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DETROIT JEWISH OHRONICLn
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
Friday, August 20, IRS
A Fearful Error
Published Weekly by Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc., 598 Woodward, Detroit 26, Mich., CA. 1040
SAi!Thal'as seat.iiaq
votonyl. -- Ir SAIS
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Entered as Second-class matte. March 3. 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March
SEYMOUR TILCIIIN. President
Vol 50, No. 31
'ISRAEL" issTEAv OF
• tsR-0112!
3. 1879
GEORGE WEISWASSER, Editor-in-Chief
Friday, August 20, 1948 (Ab 15, 5708)
DETROIT 26, MICH.
The Quality of Mercy
enough to permit him to go beyond the UN
decision.
When the British delegation early this
The net effect of his procedure has been
month suddenly raised a hue and cry for
a
stiffening
Arab attitude, predicated on
humanitarianism, demanding the repatriation
to Israel of 250,000 Arab war exiles, it hoped hope that continued show of resistance would
enable him to wring concessions from the
to play the Arab game on human strings. count.
But the note was too harshly discordant
It is true that Count Bernadotte was not
to elicit the anticipated response—for it was
played by a hand that wouldn't raise a finger granted sufficient power and force to enable
on behalf of Jews when they were facing not him to enforce the General Assembly's par-
tition decision. But it cannot . be denied that
only exile but death at the hands of Hitler.
We appreciate the Arab exile problem. We, Arab intransigence was encouraged by his
more than the British, understand the agony lack of firmness.
If instead of floating trial balloons he
and torture of human beings in exile. We are
a people with an exile history of close to firmly told the Arabs that it was his in-
two-thousand years. We know the meaning tention to carry out the UN partition deci-
of homelessness and wondering.
sion, Palestine today would be as close to
The plight of the Arab refugees is a trag- peace as it is to war.
ic one, even though it is of their own and Bri-
The Israeli government accepted the UN
tish making. Those people were not driven truce reluctantly, and against its better judg-
from their homes—they left home and bed, ment. Absolute military victory was within
field and job and business, under the influ- its grasp when the second truce was de-
ence of Arab and British-inspired propa- creed by the Security Council. Now Israel
ganda.
is at a tremendous disadvantage.
*
•
•
Its hands are tied by the council's truce
They were coerced into becoming exiles order and the UN mediator is doing nothing
by threats; were cajoled into fleeing to Arab toward implementing the General Assem-
lands by false promises. They were victims bly's partition decision. And on top of all
BLASTS BEN GURION
5,000 soldiers would they not
of treachery—British as well as Arab.
that it is subjected to constant provocation Dear Editor:
have received the necessary wea-
They are not unwanted in Israel. On the by Arab truce violations which are being The version of the Altalena pons?"
contrary, their homes are intact except where overlooked by the peace supervisor.
tragedy made public by David
Though the question form of
hit by shell. Their fields are being plowed by
This situation is an unhealthy one from Ben Gurion is reminiscent of the this statement like that of the
Israel's fighting men. Their property and every point of view. Only a quick end to the story of Joseph and his brethren, preceding leaves it somewhat ob-
businesses are secure.
indecision, delay and procrastination of the without, however, as far as at scure, yet we may rightfully
They can look forward to resumption of .mediator can prevent Israel from proceeding present discernible, the over- draw the conclusion that the
normal life in Israel when hostilities end. with its own implementation of the UN deci- tones of that noble Biblical tale. prime minister would have
The Hebrew prime minister of trusted the Irgun with arms
They are the unfortunate victims of war, sion. Israel wants peace—but an indefinite yore
pretended to lay to his supplied by the government.
not of ideology or politics.
truce is not peace.
brothers the incredible charge,
Obviously if that be so, the Jr-
Britain would have the world believe that
If war comes to Palestine again the United "Ye are spies; to see the naked- gun
could have been relied on
her tears are motivated by considerations of Nations will have suffered another setback ness of the land ye are come."
humanity. Pity is a great human quality, as an instrument of peace.
The Israeli prime minister, to use their guns against the
with less directness for some un- enemy only, as those. who have
perhaps the greatest. But where was British
explainable
reason, and with the closely followed the press know
mercy when huritlreds of thousands of Jews
earmarks
of
the totalitarian big with what effectiveness that was
were being slaughtered in Hitler's murder
at Jaffa, Acre and Jerusa-
lie technique, levelled at the Ir- done
lem.
factories? Where was that human quality
gun the infinitely more incredi-
when it was still possible to save some of
Let us hope for as happy a de-
ble accusation, "If the purpose is
Europe's Jewry from Hitler's clutches?
not to murder a whole nation nouement to this story as capti-
vates readers of the narrative
What is Britain's record on that count?
then why the need of 5,000 of
The Anglo-Jewish Press
Joseph of old.
guns?"
Only a bare light on that record is thrown
.
The prospective joy, when it
One
prefers
to
believe
that
Da-
in the current issue of Collier's magazine,
A tribute to the Anglo-Jewish press was
materializes, will be marred,
where we learn from "The Secret Papers of recently voiced by Henry W. Levy, one of the vid Ben Gurion, like Joseph be- however, by the grief over the
fore
him,
was
aiming
at
some
Harry L. Hopkins" that the former British leading public relations men in the Jewish
loss of a score of Jewish lives
intricate policy of state in ut-
Foreign. Minister Anthony Eden had turned organizational field, in two addresses de- tering
and the more than a score of
that statement.
down during the war an American request livered at the national conference of Jewish That this was so, is attested Jewish wounded on the order of
to save 60,000 Bulgarian Jews from the Nazi Social Workers in Baltimore, and the annual to by a later remark, "If they the Israeli high command.
clutches.
