“The inconsistencies and the unwisdom exhibited in the consideration of the Jewish Question are not to be found altogether on the side of those who are hostile to the Jews.”
“Since then the refugees from Russia, Galicia and Rumania have raised the Jewish Question to commanding importance. Since then it has dawned on the world that we are witnessing another exodus which promises soon to change the habitat of the Jews to the Western Hemisphere.” (Page 59)
“The Jewish Question cannot be solved by tolerance. There are thousands of well-meaning people who take to themselves great credit for exhibiting a spirit of tolerance toward the Jews.” (Page 98)
Mr. Levi also lays down rules for “the study of the Jewish Question,” and he says that if they were followed the result “would be startling at once to the Jews and the general public.” (Page 93) How far present Jewish leadership has departed from that frank and broad view taken by Mr. Levi, is everywhere evident.
Not that Mr. Levi was a critic of his people, but he was a lawyer who was accustomed to weighing facts, and he saw facts that weighed against his people. But he was pro-Jewish even in his most severe observations. He could make an attack on the rabbis, taunting them with the saying that “many of you are ‘rabbis for revenue only,’” but he could also insist on Jewish solidarity and exclusiveness.
In this connection it may be interesting to see how strongly Mr. Levi supports the contention of Jewish leaders (as outlined in The Dearborn Independent of October 9 and 16, 1920) that the Jews are a race and not merely a religion, a nation and not merely a church, and that the term “Jew” is biological rather than theological. This is specially commended to the attention of those dim-minded shouters of “religious prejudice,” who come into action whenever the Jewish Question is mentioned. (Of “religious prejudice” there are many examples to give in future articles.)