Page
Thursday, May 5, 1949
DETROIT JEWISH SIIRONICLE
Four
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
2827 Barium Tower, Detroit 26, Michigan
U.S. Unions Aid Israeli Labor
WOodward 1-1040
SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 Per Year, Single Copies, 10c; Foreign, $5.00 Per Year
Bowed as Second-clam matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Ad of March 3, 1879
GEORGE WEISWASSER, Editor - in - Chief
SEYMOUR TILCIIIN, President
Thursday, May 5, 1949
(Iyar 6, 5709)
In Brief . .
The Jewish Chronicle now comes into
your homes on Thursday morning. This is
in line with the Chronicle's policy of bring-
ing you the news first. Synagogues and or-
ganizations with weekend services and activ-
ities will have an extra day to publicize the
events. Advertisers will benefit because the
Chronicle will now be read a day earlier.
Since it arrives in the first mail on Thursday,
the Chronicle will be the first weekend pub-
lication in your hands every week. The dead-
line for news-still remains at noon on Mon-
days and the deadline for photos at 9:30 a.m.
Mondays. Copy coming in on Tuesday or
later will be held for the next week's issue.
News of national and international events of
Jewish interest happening as late as Wednes-
day morning will be in your homes in the
next day's mail. The Chronicle is one of the
few Jewish papers in the country that can
give such speedy service to its readers.
* • *
The First Anniversary
America's first year as a republic was one
of travail, war and despair.
Israel's first year was not far different.
The Americans had the I3ritish and the In-
dians to contend with; Israel had the British
and the Arabs. Both began their lives as free
states with a Declaration of Independence.
Both would have died aborning without the
assistance of their allies. The analogy is
remarkably faithful. May it be an augury as
the small world of Jewry Celebrates with
joyous hearts the first anniversary of the
promulgation of the Jewish State. May
Israel's future be as glorious and as felicitous
as has been the history of our own beloved
country,
* - *
Council Hits Below the Belt
The American Council for Judaism, in its
long but unsuccessful battle against Zionism
and a Jewish State, has made many inexcus-
able blunders. But never has it covered itself
with so much infamy as at its recent con-
ference. The council's arguments against
Jewish nationalism have been aired in pub-
lic over many years. The fact that the over-
whelming majority of Jews in the U. S. has
rejected that position was, perhaps, no rea-
son for the council to change its views. But
neither was it expected of the council that
it would engage in the type of anti-Zionism
and anti-Israelism which it has been pur-
suing since the rise of Israel. The body's
hypocritical tears on behalf of the Arabs are
nothing less than a red herring to give the
council an excuse to attack Zionists with anti-
Semitic fervor. Israel is a fact. Nothing the
Council can do will change that fact. How-
ever, instead of reckoning with this histori-
cal reality, the council seems bent on wreck-
ing that reality through the dangerous me-
dium of imputing lack of patriotism to those
espousing the cause of Israel. A man who
defines Americanism to suit his purpose and
then proceeds to question the Americanism
of others is about as much an American as
the peddlers of hate who would have us
believe that they, and they alone, have the
true brand of goods. One of the gems heard
at the council meeting was that the attempt
to indoctrinate American Jews with the idea
that Israel is their homeland is artificial,
presumptuous and dangerously misleading.
That would be right if true. We know of no
responsible organization that is engaged in
such propaganda. To invent a monster and
then organize a case against him is un-
becoming to men who quote the Bible. To
impute un-Americanism to those with whom
we differ is hitting below the belt. That sort
of talk is only fodder to the anti-Semites and
those whose enmity for us will not be ex-
tinguished either because there is or there
is not a Jewish State.
* * *
Arabs Will Be Friends of Israel
We do not think that Israel's rulers are
frightened by the threats of Arab hotheads
Detroit 26, Michigan
and officials, smarting under the humiliation
of defeat, who predict an economic blockade
by the Arab states to "strangle" Israel. It
is natural for the Arabs to seek some solace
for their setbacks by muttering warnings of
what they can do to the Israelis by united
effort as soon as normalcy is restored. But
there is very little prospect of. united effort.
Only a few days ago, Syria closed its border
to Transjordan and its new military dictator,
Col. Zaim, warned King Abdullah not to
make expansionist moves lest he feel the
wrath' of the "revived Syrian army." Nor
does Egypt particularly` relish Abdullah's
ambition to become the most potent Arab
monarch and perhaps restore the caliphate,
an idea Egypt's Farouk has been toying with
for a long time himself. And as for normalcy
in the Arab realm, it will. be a long time
coming. The war with Israel cost the Arabs
$300,000,000, and that is a lot of currency in
countries where feudalism, poverty, drought
and sickness have enfeebled the inhabitants
and broken their morale. The nationalists
may talk all they want about the masses
being inspired by revenge, but the masses,
as Col. Zain himself admitted, want rather an
end to feudalism and the perpetual hunger
as fostered by absentee landlords who are
squeezing the poor fellahin dry. The war
with Israel has brought a ferment to the
Arab principalities. It is going to take the
new awakening many decades to fulfill its
economic objectives. The new leadership
cannot permit ideas of vengeance against the
country destined to be their closest friend to
sidetrack them. It will be Israel that will
revivify the Arab peninsula. It will be Israel
that will bring industry and commerce that
have long eluded the Arabs. After the
wounds are healed, the Arabs will stretch
forth to Israel the hand of friendship rather
than the fist of war.
