envir,
in which he is to live to best advantage
For instance, only the practical modern
languages are taught, not Grek. Latin
or Hebrew, which, as Mrs. Levy sug
gested, may be part of their subtle
anti-religious propaganda, since all
three languages are connected with the
Bible. The chief drawback t<> the en
tire educational system, however, is the
fact that the government has not the
faculties or facilities to carry nut what
they feel to be correct theoretically
Along with the question of education
arises the waif problem, originating
with the orphans left after the Revolu
tion. There are thousands who are
beggars and who flock from one city
to another. The government is more or
less helpless to control them either by
education or by law, because it is use
less to throw them into prison ami
there is no way for them to be taken
care of in an institution. The nearest
to a satisfactory solution will be tin-
passing of years to curb their lawless
ness and provide work for these chil
dren, Mrs. Levy feels.
One of the most interesting institu
tions Mrs. Levy discussed was tin
courts, since she, herself, is a lawyer
Russia is trying to evolve a new sys
tem in regulating criminals, mainly t<
fix the punishment to suit the crime
So that a criminal will not be a detri
ment to his country, he is forced to
jail for at least ten years, regardless "t
his offense, the argument being that
if he is to be cured at all, ten years
is ample time. If he Steals, he must
pay back the sum from money he
receives from his work in prison. 5°
that an innocent family does not suiter
unnecesarily, part of his salary is sent
to them regularly. Some prisoners are
even allowed to visit their families
from time to time. All in all Mr>. Le\>
feels that the attitude toward prisoners
and prisons is more advanced an
more humane than it is in the l nite
States, except of course in the case ot
counter-revolutionists, who are g ,urn
the penalty of either exile or death
The former punishment is undoubtedly
the most severe, for exiles arc abso
lutely helpless. Mrs. Levy cited the
problem of two Zionists who, throug
the very thorough espionage s> 'tc-m.
were discovered and for whom twe
Jewish women appealed to Mrs.
party for aid. This was practically im
possible, of course, except that
party gave the remainder of the
longings to the women for the
after having previously given
most of their clothes to destit
ferers.
The marriage and divorce 1
(Continued on page R