On page 9 of the American Jewish World, of July 30, a letter signed “Mrs. Samuel Rush” appears. It is headed: “Are We Really Ashamed of Trotsky?” Read a few excerpts from it:
“I have read of late several laments from editors of Jewish publications that the Jew is now libeled as a radical.
“It is true that many Jews are radicals. It is also true that some of the radical leaders are Jews.
“But before weeping over the downfall of the race, let’s think a bit.
“Trotsky himself has never been represented as anything but a cultured man, a student of world economics, a powerful and efficient leader and thinker who will surely go down in history as one of the great men our race has given the world.
“* * * Very few of us doubt any longer that behind the absurdities written about Russia is the great truth that Russia is in that unsettled state which attends reconstruction. There is a plan behind this seeming disorder, and out of the upheaval will come order. It will not be utopia, but as good a government as the undoubtedly high-minded practical idealists who are building for Russia can build with the necessarily imperfect materials—human beings—with which they must work.
“And one of the leaders is Leon Trotsky!
“Are we really ashamed of Trotsky?”
The lady is evidently not ashamed of Trotsky, or Mr. Braunstein, as his real name is.
Or take Judge Harry Fisher, of Chicago. While drawing a salary for work in the court, Judge Fisher went abroad on Jewish relief work. His plans were changed somewhat after his departure and he landed in Russia. He asserts in several interviews that he was permitted to arrive in Russia on condition that he leave political matters alone. There has been no such restriction placed upon him since his return to the United States, for he appears as an open advocate of full trade relations with the Soviet Government of Russia.
