Bil35 ■i R9G64 A A 1 SOUTHERN R 1 2 8 3 7 5 EGIONALLIBRAR 1 CILIT 1 GOLLANCZ RUSSIA AND THE ALIEN QUESTION THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES RUSSIA AM) IlIK ALIEN QUESTION. AN INDIVIDUAI. APPEAL TO THE BRITISH PEOPLE. CONT.MNKli IN THREE ADDRESSES: K.N 11 11. KM I. OUR CONDITION. II. OUR DESPAIR. III. OUR HOPE. DKI.n ICRKIJ 1!V THE Rev. Dr. HERMANN (U)LLANCZ, M.A., U.LlT., RAB13I. [Goldsviid Professor, Umz'ersity College, University of London.) LONDON : WKRTHKIMKR, I.KA & CO.. |6 iV 47, LONDON WAI.I., AND CLII ION MOUSE. WORbHIl' SI., E.G. 1905. This is true Liberty — when free-born men, Having to advise the public, may speak free. What can be juster in a State than this? Euripides. DS I. OUR CONDITION * Dear Brethren, — I am again in your midst tliis day to deliver my annual address to you, working men and women resident among us — an assembly composed mostly of co-religionists hailing from the great Empire of Russia. What a change has occurred in that very country since I addressed you about a twelvemonth ago ! What feelings must fill you all, as they cer- tainly do fill me, when we think of the fortunes of the Russia of a few years ago, even a year ago, and of the turn in its tide brought to light but a few days ago ! Brothers and sisters in faith, it is but the history of old repeated in our times. It is the history of Pharaoh told in modern language. We are again, as many times before, witnessing the finger of God in history. ^ Preached at the Great Synagogue, in the City of London, on January 7th, 1905. A 2 206ij;BO Behold, He sleepeth not, nor slumbereth ; tlie Watchman of Israel, the Watchman of the Universe. As individuals, as peoples rise not at a leap, so individuals and nations fall not suddenh'. There must be determining causes in one case as in the other. In last Sabbath's portion, in this Sabbath's portion and the next, we read in the words of Scripture how, through the hard-hearted- ness and cruelty of an old-world despot and his advisers, the txTant himself and his people went gradually to their own destruction ; how the advice of God's messengers was treated with scorn and neglect ; how the people of Israel, at first serving loyally and conscientiously the King of Egypt, helping to build up the fortunes of his countr)^ were by and by reduced to the state of slavery and bondag^, beaten mercilessl\- with the knout, and driven to despair by brutality ; how, on man}' occasions. Heaven's messengers were sent to remon- strate with the haughty monarch and to call him to a sense of dut}', and how, after promise upon promise had been given, the tyrant still pursued his own way, and involved himself and his nation in utter ruin. Friends, I do not pretend to say that the Czar of Russia is altogether or mainl}- responsible for all the rottenness which is being laid bare in the internal machinery of the State ; responsible for the determination not to allow that freedom of con- science and liberty of action which we, in otfier countries, look upon as our element, as our inalien- able right and possession. Nevertheless, I would say that any man called to fill a high and exalted position, called upon to sway the destinies of mil- hons of human beings, should himself know whether he be fitted for the task or not ; and if he be not, then to do the only right thing which he, in his unfortunate position, should do. If he be worthy his position, then let him show his courage, his ability, his honesty ; as the autocrat, let hira show the world that he means to rule as a humane monarch should rule, for the benefit of his subjects, regardless of the vicious counsels of those who stand round the throne. Let him not allow himself to be lured on to the fate of some of his predecessors, because he is setting at naught the wishes, the longings of his people thirsting for a breath of freedom, thirsting for the opportunity of proving themselves sturdy and devoted citizens of the realm, anxious for the material and moral prosperity of their fatherland. We shudder to think of the consequences of such reasonable aspirations on the part of a great people, too long cheated and delayed. Brothers and sisters, I am not speaking, I assure you, simply from a thought for our own kith and kin, for the Jewish people residing in Russia. My heart goes out equally for all the members of those non- conforming bodies which are trampled under the heel of Russian despotism. What matters it of what faith we be, when it is a question of relieving oppression and persecution ? Have not Stundists, Finns, Poles and Jews as much right to the free sky of heaven as the members of the Holy Orthodox Church of Russia? Humanity comes before churches and syna- gogues ; the true spirit of humanity is even purer and higher than any religious system in the world It has been said by one, " The God who gave us life gave us liberty also." Who dare rob the human subject of this privilege of humanity? \\ ho dare rob him of it — with impunity? It seemed the irony of fate that the fall of Port Arthur should have taken place almost at the same time that the Czar and his advisers refused the moderate