Page Two
Purely
Commentary
By PHILIP .SLOMOVITZ
NATION-BUILDER WEIZMANN
Dr. Chaim Weizmann is the acknow-
ledged outstanding leader in world
Jewry. He is, indeed, as the volume pub-
lished in honor of his 70th birthday by
the Dial. Press indicates, a Statesman; a
Scientist, Builder of the Jewish Com-
monwealth. - .
The Weizmann book is . a revelation.
Consisting of a compilation of tributeS ,
to the great leader by the leading scient-
ists and writers in the world, it presents
for the first time the picture of a man
who is more than a Zionist: he is a great
planner of a better world for his people.
* * *
THE CHEMIST AS LEADER
If it were only as a chemist, Dr.
Weizmann would tower above his col-
leagues as a very great man. In in-
duestrial chemistry, in microbiology, as
an investigator in the field of polycylic
compounds, he has rendered great ser-
vice to humanity.
As a scientist who has become the
leader of his people, he is superb. .
Dorothy. Thompson, in one of the most
impressive essays in the entire Weizmann
book, rightly points out:
"He is, in fact, the only scientist in
the world • who is the leader of _a peoPle.
Other peoples are led by soldiers, lawy-
ers, professional politicians, and busi-
nessmen. But of all types of men the
scientist is the most representative of
our age, and where science is illumined
by' humanism, • the scientist more than
other men holds in his pocket the key
to the solution of our problems."
A
THE JEWISH NEWS
Dr. Chaim, Weizmann: Synthesis
of East and West
From the Foreword to "Chaim Weizmann, Statesman, Scientist, Builder of The
Jewish Commonwealth," Published by Dial Press on The
Occasion of Dr. Weizmann's 70th Birthday
By FELIX FRANKFURTER
Associate Yustice, V. S. Supreme Court; Honorary Chairnian of the National
-
Committee for Observation of Dr. Weizmann's Birthday
Heine used to speak of God as the Great Aristophanes. It surely is a
manifestation of providential irony that the civilized world should find a
fitting occasion to express its esteem for Chaim Weizmann at the precise
moment when Adolf Hitler awaits his • doom. I do not mean the obvious
juxtaposition - .of Weizmann as the symbol of Jewry and Hitler as the spear-
head of fiendish. anti-Semitism. The antithesis between the two men goes
far deeper. Hitler's anti-Semitism is not an isolated prejudice or even a vein
of bigotry which in less virulent form has possessed men, often unwittingly,-
whose purpose and feelings otherwise could not be called uncivilized. Hitler's
anti-,Semitism is the most obvious and 'immediate expression not merely of
anti-rationalism but of a challenge to the whole blend of forces that consti-
tute the process of modern. civilization. In short, Hitler's challenge is against
that vast .stream of history of which the Greek and Hebrew influences have
been the greatest tributaries.
Dr. Weizmann strikingly represents the confluence of these ethical and
intellectual forces because he is at once an East European Jew and a Western
scientist.
A personal problem is presented to every Jew outside. of Palestine—and
we now know that by a hostile world -a person will be treated as a Jew even
though his family has belonged to a Christian communion unto the third or
fourth generation. Dr. Weizmann has shown • once more and for the whole
world to see that neither full *devotion to the country of one's allegiance nor
the esteem of the Gentile world call for truculence or timidity from a Jew.
If only he be secure in the citadel of self-respect a Jew will walk erect,
with humility as becornes every human and with fortifying but quiet pride
as becomes every inheritor of a great past.
Dr. Weizmann was endowed by nature with charm and gift of tongue
and wisdom that is wrapped in humor. • But it is not by these endowments
alone that he has secured hold over'-masses. of men as well as , of such cool and
skeptical . mirids'as Lord Balfour and General Smuts. "If you will it, it is no ,
mere dream," said 'Herzl, the founder of modern. Zionism, about the re-estab-
lishmerit of Palestine as the Jewish homeland... In that faith Dr. Weizrnann
has lived. It is his unrelenting effort to realize that faith that has had such
a contagious influence for /30 years.
But the purpose of this faith was not at all "to turn back the clock of
history." A Jewish Palestine 'for Dr. Weizmann means creation not restora-
tion. Weizmann- the scientist has outstrippecj the imagination of Kipling the
poet. For Weizmann, rooted as. he is in Eastern religion and Western scien-
tific culture, 'proves that not only may East and West meet; they may become
fused in a single person.
It is characteristic of the movement which he is leading that hardly
before the guns had been - silenced in Palestine during the last war and
before an influx of immigration was possible, Dr. Weizmann laid the corner-
stone of the now flourishing Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus.
The fire of youth in Dr. Weizmann's spirit is still overwhelmingly in the
service of the great cause of achieving harmonious relations between- the
Jew and the world—for the world's sake and to assure inner serenity for
the Jev ■ r.
Dr. Weizmann is a dreamer—the dreamer of one of those dreams which
become reality when -men have the good sense and vision to make them so.
GREAT BOOK
The Weizmann volume is a very great
book, and it should be read by every Jew
who knows the English language.
It is a magnificent collection of essays
whose compilation should once again call
the attention of American Jews to the
genius of the book's editor—Meyer W.
Weisgal.
Weisgal's • Epilogue is magnificent. It
presents the man responsible for this
volumenot merely as a very close friend
of Dr. 'Weizmann but as his BosWell.
Weisgal deserves a great deal of credit
for a job well done.
* * *
THE WEIZMANN TRIBUTE
Jewish communities throughout the
By ARNOLD LEVIN
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1944 Independent Jewish
land will be asked to participate in hon-
Press Ser
vice. Inc.)
