When the proposal to establish a League of Nations (the idea is about three hundred years old) was first made by President Wilson, no nation was more enthusiastic than the Jewish because it, more than any other, suffers from war.

After a war, the victor becomes chauvinistic and attacks the Jews. The conquered [nation]is bitter and makes the Jew its scapegoat. Other nations have, at times, something to gain from war, but we always lose; we often have to fight for the enemy who oppresses us. It is a very tragic situation. Only a League of Nations, with the power to control war, can save us from this sad state [of affairs]. Therefore, one can understand the Jewish joy over President Wilson's proposal for a League of Nations, to be set up at the end of 2the World War.

When we read the Jewish newspaper now, we notice immediately the great decrease in Jewish enthusiasm for the League. The Jew, with his critical outlook on all great international events, has a sense of what is lasting and of value to world order. Jewish hostility to the present League of Nations is proof that it is not what everyone expected it to be. Even if there had been no criticism of the League by political groups, still Jews all over the world would not have sympathized with it, because they understand the danger of a false prophet and a false messiah.

The present League of Nations, an alliance of the victorious governments, is not a league; it is worse than no league at all because in its present setup it emanates the spirit of the false prophet. Should this spirit entrench itself, man will have to fight for another thousand years in order to return to the pre-war condition, which was certainly not an ideal one.

3

Jews have a strong aversion for the League in its present form, not only because the language of its Covenant is the language of brute force, but because it is definitely a danger to all the Jews in Eastern Europe. When a greater Poland is formed, and from all appearances it will be formed, the League will guarantee its existence. Article X states that the League guarantees the territorial integrity of all its members.

We have often mentioned the fact that there can be no greater menace than a greater Poland, which must naturally be imperialistic, reactionary, and anti-Semitic. As long as Poland's and Rumania's powers are to some degree controlled, they have to consider the will of the people. After all, a state cannot exist in a constant state of revolution, which would certainly invite the intervention of a neighboring country. Should Poland and Rumania be guaranteed their territorial integrity by the League of Nations, then every movement for freedom will be crushed in blood, and, Article X of the League of Nations will make it impossible for a neighboring country to interfere, or to assist in the 4freeing of its oppressed nationalists. If, for instance, the Lithuanians in Poland should revolt against their Polish oppressors, Lithuania could not go to the assistance of the revolutionary groups; the same is also true of the Ukraine, of Russia, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Article X gives Poland and Rumania the power over their alien population, and the privilege of oppressing them by brute force; it robs these alien peoples of the opportunity of securing the aid of their conationalists in the neighboring country. All freedom loving elements must protest against the strengthening of the despotic power of reactionary governments. Jews have too long been robbed of freedom not to love that very freedom.

Wherever there are reactionary forces, the Jew is the first to suffer, and since Article X of the League [Covenant] is a reactionary force, Jews will suffer most because of it. Therefore, it is logical that whereas Jews are enthusiastic over the idea of an honest League of Nations, they cannot be enthusiastic about the present League which permits the despot to become an 5autocrat and the autocrat, an irresponsible tyrant.

The hostility of Jews for the present League of Nations is based also on general political and ethical reasons, which do not pertain to Jews alone.

After all, the idea of a league of nations of the world is a Jewish ideal. Our prophets were the first to formulate it clearly. The present League of Nations instills [an atmosphere of] fear into its already muddled affairs. In truth, it is not a league of nations but an organization of several governments that represent certain one-sided economic interests and desire to secure those interests against revolutions. This is the principal idea of the League of Nations in its present state. If the representatives of the governments had stated openly what their dealings were, and if they had not given this union of victorious powers the imposing title of "League of Nations", we would assume a matter-of-fact attitude toward it, and those who believe that the League could guarantee world order, would support it, while skeptics 6would not. The overbearing title "The League of Nations" when applied to this powerful organization compromises the thought of a nation's league and does away entirely with the ancient idea of an honest world peace. Therein lies a graver danger than in Article X, both for the peace of the world and for the ethical development of mankind.

We Jews with our great tradition of peace - - a tradition which has existed since times of Isaiah and Micah - - cannot look on indifferently while our greatest political ideal is misused for "Roman" politics of force. This explains why Jews all over the world are antagonistic to the present League of Nations.