demands for reform presented by the Zemstvos and the Russian people, and tried once again in the history of Russia to put off or choke the reasonable demands of the nation by a few vapid assurances, which probably mean in rccJity even less than appears on paper. Will despotism learn the lesson even now in the hour of its shame and humiliation, or will it still remain obdurate and of a hardened heart? Will it not be taught in time, by this terrible satire of late on its supposed strength and power, 7- by the dreadful message supplied by its fortunes in the present war? Will it yet disregard the writing on the wall, which wishes it to understand '' Mene! Mcne!" "numbered, numbered," indeed are the days of absolute despotism ; the dawn of freedom would break fortii upon the horizon of the Russian people? We are no enemies of Russia ; the Jews are not enemies to Russia ; we wish her well. Russia is an enemy to herself. Russia wishes not herself well, otherwise she would set about in real earnest to set her house in order before man and God. She would regard all her subjects born upon her soil as her own children, for whom she has to care and provide. She would not make life so intolerable for many of them, so bitter and harsh, that often death is preferable to so-called life ; or, if not death, emigration from its territory to un- known lands, to unknown misery. We, in this country, are again made aware, by occasional rumblings, of the feeling of indignation against this stream of immigration of our foreign brethren, driven actually or by necessity from the barbarous conditions which obtain in Russia. W'e regret most truly these conditions, but we regret also this feeling of irritation. I know that our own people here are divided in opinion on this subject of alien immigration and its remedies. Personally, I trust and pray that the English people, cool- headed, far-sighted, and, above all, humane and kind, will never allow the traditions of this country to be in any \va)' tarnished by any attempt to do aught which will deny the spirit of hospitality and a free asylum to those seeking these shores as refugees from the spirit of persecution or oppression abroad. I agree that every country, and Russia is no ex- ception, should bear the burden of its own people, should support those born upon its soil, and should not — in consequence of restrictive measures, poli- tical or religious — help to drive away large numbers of its children to seek their sustenance in other countries. Yet, what are our poor, helpless brethren to do amid the ruthless conditions under which they exist there, when they have once been forced to quit their native land ? I have been told time after time by the Russian Jew, that in spite of certain restrictions, he loves his Russia and is far from desirous of leaving it ; certainly, poverty and overcrowding here are no great inducements for any to come over to England and to exchange one poor fate for another. As far as overcrowding is concerned, the present legislation, if properly administered, is sufficient to deal with this aspect of the case ; and as regards poverty — wealth and poverty are relative terms : rich to-day, poor to-morrow, and vice versa ; poverty is a condition which, speaking broadly, is only temporary, and generally finds its own level. '9 Who, from experit^nce, cannot recount number- less instances in which the once destitute ahen has, in the course of a very few years, risen from absolute poverty to a state of competence and com- parative comfort, adding strength and sinew to the people at large ? The criminal, the immoral and the imbecile, \vc can certainly do without ; but can we be sure that the country which, b)' its methods, has produced and reared such, can be trusted to give a true and honest certificate on this head in all cases? Nay, I repeat. May the day be far distant- — may it never come— when Britain will close its ports to the destitute alien fleeing from a sorrowful fate, when England will kick because it has once waxed fat. Who can tell but that England has been blessed to attain the foremost position in the world because, extending the quality of mercy in the past to those who have stood in need of it, it has been ■twice blessed, having itself shared in the blessing which it has shed upon others ? May this continue to be its proudest boast, and may it never forfeit this title to admiration ! And as far as concerns Russia, may it take to heart the lessons to be learnt amid its present misfortunes, for its own betterment and the welfare of its people. It would be a thousand pities if she did not realise at the present hour the internal forces at work to bring the Autocratic Government A 5 !0 and the Bureaucracy to a sense of what things should be. The seeds of rebelHon are being sown, or, rather, strengthening and taking root ; the unpopularity of the war and the failures and disasters so far have given additional impetus and life to the agitation which is spreading among all classes of the population. Will the powers that be wait until Russia be com- pletely subverted, or will they listen to reason while there