Current Literature.
APELLA ; or THE FUTURE OF THE JEWS. By A Quarterly Reviewer. (Kegan Paul. 2s. fid.)—Apella, of the "To-day and To-morrow" Series, deals with the future of the Jews. Its author withholds his identity but speaks with authority. "Ever since the conquest of Palestine by the Romans we have ceased to be a body politic : we are citizens of the country in which we dwell . . . . in the same relation to our countrymen as other religious sects." So, says the writer, pronounced the late Chief Rabbi, in 1878. But the War has been fought ; and public opinion admits the legitimacy of the Hebrew desire to colonize Palestine. Unfortunately, there is a tendency for the Jew to set She-ma and Hatikrah, religio and regio,Judaisin and Zionism in contrast. The author sees in Progressive Judaism, emanating from Moses Mendels- sohn and harking back to Maimonides and Spinoza, a mediat- ing influence. He holds that the Jew has something greater to give the world than a belated experiment in patriotism. Zionism has a useful yet restricted idle to play. Judaism will be released, in the years to come, from Talmudic doctors and mediaeval legalists" and serve and sacrifice to the "cause of truth." Cogent, because of brevity and a magnificent prose style, this little book wins our quiet praise. It is a true pamphlet, adding to the value of the series, and should not be itus:sed.
Previous page
