The Jewish advance., September 06, 1878, Image 1

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Execute the Judgment of Truth and Peace in your Gates.
A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO SOCIAL INTERESTS AND PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM.
CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 6, 1878.
VOL. I
No. 13
RHYMED SAYINGS.
BY GOETHE.
Bo convinced that you, in spite
Of others’ blame, do what is right,
And soon will, ever and anon,
The grumblers do what you have done.
Aim tit the best, my son! You need
But that; in t ime you will succeed.
If you die young, the time will be
When others will your merits see.
Not in the same boat all can travel.
Only be sure at what you aim!
Love will and zeal all things unravel,
Though skill more easily wins the game.
Put up with death, my friend! you cannot
change it;
But as to life, conveniently arrange it.
How, when and where? The Gods do not
reply.
Think of* Because,’ my friend, and ask not
Why? .
Paul Drysen
For the Jewish Advance.
ALBERT COHN
(Continued.)
Albert Cohn was designed, as it seems,
for the furtherance of education; he has
fully deserved to be put at the head of
educational institutions by the great in
terest he has taken for the promotion of
learning and of culture. Next to the
“Committee of Benevolence,” the Jew
ish schools are the oldest institution of
the Parisian community. In the year
1819 the first school for boys was opened
on the premissed of the temple in rue
Notre-Dame de Nazareth, and subse
quently transferred to rue des Singes
A school for girls was established on
May Gth, 1822. At first these establish
ments were of a very modest character;
the boys’ school had an average attend
ance of 80 pupils, and the girls’ school
of 50, later of 65 pupils. For the first
seven months the expenditures of the
boys’ school amounted to 5,000 francs,
and that for girls to less than 2,000
francs, in the year 1S29. In 1832 the
boys’ school was closed for a time.
Since that time the educational Jew
ish primary schools have developed in
Paris. They consist by the present time
of two communal schools, each of them
having a boys’ and a girls’ department,
and a lecture hall, and three mixed
schools sustained by the consistory and
the communal funds (Caisse de la Com.
munaute). Instruction is given gratis
in all these schools, and every applicant
is accepted. The number of pupils
amounted to 1,746 in the year 1876.
Since the appointment of the Commit
tee on Schools, with Albert Cohn as the
president of that committee, the organi
zation of the consistorial schools has
been considerably improved, and there
remains nothing more to be desired.
Albert Cohn was perfectly able to ful
fill all tbe duties which he assumed, and
as he craved always for more work to do
in behalf of the community, he has bur
dened himself with other labors, which
he has pursued with the same zeal and
accomplished with equal success. It lias
been said in the foregoing that during
several years he gave religions instruc
tion to Jewish children. In about the
year 1856 he organized public meetings,
at which he lectured every Sabbath on
Jewish history and theology for a term
of thirteen years in succession. These
public meetings were replaced in 1869
by the meetings which he has established
in the Portugese temple. He was ever
ready to address an audience, and there
was not a religious solemnity ora Jew
ish assembly in which he did not take
the greatest interest, and at which he
delivered no address. He was always
expected on such occasions, and even had
he desired it, he could not tree himself
from this work, which had become a pub
lic necessity. Tims we see him fpr
long array of years addressing the audi
ence at the synagogue at every religious
solemnity; we hear of his yearly lec
tures before the Talmud-Torah society;
at the distribution of prizes for “ ap
prentices,” at Bar-Miz wahs, at the as
semblies of the Alliance Israelite, at
the inauguration of the hospital, at the
funerals of Samuel, Salomon de Roths
child, Salomon Munk, James de Roths
child, and many others of important per
sonages, at the yearly meetings of the
mutual Jewish societies of Paris, on
every feast in the lecture-room of the
temple, etc., etc. When the Shah of
Persia gave an audience to a deputation
of the Alliance Israelite at Paris on
July 12th, 1873, Albert Colin presented
to his Majesty at that interview the
most important points. He took a lively
interest in the reunion in behalf of the
Jews of the Past, which took place in
Paris in December, 1876, and the dis
courses which he held at that reunion
and at the banquet which was given to
the delegates, elicited the heartiest ap
plause.
Ar.
Albert Cohn did not belong to the
Israelites of Paris alone; he belonged to
the Jews all over the world. One half
of his active life was spent in the ser
vices of the Israelites of the East, whom
he visited several times, and for whom
he has shown great sympathy and love.
It was in the year 1851, during the
Crimean war, when he was for the first
time called upon to employ his wonder
ful energy in behalf of the Oriental
Jews.
