THE JEWS OF GERMANY RABBI’S REPLY TO COUNCILLOR JOHN WILSON
Manchester, Accrington Observer And Times, 1936. Item #40010
1st separate edition. 8vo. [1] page. Reprinted from “Accrington Observer & Times. ” “Chief Rabbi Prof. Israel Abrahams of The Great Synagogue, Cape Town, South Africa, was the Chief Rabbi of the United Council of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (Cape Province and South West Africa ) and also Northern Rhodesia, from 1937 to 1968, after which he and his wife made Aliyah to Israel. He was the head of the department of Jewish Studies at The University of Cape Town. He was one of the founders of Herzlia School. In South Africa he wrote several books of sermons including ‘Pathways in Judaism’, ‘Living Waters’ and ‘The Birth of a Community’ - a history of Western Province Jewry from its earliest times to the end of the South African War, 1902. He translated the scholarly works of Prof Umberto Cassuto from Hebrew to English, both while in South Africa and later in Jerusalem. In Israel he went on to translate works by Prof Urbach and others, until his death after a short illness in October 1973. Chief Rabbi Prof Abrahams was born in Vilna and came to London as a small child, where he later received his Rabbinic Ordination from Jews College. He received his degrees at University of London. He came to Cape Town after serving as the Rabbi of the Great Synagogue in Manchester. ” (telfed.org) Abrahams was responding to an article in which some “facts” said by Coun. John Wilson and Mr. Barnes were inaccurate and anti-Semitic. He refutes that claims that “ In the post-war [ie post WW I] years Germany was over-run by Jews from Russia and Poland, ” and that “some 90 per cent of the official posts in the country were occupied by Jews. ” He does not take an attacking tone, rather stating that, “It is a thousand pities that Councillor Wilson and Mr. Barnes did not take the trouble to verify all their facts before giving their impressions Press publicity. British sympathy should be extended to the Jew, who is the helpless victim in Germany and the convenient scapegoat for all its tribulations, not to Hitler, the aggressor who has shown neither Christian charity, nor a sense of ordinary justice and humanity in his persecution of a community that has not only lived in Germany since earliest times, but has performed yeoman service in its country’s behalf. ” Not listed on OCLC. A few very small stains and one small tear, and very light creasing, Else Very Good Condition. Very Rare. (HOLO2-140-24) xx.
Price: $200.00