as far as his power goes, and the Russian Government.” He interpreted the
vilification he endured as part of a “well-conceived” plan. Repeatedly, he
had been told that “if I did not stop my opposition to the Congress move-
ment I would be first attacked, as perhaps the most conspicuous member of
the American Jewish Committee; that the confidence of the Jewish people
in me would be undermined, and I would be broken down.” His conclud-
ing remarks startled the audience: “I may say this by way of valedictory: I
have been hurt to the core, and hereafter Zionism, Nationalism, the Con-
gress movement, and Jewish politics, in whatever form they may come up,
will be a sealed book to me.” He promised to continue to work for “the up-
lift of my people” and to cooperate in the task of securing rights for Jews in
eastern Europe and Palestine, “for they are all flesh of my flesh and bone of
my bone. But beyond this, my friends, my duty ends.” The American He-
brew took up the story: “The unexpected announcement threw a spell over
the hall and for several seconds, as Mr. Schiff was leaving the platform, a
solemn silence reigned; then, as if a thunderbolt had struck the audience,
there came forth a peal of applause that shook the auditorium. The ovation
lasted until Mr. Schiff had left the hall.”^94
Never before had Schiff been reduced to that position, and never before
had he threatened to remove himself from major Jewish issues. For the
moment, however, he won. The kehillah overwhelmingly passed a vote of
confidence in him; the only dissenting voice was that of a representative
from the Tageblatt. Support of the banker also came from Jewish commu-
nities and institutions across the country, as well as from some secular jour-
nals. The Hebrew Standard of New York, which had often criticized Schiff,
now said: “Frankly do we admit that we, as a community, are much more in
need of Jacob H. Schiff than he is in need of us.” Even the Socialist Forward
defended him as a humanitarian who was far nobler than his attackers. To
be sure, Schiff’s “valedictory,” if interpreted broadly, left him free range to
delineate the parameters of his involvement in Jewish affairs and to con-
tinue even as he had before. But the event hastened the demise of undis-
puted elitist leadership.^95
Before Schiff’s outbursts rocked the community, the AJC had formally
agreed, albeit conditionally, to join a democratic congress. Its strategy, like
that in the formation of the kehillah, was to bow to public pressure and by
its participation temper the more radical elements in the congress. Realis-
tically, it reasoned that the only other options—an unyielding repudiation
of the congress or an unqualified acceptance of a congress on Zionist
terms—would invalidate its claim to communal leadership. Proving that
the elitists too were responsive to public opinion and no doubt influenced
by the congress movement, the committee was simultaneously deliberating
a broader representative base for its own membership.^96
Schiff and Marshall worked out the committee’s strategy, leaving Adler,
222 Jacob H. Schiff