THE JEWS IN ENGLAND.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR."] SIR,—For some time past, there has appeared in certain articles of the Spectator, the indication of a feeling which might possibly lead those who are not well acquainted with English opinion, to believe that there existed a party in England holding views which might afford some shadow of justification to the social persecutors of the Jews in Germany. It has been difficult to find anything sufficiently marked in the articles to which I refer to render necessary a reply ; but there can be no doubt that many of your Liberal Jewish readers have been frequently pained by the spirit of some of your statements, and by the implication underlying them,—that the Jews of England hold, as Jews, certain political opinions, and are not actuated to the same extent as are their Christian neighbours, by the patriotic desire to promote the interests of their country. The spirit of which I venture to complain is more distinctly mani- fested in a short note which appears in your last issue, and as this note contains statements which undoubtedly misrepresent the conditions under which Jews act and think in this country, and as the dissemination of such opinions abroad might tend to encourage the Judenhetze, which every true Liberal cannot do otherwise than condemn, I trust you will allow me to correct through your columns the preju- dicial impressions which your statements are calculated to pro- duce. You say, " The Jews in every country form a State- within the State, intent, first of all, on advancing their own interests, and with sympathies often opposed to those of the- Gentile community. They form a corporation, like the Catholic clergy, and in places, and on certain subjects—as, for instance, their hatred of Rome and their love for Turkey—they act as one." Now, Sir, I venture to think that there is no evidence whatever to show that the Jews in this country constitute a State within the State, or that they are intent, first of all, on advancing their own interests, as a distinct class. For many years, the desire of the Jews has been to be regarded in every particular as Englishmen. They have devoted such talents- and energy as they possess, freely and unreservedly, to the benefit of their country. In politics, in the law, in science, in education, in commerce, and in the Army, Jews have- honourably striven with their neighbours to secure the highest places ; but, both in the pursuit and in the achievement, they cannot be fairly charged with having had any other object than that of advancing the interests of the people among whom they live. In England, where, happily, every career is open to Jews, as well as to the members of other denominations, they are found in every branch of professional life, and their careers in this country afford the best possible proof that they need only complete emancipation, to emancipate themselves from the fetters of commercial life, which throughout the middle-ages, and at the present time, unfortunately, in Germany, the bigotry and. prejudice of a feudal aristocracy have forced upon them.
Anomalous as it may at first appear, I do not think that there can be any better indication of the desire of Jews to make their religion a matter of their private conscience, which has little or no reference to their social or political life, than the fact that there exist Jewish Tories. They know quite well that they owe their admission to Parliament almost entirely to the action of the Liberal party ; but having once acquired what they consider to have been their right, they regard it to be their duty to judge English politics from an English, and not essentially a Jewish, stand-point. As Jews, they are naturally grateful to the Liberals of England; as Englishmen, they feel themselves bound to take that view of English policy which their reason and judgment commend to them. Hence it comes about that there exist among the Jews, as among the Christians, Radicals and Tories of every shade of opinion, without any reference whatever to the character of their religious views. That they
fov..d a corporation like the Catholic clergy, and on certain sub- jects, such as their hatred. of Rome and love for Turkey, act as one, cannot be regarded as a fact, by those who are well ac- quainted with English Jews. I am, indeed, at a loss to know how any points of resemblance could be thought to exist between a corporation of Catholic clergy and the Jews ; nor have I ever discovered on their part any expression of hatred of Rome, which would not, on inquiry, be found to be nothing more than a hatred of persecution, from whatever quarter it may come.
The Jews of France, do not, as far as I am aware, entertain any hatred against their Roman Catholic brethren ; and should a feeling of animosity arise in Germany between the Jews and their Protestant fellow-citizens, I do not think that that feeling can be justly ascribed to any general hatred of Protestantism. Nor can it be any more consistently affirmed that Jews act as one body in their love of Turkey. With respect to the best mode of solving that difficult problem the Eastern Question, which seems to have puzzled the keenest politicians, the opinions of the Jews are as divided as those of their fellow- countrymen. In Parliament, the Jewish supporters of Mr. Glad- stone have been more numerous than those of the other side; and there still exist many Jews who, having pronounced an opinion unfavourable to the Treaty of Berlin, as a just and more honourable means of settling the Eastern Question, have the courage to maintain their view. On the other hand, it is hardly just to suppose that those who, in the late division of opinion, conscientiously believed that the policy of Lord Beaconsfield was better calculated than that of Mr. Gladstone to secure the 'peace of Europe, held these views, which they shared with numbers of their fellow-countrymen, as Jews, and not as Englishmen.
It is under the firm impression that you are unconsciously misrepresenting the views and wishes and state of feeling of English Jews, and unnecessarily alienating from the Liberal cause their sympathy, that I venture to ask you to give insertion to this letter.—I am, Sir,'&c., PHILIP MAGNUS. 48 Gloucester Place, Portman Square, November 21st. [Mr. Magnus is mistaken as to the Spectator's feeling. We utterly condemn any persecution of the Jews. But though individual Jews are strongly opposed to Turkey, no one can doubt that the main body deserted the Liberal party on that question, and betrayed a distinct preference for Asia over Europe. Members of Parliament, it must not be forgotten, have to think of their constituencies.—ED. Spectator.]
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