SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent review.]
The War for the World. By Israel Zangwill. (W. Heinemann. 6s. net.)—Mr. Zangwill has collected his articles, letters, and speeches on the war, and on society and politics before the war, with a few poems. Ho is an outspoken critic of European diplomacy and other modern institutions, but he is meat instructive when he discusses the Jewish question, especially in Eastern Europe, where it assumes a peculiarly difficult and complex form. We can understand and sym- pathize with Mr. Zangwill's fierce indignation at the sufferings of his people, but he would achieve more by a temperate analysis of the problem as a whole. He asserts, truly enough, that in each of the warring countries the Jews have shown their patriotism. Yet at the same time all Jews, the world over, are united by ties of race and religion which are far older than the claims of any nationality. This dual personality of the Jew, apart from any religious prejudice, gives rise, in Eastern Europe at any rate, to suspicions which can only be cleared away by patience and tact.
Previous page
