The Immigrant Tide, Its Ebb and FlowSteiner, Edward Alfred
History
The Immigrant Tide, Its Ebb and Flow
Steiner, Edward Alfred
United States -- Emigration and immigration
Whatever the cause, be it the old tribal spirit, the ethnic motive or
the opposing religious dogmas; whatever has been endured by one or
other of the races and for whatever cause, the Jewish race has suffered
for all causes, has suffered everywhere, has suffered long, and has not
yet seen the end of its sufferings anywhere.
There is no country in which the Jews have been in any large numbers,
where they have not endured and are not now enduring persecution. There
is no country to-day of which we can say that the causes which led to
their persecutions have been removed.
This is as true of Germany as it is of Russia, and as true of the United
States as it is of Austro-Hungary.
Every fair minded Jew knows this, and because he knows it he would
rather not talk about it or hear it talked about.
Every fair minded Gentile knows it, although perhaps he would not be
willing to acknowledge it, even to himself.
Undoubtedly, there must be reasons for an attitude so universal, and
before we can apply any remedy, it is necessary to analyze the disease.
First: The Jews have been able to maintain the tribal spirit during
periods when it was breaking down all around them. The tenacity
necessary for this and the extremely exclusive methods used, blocked
every avenue of social approach and aroused the suspicion of their
neighbours. Whether these neighbours were Egyptians, Assyrians, Romans,
Greeks, Slavs or Teutons, they hated the Jews because they kept
themselves separate.
The feeling of superiority which the Jew felt, soon degenerated into
contempt for the Gentile and was fostered by the fact that the mass of
the people with whom he came in contact was beneath him culturally,
using the word in its broadest sense.
The Jew could read and write when his Gentile neighbours did not know
the alphabet.
The Gentile bowed down to stocks and stones, to priests and Pope, while
the Jew held his head erect and covered, even in the presence of
Jehovah.
The people who thus voluntarily excluded themselves from Gentile society
were finally kept aloof by law, and when their masters became their
equals, and in some respects their superiors, the way of approach was
effectually blocked; until now, the aversion of the Gentile for the Jew
is fixed, and seems almost ineradicable, much as the Jew may wish to
free himself from it.
Second: Religious prejudice is another vital factor leading to this
antipathy between Jew and Gentile; although it is not the only one. It
manifested itself early in some of the New Testament writings, grew more
intense as the church began to overshadow the synagogue, reached its
height during the crusades and is still a compelling force among the
common people all over the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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