Page 4 D ETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE Thursday, March 1950 Bundles From Britain Detroit Jewish Chronicle .ses'so's. Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. Dl 2827 Cadillac Tower, Detroit 26, Michigan WOodward 1-1040 SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 Per Year Single Copies, 10c; Foreign, $5.00 Per Year Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 7 Jewish Books 9/-40, ! , MUT SEYMOUR TILCIIIN Publisher EMILY SOMLYO GERHARDT NEUMANN Business Manager - Editor Thursday, March 2, 1950 !SEVIN )' Qts Adar 13, 5710 Hour of Decision Nears The unexpected decision of the UN Trusteeship Council to postpone indefinitely any action on the internationalization of Jerusalem is not an end of a development but the beginning of a new phase in the Middle Eastern conflict. So far Israel has been the winner. We sincerely hope, in the interest of world peace, that the United Nations is not the loser. As a matter of fact, through its hasty resolution the UN undermined the confidence of many nations in itself as an institution. The UN cannot afford to pull any more boners like this. For the past month, the UN Trusteeship Council, which was entrusted with the implementation of the Assembly resolu- tion, has been meeting in Geneva behind closed doors. The news releases from Geneva have been practically meaningless, and public opinion has had to depend on rumor and speculation from "informed sources." Nobody knows what went on in the secrecy of the com- mittee discussions, but the outcome proves that the majority finally became convinced that no purpose would be served if the UN tried to impose an international regime on two unwilling states. Now we are back where we started. Already the Iraq delegate in Geneva warned that the Arabs would not take the Council's decision lying down but would fight for—well, he did not say for what. However, it can easily be seen that behind these threats lies the dissatisfaction of the Arab states with Transjordan's advantageous position in certain parts of Palestine. Would the Arab League go to war against Abdullah? And would Israel, under such circumstances, become an ally of Transjordan? Will Egypt try to recover the territory and prestige lost in the Israeli war? These are the pressing questions at the moment, and it may be that we will not have to wait long until an answer is given. The threat of war in the Middle East is not an empty one. It is gravely enhanced by Britain's insistence on sending arms to the Arab nations. As far as we can see Britain is mostly interested in the oil of the Middle East. The access to the Haifa pipe line could be gained easily through a treaty with Israel. Britain did not 'choose this way because Iraq has decided, for reasons of "national pride," to stop the flow of oil. No doubt, Britain could quickly change the mind of the Iraqis if it wanted to. However, Bevin still seems to be determined to erase Israel from the map. He hopes to accomplish this by arming the Arabs to the teeth. What Bevin has not learned from history—and probably never will—is that the spirit of a people has more to do with the outcome of a war than armament. A war with the Arabs will be no pushover for Israel, and no Israeli is anxious to see another war. But we believe that in the final analysis the Arabs do not stand a chance in a second round. The losers will be the Arab League, plus Britain. Whether the new phase will bring peace or war remains to be seen. That Israel will continue to be a sovereign state and that Jerusalem will remain Jewish, of that we are certain. The decision of the Trusteeship Council is proof of it. Fight for a Constitution Very little has become known about the fight that presently is going on in the Israeli parliament to write a constitution for the Jewish state. As we reported in last week's issue, Ben Gurion told the Knesset that for the time being Israel can do without a constitu- tion and yet be a real democracy. In the course of his speech, Ben Gurion rejected the Ameri- can constitution as a model for Israel, probably because he does not agree with the American system of checks and balances. Ben Gurion specifically mentioned the Supreme Court's power to throw out legislation enacted by Congress, in case it does not conform to constitutional provisions. The underlying controversy, of course, is whether. Israel's constitution shall be based upon biblical and talmudic laws or on the ideas which have evolved in the last two centuries. Sooner or later, Israel will have to resolve once and for all the question of whether the Jewish state shall be religious or secular. The various factions are now engaged in a terrific battle over this issue. However, the social and political makeup of Israel leaves no doubt that for some time.to come labor—as the representative of the secular line—will have the upper hand. In the interest of national unity, however, it is to be hoped that a compromise can be found. We do not think it is wise to leave Israel without a constitution for any length of time. Not only have the citizens of the country a right to know what their duties and rights are, but the outside world, too, can judge a country better by the written guarantees agreed upon by a majority of the people. The difficulties of a compromise between the religious and the secular groups must not be underrated, but the sacrifices of the Jewish people for the creation of the Jewish state should justify a sacrifice on the part of the ideologists. Detroit, Chicago Vie for Laurels of Hate G By NATHAN ZIPRIN When a survey is made of the EN. KRYLOV, a Russian army recent anti-Semitic outbursts in deserter in Paris, is spread- ing the story that Stalin is a Jew. His authority is a Soviet intelligence official. He cites the fact that Dzugash- vili, Stalin's original name, means "son of Israel." To bolster his case he relates that the Dzugash- vilis were Caucasian mountain Jews who were converted to Christianity at the beginning of the 19th century. A middle western city has been chosen as the site of a conclave aimed at