By now everyone knows of the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to rectify certain ancient wrongs it has perpetrated against the Jewish people. The Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council, called to discuss various internal problems in Christianity, was presented with a proposal concerning the Jews. In the schema on Christian unity, Chapter 4 (reproduced on p. 3) urged that the Church retract the old charge of deicide of which Christians had accused Jews for ages. It asked that the Jews be absolved of guilt for killing the central figure of the Christian religion. This proposal, as we also know, was not voted upon; it may possibly be brought up for consideration again next September. My purpose is to analyze not the Catholic action as such, but rather the reactions of certain Jews, perhaps very many of them. And it is concerning these reactions, which in many cases are quite disturbing, and in some cases outrageous and scandalous, that I wish to register a complaint, and to offer several suggestions. The complaint is that we have over-acted, occasionally to the point of compromising our principles and our dignity. And my suggestions are that we be cautious; that we exercise our critical faculties; that we not be overwhelmed by the torrent of publicity; that we strive for a historical perspective; and, above all, that we judge men and events not by the shifting standards and ephemeral moods of the moment, but by authentic Jewish criteria—the eternal value of Torah and Tradition. We Jews are a grateful people. The very name “Jew” implies gratitude: it comes from “Judah”, and that name—in Hebrew, Yehudah—was given to her son by Leah because “this time shall I thank the Lord” (Gen. 29:35). It is this element of gratefulness that has made Jews so loyal, throughout these many years of our dispersion, to those countries which have offered us safety and freedom. It accounts as well for the many lasting contributions we have made to the science and the literature, the finances …