In 1937, Trotsky described the vast distance which separated him from European Jewry: "I have not had the opportunity to learn the Jewish language, which moreover has been developed only since I became an adult. I have not had, and I do not have the possibility of following the Jewish press... I have lived my whole life outside of Jewish circles. I have always worked in the Russian workers movement. My native tongue is Russian. Unfortunately, I have not even learned to read Jewish. The Jewish question, therefore, has never occupied the center of my attention."
I wrote above that in 1937 he "understood fascism better than most (but) could still not anticipate the tragic scale of the Judeocide.” Remarkably, he did anticipate it a year later: "It is possible to imagine without difficulty what awaits the Jews at the mere outbreak of the future world war. But even without war the next development of world reaction signifies with certainty the physical extermination of the Jews." In 1940, however, he was not as prescient about the future of the Zionist settler-colony in Palestine: "The attempt to solve the Jewish question through the migration of Jews to Palestine can now be seen for what it is, a tragic mockery of the Jewish people...The future development of military events may well transform Palestine into a bloody trap for several hundred thousand Jews." (All quotes taken from the MIA page dealing with his cursory views on the Jewish question linked to above). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#43054): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/43054 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120754303/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
