DETROIT JEWISH

Page Four

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CHRONICLE

Friday, December 31, 1948

Aid to the Needy

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
2805 Barium Tower, Detroit 26, Michigan

WOodward 11040

SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 Per Year, Single Copies, 10c; Foreign, $5.00 Per Year
Mastered as Second-class mattes March 3. 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879

SEYMOUR TILCHIN,

Vol. Mr, No. 50

President

GEORGE WEISWASSER, Editor-in-Chief

Friday, December 31, 1948 (Kislev 29, 5709)

Israel's Future

There were times when we censured Dr.

Ralph Bundle for his role and conduct as
UN Palestine mediator. We felt—and we
believe jtistly so—that he often followed
the British Palestine policy too closely,
particularly with regard to the Bernadotte
plan.
There weitb times when, it seemed to
us, he appeared to be leaning toward the
Arab side on major and minor issues as
well. Frankly speaking, we did not like his
approach when questions of truce violations
were involved.
We were, therefore, delighted to read
the really warm statement he made on his
return from Paris. His assertion that
Israel's future was bright and that the
new State was "firmly established," should
serve to remind certain wavering elements
in Washington that nothing can be gained
from playing the British game.
There still are disturbing factors in the
situation. The failure of the Security.
Council to approve Israel's application for
UN membership will certainly not con-
tribute to peace in the Middle East. Fa-
vorable action by the Security Council on
Israel's application would have had a sober-
ing effect on the Arab troublemakers who
'are feeding on British inspiration and
money. Nor is it clear yet at this time
what direction the three-nation Conciliation
Commission will be taking.
Turkey is definitely hostile. France,
judging from its position on the Israeli
membership application, will act with an
eye toward its general Middle East policy.
The only nation on the commiAion with
a definite attitude—providing of course we
do not in the interim witness one of those
changes Washington has been in the habit
of springing in the past—is the United
States.
Palestine, indeed, is on the way to peace,
providing of course no outside forces are
permitted • to upset the delicate balance
achieved through war and diplomacy and,
providing further, that the UN ceases be-
ing a vassal of British imperialism and
Bevin's whims.

Conciliation Commission

There stems to be a strong divergence
of opinion on whether the UN General
Assembly's Conciliation Commission for
Palestine will prove beneficial in the long
run to Israeli aspirations.
Our New York analyst, William Zuker-
man comments that the Paris session of
the UN "was of tremendous significance
and benefit to Israel. . . . The position of
Israel was never stronger . ." Phineas
J. Biron, trenchant observer of the domes-
tic and international scenes, writes on the
other hand, that the commission of United
States, French and Turkish representatives
born of the UN deliberations, was "merely
a British device to prolong the truce and
give Abdullah time to establish himself in
the Arab portion of Palestine." To him,
the treatment given to Israel was a double-
cross.
Sumner W'elles, clear-thinking former
Undersecretary of State, and Lillie Shultz,
discerning reporter of the "Nation," indorse
Biron's view fully. In fact Miss Shultz is
so outraged by the General Assembly ex-
pedient that she advises the Israelim "to
show the same intransigence in the field of
political negotiations as they have in the
military field." Yet, Major Aubrey Eban,
Israel's delegate at the UN, and other
Israeli spokesmen have acclaimed the re-
solution as satisfactory, chiefly, it appears,
because it contained no reference to the
Bernadotte plan which would have seriously
crippled Israel's development.
Welles is less gratified than the Israeli
leaders. While agreeing that "Israel has
obtained the ostensible abandonment of
Mr. Bevin's beloved Bernadotte plan," he
insists that "Israel has at the same time
lost an asset which may prove to have been
of far greater value. When the Assembly
adopted the present resolution it simultan-
eously discarded the partition resolutiot of
Nov. 29, 1947. That constituted Israel's

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The former Undersecretary believes that
as a substitute Israel will have to deal with
a conciliation body that is vaguely defined
and which will inevitably be responsive to
British influence. Like Miss Shultz, Welles
believes that the Jewish State will have to
rely upon its advantageous military posi-
tion to secure the boundaries defined by the
apparently' discarded partition resolution.
Miss Shultz writes that the selection of
the U.S., France and Turkey for the Con:
ciliation Commission is assurance that the
struggle of the big powers for supremacy
in the Middle East will continue unabated.
She visions Israel losing out in the rush by
the powers to appease the Arabs.
Although the "Nation" reporter believes
that at least on the record the partition
resolution remains intact, she foresees a
British move for territorial revisions to
the detriment of the new State. Unless
the British receive a slice of the Negev, or
are completely beaten in the UN, she de-
dares, they will seek to put forward the
Security Council resolution of Nov. 4 threat-
ening sanctions against Israel in their
maneuvers against the Jews.
It will be interesting to see whether the
REBUKES CHRONICLE
British will seize on the new Negev flareup
Dear Editor:
as an excuse for a demand for implementa-
Since your editorial of Dec. 10.
tion of. the sanctions resolution.

