Page 28
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
Events of Israel Spark
Review of Year 5709
By A. GREEN
O
F ALL THE history-making events that crowded upon the
republic of Israel during the first full calendar year of its
existence, the future historian will probably select as the two most
outstanding ones, the entry of a ,
quarter - million Jewish immi- and cultivating new agricultural
grants into the little country, the
greatest trek in Jewish history, lands, was the religious problem,
and the establishment of a • tem- "church stale" relations.
porary peace between Israel and
While the government pro-
all her Arab neighbors, of an claimed religious liberty for all
armistice which gave Israel that the inhabitants, non-Jews as well
chance to lay a firm foundation as Jews, orthodox Jews clamored
for its future existence. for more and more official recog-
The great return to their an- nition of their faith as the domi-
cient land, of which Jews had nant religion of the State, for
dreamt for centuries, the Kib- Sabbath observance and Kash-
butz Galiuth, the "re-assembly of ruth in public places and institu-
the exiles," was on in full blast tions, and so on.
during 5709.
As the new year begins the
It brought the population of the conflict over the religious ques-
new-born Jewish state close to a tion has not been resolved and
• •
million. It created problems, ter- much goodwill on all sides will
DAVID BEN GURION
rifle problems, problems of hous- be required if 5710 is to see a
ing and employment particularly. solution.
past year was the virtual liquida-
• • •
Jews all over the world, and in
tion of the Jewish Displaced Per-
America particularly, were called PROBLEM OF CAPITAL
sons camps which had been set
upon for assistance in this heroic
CAPITAL = LABOR differences
effort to re-establish the rem- in Israel also assumed spine im- up in 1945 after the war for those
nants of martyred European Jew- portance during the past year. Vi- who had survived the wholesale
ry in the new Jewish republic by tally needed capital investments German massacres.
the Mediterranean,
Nearly all of these displaced
from abroad, it was said, were
The problems and the heroic being held up because of lack of persons went to Israel. This great
efforts that must be made to over- confidence on the part of profit- emigration of displaced persons
come them will continue into the seeking capitalists in the inten- to Israel tended to greater nor-
new year 5710.
malization of the life of those
tions of Ben Gurion's moderately
• • •
who remained in Western
socialist government and because Jews
Europe,
JERUSALEM ISSUE
of the grip on the economy of the
In eastern Europe, however,
THE ESTABLISHMENT of a country held by Histadrut, the
Communist - dominated govern-
temporary peace with the Arabs General Federation of Labor.
ments curbed the desire of hun-
also left many serious problems
The extreme leftist labor party,
of Jew-Arab relations unsolved, Mapam, on the other hand, re- dreds of thousands of Jews to set-
•
hief among them the return of sented the decree of the govern- tle in Israel, permitting only a
trickle of emigration.
Arab refugees to Israel and the ment reducing both wages and
Eastern Europe, too, saw dur-
future status of Jerusalem. But prices in an effort to curb infla-
as the new year dawns it looks as lion, and unsuccessfully attempt- ing the year the beginning of per-
if the first problem at least, that ed to call a general protest strike. secution of Zionism as a "reac-
tionary bourgeois" ideal and the
of the' Arab refugees, will soon
As the mass-emigration from
of Zionist leaders in Hun-
be straightened out by the admis- Europe to Israel began to taper jailing
gary.
sion of 100,000 Arabs and that off by the end of the year, Israel
Jewish cultural activities there,
one important cause for tension began to look forward to a mass-
••■■ ••••••••• ■■ ••......... ■ ••• ■ •••.....•
between Israel and the Arab emigration from North Africa
■■■••■•
countries will be thereby elimi- and other Arab lands. That was
nated,
Greetings
beginning to create another se-
The year 5709 also saw the es- rious problem, that of integrat-
tablishment of the first perma- ing
masses of backward Oriental
nent Jewish government in Is Jews into the life of the mod-
rael, the election of the first Is- ern, western-minded Jewish corn-
raeli parliament; and the inaugu- munity of Israel.
ration of Chaim Weizmann as
All in all, it can be said that
first president of the republic, and
the first full year of Israel's exis-
the
choice
of
David
Ben
Gurion
knee,
while filled with difficul-
,
as premier, by a coalition of mod-
even
erately socialist and religious fl ties,
11354 Dexter Blvd.
ed g li ng more difficulties than a
groups.
state would normally
It witnessed the admission of encounter, proved the stability of
Alpert - TO 8-3590
Israel as member
a mem
the
new nation, the strength of
of the
United
FIMIN■ ■•• •••■••■•■■•■■ ...,
Nations, its recognition as a sov-
ereign State by nearly all the im-
portant countries of the world and
HAPPY HOLIDAY . .
its declaration of neutrality as
between the western and eastern
blocs of nations.
