‘I am a ghetto Jew’ »: This is how Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof defined himself. He was born in the ghetto of a small cosmopolitan town in the Russian Empire (Białystok) in 1859 and died in that of Warsaw in the spring of 1917. Yet, this ophthalmologist would create within it a « neutral » language with an international reach, driven by a universalist ideal: Esperanto.
It was, in fact, Esperanto that led Robert Lloancy on the trail of Zamenhof. In his latest work (1), this man of Catalan origin, who has lived in Béarn for nearly half a century, explores the evolution of a « seeker » tormented by the « Jewish question »: initially enthusiastic about Zionism in the 1880s, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof fairly quickly left this movement, which advocated for the establishment of a state for Jews in Palestine (although other regions had been considered: Uganda, the United States, Argentina…).
The former philosophy professor turned historian for his investigation into a man who shared the questions of his time without remaining confined to his certainties and his ghettos: « often a hesitant thought says much more than a thought that becomes entrenched, » Robert Lloancy rightly notes.
« The Misfortune of the Jewish People »
At the dawn of the 20th century, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof – who observed that « the age-old misfortune of the Jewish people lies in ‘the indissoluble link between religion and nationality’ » – had already distanced himself from the Zionism promoted by Theodor Herzl. He then defined « Hillelism », in reference to Rabbi Hillel the Elder, a contemporary of Herod and a cornerstone of liberal Judaism. For Zamenhof, it was about « dismantling the walls. »
His vision aligns with that of his contemporary Bernard Lazare, a French Jewish anarchist who was a staunch defender of Alfred Dreyfus: in his book, Robert Lloancy even places texts from the two men side by side to better highlight their echoing ideas.
« Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof tried, for the rest of his life, to move away from Zionism and orient himself towards a much more open universe, towards the other, towards the world, » summarizes Robert Lloancy. Hence a new evolution in the first decade of the 20th century, perhaps inspired by the (bad) spirit of the times – it was during this period that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged document but a true success in antisemitic circles, circulated: Zamenhof abandoned his « Hillelism » and created « Homaranism » (« Humanitarianism »). The former concerned only Jews, the second encompasses « the entirety of humankind » and rejects « every form of particularism. » Because for him, universalism had « an imprescriptible value. »
Zamenhof’s « Anticipatory Clarity »
Like Spinoza, Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof constantly reflected on « the Jewish question » to better transcend it: « the stone wall with which Jewry has surrounded itself has always provoked hatred and contempt against it, » he observed. In his writings, he also demonstrated « anticipatory clarity, » particularly when explaining his break with Zionism: « The Jews, in Palestine, will forever be as if on a volcano. »
His nuanced analyses would be found, in part, a century later, more acerbically and less sharply, in certain Israeli thinkers like Yeshayahu Leibowitz – the positions of the 1992 Israel Prize winner would not escape controversy then, and even to this day.
Robert Lloancy sent his manuscript to his publisher on October 5th. Forty-eight hours later, Hamas launched its terrorist attack against Israel, triggering the deadly war we are powerless witnesses to. The book came out a few days later. « I was far from imagining that it would have a repercussion in current events, or rather that current events would be reflected in what I had written, » confesses Robert Lloancy.
History to Understand Current Events
Like Jean Birnbaum, Robert Lloancy defends the « courage of nuance » in the face of highly complex situations: « We are used to strong opinions most of the time. However, it is much more useful, I think, to make room for nuance, because it allows us to shed more light on certain subjects. »
This implies a conscious stepping back: « I tried to treat the matter as a historian, to let the men of the time speak, to refrain from giving my opinion – except in the notes, where I gave myself roughly the freedom I wanted. »
Robert Lloancy’s work thus provides a different perspective on the drama unfolding before our eyes today in the Middle East. « If one ignores history as it happened, I believe one cannot properly understand current events as they are. » This is not the least of this book’s virtues.
1) Robert Lloancy, « From Zionism to Universalism », collection Logiques politiques, L’Harmattan, 228 pages, €24. An entire chapter dedicated to « Homaranismo » is written there in Esperanto.