be yet time ? It is for Russia to answer. It has taken only ten years for the avenging angel to exact punishment for the political crime by which Japan was robbed by Russia of its well-deserved fruits of victory in the Chino-Japanese war, in its having had to abandon, owing to superior force, the Liao-tung Peninsula and Port Arthur. In the words of a contemporary : " When we re- view the process by which the wheel of fate has come full circle we may well wonder whether the eternal morality of history has ever been more strangely vindicated. The triumph of Japan is the triumph of soul over substance, and with this stag- gering blow at the heart of the colossal despotism which seemed to bestride two continents with immovable weight, the shadow of Nemesis herself, majestic and implacable, has swept once more across the stage of human affairs." (Daily Telegraph, ] anuary ^rd?) II So far as regards the political crime of Russia outside her own country. But what shall we say regarding the domestic, the national evil, which is eating as a canker mto the vitals of her organism? Can punisliment, can vengeance be deferred much longer? Did not France, a hundred years ago, also pass through a Reign of Terror, with known results. And, reverting to ancient times, did not Babylon give way to Persia, was not Persia pun- ished by Greece, and did not once the power of Rome crumble in the dust ? Were not Sodom and Gomorrah, in the infancy of the world, visited by Heaven for the violence and wickedness found therein ? In later days, were not Pompeii and Herculaneum submerged, we may say, on account of the vice and lawlessness practised in those fair spots of God's earth ? I do not pretend to be either prophet or poli- tician. But I say, let Russia look to history and tremble ! Millions of soldiers and scores of ships, hundreds of millions of men and women make not up a country, chariots and horses avail not in the day of trouble ; but it is righteousness which buildeth and protects cities, it is justice and humanity which preverve a nation, it is liberality, liberty and kindness which are the surest foundations upon which empires and monarchs rest and feel secure. We commend this programme to the friends and A 7 12 advisers of Russia. We wish her well ; may she be as true and kind to herself! May the day come, when, purified from her present internal dis- orders and living in the light of a better state, Jew and Gentile will dwell securely under the shadow of her protection, metaphorically, each " under his vine and fig tree," elements of a peaceful, contented and prospering people ! II. OUR DESPAIR.* " This year we are bondmen, next year we hope to be the children of freedom." These words are familiar enough to my hearers, tlie words of the Passover Evening Home-Service still ringing in their ears. They are equally familiar to every one who feels it a privilege to call himself " Jew," in spite of the limitations and restrictions which that privilege involves. But these words once had a meaning for our Russian and Roumanian brethren writhmg under the lash of taskmasters more cruel than any that afflicted our ancestors in the days of Egyptian bondage. During past years there was a silent hope breathed amid these expressions of our time- honoured ritual ; there was a welcome, comforting and sustaining whisper which counselled, " Toil on, hope on ; despair not, salvation is at hand," though '^' Preached at the Bayswater Synagogue on the First Day of Passover, April 20th, 1905. weeping shall find lodgment for the night, joy will break forth in the morning. Is it to be no more so ? Is the one country of Europe to which longing, tearful eyes were once directed as the one laden with the sweet breath of liberty to be practically closed to those fleeing from unknown tortures and bitter persecutions in the land of their birth? Is it possible that Great Britain, with its splendid traditions, with its Magna Charta, and its Habeas Corpus Act, with its reminiscences of Huguenot refugees, with its reputation for freedom and jus- tice, will take a retrograde step and refuse the right of asylum to those driven to these shores, not from choice or freewill, but by the sheer neces- sity of ruthless events ? I do not profess to be a politician ; I am pleased to think that I am no party man, and am therefore able to judge this matter more objectively than those who look at such questions through the spectacles of Ministers or Opposition. Nor would I even introduce such a subject from the pulpit, if I felt that it was in reality a political subject. As I have remarked before, it is doubtless a useful plank in the political platform ; but humanity comes before politics, and we are men and women before we become citizens and voters at Parlia- mentary elections. Let me say at once, I have nothing to do with statistics ; let others deal with 15 them, if they wisli. L have no confidence in statistics, for they seldom convince either side. I take my stand upon I he broader platform of " humanity." Who will deny that every country should in the main harbour its own subjects and provide for those born upon tlie