( Page Two THE JEWISH NEWS Heard in The Lobbies Quotation of the Week "RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE: We unreservedly condemn the injectiOn into American life of appeals to racial or religious prejudice. We pledge an immediate Congressional inquiry to ascertain the extent to which mistreatment, segregation and discrimination against Negroes who are in our armed forces are impairing morale and efficiency, and the adoption of corrective legislation. We pledge the establishment by Federal legislation of a permanent Fair Employment Practice Commission. - "PALESTINE: In order 'to give refuge to millions of distressed Jewish men, women and children driven from their homes by tyranny we call for the opening of Palestine to their unrestricted immigration and land owner- ship, so that in accordance with the full intent and purpose of the Balfour Declaration of 1917. and the resolution • of a Republican Congress in 1922, Palestine may be constituted as a free and democratic commonwealth. We condemn the failure of the President to insist that the mandatory of Palestine carry out the provision of the Balfour Declaration and of the mandate while he pretends to support them." —PLANKS IN REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. ( By ARNOLD LEVIN (Copyright, 1944. Independent Jewish Press Service. Inc.) DIPLOMATIC TOUCH Credit veteran editor Jacob Fishman with recalling the "Jewish" record of Britain's Minister of Production Oliver Lyttelton who made a blundering state- ment (for which he later apologized, which did not undo the blunder). Lytttel- ton, Mr. Fishman points out, had at one time been entrusted with a delicate mission to the Middle East and his ad- vice was to appease the pro-Axis. Arabs, deny the, pro-Allied Jews. Walter Win- chell adds to this the interesting in- formation that Lyttelton was closely as- sociated with members of the pro-Nazi Anglo-German Fellowship, • active in the Francophile "Friends of Nationalist Spain," and deep in the mires of appease- ment and Britain's version of America Firstism. - * * * CONGRATULATIONS Our best to Dr. A. L. Sachar, national director of the Bnai Brith Hillel Found- ations, who starts out July 10 as a daily news commentator over NBC's Chicago outlet, WMAQ. • * * ZIONIST YOUTH The Labor Zionist youth groups are threatening to withdraw from the Zionist Youth Commission if the rumored merger arrangement between the Hillel Found- ations of Bnai Brith and the Zionist Or- ganization of America goes through. * * * CAPITOL NEWS Abe Fortas, Sec'y Ickes' wonder-boy, is blossoming forth into politics. He makes his bow as Keynoter at the Young Dem- ocrats conclave. . Senator Bilbo's anti-Semitic oratory aimed at him must have upset Bernard Baruch considerably. He is sensitive about anti-Semitism, keeps a clipping book containing all the anti-Semitic snipes at him. - Purely Commentary Strictly Confidential By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ ELEPHANT AND DONKEY • Republican platform-writers used strong words with reference to the Jew- ish position in Palestine in the clause demanding adherence to pledges con- tained in the Balfour Declaration. There is no doubt that the stand taken by the Republican National Convention will bear fruit. The fact that the minority party has declared itself in positive terms on the subject should cause Democrats to sit up and to take notite, and it should awaken British statesmen from their lethargy. This is a war for justice, and abuse of pledges to the first victims of Hitlerism must • not be tolerated. The African and Italian campaigns are over, the invasion of Europe is a fact, and this is high time for the politicians of both parties to in- sist that the military angle, which inter- fered with action on the Congressional Resolution for a Jewish Commonwealth, no longer presents a valid argument. Democrats;. too, will undoubtedly act- on the question, and supPort for a.. Commonwealth also may be incorporated under the symbol of the Donkey • as well •as the Elephant. * * * THE EXPECTED STATEMENT A realistic evaluation of pledges to Jews is in order, and one need not take sides either with' Republicans or. Demo- By HEINRICH HEINE crats in order to recognize brutal facts. (1799-1856) Since the Democrats are yet to speak, (Translated from the German by Sir the joke in the vote-getting scramble May Theodore Martin, K.C.B., and be on the Republicans. It is quite , cer- Edgar A. Boring, C.B.) tain that a joint statement, to be signed *(Editor's Note: In view of the revived interest by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and in a Jewish hospital in Detroit, The Jewish President Franklin D. Roosevelt, will be News is pleased to publish this poem by the great German-Jewish writer). . forthcOming either in late August or early A hospital for Jews who're sick and September: It is expected to be a most needy, - favorable declaration, backed by the For those unhappy threefold sons of British Cabinet. , sorrow, Actions speak. louder. than words, and Afflicted by the. three_ most dire mis- a pledge for a Jewish Commonwealth, fortunes made . by the United States and Great Britain, may atone 'for all the harm that Of poverty, disease, and Judaism. has been done the Jewish cause through The worst by far of all the three the the curtailment