* * *
To Stephen Wise
BY ZELDA LANDSMAN
You who dipped so deeply into the blessed store
Of our exalted history and rich prophetic lore,
Your spirit, strong and valiant and kindly wisdom bore
Inspiring resemblance to Patriarchs of yore.
What tribute can we offer? What laurels can we lay
To your majestic memory, what homage can we pay?
What poet's gifted language in glowing words portray
The surging mixed emotions that fill our hearts today?
Magnificent and fearless, your spirit spanned the time,
Upholding high ideals with magnitude sublime.
The hopes, the dreams, the anguish, the suffering and tears
Of all your weary people for night two thousand years
Were yours! You knew their longing. each epic of their past—
And worked and lived to see this dream reality at last—
Peace Probed at Lausanne
When once again your people could joyfully embrace
The important preliminary peace confer- The sacred soil of Israel and take their rightful place!
ence on Palestine under the sponsorship of You battled too for freedom, so men could walk with pride,
the UN Conciliation Commission has opened With dignity, compassion—true brothers—side by side.
under auspicious circumstances at Lausanne. Yours was a life of service—of dedication, rare
Egypt, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon To every cause of human right for people everywhere.
have sent representatives and so has Israel.
Two important problems face the confer-
ence; one, that of the internationalization of
Jerusalem and the frontiers of Israel; and
two, the question of Arab refugees. On the
first problem there seems to be more agree-
ment than on the second, as the Arab states
are, like Israel, generally oppos d to a com-
plete internationalizatio J usalem. The
question of the Arab fugees will present
greater difficulties. But Israeli statemen
who have always advocated direct negotia-
tions with the Arabs, are hopeful of an
agreement. The Lausanne conference is in
effect, a continuation of the earlier armistice
conferences at Rhodes, and if those ended in
success, the conference at Lausanne has the
same chances.
* * *
Man of the People
The greatest tribute paid to Dr. Stephen S.
Wise was not in the messages of eulogy by
leading men and organizations from all over
the world, beginning with the President of
the United States, the president of Israel
and practically every person of distinction
in Jewish life. It was in the funeral at
Carnegie Hall. It was in the best sense a
people's funeral, one of those rare manifesta-
tions of popular grief and love that one can
see probably only in emotional New York.
Thousands of people who could not get into
Carnegie Hall were milling about the streets
to. catch a last glimpse of the coffin that car-
ried the tall, noble figure they knew so well
and loved so much. There was genuine grief
and tears which revealed one thing above
all others, that apart from the respect and
reverence of the great and mighty of this
world, Dr. Wise commended also the pro-
found love of his people, of his fellow Amer-
icans and of all those who had the privilege
to know him. And this was probably the
greatest tribute that could be paid to him
or to any man.
Our own beloved leader! Your spirit will embrace
The multitudes whose lives you touched forever—everyplace.
With the eternal Prophets you now shall take your place,
And history's sacred pages your hallowed name will grace!
Weak Religious Observance
in Israel Cited by U.S. Editor
TEL AVIV—(JWNS)--Religion,
or at least orthodox, is not at all
popular in the new Jewish State,
according to the observations of
Robert Gamzey, editor of the
Intermountain Jewish News of
Denver, who is traveling in Is-
rael with a Jewish delegation
from that city.
Despite the big noise that is be-
ing made by some people in the
U. S. about the growth of ortho-
doxy in Israel, Gamzey found
that in the majority of the Kvut-
zos, organized religion plays no
part at all in the life of the com-
munity.
RELIGION FOR OLD
The communal kitchens are not
Kosher. There are a few Syna-
gogues and those, too, are only
for the old people who still ad-
here to the traditional religion.
Most of the Kibutzim of the
Labor Zionists are not observant
in the traditional sense, although
they make big festivals of Jew-
ish holidays. There are some
Kvutzos of the Hapoel-Hamiz-
rachi which are strictly orthodox,
but they are in the decided min-
ority.
Gamzey, a liberal and progress-
sive editor who is not afraid to
tackle unpopular Jewish prob-
lems, told the JWNS correspond-
ent that the question of absence
of traditional religion in Israel
interested him enough to discuss
it with Rabbi Raphael Kook, son
of Rabbi Dox Kook and brother
of Billet Kook, known is the U.
S. as Peter Bergson.
"How can the collective farm-
ers and workers of Israel be so
atheistic in Israel? And what
will be its effects on the future
of Eretz Israel?" Gamzey asked
the Rabbi. The reply was char-
asteristic.
RABBIS TO BLAME
'The Rabbis hale themselves •
to blame for this state," declaied
Rabbi Kook. "If you read the his-
tory of Zionism, you will see that
when the Labor Zionist youth of
Europe trained on the soil for
their work in Palestine, they were
opposed by the religious ele-
ments.
'They came here an their own,
without any guidance or encour-
agement from the Rabbis, and
so they went their awn way. Ac-
cording to the Socialistic teach-
ings, they thought they did not
need religion."
But Rabbi Kook•chd not take a
pessimistic view of the situa-
tion. Looked at in historical per-
spective, Judaism has always been
kept alive by a small religious
minority, he said. Besides, the •
People of Israel feel that now
that Jewish nationhood has been
achieved, religion is no longer ad
necessary and that nationalism
will supplant religion.