Letters to the Editor

Civilization Goes Forward

Two documents of great significance to
Jews in particular, were adopted by the
United Nations prior to the adjournment of
the Assembly in Paris. They were the
declaration of human rights and the geno-
cide convention.
Both show that despite the upsurge of
cruelty and inhumanity, civilization still
goes forward.
It is true, that both documents are so
far mere declarations. They still have no
legal standing until they are ratified by all
states, and there is no machinery as yet to
enforce thetn. But even the Ten Command-
ments were originally not enforceable by
law. Yet they represent one of the great-
est advances of mankind on the road to
civilization.
For the time being, the declaration of
human rights is merely' a summary of
what western humanity, after two of the
most destructive world wars, still has left
of its political, economic, social and moral
ideals. .
It is a reassertion of many old, and some
new values. Among the old are man's
rights to life, liberty, security of person,
freedom of movement, the right of asylum,
the right to freedom of speech, thought,
information, assembly and to equality
without distinction of race, nationality
and religion.
Among the new values are the rights to
social security, to economic equality, to
health, education and other rights which
society has to provide for the. individual.
On the whole, however, the declaration re-
iterates the old rights more than the new
ones, and stresses the rights of the in-
dividual above that of society and of the
, state. In this is probably its greatest
significance at the present moment when
the individual is being submerged by the
state.
The second historic document, the geno-
cide convention, which declares as an in-
ternational crime every attempt to destroy
a group of people because of their race,
nationality, religion or political belief, has
already passed from the declaration stage
and is nearer realization than the declara-
tion of human rights.
It also has a more direct bearing on the
Jewish problem. In fact, it is a result of
the revu'sion of civilized humanity from
the Nazi crimes against the Jews during
and prior to the war.
Jewish organizations such as the World
Jewish Congress and the American Jewish
Committee contributed a good deal towards
its realization and a great Jewish inter-
national lawyer, Prof. Raphael Lamke of
the Yale faculty of law was largely respon-
itible for its legal form.

cept to make a passing reference
to the small number of Jewish
delinquents while warning that
the report smacks of too much
complacency.
You made no comment on the
comparative absence of delin-
quency in the Jewish commu-
nity. Nor did you commend the
agencies concerned for their
methods of dealing with such
rare instances as do arise. No
mention was made of the pre-
ventive work by group and case-
work personnel nor did you re-
mind your readers that their
support of these agencies is a
paying investment in civic health
whether through the Community
Chest or the Allied Jewish Ap-
peal.

headed "What Is The JSSB
Afraid Of?" stated that the
Chronicle prints every signed
letter you receive—even those
that attack you, I take advantage
of your assurance by comment-
ing on the position which you
take regarding the so-called free-
dom of the press.
Your handling of the question
of juvenile delinquency in the
Jewish community shows a flag-
rant disregard of the seriousness
with which the organized agen-
cies of the city concern them-
selves with this problem. It
shows, moreover, a lack of pub-
lic responsibility which raises the
•
question whether you are not
confusing power with freedom of
Your failure to do these things
the press.
leads one to suspect that you
have less interest in delinquency
than in maintaining a one-sided
You admit that you published feud. There is a place for a
a letter signed by a fictitious gadfly element in the • press if
name which charged a total dis- only to prevent complacency in
regard of delinquency by Jewish the agencies and leadership of
welfare agencies. You then de- the community and providing it
manded of the JSSB a reply to has a constructive purpose.
these charges which would have
The Chronicle can serve such
placed that agency in a position a useful purpose and thereby be-
of defending itself against a come a valuable asset in the
phantom. Because the JSSB did Cultural wealth of the commu-
not respond to your demand you nity. Unless it does so its treat-
then accuse the society of being ment of the matter of 'delinquen-
"afraid" of something in a
cy is a weak example of its use-
lengthy editorial ending with a
fulness because it will not un-
threat to interfere with the Al-
dermine the position of the com-
lied Jewish Appeal.
petent agencies of the city and
could well stimulate the growth
of undesirable ones.
This type of irresponsible jour-
Let's have a little more res-
nalism does little to endear one
sponsibility of.the press and less
to the concept of freedom of the
talk about doubtful threats to
press as commonly understood.
the liberty of the press. Without
Before publishing the charges
the former we run too much to-
against the JeWish welfare agen-
ward the danger of having
cies, assuming you received
neither.
them, and because it is inconceiv-
MORRIS LEWIS,
able that you would be unmind-
3202 Joy Road.
ful of the common concern with

• •

• • •

• • •

delinquency, you could have ob-
tained all the information avail-
able on the degree of delinquen-
cy among Jewish youth and the
methods of dealing with it.
Then, if in your judgment the
charges deserved publication, you
could have added the informa-
tion based on your findings and
thereby performed a public serv-
ice. Of course, you have the
power to publish the unsupported
charges of any crack-brain who
cares to sign a name to them
but a check on such charges
prior to publication is a responsi-
bility that makes such power
purposeful and enhances a free-
dom so fundamental in democ-
racy.
•

•

• - 4

Editor's Note: There is no Mor-
ris Lewis at 3202 Joy road in
the December, 1948 telephone di-
rectory, but the Chronicle pub-
lishes this letter in accordance
with its policy of printing all
signed letters to the editor. As-
suming that there is such a per-
son, we direct his attention to
the fact that recent events in
the Dexter area particularly
have compelled the Jewish Com-
munity Council to lend its re-
sources in an attempt to avert
juvenile delinquency there and
to the fact that Young Israel,
which centers much of its activ-
ity in the Dexter and Linwood
areas, looks to a lessening of ju-
venile delinquency there when
its Youth Center on Dexter is
completed. The Chronicle thinks
Mr. Lewis is complacent and that

Finally, what did you do with
the public statement released by
the JSSB? You gave it space in
your news columns but did not
return to the editorial page ex- so Is the JSSB.

