Philosemitism: Admiration and Support in the English-Speaking World for Jews, 1840-1939 (review)

William D. Rubinstein, professor of history at the University of Wales, and Hilary L. Rubinstein, part-time lecturer at the University of Wales, have co-authored Philosemitism: Admiration and Support in the English-Speaking World for Jews, 1840-1939, the third in a five-book series on the history of Jews in English-speaking countries (the previous two were written by William D. Rubinstein alone). In this volume, the authors focus on an often-overlooked topic: the "support or admiration for the Jewish people by non-Jews...regarded as the reverse of antisemitism, hostility to or dislike of Jews" (p. ix). They pointedly dismiss the only other books in English that deal with this subject (excluding works on the Holocaust): Solomon Rappaport's Jew and Gentile: The Philo-Semitic Aspect (1980) and Alan Edelstein's An Unacknowledged Harmony: Philo-Semitism and the Survival of European Jewry (1982).

Philosemitism is organized in two parts. The first part highlights case studies of well-known antisemitic episodes, including the Damascus Affair of 1840; the Mortara Affair of 1858-59; pogroms in Russia between 1881 and 1906; the Dreyfus, Beilis, and Frank Affairs; and the Holocaust (hence, in this last case, going beyond the 1939 date specified in the book's title). The narrative traces rallies, petitions, books, pamphlets, financial aid, and other forms of overt support given to Jews by non-Jewish public figures as well as by distinct groups.

In the second part, the Rubinsteins develop a typology of manifestations of philosemitism between 1840 and World War II: liberal/progressive, Christian, Zionist, and conservative/elitist. Post-1945 philosemites are categorized separately. The tradition of philosemitism has seldom been a topic of inquiry, precisely because philosemitism was rarely a historical factor. Though the Rubinsteins argue that philosemitism constituted a significant force during the most noted outbreaks of antisemitism, historical reality indicates that ultimately the perpetrators of antisemitism were intractable. Generally, the authors avoid analyzing the glaring gap between the philosemitic sentiments held by various groups and individuals and the ineffectiveness of their efforts. For example, when asked in a 1943 Gallup poll, "Do you think that the British government should or should not help Jews who can get away?" seventy-eight percent of respondents answered positively. In addition, the authors cite a 1943 motion in the House of Commons calling for "immediate measures on the largest and most generous scale compatible with the requirements of military operations and security, for providing help and temporary asylum to persons in danger of massacre who are able to leave enemy and enemy occupied countries" (p. 98). Moreover, ninety of the most prominent professors and heads of colleges at Oxford condemned the government for its futile rescue attempts in 1943. In light of this support, why did the British occupiers of Palestine not establish a country whose shores would be open to the thousands seeking refuge from Nazism or a new home after liberation? The Exodus, which reached the shores of Haifa in 1948 filled with remnants of European Jewry, was not permitted to land.

In recent years, an exception to the lack of investigation into philosemitism can be found in the voluminous literature on resistance and rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. The Rubinsteins, citing English-language newspapers and magazines, illustrate a variety of gestures of support for the Jews' plight. In Australia, the Freeland League for Jewish Colonization attempted to persuade the government to create a semiautonomous settlement for 50,000 Jews in a sparsely populated northwestern region of that country. The Australian government rejected the plan. Shortly after Hitler became German chancellor, four hundred British journalists pledged to counter Nazi antisemitism. In 1933, conductor Bruno Walter, who could not work in Germany, received a standing ovation for conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Individual professors volunteered to provide financial assistance to Jewish colleagues who had been ousted from university appointments. A fund was...