But it never seemed to have occurred to Leo N. Levi to deny the Oriental character of his race. Instead, he asserted it. On page 104 of the B’nai B’rith memorial, he excuses certain social crudities of the Jew on the ground “that hailing originally from the Orient and having been compelled for twenty centuries to live in a society of his own, he has preserved in his tastes much that is characteristically Oriental.” Again on page 116, he excused the multiplicity of religious rites as being due to the fact that the Jew “drew upon his Oriental imagination for a symbolism that appealed to his ideal emotions.” On page 312, he speaks of the Jews’ “Oriental devotion to their parents.” This easy recognition of the fact is commended to those bootlicking editors who, out of the vastness of their ignorance of the Jewish Question, have seen in the reference to Orientalism an “insult” to the Jews and an unfailing indication of anti-Semitism.
The Jewish Question! Ah, that is another point which pro-Jewish spokesmen hasten to deny, but they will be somewhat disturbed by the candor with which true Jewish spokesmen admit the Question.
In a strong passage on page 101, Mr. Levi says:
“If I have dwelt so long upon this subject, it is because I recognize that if the Jew has been denied so much that is rightfully his, he often claims more than is his due. One of these claims, most persistently urged, is that there is no Jewish Question; that a Jew is a citizen like any other citizen and that as long as he abides by the law and does not subject himself to criminal prosecution or civil action, his doings are beyond legitimate inquiry by the public at large.
“This contention on his part would certainly be well based if he claimed nothing further than the right to live in peace, but when he demands social recognition the whole range of his conduct is a legitimate subject of inquiry against which no technical demurrers can be interposed ... nor must the Jew be over-sensitive about the inquiry.