The French Revolution had opened
for the Jews of all civilized countries an
era of freedom and deliverance. No
sooner were the Israelites of France de
livered from their burdens of political
oppression than they employed their
efforts, with an impulse of charity sel
dom to be met in history, to help their
still oppressed co-religionists of other
countries. These generous sentiments
have shown themselves clearly in the
year 1840, in the affair of Damascus, It
was for the first time, then, that the
Jews of the Occident had proven their
close relationship, by reason of their
religious professions and by dint of
racial connection, with the Jews of the
Orient. A similar movement had be
come apparent in relation to the oriental
affairs which had caused the Crimean
war.
The Occidental powers had been in
accord with Russia to demand of Turkey
a guarantee for the rights of its subjects
who did not belong to the Mussulman
religion. But the Jews soon noticed
that those powers had united only to
work for the Christian subjects of Tur
key, but not for all the raias (not con
fessors of the Mussulman creed) with
oufdistinction' of creed. WTien tne war
was declared the question suggested
itself: What consequences would it
bring for the Jews of the Ottoman Em
pire whether a favorable change of the
constitution would bring any benefits for
them as well as for the Christians?
There was no apparent reason why the
Turkish Jews should not enjey the same
privileges which were to be granted to
the Christians of that country. France
and England had decided at the begin
ning of 1854 to declare war. The Jews
of those countries immediately applied
to their respective governments in be
half of their Eastern brethren.
The Central Consistory of the Israel
ites of France has sent a petition to
that purport to the Emperor Napoleon
III. on May 24th, 1834. At the same
time they have set themselves in commu
nication with the “ Board of Deputies ”
of London to act in concert in this mat
ter. At the meeting of the “ Board of
Deputies,when the communication of
the Central Consistory was read (April
24th, 1854), Sir Anthony de llothschild
announced that he and his brother, Lio
nel de Rothschild, had already conferred
about this matter with the Earl of Clar
endon; that the Earl had written about
it to the English Ambassador at Con
stantinople, Lord Stratford of Redeliffe,
and that the Rothschilds of Paris had
also taken action in that affair. Sir
Moses Montefiore, the President. of the
Board, said that the. Sultan himself had
given him the assurance that the privi
leges which would be accorded to the
Christians would also be granted to the
Jews. Another member of the Board,
Mr. II. Gruedalla, gave the information
that Albert Cohn had written about this
matter to Dr. Philippson, the Rabbin
Magdeburg (editor of the Allgemeine
Zeitung des Jeudenthums), and that, ac
cording to the answer of the latter, the
Porte had accorded equality before the
law, and admission into all public offices
to all its subjects alike, loithont distinc
tion of creed—this clause had been in
serted in the 5th article of the provi
sionary treaty prepared by the Porte.
A committee was then appointed by the
Board. On May TO a letter was written
to the Earl of Clarendon, whose answer,
dated May 15th, was to the effect that
the situation f)f the Eastern Jews would
obtain the most favorable attention at
the hands of the English Government.
When the politics of the Ottoman
Empire became better known in Europe,
all the anxieties regarding the situation
of the Eastern Jews were dispelled.
There was no doubt any more that they
would have all the rights of citizenship
alike with the Christians. Now the
question suggested itself: Whether the
Western Jews had done all their duties
toward their brethren of the East;
whether their mission had been accom
jibJrW' JV1'-* ’ nW •• :>V .that; .tl»o
Jews of Turkey had received all civil
and political rights; it was necessary
now to teach them how to use those
rights and how to enjoy the advantages
of their newly-acquired liberties. Long
years of oppression and suffering had
reduced them to a miserable state of
mental and material condition; they
were poor and ignorant; they needed the
assistance of their European brethren
to be freed from their state of decay, to
be made susceptible for the benefits
which the new state of affairs was to
offer them. Assured of the good dispo
sition of the Ottoman Empire, they
were certain to nil an important place m
the government if they could only be
made worthy of such a position. Dr.
Pliilippson lias earned the credit of
being the first who liad developed these
considerations in a series of articles in
his journal, and in a special memoran
dum which he had addressed to the pub
lic on that affair, with great force and
with warm sympathy. Among others,
he made the reasonable remarks that it
was necessary first of all to give instruc
tion to the Turkish Israelites; that it
was impossible for the time being to
establish schools in that country, be
cause there were not the means to de
fray the expenses of such schools, and
also because such establishments would
have to struggle against the prejudices
of a class of people which had been de
prived of all secular instruction for cen
turies, and was consequently not capa
ble of appreciating the benefits and the
necessity of such instruction. He pro
posed that Jewish young men of Turkey
be brought over to Europe and educated
either at the expense of the communi
ties or at that of some charitable indi
viduals, Such young men, after having
finished a course of studies, should be
sent back to Turkey to work among their
countrymen, lie solicited that, for the