soil? Who will sa)- that Russia and Rouniania are to be exceptions to this self-evident truth ? I must repeat that, from many a conversation which I have had with natives of Russia, the truth is borne in upon me that the average Russian Jew, in spite of those wretched restrictive legisla- tive measures which obtain in Russia, is deeply attached to his count r)^ and would never think of exchanging it for another were life but tolerable there. But for millions of our brothers and sisters in Eastern Europe, more especially in Russia, life is rendered a burden, a crime, and living is denied them. If we lived in a time when there were no news- papers I would have to cite instances from modern- history to enlighten you as to the lot of our brethren in that furnace of persecution called Russia. But Russian conditions are, alas! too well known, not alone as regards Jews, but as regards the treat- ment of her people generally. Russia is indeed i6 notorious. She has even gained the prize for villainy and infamy over Roumama, and has left her far behind. And yet, knowing this, perhaps better than we do, there are some citizens of this great realm who would make the passage from " darkness to light, from servitude to freedom, from sorrow to glad- ness " more irksome and difficult, at times impos- sible for many of those who ought never to come under the head of diseased or criminal classes. What is to be the ultimate test as to whether certain would-be immigrants belong even to the criminal class ? Is Russian officialdom to be trusted to say the word ? Are corruption and injustice such unknown factors in Russian administration? Suppose Maxim Gorky chose to immigrate into this country, and asked for his passport to be en- dorsed. According to the present Russian official view, he is actually a " criminal." Some of us think differently. Would he — to put the hypotheti- cal case — be allowed to land at any of our eight ports, in accordance with the latest Alien Immigra- tion Bill? And if it would fare thus vv'ith one of Russia's most brilliant sons, what character could a hated Jew expect to receive at the hands of a Russian official ? It is sur- prising, indeed, that they who call themselves politicians should close their eyes to such possibilities as a miscarriage of justice in a land which is typically a hind of justice, upon the evi- dence of a wilfully biassed system. And as regards the " diseased " class, is it fair, is it humane, is it in harmony with Christian prin- ciples, to punish with exclusion (which in many instances means death) numbers of men, women and children who, in consequence of repression, op- pression and torture, have contracted such diseases? We are told, further, that " an immigrant shall be considered undesirable, and as such be refused permission to land, if he cannot show that he has — or is in a position to obtain — means to support him- self in a decent condition." Do those who favour such a view know that there are scores, hundreds, nay, thousands of Russian Jews who, once in afflu- ent circumstances, have been reduced by acts of violence, mostly connived iit b)- Russian authori- ties, to the lowest depths of poverty, and are, therefore, without visible means of subsistence when they appear on the scene as alien immigrants? Is it charity and humanity that such poor people should meet with at the hands of enlightened' and civilised countries, or reproach and contumely, coldness, absence of sympathy and help ? Had England applied such a test forty or fifty years ago she would indeed have been deprived of hundreds of naturalised citizens who, in the i8 course of time, have added to the material pros- perity of this country. Without claiming- an absolutely clean bill for those of our brethren against whom the proposed form of legislation is aimed, it is nothing less than a gross exaggeration amounting to calumny, or at least a shifting of responsibility on to the shoulders of the alien, once permitted to settle in our midst, to speak of the evils which these aliens bring in their train — overcrowding, living in insanitar)' con- ditions, the lowering of the general standard of life, immorality and crime. There would be no need for special legislation if the existing laws on this head were honestly enforced. The fallacy of such arguments in favour of a serious restriction of immigration will doubtless be exposed in Parlia- ment at a later stage of the Aliens Bill's progress ; for England's Parliament can still boast of sturdy champions of freedom, who would not deny the right of asylum to those who are forced to quit another country on account of persecution brought about in consequence of their religion and race. I repeat, they wouici never think of leaving the old country were it not for this prejudice. But what concerns us Jews mostly is the know- ledge that there are some of our own brethren, English Jews, who are more English than the most Christian Englishmen in their attitude towards alien legislation. 