In No. 105 of Posledniye Izvestia (of January 28/15, 1903), published by the "Foreign Committee of the General Jewish Workers' Union in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia," in the article "Apropos of a Proclamation" (namely, the proclamation of the Yekaterinoslav Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party), we find the following assertion, as astonishing as it is important and truly "fraught with consequences": "the Jewish proletariat has constituted itself (sic!) into an independent (sic!) political party, the Bund."

We did not know this before. This is news.

Until now, the Bund was a component part of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, and even (even!) in No. 106 of Posl. Izv. we encounter a statement of the Central Committee of the Bund with the heading on that statement: "Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party." True, the Bund resolved at its recent, Fourth Congress to change its name (without stipulating a desire to hear the opinion of the Russian comrades on the question of naming one or another part of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party) and to "push through" the new federal relations into the statutes of the Russian Party. The Foreign Committee of the Bund has even "pushed through" these relations already, if one can use this word for its withdrawal from the "Union of Russian Social-Democrats Abroad" and the conclusion of a federative agreement with this Union.

But the Bund itself, when Iskra polemicised against the decisions of its Fourth Congress, stated quite definitely that it merely intended to push its wishes and decisions through in the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, i.e., directly and categorically acknowledged that it remained part of the RSDLP pending the adoption by this Party of new statutes, pending the elaboration by it of new forms of relationship to the Bund.

And now it suddenly turns out that the Jewish proletariat has already constituted itself into an independent political party! We repeat once more: this is news.

Equally new is the menacing and foolish attack of the FK of the Bund on the Yekaterinoslav Committee. We have at last received (although, unfortunately, with a great delay) this proclamation, and will not hesitate to say that the attack on such a proclamation unquestionably constitutes a major political step on the part of the Bund. This step is in complete accord with the declaration of the Bund as an independent political party and in its turn throws much light on the physiognomy and mode of action of this new party.

Unfortunately, lack of space prevents us from reproducing the Yekaterinoslav proclamation in full (it would have taken up about two columns of Iskra), and we shall confine ourselves to the remark that this excellent proclamation superbly explains to the Jewish workers of the city of Yekaterinoslav (we shall presently explain why we underline these words) the Social-Democratic attitude to Zionism and anti-Semitism. Moreover, the proclamation is so carefully, comradely carefully attentive to the feelings, moods and desires of the Jewish workers that it specifically stipulates and emphasises the necessity of struggle under the banner of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party "even for the preservation and further development of your" (the proclamation addresses Jewish workers) "national culture," "even in purely national interests" (underlined and set in italics in the proclamation itself).

And nevertheless the FK of the Bund (we almost said: the CC of the new party) descended upon this proclamation because it does not mention the Bund by a single word. This is its sole, but therefore unforgivable, terrible, criminal offence. This is why the Yekaterinoslav Committee is accused of a lack of "political sense." The Yekaterinoslav comrades are punished for not having "digested the thought of the necessity of a separate organisation (a profound and important thought!) of the forces (!!) of the Jewish proletariat," for "still cherishing the senseless dream of somehow getting rid of it (the Bund)," for spreading a "no less harmful (than the Zionist) fairy-tale" about the connection of anti-Semitism with bourgeois rather than with workers' strata and the interests of these strata. This is why the Yekaterinoslav Committee is advised to "drop the harmful habit of hushing up the independent Jewish labour movement" and to "reconcile itself to the fact of the existence of the Bund."

The question now arises: is there really an offence here on the part of the Yekaterinoslav Committee? Should it really have mentioned the Bund? These questions can only be answered in the negative, for the simple reason that the proclamation is addressed not to "Jewish workers" in general (as the FKB quite incorrectly describes it), but to "the Jewish workers of the city of Yekaterinoslav" (the FK of the Bund forgot to quote the last two words!). In Yekaterinoslav there is no Bund organisation. (And in general, with regard to the south of Russia, the Fourth Congress of the Bund resolved not to set up separate Bund committees in those cities where Jewish organisations form part of the Party committees, where their needs can be fully satisfied without separating from these committees.) Since the Jewish workers are not organised in Yekaterinoslav in a separate committee, their movement (indivisible from the whole workers' movement of the given locality) is entirely managed by the Yekaterinoslav Committee, which directly subordinates them to the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, which must call them to work for the whole Party, not for separate parts of it. Obviously, under such conditions the Yekaterinoslav Committee was not only not obliged to mention the Bund, but on the contrary, had it taken it into its head to preach "the necessity of a separate organisation of the forces (this would more correctly and probably be an organisation of impotence) of the Jewish proletariat" (as the Bundists want), this would have been the gravest error on its part and a direct violation not only of the Party's statutes but also of the interests of the unity of the proletarian class struggle.

