S. M. Melamed, Ph. D. Alpha Omega Publishing Company, New York Copyright, 1918 Alpha Omega Publishing Co., Inc. The following pages comprise a number of editorial leaders discussing questions and problems pertaining to Jewish nationalism and Zionism which were published in the American Jewish Chronicle in the years 1916-17-18....

The war has caused an upheaval of the whole world; vast changes have been wrought in many peoples. Destruction of life and treasure has brought about a revolution of national assets and resources, and there has been stock taking of the spiritual no less than of the material possessions. We have confident hope that the material losses will be balanced by the moral progress of the peoples of the world, great and small. No people has felt the upheaval more than have the Jews. None has had a greater

Even history has its reasons that reason often fails to understand. When news reached Rome in August 70 C.E. that Judea was conquered, the temple burned and the Jewish people subjugated, the Roman populace greeted it with the infamous cry, "Hierosolyma est perdita"; there was rejoicing at the downfall and humiliation of the Jewish state. Eighteen hundred and forty-seven years later, after the deafening cries "Hierosolyma est perdita" were shouted in the streets of the eternal city, an Italian ar

Ever since the Jewish people lost its national independence and sovereignty and began to live in dispersion among the nations of the earth, it has lost the opportunity and possibility of continuing the work of its national civilization and has had to be satisfied with producing cultural values only. Everything that individual Jews have achieved in the past two thousand years in the domain of civilization has been an enrichment of the civilization of the peoples among whom they have lived. Jews h

Even territories are subject to the incalculable caprice of Fate. Palestine, a small territory in Western Asia, forming the southern third of the province of Syria, excelled in natural beauty by Switzerland or the Tyrol, has nevertheless been touched by the Spirit of Humanity and has exerted a greater influence upon the development of the human mind than any other country in the world, not excepting ancient Hellas and Rome. There is hardly another land that has witnessed as great historic events

In spite of the political and diplomatic events of the two months preceding the Baltimore Zionist Convention, not one of the responsible Zionist leaders uttered a word with regard to the political situation pertaining to Palestine. The various rumors concerning a Jewish republic in Palestine have been answered by the representatives of American Zionism with—silence. This attitude on the part of the responsible Zionist leaders testifies to their political ability and tact, for nothing would be mo

What is the essence of the historic life of a people? This question has been on the program of the sociologist ever since society began to free itself from the hold of the state. Prior to the French Revolution, when society and the state were interlinked by thousands of strands, the belief was current that the national state—particularly, the well organized, centralized state—is the essence of the historic life of a people. It was thought that as soon as a special form of government was overturn

The days of religious wars have gone. The Inquisition is dead and theocracy is dying even at Tibet. The modern man, be he Gentile or Jew, no longer thinks more theologico as in the Middle Ages, but rather more sociologico . The time when a given religious dogma, a categorical philosophic principle, or some definite spiritual force was the driving power in history is far gone. Law and order in our political and social life are not derived from books and principles, but from life itself. Any attem

Every revolutionary phenomenon in life, every political catastrophe, upsets men's minds and shakes old rooted opinions to their very foundations. The sudden break with tradition affects both the mind of the individual as well as that of the collective body. It brings about a radical change in views and sentiments and often in the whole world-concept. The gloomy pessimist may suddenly become a joyous optimist and vice versa. The earthquake of Lisbon of 1755 not only shook the belief in Providence

At the beginning of the war there were many who ascribed the world conflagration to a conflict of races. At present there are many who would either belittle the rôle of race as a factor in history or eliminate it altogether. These people describe the theories of race as "race mythology" and consider them the invention of scholars rather than facts of objective reality. Among a certain section of the Jewish people this negation of race theories is very popular. If there are not races in this worl