19 They wish to forget the time when they or their ancestors, not many generations ago, sought the hospitahty of these shores ; and some are quite prepared, by a change of name, or even of rehgion, to kick away the ladder by means of which they have risen to positions of social and political importance or of material influence and strength. Are they afraid that the country will be too narrow for them if their brethren be freely ad- mitted ? Have they not a word to say in favour of the oppressed and downtrodden ones of their race — victims of an arbitrary, despotic rule and of a brutal, insensate rabble, employed as the executioners of bloodthirsty and rapacious officials? I certainly agree that there ought to be no necessity for the introduction of a bill of such a drastic character. Russia ought to manage her internal affairs in a better manner, more in harmony with the principles of humanity and civilisation ; but she seems to be deaf to all admonitions, either from past history or present-day appeals. Personally, I cannot help repeating a conviction which I have always entertained, and also ex- pressed, and it is this : If the other civilised countries of Europe, including our own, were thoroughly sincere and logical in their denuncia- tions of the systematic oppression and cruelt}', of the barbarous methods emplo}'ed in place of 2U government in vogue in Russia, then — in spite of its vastness and overgrown strength — a combine of the various European Powers would be brought about to practically put an end to this plague-spot in Europe ; a combine which this Colossus of the North would be unable to withstand, and which would go the length of cutting up the kingdom into a number of smaller states, in the sole interests of humanity, civilisation, and the progress of the world. But the rivalries and jealousies of each country would seem to forbid such a consummation. Nevertheless, we believe that the instrument of punishment in the hands of heaven is not always seen b}' the eye of man ; but it is there, even though we see it not. As regards the immediate subject of m}- remarks, let us hope that our own public men of influence and position will not join the enemy of Israel — the enemy of England — on the present occasion ; that they will not turn traitors to their kith and kin, and not be carried away by the specious argu- ments of the hysterical few. Let them remember that as we are celebrating a " Season of Freedom " at the present hour, there are others related to us by religion and race who would not be denied this essential principle of life — the breath of liberty — without which there can be neither physical growth nor mental or spiritual progress. They, too, wish 21 to observe a festival of freedom, for the conditions under which they observe it now ifr'not a real cele- bration, but one in name only. In their own country they drag their lives along, enchained in the shackles of a benighted system which crushes every sense of dignified manhood out of them. Little wonder that they bear undignified traces when they quit this hell upon earth. They turn their weary steps and longnig eyes to this isle " set in a silvery sea," as the haven of rest, as the asylum for the oppressed. May this heaven-favoured land not forget the talisman by virtue of which maybe it has become heaven-favoured ! May it never suffer to be extin- guished the beacon lights of liberty and freedom which have shown the way and attracted to its ports of safety the wandering children of other •lands, buffeted by the waves of intolerance and blind prejudice, nigh sinking beneath tlie weight of despair in the sea of danger! May this country, by its humane and kind treat- ment of home-born and alien alike, continue to deserve the encomium said to have been passed upon some of its children, in the slave-market of Rome, 1,300 years ago, by Gregory the Great: "They are Angles." \\'ell may they be called so, for they are as comely as angels. But from which of the provinces in Britain do they come ? " asked Gregory. " From Deira, father." 22 And the Pontiff continued, " De ira Dei liberandi sunt " — " from the wrath of God they are to be delivered" May it be Eng^land's proudest mission and privi- lege to help to deliver from the wrath of man the enslaved and suffering ones of earth, to grant in unstinted measure the blessings of freedom to those who are oppressed, to act as true " Angles " — angels ministering in the holy cause of humanity and brotherhood ! III. OUR HOPE.* '' The Lord will not cast off his people, nor forsake his inheritance" — Psalm xciv. 14. How soothing these words of the Psahnist when dark clouds appear upon the horizon of the hfe of the Jewish people! If our people had no other source of prophecy from whence to draw strength and courage amid its chequered career in the course of its ]')rogress through the world, this one sentence, uttered in the days of old, should suffice to fill it with ever-fresh hopes amid its ever-fresh trials and difficulties. Aye, indeed, these simple words : "God will not cast off His people," remain as a pledge for the continued existence and protection of the Jew "^ Preached at the Bayswater Synagogue, May 6th, 1905. 