126
March 1932
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
eJEW ISH WORLD . . . B y J. A. V aus
Moslems Reject Wailing Wall Decision T h e c lo sin g s e s s io n s of the recent Mos lem Congress in Jerusalem were char acterized by fiery speeches in support of Moslem claims in the Holy Land, scream ing denunciations of the British manda tory policy, and vitriolic attacks against Zionist aims in Palestine. Old grievances were aired concerning the ousting of Arabs from Palestine, the colonizing of Palestine entirely with Jews, and the claim that the Jews are secretly planning to restore the ancient temple on the present site of the Mosque of Omar. A reopening of the Wailing Wall ques tion precipitatel an outburst of ver bal pyrotechnics. The Moslems have per sistently refused to admit the au thority of the League of Nations to settle the problem, and in conse quence, the Congress went on record as rejecting the decision of the League of Nations’ commission re garding the Wailing Wall. The present status of the Wailing Wall controversy recognizes Moslem right to the Wailing Wall site, but it permits Jews to frequent the wall at will. The majority sentiment of the Congress favored a campaign of resistance against the British Government until such time as it revokes its Jewish National Home policy. Threats against the physical safety of Jews were freely made, and delegates were in agreement as to the necessity of “showing Pales tine Jews their places in the only way they know." Moslem indictments were particularly directed against the Zionists who have recently settled in Palestine, and not against the pre-Balfour Declaration Jews. Resolutions were adopted with a view to inaugurating a boycott of goods manu factured in Palestine by Jews. Yiddish in Latin Characters / " V u t of Soviet Russia comes- the sugges- tion that Yiddish should be written in Latin characters. The object of those wiK> put forward the suggestion apparently it" to retard the death of a language which, in the opinion of some, can survive only in the ghetto. The suggestion is highly inter esting, even if not practical. Yiddish is not threatened with extinction because of any inherent difficulties, nor because it is out of step with other European languages, but because it represents a period in Jew ish life which is now on the decline. With Jewish immigration practically at a stand still in America, Yiddish, which has here been dependent upon occasional blood transfusions from eastern Europe, seems doomed. Russia, which has. formerly been the great fountain of Yiddish cul ture, is daily becoming less and less Yid dish despite the Russian Government’s in terests to the contrary. Poland is perhaps the only country at present where Yid dish can be said to be flourishing, and
icism, they were condemned to the stake as infidels and heretics. To escape persecu tion, torture, and massacre, large numbers of Jews outwardly embraced Catholicism, while remaining Jews at heart; and these became known as the Marranos. Now the new Republic of Spain seems anxious to make amends, and the Sephardic Jews are asked to forget the injuries done in the past by the Catholic kings of Spain, and to return. To date, very few Jews have taken advantage of this offer. That the Catholic Press in Madrid does not take kindly to the friendly overtures made to the Jews by the Minister of Edu cation is evident from a recent article ap pearing in El Siglo Futuro, a Catholic organ, under the heading, “The Jewish Conspiracy.” This article revives old arguments on anti-Semites to the effect that Jews are seeking world dominion. Other papers claim that the re public is being Judaized and ridicule the Minister of Education for his friendly attitude to the Jews. The El Debate, an influencial paper in Madrid, accuses the Minister of Education of desiring to “forget the sins of the Jews who cost the Span iards much blood and declares that only under the republic would a Minister fraternize with Jews.” Cuba Closes Gates to Jews F or y ea rs pa st , refugee Jews from eastern Europe have found escape there is no organized anti-Semitism or Jew-baiting. If such exists, it is largely confined to single individuals. Then, too, it must be remembered, Cuba is not far from the United States, and the vague hope is cherished in the hearts of many Jews that the United States may before long open wide her doors to immigrants and then, within six hours’ time, Jews in Cuba could arrive in the United States. To the island of Cuba, as many as 13,000 Jews have come in a single month. The mild climate makes poverty more easily endured than in the bitter winters of Po land. Many of these Jews have been joined by their families, and now Spanish words are being incorporated into the Yiddish language. But now all this is changed. The gates of that hospitable land, through economic depression, have begun to close to the Jews. No laws, as yet, have been framed against them, but difficulties in the way of entry are set up against immigrants, in that each must have at least $200.00 in his possession as proof that he will not become an object of charity. While the peak of Jewish immigration to Cuba reached 13,000 in a single month, last month’s total was no more than thir teen. So the wandering Jew finds another refuge closed against him.
there economic, political, and social boy cott against the Jews is the order of the day. Apparently, Yiddish can be saved 'only through a return to ghetto life, and the Jews cannot be blamed if they reject such a remedy as being worse than the disease. Consequently, one might be par doned for doubting that Latin letters can save Yiddish. Rabbi Talks Hebrew with Pope " F t is u n iv er sa ll y conceded that Pope JL Pius XI is a Latin scholar of no mean ability, but perhaps it is not so generally known that he is also a very talented He braist. During the course of an audience which he recently granted to the Chief
from persecution and a measure of material comfort on the hospitable shores of Cuba. In Cuba at least,
TEWS AT WAILING WALL
Rabbi of Milan, Dr. Alessandro Dafano, a friend of long standing, the Pope gave an exhibition of his profound knowledge of the Hebrew by conducting the entire in terview in that language. The Chief Rabbi expressed his appreciation to the Pope for joining in a protest against a proposed calendar reform. Spain Beckons Jews p a in , the land of the Inquisition, by a- strange turn in the wheel of destiny, is ’Jf^w ready to welcome the return of Jews ofggianish ancestry and, according to For eign Mfcdster A. Lerroux will do what it can to \,facilitate tbeir naturalization. These SepMjfdic (Spanish) Jews, it will be remembered’ were driven out of Spain by their CathofliP Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492\at which time a decree expelling all J e w \ from Spain was issued. The Jews who hSi1 prospered under the Mohammedan M o o r \incurred the enmity of the Catholic hier;Vchy and awoke to find their possessions \ forfeited to. the Spanish crown and thel^se^ves banished. Only such as kissed t h e \ ross' submitted to Catholic baptism, and l P rofessed’ ou‘‘ wardly at least, allegiance m) Catholic church were allowed to remdKn’ and ■’ a*" ter a certain lapse of time, s |ny were left who did not profess conversicfij1 to Cathol
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker