Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

From Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s
Instead of Excessive Apology (1911)
We ourselves have acquainted our neighbors with the thought that for every
embezzling Jew it is possible to drag the entire ancient people to answer, a
people that was already legislating at the time when the neighbors had not
even invented a bast shoe. . .Yes, we do have provocateurs and draft dodgers,
and it is even strange that we have so few of them under current conditions.
Other people have also these kind of “good,” and, in addition, they
have embezzlers, and pogrom-makers, and torturers—so what—the neighbors
live and are not ashamed. . . Do our neighbors blush for the Christians
in Kishinyov who hammered nails into Jewish babies’ eyes? Not in the
least—they walk with head raised high and look everybody in the face; they
are absolutely right. . . We do not have to account to anybody, we are not to
sit for anybody’s examination and nobody is old enough to call on us to
answer. We came before them and will leave after them. We are what we
are, we are good for ourselves, we will not change and we do not want to.
Also see Vanessa Hidary, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubdGjzzJiVs
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