of Jewish immigration to last is, Palestine and the infringements contain- That family misfortune, thousand years *ed in the 'infamous White Paper. old, - • _ That plague which - had its birth in Nile's 'THE FORGOTTEN SANCTUARY far valley, Conithentator is much more con- The old Egyptian and 'Unsound religion. cerned: over What *remains unsaid rather Incurable deep pain, 'gainst which avail than the contents of the paragraphs deal- ing with the Palestinian question in the Nor: shower nor vapor-bath, the appi= Republican 'platform. The. Rep-ublican ,convention's program, Of surgery, nor all the means of healing. in its condemnation of President Roose- Which this . house offers to its sickly velt's "pretentions":' on the question of inniates.. Palestine and the - - Balfour Declaration, Will Time, eternal goddess e'er extinguish - declares that "in order .to give refuge to This glowing ill, descending from the millions of distressed Jewish men, women and children driven from their homes by father, Upon the son, and will the grandson ever tyranny we call for the opening. of Pales, Be cured, and 'rational become and tine to their unrestricted immigration and land ownership. . . ." happy? - Not a Word about a hbme in this coun- I cannot tell, yet' in the -meantime let us try, in adherence to an• established tradi- Extol - that heart which lovinglY and tion which made this country ,a sanctuary wisely for the oppressed! Sought to alleviate pain as far as may be, In both Houses of Congress, attempts to Into the wounds a timely balsam pouring. establish "free ports"—a most undesirable Dear worthy man, He here has built a solution, but the only available one in view of immigration restrictions—had met refuge For sorrows which by the physician's . with attacks from Democrats as well as Republicans. science The "haven of refuge" ideal is a for-. (Or else by death's) are curable, pro- gotten tradition! ' viding - • • The Politicians—Democrats as well as Cushions, refreshing drinks, and food, Republicans— are in favor of havens for and nurses. Jews, with the proviso that they should A man of 'deeds, he did• his very utmost, "go elSewhere."- That's' the standing rule Devoted to good works his hard-earned that made a fiasco of the Evian and Ber- savings -- rriuda conferences and prevented the res- In his life's evening, kindly and humanely, cuing Of -thousands who could 'then have Recruiting from his toils by • 'acts of been saved. mercy. . Naturally, it is better that there should He gave with open hand—but .gifts still be action. late than never; that the one available 'spot for Jewish colonization- richer, His tears, full often from his eyes • were PaleStineshould not be restricted: Birt we can not forget the -admonition of Dr. rolling, Tears fair and precious) which he -wept Carl' -Voss;, executive director of the deploring Christian. Council for PaleStine, that other jiis brethren's great, incurable misfor- places—including the ;;United . States tune. must be opened for JeWish settlerneni, if The New Jewish Hamburg Hospital ' .• . Friday, july 7, 1944 By' PHINEAS J. BIRON (Copyrigh).. 1944, by Seven Arts - Feature Syndicate) PALESTINE NEWS • The -Palestine plank in the Republican Convention platform is being received with mixed feelings by the Zionist rank and file . . . While the Zionists are grate- ful for Republican support of the Balfour Declaration, they resent the second part of the resolution, which criticizes Roose- •velt and makes of the Jewish Palestine issue a football in American politics.. It looks as if the Zionist Organization of America will reach its quota of $60,- 000,000 in War Bond sales . . . Not a bad figure for an organization of . 100,000 members. When Pierre van Paassen revealed five years ago that oil had been discovered in Palestine he was called "irresponsible" • . Now the "Palestine and Near East" magazine confirms that abundant oil re- sources exist in the Dead Sea area. Moshe Shertok, chief of the. Political Department of the. Jewish Agency; will definitely arrive in this country before Labor Day. Meyer W. Weisgal will soon be flying to London to consult . the head of the Jewish Agency, Dr. Chaim Weizmann. ) * * LISTEN HERE The activities of certain Hungarian groups and ,newspapers 'in this country should be investigated . . The tie-up between Hungarian and Polish anti- Seri-lite groups in America is very sig- nificant . . The German authorities in Holland have devised a new trick to ferret out' JeWish children hidden these past few years by courageous Christians . . The Nazis have issued_ a decree or- dering the registration of all children under 15, ostensibly to "facilitate identi- fication following air raids".. . . So our good Hollanders simply refuse to register any children. -• Don't miss "The Nazis Go Under- ground," by Curt Riess . . . It tell_s of the Nazi - plans for the future,- after' the de- feat even they know is Inevitable' in this war . • Whith reminds us of the messages German war prisoners have been scattering • about the Michigan countryside while• being transported from their camps to their places of work . . The messages, wrapped around candy bars, read: "Germany is better than the United' States, and we. will show you next time". Sam Koenig, old-tithe New York poli- tical leader, .established a record at the