The sixtieth anniversary of Ahad Ha'am, the foremost Hebrew thinker of his time, is a notable event in Hebrew literature, and will no doubt be celebrated by Hebraists all over the world in a manner worthy of the man and of the thinker. Next to Bialik, the great Hebrew poet, Ahad Ha'am is today the most popular Jew among the Jewries of the East and the best known representative of Hebrew thought among Jewish intellectuals in the West. His name is identified with the formulation of the program of

Even a language is subject to the force of fate. Its value in life and its meaning for the life of a people change constantly with the great changes of life. Only one hundred and twenty years ago there were those who believed in the possibility of the realization of the medieval idea that a day would come when all the peoples of the earth would speak one language and all linguistic barriers would soon disappear. Today language stands next to the state as the most important factor in the life of

In ancient times, nationality and state were identical. The destruction of the state always involved the destruction of the nationality. This was, in fact, the case with many peoples whose states were destroyed by conquerors. Only the Jews are an exception to the rule. The Jewish state was destroyed, the Jewish nationality was not. Even the dispersion of the Jews all over the globe could not destroy and did not destroy the Jewish nationality. On the contrary, the diaspora life of the Jews, with

No one has characterized the Jews better than did Mohammed when he called the Jews The People of the Book. In fact, nearly all that the Jews have achieved during their existence as a people they have achieved in the domain of literature. Even at the time when the Jews lived in Palestine and were at the height of their power, their achievements in the field of practical civilization were relatively poor. When the Jews disappeared as a sovereign nation from among the nations of the earth they did

Preceding and during the religious crisis in France, which resulted in the Separation Law, a great number of books on the future of religion appeared in Paris. The largest number of writers denied that there was a future for religion, maintaining that modern economic conditions are undermining the spiritual and religious basis of the life of the masses. A minority, upholding Clericalism, foresaw a promising future for religion. A similar discussion on the future of the Jewish religion arose with

Among all the literatures of the world the Jewish literature is the only one that did not develop in any one land and the destinies of which are not connected with any one country. It has neither a certain local odor nor a certain local color, and it has seldom been the product of local conditions. There are a good many scholars who go so far as to say that the Jews had litterateurs only and not a literature, because the conception of a national literature involves national territory, a national

The reputation of the Jews for being a business people has done them more harm than good, and has, in fact, retarded their emancipation in many countries. But nowhere has this reputation done them so much harm as in Russia. Even the Russian liberals, who are not anti-Semitic, seem to believe that the Jews, if emancipated, would ruin the Russian peasantry and completely monopolize Russian commerce. They are therefore not eager to take up the cause of the Jews, though they may be liberal in every

All peoples who live under normal conditions live economically, that is, on a systematized budget in which expenditure is adjusted to income. The Jewish people, not living under such conditions, do not live economically. Their budget is not systematized nor are its expenditures proportionate to the income. The lack of a systematized budget, however, does not mean that we have no fixed annual expenditures, although it is true that we have no fixed annual income. The truth is that we, as a people,

In the course of the long controversy between Jewish nationalists and opponents of Jewish nationalism many have come to believe that those who oppose nationalism stand for universal Judaism, especially since the anti-nationalists call themselves Jewish universalists. After the publication of the declaration of the British Government with regard to Palestine the main anti-nationalistic spokesman in America, Dr. Philipson of Cincinnati, summed up his negative attitude to Zionism with the short sen

The phenomenal tempo made by the United States in preparation for the war is a very interesting phenomenon of our time. What England did in many years of struggle America has achieved within a few weeks. It took England more than a year and a half before she saw her way clear to resort to compulsory service, and it required many weary months to organize the administrative branch of the war service and to place the country on a solid war footing. Even countries with long military traditions, such

In view of the rise of Jewish nationalism during the last decade, especially during the war, it is understandable why the fancy of the Jewish masses should be directed to the future of the Jewish State in Palestine and that quite premature questions as to the form and character of the Jewish State should be asked. There are no prophets nowadays. No serious-minded man would even dare to anticipate the development of many generations and attempt to foresee the character of the time which is deeply