forming a united anti- Semitic front. Klan leaders are willing to drop their anti-Cath- olicism and concentrate primarily against Jews. The tendency of the American nationalists now is to organize along vertical rather than hori- zontal lines. The hate sheet Common Sense reaches perhaps a million people today as against seven thousand copies that were published early in 1948. The middle west is rapidly be- coming the center and core of the anti-Semitic poison. Detroit and Chicago bear watching. A sheet in Detroit call- ed "Eleventh Hour" has a wide distribution and in circles where preachers often speak of anti- Semitism as a sin against Chris- tianity. the city that gave us that great and typical American Carl Sand- burg, it will disclose no doubt that a vicious feminine voice played a mean role in whipping up the kind of sentiment that is a prerequisite to all overt anti- Semitic manifestations. California has its crack-pots too. One of the most active anti- Jewish agitators is Wesley Swift of Los Angeles, who seems to draw large audiences to his lec- tures. Some months ago he predicted there will be no Jews in the United States in 1953. With a slick smile he declared he was not advocating the slaughtering of Jews but that he merely predicted an event. Oddly enough some foreign- language newspapers represent- ing minority groups that are apt to be the victims of the national- ist whip have joined the anti- Jewish chorus. Czech, Rumanian, Hungarian, Polish and Lithuanian papers have made it a habit to couple Jews with communism. One of those papers recently carried an article explaining why it is that "the Communists are always supporting the Jews and the Jews are helping Soviet Russia." Letters to the Editor APPROVES EDITORIAL ON BROTHERHOOD WEEK To the Editor: Your Feb. 16 editorial entitled "Brotherhood Thoughts" should be complimented by every ser- ious-minded Jew. From past experiences it should be clear to us by now that we cannot rely upon prom- ises and agreements made by other nations. Never again must we make such a costly mistake as we have made in Germany. Iron- ically enough, our policy of de- nazification seems to indicate that the same mistake is being repeated. If brotherhood is to take on any real meaning, its import- ance toward world peace must first of all be realized by all those who sincerely believe that human rights is a necessity and not simply a wish. The majorities must show their willingness to accept the fast that they as well as the minorities will profit from the promising results which the practice of brotherhood offers. Only then can there remain a reasonable amount of belief that racial hatred will at last be done away with forever. GERALD LERER, Director of Public Relations, Hapoel Hamizrachi, New York City BETH TEPHILO EMANUEL DENIES RUMORS OF SALE To the Editor: It was recently rumored that Congregation Beth Tephilo Em- anuel was sold to worshipers of another faith. The undersigned wish to in- form the Jews of Detroit that this rumor is absolutely false. Beth Tephilo Emanuel still ex- ists and continues to hold daily services. The congregation cordially welcomes your presence at its services. JACOB SHEVITZ, President. MORRIS DORN, Vice-President. in Review "THE JEWS. THEIR HIS- TORY, CULTURE AND RE- LIGION." Edited by Louis Finkelstein. T w a Volumes. (Harper and Brothers, New York.) An encyclopaedic work of this scope—the two volumes com- prise 1431 pages—could hardly be, appraised in its full value with in the space available in a newspaper. It would take a staff of experts to review each sec- tion of this monumental work. It also is impossible to name all contributors, since there are too many of them, and mention i ng one would be an injustice the others. Suffice it to say that the read- er will find everything that has anything to do with Judaism. The two volumes cover the his- tory of the Jews, their role in civilization, their religion and their social makeup. "The purpose of this book," says Prof. Finkelstein in his foreword, ''is to bring into focus the vast number and wide var- iety of data concerning Judaism and the Jews, so that they can be seen in relation to on- an- other and to the general phe- nomena of human culture." "If this book contains a mes- sage," he adds, "(and I believe it does), it is a message inherent in the extraordinary events and insights described." Undoubtedly, this book will be of great value to Jews and Gentiles alike. All essays are written by recognized scholars whose very name is a guarantee for the information they give. We are glad to note that this is not an apologetic book but a clear statement of the Jewish contribution to mankind's de- velopment. As Finkelstein says: "Judaism needs no defense against calum- ny but an effective presentation and fulfillment." G. N. AS A MIGHTY STREAM by Julius Morgenstern ■ Jew- lsh Publications Society of America, Philadelphia). With this volume, the creative life of one of country's out- standing biblical scholars and exponent of reform Judasim is summed up. The book contains 14 essays and lectures on various phases of Jewish history, religion and sociology written over a period of 40 years. It is Morgenstern's contention that the reformists are on the road to victory in America but that their own house is not in order theologicaly. He contends that having re- jected the Talmud as the em- bodiment of divine will, the re- formers must go on to con- sider the Torah as the work of a people which slo evolved from a desert tribe tv 1/9 high state of religious sophis- tication. On the constructive side the author adopts a neo-Hegelian view that God's will is being manifested in the history of mankind in general and of the Jews in particular. He sees the Jews as a chosen people whose destiny it is to lead the world to the accept- ance of divine law. —H. C. 25 Years Ago, This Was News An attempt to assassinate Prof. Albert Einstein, made by Marie Evgenieva Dickson, a Rus- sian woman who is the widow of an American citizen, failed owing to the resourcefulness of Mrs. Einstein. (Jewish Chronicle, Feb. 27, 1920