• •
9583 Grand River
HOgarth 9545
FRIENDLY WORLD
THE YEAR began with the
shadows of the assassination of
GREETINGS FROM .. •
Count Bernadotte hovering over
the new nation end threatening to
isolate it from the world commu-
nity.
FIRE INSURANCE ADJUSTER FOR THE ASSURED
As the year ended, however,
1420 DIME BLDG.
the world community, realizing
A. Mackey
M. M. Mackey
that Israel's intentions were of
D. Gross
the most peaceful sort and that it
was willing to resolve its differ-
ences with its Arab neighbors in
ROSH HASHONAH GREETINGS
a spirit of compromise, took the
young republic to its heart. Thus
GEORGE KAY DRUGS
even England, which had inflict-
GEORGE J. KOLLENBERG
ed so much suffering upon the
13141
DEXTER
at TYLER
new Jewish State, changed its
HO. 9455
attitude, gave Israel recognition
and promised to maintain friend-
ly relations with it in the future.
Of the internal problems of Is-
rael, next in importance to the
(gOSA KC/S/1011dt
economic problem of abSorbing
hundreds of thousands of new
Jews, of creating new industries!
,
•
its will to live and the respectful
recognition of that will by the
nations of the world.
• • •
DP ERA WANING
THE BIGGEST EVENT in Eu-
ropean Jewish history during the
-
•
Meyer's
Appetizers and
Groceries
le•NIIHNIN
Thursday, September 22, 1949
including schools, were being
greatly curtailed, if not altogeth-
er abolished, by the governments
of Romania and other countries
under the influence of Soviet
Russia.
• •
DECLINE IN RUSSIA
AS TO RUSSIA itself, the last
vestiges of Jewish culture—to say
nothing of Zionism, which had
been liquidated many years be-
fore—seemed to be disappearing.
The Jewish anti-Fascist com-
mittee, which had been carrying
on cultural activities of a sort,
the one remaining Yiddish news-
paper "Ainikeit," Yiddish schools,
all were closed down. Yiddish
writers of great reputation had
disappeared from the scene and
even their whereabouts were un-
known as the year drew to a
close.
French Jewry seemed to be get-
ting back on its feet again during
the past year and Paris was be-
coming more and more important
as' a center of European Jewish
culture.
In England, despite increased
'anti-Semitism and economic ad-
versity, Jews appeared to be
maintaining their normal, well-
organized communal activities.
•
NORMALCY IN U. S.
IN THE UNITED STATES the
five million Jews, about half the
Jewish population of the world,
continued to lead their normal,
prosperous existence, undisturbed
by anti-Semitism, which accord-
ing to reports by responsible Jew-
ish organizations showed less or-
ganized activity during the past
year than in previous ones.
The big event in organized
American Jewish life during 5709
was the controversy over the
(Continued on Page 30)
- -
Happy New Year to All
TEALK
SCRAP IRON
COMPANY
14750 WILDEMERE
UN. 1-1917
Greetings
EAST END
LAUNDRY
Complete Family Service
2559 IIILLGER
VA. 2.2241
■•••••■••• ■■ •••• ■•■••■ =1INIMIIM •••=11
Roth Hashonah Greeting s to All!
ABE HERTZBERG
1401 Beaubien St.
WO. 1-0301
Lafayette Steel Corp.
Extends Its Heartiest Best Wishes for a
Happy New Year
13501. Sanders
VI. 2-4115
Sanford's Cleaners & Dyers
THE MACKEY CO.
creetillip
— —
-------
Greetings
LELLIN
INN
7618 Woodward
TR. 2-9289
Shelby Photo - Engravers
Company
513 Shelby
WO. 2-1248 - W0.2-0978
• Oa
.16110 NINON • • • 111
••••••••••• ■■ DINO
,
The Officers and Members of
The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society
Wish a Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful
Bl ew Year to the Community and to the
People of Israel.