24 in spite of overwhelming odds in the great fight for survival among the races of mankind. We are " His people," God's people, selected from ancient days for a special mission, destined to remain one and alone, in some respects (though not touching our loyalty to the powers that be) a separate and distinct community amid the various countries of the world in which it has been our lot to dwell. This very circumstance it is, dear friends, which to a very great degree has been answerable for so much of the sorrow and suffering which we, as a people, have had to endure. We had to live apart and to remain distinct, for we had a mission to fulfil. In the first place — and this was of supreme importance for the civilisation of the world — w^e had to carry the light of the knowledge of the one and only God to the inhabi- tants of the world, and with this knowledge, the knowledge of a high and practical morality which was to influence the current of the world's thought for ages to come. But our exclusiveness was our trouble ; our very selection the source of the hatred against us. And as our mission is not yet fulfilled, so our people has yet to endure in most countries of the world the effects of the same prejudice, ill-will and hatred, which our ancestors endured hundreds and thousands of years ago. The condition of our brethren in the 25 various countries of luu-opc at the bei,nnning of the twentieth century reminds one not alone of the troubles and misfortunes which befell (ur fore- fathers in their own land, but also of the terrible sufferings which their descendants have endured ever after on every available occasion, when either policy or an unreasoning hate made the Jew the victim of oppression. Hark at the cries of our poor brethren now living in terror in various States of Europe, bearing an intolerable lot in ruthless Roumania, and wilfully made the scapegoat of a despairing Government policy in Russia ! These brethren of ours are in despair ; they know not whither they shall turn ; they have no security for the future as far as concerns the countries in which they dwell. In their terrible plight of enforced suffering and deprivation, it is possible that they might forget those beautiful words of comfort which the Psalmist of old has once for all addressed to the world at large : " The Lord will not cast off His people, nor forsake His inheritance." Let lis, however, whom God has not forsaken yet even for a while (and, let us trust, never will) ; let us not forsake those who, in bitterness of spirit, cry out to us for a helping hand and a sympathising heart, remembering that this is no merit, but a duty imperative upon those whom God has permitted to be better circumstanced, whom a 26 kind fate has suffered to live in countries in which they may breathe unmolested the air of freedom, where creed and race need form no barrier between one man and his neighbour. Thank Heaven, our exclusiveness as a people, the fact that we have dwelt alone during hundreds of centuries, has not had the effect of rendering our hearts callous to the wants of those differing from us in faith and custom ; thank Heaven, our sense of sympathy has not been blunted through our habit of isolation in the course of past history, and we understand full well the force of the words of the last of the prophets : " Have we not all one Father ; hath not one God created us ? " Would that other peoples, those among whom it has been our lot to live, had ever cherished that precious doctrine, and applied it to ourselves ! How much better for us, how much better for them ! It seems as though that doctrine had not yet been learnt, even in so-called enlightened European countries. Aye, indeed, the world is slow in learning the salutary and indispensable lessons of mutual good- will, toleration and neighbourly love which should subsist among the indwellers of a country. The States of Europe have not yet learnt this doctrine. When will they learn it ? When they have paid the price of their wrong perspective or blind obstinacy by their own dis- 2; ruption, or by their material and moral bank- ruptcy? The grave warning that can be discerned amid the clouds which seem to be gathering over the heads of our brothers and sisters in faith is addressed to every European State — not excepting our own, where some of her Gentile subjects seem to be envious of this country's moral and material supremacy in the world, and are endeavouring to bring about Great Britain's downfall by attempting restrictive legislation against the Jew. This warning rouses to the necessity for toler- ance and justice in the constitution of every country, if prosperity and success, and not decadence and destruction, are to ensue sooner or later. Has Europe nothing to learn from the fate of Spain, which has never recovered from the conse- quences of the cruel treatment of her Jewish subjects in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella? Does Great Britain regret the re-admission of the Jews into ICngland 250 years ago? Does Great Britain regret the removal of Jewish dis- abilities during the last fifty years? Judging from what has been going on in Parlia- ment during the current week, it would seem as thou