LXVI.

THE TRAGEDY OF A MINORITY, AS SEEN BY AN ENGLISH JEWISH PUBLICIST (1863)

“THE whole Tragedy of our People is to be found in the fact that we must everywhere _be in the minority_: and no matter how just our cause may be, we shall always have to complain of slights and insults, of being overlooked by accident or design, of being scorned by many, and denounced by zealots or infidels, all for the sake of being a minority.... But once again blessed with a Government of our own, though only a small portion of Israelites should be found in their own land, while the many would prefer to remain in the countries where they now sojourn, and the advantages of which they might not wish to give up, the feelings of the world would necessarily undergo a great change, and the treatment meted out to us would not be what it is now. If we have our agriculturists, our statesmen, our mechanics, our public teachers, equal to the best found anywhere, who would dare to insult us by stating that he knows us only as pedlars, bankers and merchants: and class us as a whole among petty traders and men of low pursuits? No effort which we can make, situated as we are all over the world, will readily change the long habit which was forced on us to depend on commerce, large and small, in all its branches, in which the meaner necessarily predominated, owing to the exclusive laws to which we were subjected: and therefore it will be centuries before the unjust prejudices against us die out, if ever they can, in case we ever succeed in divesting ourselves of that habit. If our land be restored to us, and we to it, how nobly will our character, which is now concealed and obscure, burst forth in all ancient vigour and beauty, and we shall naturally present to the world again examples worthy of imitation, and the harp of Judah, which has so long hung mute on the willows of many a Babylon, will again resound to the master-touch of the inspired poet. He will again sing aloud the praises of the Most High. Our judges will sit on the judgment-seat of our ancient counsellors, and decide for the lofty and the lowly according to the demands of the Mosaic legislation: and the wisdom which had its chief residence on the hills of Jerusalem will evermore be diffused to enlighten a suffering world, and will prove its strength in contrast with the failures of antagonistic systems.... Will this dream be speedily realized? We cannot tell indeed: events occasionally creep slowly over the face of the world, but at other times they rush rapidly forward, and one great development follows closely on the heels of the other. The same may be the case with the now apparently distant restoration of Israelites to Palestine. The world is becoming rapidly peopled: the boundaries of nations in the meanwhile are frequently changed: jealousies of one people against another are constantly developed: the balance of power, a vain desire to preserve peace among men, is constantly vibrating to and fro. Is it then so unlikely that an effort will be made to place in Palestine and the neighbourhood an enterprising race which shall restore it?”