Institute of the National Federation of (the Irgun) would have given us
M. MANUEL MERZON.
•
•
•
Temple Secretaries held in New York.
promemarmanintummenturrrapingun P111111121119111 einlintallita3illa il
The suggestion was made by former Sec-
ueltainileallallal
Levy, who has directed the public relations
retary of State Cordell Hull at a joint British- for such organizations as the American
American meeting which was attended by the Jewish Committee, the National Council of
late President Robsevelt. What was Britain's Jewish Women, the Union of American Ile-
excuse? If that is done, replied Eden, "then brew Congregations and the Palestine Medi-
BY Se-Wm
the Jews of the world will be wanting us to cal School Campaign, said in substance that A NUMBER of Jewish names ° 1^
law in its zone. Friends of Brit-
make similar offers in Poland and Germany." the English-Jewish press performs "a valu- appear among those who are ac- ain
who endeavor to defend her
And if Hitler "takes us up", he cautioned able service" to Jewish organizational life in cused by the "Un-American Com-
Palestinian policy in regards the
with diplomatic serenity, "there simply are setting before the great mass of American mittee" as being spies for the charge
anti-Semitism must be
not enough ships and means of transporta- Jews the day-to-day story of events of Jew- Russian government. Some of a little of
disturbed over her atti-
our Jews are concerned. They
tion in the world to handle them."
ish interest throughout the world.
tude toward restitution of Jew-
But when President Truman requested, and
Pointing out that the Anglo-Jewish press fear the rise of anti-Semitism. ish property in her zone.
Let's
not
get
too
excited
over
the Anglo-American Committee on Palestine is not given enough credit for the job it that. An anti-Semite needs no Members of the American
recommended, immediate entry into Palestine does, Levy, in addressing the social workers, excuse.
To be a Jewish capitalist Council for Judaism, please note
of 100,000 Jewish refugees, there certainly said: "The English-Jewish press has a cir- is just as dangerous as being a that British anti-Semitism pre-
State.
were enough means of transportation. The culation of over a quarter of a million—at Jewish communist. There are dates the Jewish
• • •
war was over.
least a quarter of the Jewish homes in plenty of anti-Semitic pamphlets
EXPLAINED
And what was Britain's answer? The civil- America — homes which are consciously accusing Jews of dominating CITIZENSIIIP
JUST WHAT is the legal status
world capital.
ized world knows the answer only too well. Jewish enough to read a Jewish paper."
of United States citizens bearing
Admitting that all of the English-Jewish What bothers me most is that arms for Israel? lie loses the
this
spy
scare,
be
it
against
Jew
newspapers are not the finest examples of or Gentile, hits at the core of protection of the U. S. govern-
Produce or Quit
American journalism, that "they have weak- our
ment but not necessarily his cit-
democracy.
There is growing resentment in Israel nesses and even sins," Levy blamed the After three years of investi- izenship.
over the way UN Mediator Count Folke Jewish community even more than the guilty gation and 18 months of grand Only the courts can deprive
Bernadotte has been handling his assign- editors and publishers for these lapses.
jury hearings, no case was made an American of citizenship. The
issue would come up on each spe-
ment. In fact there is wide public demand
He said: "I can only say that the Jewish out against these men.
case and be determined in
that he either produce at once or quit.
community—like all communities--gets the Instead of them being prose- cific
the light of evidence shown.
cuted
in
a
court
of
law,
Con-
Bernadotte has so far failed both on the press it supports and deserves. Surely, the
After the war, our Congress
major issue of a permanent peace settle- local English-Jewish paper is a factor in gress is capitalizing on these in- passed a law making it relative-
vestigations to whip up public
ment and on the subordinate problem of community organization as well as agency hysteria
against any type of lib- ly simple for Americans who had
maintaining the truce.
public relations. It should be sympathetically eral thinking.
fought with the British and the
French to regain their citizen-
In the face of mounting Arab violations of supported and used."
• • •
ship.
the truce he has kept on talking to no pur-
To all of what Levy said, we can only say BRITAIN REFUSES
• • •
pose, constantly projecting plans and "amen." All too few Jewish leaders, organiza- THE DECLARATION of Jan. MARCUS CASE
CITED
schemes which are neither germane to the tions and public relations men make any 5, 1993, signed by all allied pow- THE SECRETARY
of State can
ers,
called
for
the
restitution
of
basic issue nor within the scope of the terms effort to help the Anglo-Jewish press, even
revoke one's passport, if he is
property
looted
by
the
Nazis.
of reference as defined by the Security as they seek to exploit it for their own pur-
found fighting for a foreign gov-
Restitution laws were enacted
poses.
Council.
ernment,
but that does not de-
in the American and
Instead of acting as an agent or represen-
In paying tribute to the _Anglo-Jewish separately
prive the holder of his citizen-
French zones of occupation in ship.
tative of the international organization he press Levy has done a real service to the Germany after it was impossible
It does deprive him of the pro-
has been proceeding on the dangerous pre- Anglo-Jewish press in America.
to arrive at joint action with the tection of
his government out-
British.
mise that his discretionary power is wide
side the U. S. If there is no
SEVEN ARTS FEATURE
Letters to the Editor
The Visiting Editor
8
Random Thoughts
Britain refuses to pass such a
(Continued on Page 11)