Letter to Lazar Kling, January 28, 1934

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The Jewish Question Has Been Internationalized

Dear Comrade Kling:

I was very pleased to learn from your letter that you have in the past year become an active worker in the American League and a member of Unzer Kamf’s editorial board.

One of the most active representatives of our Polish Jewish organization is now in Paris. I met with him once. We spoke at length about the situation in Poland, as well as the work among Jewish workers, and, in particular, I passed on to him your idea about a certain degree of centralization of propaganda among the Jewish workers. I am speaking of propaganda because it is impossible, of course, to centralize the active political work in the different countries. The Warsaw comrade promised to think over this question and to introduce your suggestion to the Executive Committee. You will, of course, be notified of further developments regarding this matter.

As regards the Jewish question as a whole, it now, more than any other question whatsoever, cannot be resolved by means of “reform.” The Jewish question has become at this time, as never before, a component part of the world proletarian revolution.

Regarding Birobidjan, its fate is tied up with the whole future destiny of the Soviet Union. In any case, we are dealing here not with a resolution of the Jewish question as a whole, but only with an attempt at resolving it for a certain section of the Jews living in the USSR. The Jewish question, as a result of the whole historical fate of Judaism, has been internationalized. It cannot be settled by means of “socialism in one country.” Under present conditions of the vilest and basest anti-Semitic persecution and pogroms, the Jewish workers can and must derive revolutionary pride from the consciousness that the fate of the Jewish people can only be resolved by a complete and final victory of the proletariat.

With communist greetings.