Louis D. Brandeis: “The Jewish Problem: How to Solve It”

Louis D. Brandeis's speech “The Jewish Problem: How to Solve It” was delivered to the Eastern Council of Reform Rabbis in 1915; it was quickly reprinted and very widely distributed. Brandeis became a Zionist leader late in life. His involvement with such organizations as the Federation of American Zionists began in 1912, and he gave the Zionist movement one of its strongest and most prominent voices. With the outbreak of World War I in Europe, the Zionist movement became divided, and American Jewry grew more independent. The Provisional Executive Committee for Zionist Affairs was established in New York in August of 1914, with Brandeis at its head. Typical of his vision for the Zionist mission were the ideas he articulated in April 1915 in his speech “The Jewish Problem: How to Solve It.” In it, he underscores his belief that the creation of a Jewish national homeland was one key solution to antisemitism. He further states categorically that Zionism and patriotism are compatible and that there is no inconsistency between allegiance to America and loyalty to the Zionist purpose.