Further. The Yekaterinoslav Committee is accused of a lack of "awareness" on the question of anti-Semitism. The FK of the Bund reveals truly childish views on major social movements. The Yekaterinoslav Committee speaks of the international anti-Semitic movement of recent decades and remarks that "from Germany this movement migrated to other countries and everywhere found supporters precisely among the bourgeois, not the workers' strata of the population." — "This is a no less harmful fairy-tale" (than Zionist fairy-tales), the FKB fires back in great anger. Anti-Semitism "has taken root in the workers' mass," in proof of which the "aware" Bund cites two facts: 1) participation of workers in the Czestochowa pogrom, and 2) the action of 12 (twelve!) Christian workers in Zhitomir, who took the places of strikers and threatened to "butcher all the Yids." — Evidence that is truly weighty, especially the latter! The editorial board of P. I. is so accustomed to dealing with major strikes of 5 or 10 people that the action of 12 ignorant workers in Zhitomir is dragged in to evaluate the connection of international anti-Semitism with one or another "stratum of the population." This is truly magnificent! If the Bundists, instead of their foolish and ridiculous anger against the Yekaterinoslav Committee, had thought a little about this question and consulted at least the brochure of Kautsky on the social revolution which they recently published in Yiddish, they would have understood the undeniable connection of anti-Semitism with the interests of precisely the bourgeois, not the workers', strata of the population. Thinking a little more, they could also have figured out that the social character of modern anti-Semitism is not changed by the fact that not only dozens, but even hundreds of unorganised and nine-tenths completely ignorant workers take part in this or that pogrom.

The Yekaterinoslav Committee took a stand (and a legitimate stand) against the Zionist fairy-tale about the eternal nature of anti-Semitism; the Bund, with its angry amendment, only confused the question and sowed among the Jewish workers ideas that lead to the obscuring of their class consciousness.

From the standpoint of the struggle of the whole working class of Russia for political freedom and for socialism, the Bund's attack on the Yekaterinoslav Committee is the height of folly. From the standpoint of the "independent political party of the Bund," this attack becomes comprehensible: do not dare anywhere to organise "Jewish" workers together with and indivisibly from the "Christian" workers! Do not dare, in the name of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party or its committees, to address the Jewish workers directly, "bypassing the ranks," without the mediation of the Bund, without mentioning the Bund!

And this deeply deplorable fact is no accident. Once, instead of autonomy in matters concerning the Jewish proletariat, you demanded "federation," you had to proclaim the Bund an "independent political party" in order to have the possibility of pushing this federation through at all costs. But the proclamation of the Bund as an independent political party is precisely that carrying to absurdity of the basic error on the national question which will inevitably and necessarily serve as the starting point of a turn in the views of the Jewish proletariat and of Jewish Social-Democrats in general. The "autonomy" of the 1898 statutes ensures the Jewish workers' movement everything it may need: propaganda and agitation in Yiddish, its own literature and congresses, the putting forward of special demands supplementary to one common Social-Democratic programme, and the satisfaction of local needs and demands arising from the peculiarities of Jewish life. In everything else, a complete and closest fusion with the Russian proletariat is necessary — necessary in the interests of the struggle of the whole proletariat of Russia. And the fear of any "majorisation" under such a fusion is without foundation, for it is precisely autonomy that guarantees against majorisation in the special questions of the Jewish movement, while in the questions of the struggle against the autocracy, the struggle against the bourgeoisie of the whole of Russia, we must act as a united, centralised, fighting organisation, we must lean on the whole proletariat, without distinction of language and nationality, cemented by the joint constant discussion of theoretical and practical, tactical and organisational questions — and not create organisations that march separately, each going its own way, not weaken the force of our onslaught by splitting into numerous independent political parties, not introduce alienation and separateness only to then cure the artificially inoculated disease with plasters of the notorious "federation."

Iskra, No. 34, February 15, 1903.

Printed from the text of the newspaper Iskra.