America"' (fewish Periodical Cotter .442 September I I, 1942 DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle SENATOR BROWN FERVENTLY HOPES THAT JEWISH PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED CO, „ CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110 rte. By SENATOR PRENTISS M. BROWN • of August 21, 1943 Editor's Note:—The settlement of Emek Jezreel which began 20 years ago through the acquisition of the land by the Jewish National Fund, is one of the most romantic chapters i n the upbuilding of the Jewish National Home. Lea Goldberg, noted Hebrew poetess and authoress, graphically describes in this article her impressions and experiences after a visit to the Emek on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. The strategic importance of the Emek, which serves as the very backbone of the upbuilding program of the Jewish National Home, is Particularly emphasized here. Dear Mr. Margolis: Many thanks for the oppotunity of conveying the Season's greetings and feliciations to your people. I do I had never seen such a sky the Emek. Through a thin so with a feeling of keen sympathy for the Jews over veil of scorching dust, as though throughout the world, and particularly those who have one were looking through semi- suffered so terribly at the hands of the Axis nations. opaque glass, one caught a 1 do so with a prayer on my lips that we will soon wel- glimpse of a pale blue sky. were no clouds, but here come the dawn of a new day when their misery and There and there in the distance were suffering will be at an end. stretched strips of white. The Soon you will celebrate your Holy Days. Mindful whole gave the impression as if a screen had been erected between of the past and contemplating the future, we wonder man and heaven. In the far dis- what Fate holds in store for us during the coming year. tance, a bird of prey, with out- Above everything else, may it be Victory in our present stretched wings was hovering conflict. Victory and achievement of the ideals and high, motionless and proud, but it appeared somewhat distorted principles for which we are struggling. behind the dusty mist. Lincoln in substance said at Gettysburg, "We are It was a khamsin day, and that engaged in a great civil war, testing whether * * * any dust veil was settling itself over nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposi- the whole region as far as the tion that all men are created equal, can long endure." eye could see—over the bushes and few trees that were there, In the light of the present we are engaged in a struggle the the hedges and the wide fields. which makes our Civil War fade into insignificance. This To us it appeared as though our conflict is far greater than any in history It is not a war car was cutting its way between by and against one nation—it is world-wide in scope. two layers of burning dust. Somehow, it seemed to be the It involves the life and pursuit of happiness of all dem- only real thing around us, sure of ocratic nations and institutions. It is a mortal struggle itself and of its direction. And testing whether our conceptions, our idealogy can en- the man at the wheel and his dure and whether our God-given inalienable rights will two companions also seemed to belong to hard and stark reality. survive. They were members of Kibbutzim The lines of battle are clearly drawn. We are (Communal settlements) returning fighting with faith in our cause and confidence in our home after a fatiguing day's work ultimate success. Justice and right must and shall pre- in town, settling accounts and looking after the other matters vail, as surely as the night follows the day. relating to their settlements. As the Jewish people turn to their God in their Presently we saw houses—the sacred and solemn hour, it is my fervent hope that their water tower and the entrance prayers be answered, that peace, health and happiness gate; we caught a glimpse of the for all mankind be inscribed in the Book of Life. Above bungalows on the outskirts of the Kibbutz and of the white walls all, may victory be ours. May the time be not far dis- of the communal buildings. The tant when "nation will no longer lift up sword against reality of which our car reminded nation" and "peace on earth and good will toward men" us gave way to a different real- prevail. ity, strong and immutable, deeply With my very best wishes, I am, Sincerely yours, Prentiss M. Brown. A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL KNIGHT PLATING CO. R. K. MACHINE AND TOOL CO. 3143 BELLEVUE AVE. PLAZA 1167 FOR rs THE EMEK NOW By LEA GOLDBERG United States Senator from Michigan Mr. Jacob Margolis, Publisher, Detroit Jewish Chronicle, 525 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. CHUREHA ■ HOME BUY WAR BONDS —Courtesy of Char!es Ridgway, 'WATCHMAN Ex4MINILli Heartiest Rosh Hashonah Greetings to All SERVICE OFFICE SUPPLY CO. COMPLETE OFFICE OUTFITTERS NATE BALABAN SOi. ALLEN BALABAN HERBERT KLEIN MORRY WASSERMAN BII.I. LEONARD r,th Floor Vernor Bldg. — 19 W. Woodbridge St. 21 RA. 8030 A BOND A DAY KEEPS THE AXIS AWAY rooted in the soil on which it is built. The khamsin day had lent the houses and court-yard the appearance of worn fatigue.' That is why they so much re- sembled my two companions, tired and overwrought, but so human and real, bent on their daily toil and duties. It was well-nigh im- possible to think of those fields and of the hot and steaming earth without associating them with the fruits of human labor in the Emek. Twenty years ago everything was desolate there . . . It is diffi- cult to set down this statement on paper. It brings to mind a story I once read in Russian, of 10 Soviet journalists who were sent out to one of the new indus- trial centers in Russian Asia. The journalists took note of everything that had been created there, Pro- fessional guides and managers of industrial concerns showed them round the factories that had been erected and the dwelling houses that had been built. The journal- ists made note of everything in their hurry-skurry fashion, their pens scratching on the paper and their faces beaming with recog- nition of the great achievements they witnessed. In a few days their reports were published throughout Russia, but every man of them began with the sentence: ' "A year ago desolation reigned here." Yes, reality is stronger than our efforts at expression, and our tongues are not always capable of expressing it. We are forced into banality, but the fact of a wilderness being transformed into a place of human habitation is never banal. Twenty years ago desolation reigned here. The place where a copse of eucalyptus trees is now facing us was then a malaria-in- fested swamp . . . But what is that we see? On the other side of the road there was a little thicket too . . . Yes, only a month ago I saw it, and now only grey and short-cut trunks are visible "They are cutting down our trees," I said to the man sitting beside me, not without a feeling of sorrow and revolt. "There are none too many trees in the coun- try, and the few which we raised cost us dearly." "Here's a romantic town-dwell- er all over again," chuckled the Kibbutzman who was well up in trees and afforestation. "We need timber, don't we? We need boxes and furniture and sheep-folds, which are best built of wood . . Why, the Jewish National Fund itself is cutting those trees down." fore you will have stopped mourn- ing for the thicket that has been cleared a new one will have risen in its stead. Such is the eucalyp- tus tree: You fell it and it rises again; you cut it down and it grows up. Not in vain do Arabs call the eucalyptus the "Jew- See ENEK—Page 22 L'Shono Toro Tikosern! I looked perplexed. "Never mind. You don't, it seems, know the nature of the eucalyptus tree. You cut it down, leaving one shoot protrding from the trunk at the bottom, and be- fore long that branch grows and develops into a tree trunk itself. A new tree rises in the place of the one you have cut down. 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