Republican National Convention by ser, ving as a. delegate for the tenth succes- sive time. • the Christian sentiments of mercy are truly valid. We do not doubt the sincerity which motivated Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, chairman of the resolutions committee at The Republican- convention, in sponsor- ing the plank for Palestine. We know that the Republican nominee, Thomas E. Dewey, has on many occasions spoken in similar terms. Neither do we doubt the sincerity of Senator Robert F. Taft, New- York Derno- crat, _who• heads the American Palestine' Committee. • There is unanimity on the question, of the need for putting an end to Jewish homelessness through the 'establishment of a Jewish Commonwealth. What we deplore is that the sudden af- fectation of love comes on the eve of an historic national election and that it is limited to Palestine, without making it possible for this great land -to rescue— even for the duration of the war—several thousands of oppressed Jews. To rescue htiman beings, •he entire world should . be a sanctuary. If the Republican action augurs the ar- rival of a new day, divorced from preju- dice; and 'if the •. Democrats follow suit; then we Shall bless- the hour of the adop- - tion, of the Palestinian' plank as part of - the' iteiiibllca n Between You and Me By BORIS SMOLAR .Copyright, 1944, Jewish Telegraphic Agency,Incil THE POLITICAL POT There is a good' deal of resentment among leading Zionists over the • fact that the national convention of the Re- publican Party saw fit to utilize the pro-Palestine plank of its platform for an attack on President Roosevelt . . . It is felt that the Republicans will gain little, by trying to give the impression, as they do in their plank on Palestine, that Roosevelt only "pretends" to support the provisions of the Balfour Declaration,4, but actually has done nothing to see that they .-are carried out . . . The Republican statement on Palestine would have been more appreciated if it were limited to its first section' . . . It can now be re- vealed that Gov. Dewey sent messages to leading members of the Republican Party endorsing the Palestine plank be- fore the platform was adopted .. Others who worked actively for the adoption of this plank were Herbert Brownell, Dewey's campaign manager, and John Dulles, Dewey's personal ad- visor on foreign affairs . . . No little credit for the pro-Palestine plank is due also to Dr. Abba Hillel Silver who spent a week in Chicago before and during the Republican Convention . . . Speaking of Dewey, some members of the Amer- ican Jewish Committee may still remem- ber how Judge Proskauer, years ago, - suggested that the Committee employ the services of a "capable young lawyer named Dewey" in its work of combatting anti-Semitism in the United States . ". Had this suggestion been accepted, the . present Republican candidate for • the _ Presidency would have probably been today one of the employes of. the Amer- ican Jewish Committee of whom little would be known:, * * * THE • JEWISH FRONT - Reports of the• Joint Distribution Coin. - mittee, which cannot be made public, indicate that rescue possibilities are • be- coming brighter . . . It is increasingly possible now to utilize Underground channels effectively and bring aetual help, food and medicaments to Jews inside occupied. Europe . . There are also prospects of rescuing a number of Jewish children in Nazi-held and Nazi- dominated countries . . . The United States Government has promised to ad- mit 5,000 such children . . Canada is pledged to admit 1,000 children . . Some Latin American countries have also promised to absorb orphaned child- ren from Europe. Liberty Bell A Song for Independence Day By' RUFUS LEARSI Editor's Note: Rufus Learsi is the pen-name~ Of Israel Goldberg, author of several volumes of Jewish history, fiction poems and plays:. This poem is one of a group on the Jewish. festivals, with Independence Day and Thanks- giving included: • The poems have been set: to music by the 'cantor and composer• Max Janowski. The words from the Bcok of Le- viticus (XXV:10) engraved on the American, Liberty Bell are "Proclaim liberty throughout, the land unto all the inhabitants' thereof." In the song of the spheres a new chorus is heard, - ' As round the sun they go wheelingli A nation is born by the spell of a Word And a bell the glad tidings is pealing. The Word is engraved on the brow ot the bell, And it rises • on sovereign pinions; Hark! It is Liberty, sounding the knell Of tyrants and - all their minions. - - Like -a bolt fell' the Word on' a world in., travail, ' But' the stars in their courses had! heard it: On a wandering folk by a wilderness trail • The Ancient of Days had conferred it. They blazed it upon their thunderous; scroll, And to alltheir longings they bound it; And men who have leaped to the cry Of *the Soul • Have looked for it , there and have- found it. . Bright herald of yore, though silent your- tongue, The Word on your brow is still sound.- ing, Uplifting a people. and making it strong, Oppressors and tyrants Confounding. It rings from your bronze like the an- ' cient command, A new morrow for mankind foretelling: "Spread. tiding of- liberty all through the - land - - And to all that in'it are dwelling!" (COpyright, 1944, by ' Skilekendeat 40vish Press ServiCe;