REFLECTIONS ON THE JEWISH QUESTION
473
every manifestation of intense
public
concern with the
truth
of reli–
gious dogma-to which some foolish literary Jewish sophisticates seem
eager to contribute-churns up the already troubled waters of secular
liberalism with dangerous historical sediment. That is why it becomes
necessary to distinguish between kinds and degrees of antisemitism,
and avoid the generous illusions of Sartre that everyone's life is at
stake when any Jew is threatened in any way anywhere. The Jews,
I am sure, would be willing to settle for much less than this Utopian
universal brotherhood-for security and justice under a common law
for free men. They do not ask to be loved, nor even that people cease
feeling prejudices which in a free society everyone is entitled to--–
including Jews. Legislation against certain discriminatory practices
is legitimate but one can no more legislate against social and personal
prejudice than one can make
all
lies actionable at law.
"Antisemitism leads straight to National Socialism," declares Sartre.
This is preposterously and dangerously false, else all the Jews would
by now have long since been dead.
III
The second question: What is a Jew? is one which Sartre
answers correctly but for the wrong reasons-correctly, insofar as he
says "a Jew is one whom other men consider a Jew"; wrong, because
he suggests that there are distinctive Jewish traits, physical and psy–
chical and cultural which are created by this pejorative consideration.
The problem deserves some independent analysis. Nothing is to be
gained from that pose of profundity which affects a deep metaphysical
approach to the question of what is a Jew, illustrated in the procedure
of one Jewish philosopher, not noted for his modesty, who, with
unctuous cheek, writes: "No one is a Jew who is not ethical, re–
flective and modest."*
What definition of the Jew is most adequate to the various
usages of the term "Jew" in current life? There are approximately
five million Jews in America. Nothing is so absurd as the attempt to
find some one trait, or combination of traits, which will explain the
usage of the term "Jew" or which marks off Jews from non-Jews.
Whether it be religion, history, culture, language or political aspira-
*
Commentary,
October, 1946.
