THE JEWS AND BLACK MARKET
Sta,—I wonder whether " Janus " has verified whether the prominence given to Jewish black-marketeers is not due to the journalistic selection of foreign names, or to the prominence of Jews in precisely those callings where these temptations prevail: and whether these categories of criminality are not offset by others—e.g., crimes of violence—in connexion with which Jewish names seldom figure. Even if he has not, it is of course no palliation: for we Jews are a religious community and have no right to a quota of malefactors. But there is another aspect which people tend to overlook nowadays. The present persecution on the Continent of Europe is no new thing: it is the protraction and accentuation of a process that has gone on during a great part of the Christian era. For i,000 years at least the concerted efforts of Church and State made life virtually impossible for the Jew without subterfuge. If in some cases the habit of subterfuge has outlived the necessity for it the responsibility lies, not with the victims, but with the perpetrators. I would suggest that " Janus " thinks of this when next he sees a Jewish name in the papers in a dishonourable connotation, and that he directs his efforts henceforth to removing the cause rather than play Hitler's game by calling public attention to the effect.—I am, your obedient
servant, CECIL ROTH. z Garford Road, Oxford.
Si:11,—h seems to me that " Janus " is not displaying his customary fairness in judgement in his appeal to the Jewish community to accept responsibility for dealing with those members. of the Jewish race who are under conviction for "Black Market" offences. He seems to suggest that the principal responsibility for the "Black Market" is Jewish, which is by no means the case. Viscount Samuel, speaking in the House of Lords, pointed out, inter olio, that in the week ending February 20th there were thirty-four cases of conviction for such offences, six of them being Jewish. But in one of the important trade journals only four cases were reported of that number, all of them being Jewish, and none of the twenty-eight was even mentioned. There is a disposition to ignore the facts and imply that the whole matter is due to Jews and Jewish influence. While " Janus " does not actually make any such Suggestion, the tiature of his reference does seem to point in that direction, thus belying his familiar
pseudonym.—Yours faithfully, E. BENSON PERKINS. 23 Hawthorn Lane, Wilmslow, Manchester.
["Janus " writes : The proportion of Jews in the population is one in 130—say, to be safe, one in 120. The proportion of Jews among "Black Market" offenders, on the basis of the figures quoted above, is rather ,more than one in six. I made no charge comparable to this.]
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