Page 222 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Articles

[AR aimed a good deal of his wrath at assimilated American Jews who
did not support the Zionist cause in the early years following the First
World War. His eclectic program of reading had probably acquainted
him with H. G. Wells (if not Jules Verne), providing the inspiration for
this piece of fantastic criticism. It is not known who saw this “letter”
during AR’s lifetime, but the archivist at the Jewish Historical Society
selected it—from many documents donated to its archives—to be
published in the society’s newsletter in 1989. A few weeks later it was
picked up by the Heritage, a local Jewish newspaper, and reprinted (vol.
5750, no. 14, 12/29/89), with an introduction by Carmel Winkler. The
paper errs in ending the text, “I remain as ever, Abe Rothstein.” The
extant version (typed with few errors and no corrections) ends
cryptically, “Your friend”, without a name following this salutation. AR
knew better than to place himself in the future, an anachronism any
good writer of science fiction would avoid.]

Los Angeles, California
January 20, 2020

Dear Friend:

I am writing this to you from the city of Los Angeles, California.
As you know, I am traveling in America for the purpose of making
researches for the Anthropological Department of our University in
Jerusalem, and this is my second trip around the world. I am now
searching the city of Los Angeles for Jewish types who, a century
ago, were living here in large communities.
Outside of New York, where I found some of our race who still
practiced a few of the old Jewish ceremonies, such as gathering for an
hour in their “prayer house” on the Day of Atonement and on
Sundays singing “Shma Israel,” I did not meet with any of our race
either on the train or at any of the stations en route. There were over
thirty thousand Jews here a century ago, according to the
Government statistics of the time, but to my surprise I could not find
a trace of them. I asked some old residents but they could give me no
information. Only one old American, who I met while visiting the
home of the aged, told me that his father told him about Jews who

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