The Ashkenazi Revolution

153in order to sully the image of Jabotinksy. It appears that Bialik’s hatredtoward Jabotinsky was a continuation of the hatred between Bialik andAhad ha’Am toward Herzl. These two representatives of HebrewLiterature saw, in every famous statesman, a hated competitor whoendangers their status in the Jewish Hall of Fame, and they would pursuethem fiercely. Under the influence of his appearance at the ZionistCongress, Bialik wrote his last poem, “I have seen you anew in yourimpotence”. This is a brazen and lowly poem in which Bialik flingsbaseless accusations upon the Zionist gathering that, in fact, wasideologically wanting, but it included those whose concern for the Jewswas many times greater than Bialik’s, who was entirely in love withhimself at the time. The lowly nature of this outburst was evident toeverybody, but the sect of Hebrew Literature was quick to obscure theshame by defining the poem as a “prophetic rebuke”. Other friends ofBialik, such as Ben Zion Katz, invented a version that had half the poemdirected against a group of authors that was lead by Shlonksy-Steinman,mortal enemies of Bialik. But such an interpretation has no basis from thepoem itself, which contains many indications that it was written with theCongress in mind and the thread of poisonous hatred, against theRevisionists, is highly emphasized. The source of Bialik’s attack on theCongress is clear. He demanded, for himself, the right to be the leadspeaker and the lion of every group in every Jewish community, and whenhe realized that not he, and not his cultural ideas, would be the center ofattention at the Congress, he was gripped with a strong anger that lead tothe poem. Within Bialik two opposites mingled. On one hand he was acultural giant and a poet who, in some of his poems, reached a pinnacle ofbrilliance and, on the other hand, he was a lowly private individual in allthat pertained to his personal life, ethical standards, public idealism andJewish patriotism. And specifically this last attribute, that of a lowlyprivate individual, was the one that endeared him to those who ruled theJewish street. It is because this attribute added its own contribution to thelow political tension that the rulers had interest in.2