Inc.)
(Copyright
.1944,
JTA,
oring Dr. Weizmann by setting'. up a
STUDY IN CONFUSION
scientific fund to assist. him. in his . re- INSIDE RUSSIA
Periodically the rumor is revived that
search activities at the. Sieff Institute in •
We hear _that Soviet authorities are Atistrian JeWish writer Franz Werfel has
Palestine.
been -converted to Catholicism. The ru-
There should be--we are -confident-that _now discussing the possibility of estab- mor first started on his arrival in the
lishing
a
Jewish
Republic;
but
not
in
there will be--a ready response to the
United States and it was revived when
call to make this fund impressively large. Biro-Bidjan . ThiS does not mean that "Song of Bernadette" appeared. It was
Dr. Weizmann's works in the field of sal-. the expansion of JeWish settlement in vehemently
denied by Werfel, and his
ence in Palestine will be an aid to the
denial is, naturally, the last word on the
building of Palestine and to the making Biro-Bidjan will be discontinued . . It is subject. His latest book, "Between
known that the - Kremlin was - considering
of -a better world.
,* * *
setting up a Jewish Republic in the Volga Heaven and Earth," a non-fiction volume,
district; in the section from which all the confirms. his -denial as well as his confu-
"WANDERING TROUBADOUR"
sion. The following from his latest
Mr. Weisgal makes a good point in Volga Germans were deported soon after volume is characteristic of the murky
his personal tribute to Dr. Weizmann. He the Nazi invasic4i. when it was established mysticism of this pathetic soul: •
that they were in contact with Nazi Gen:
refers to him as follows:
"A Jew, who steps up to the baptismal
"It has often been the 'fate of Dr. Many . . . There, was also talk, recently font is a deserter in a threefold climax.
Weizmann to be. the wandering trouba- about proclaiming the Crimea a Jewish In the first place, he deserts, in a profane
dour and prophet of hispeOple, exhorting Republic . . But for the time being it sense, from the side of the weak and the
does not look as if the Crimea is destined
to action, waking sluMbering consciences,
persecuted, from a human unit intended
bringing consolation, restoring hope, and to be the Jewish Republic which Moscow for a particularly ignominious and pain-
would
like
to
establish
.
.
The
section
pleading tirelessly • for the new Jewish
ful kind of history. This step seems, to
life on the ancestral soil. Geography, he of the USSR best fitted, both politically say the least, not very noble and gener-
complained, when he was a young man and geographically, for the -establishment ous, even if it may involve no lower op-
of 27 and many times thereafter, is the of a Jewish Republic would perhaps be portunism than the salvation of his own
greatest enemy of the Zionist movement. Bessarabia . . . At one time, Jewish lead- soul.
And to those alert territorialists const- ers in Romania even suggested that the
antly seeking 'homes' for their 'less friction which existed for the last 25
"T-his same Jew, in the second place,
fortunate brethren' in the . frozen plains years between Russia and Romania' over deserts not only the defamed and tor-
of Alaska, in the burning desert of Mad- the BeSsarabian issue could, be avoided if tured community of present-day Israel;
agascar, in the wilds of Santo Domingo— Bessarabia were proclaimed a Jewish he deserts from Israel's deepest origins,
"buffer- state" between. RUmania and
everywhere but Palestine—Dr. Weizmann
•from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a
refers as 'geographic polygamists.' . He Russia.
difficult and questionable step to turn
*
*
*
was never a prophet oP doom, but with
one's back- even on a profane people. But
INSIDE
PALESTINE
the clear. vision of a man whose whole
it is inconceivably difficult, especially
life was :rooted •in the tragedy of his
Speaking of the •possibilities of the es- for a religious person, to turn his back on
people, the abnormality of its existence, tablishment of a Jewish State outside of the People of God that has suffered so
he saw both the . inexorable march of Palestine, Zionists may be interested in much along the way, from Abraharla's
events and the sole countervailing pos-. information now reaching Washington persecution in Egypt • up to the Era of
sibility—Palestine." -
that Russian missions have been busy Nazi pogroms, eternally slaughtered for
This is a good summary of the sad during the - past few months in the , Near the sake of their God.
role given by the Jewish people and by East "currying favor with the Arabs" .
"But in the third place, this Jew who
history to Dr. Weizmann—that of being The staff' of the recently opened. Soviet goes to the baptisinal font, deserts Christ
a "wandering troubadour" who has had legation in Iraq is reported to be larger Himself; since he arbitrarily interrupts
to plead and must continue to plead for than other Allied legations there . . . And his historical, suffering—the penance for
understanding of the historic cause he the first secretary of . RusSia's impressiVe rejecting the Messiah—and in a hasty
represents. Perhaps the eighth decade of legation in Egypt is a Moslem, which is Manner not foreseen iri the drama of sal-
his life holds something good in store for only natural . . . It is believed that Rus- vation,.steps to the side of the Redeemer,
him—and: therefore for all Israel.
sia will be 'interested in supporting the where he probably does not at-all belong,
* *
Zionist demand for the establishment of according to the Redeemer's holy will:*
THE BEST WEIZMANN STORY .
a Jewish State in Palestine only if , :the at any rate, not yet, and not here and
The best Weizmann story recOrded in British continue to •support the formation nOw.'
the Weisgal-edited book is about the of a pan-Arab Federation . . . A Jewish
Pathetic, smacks of masochism — as
Stuttrt lawyer who, having met Weiz- State would then be beneficial to Russia's though for the sheer pleasure of suffer-
mann in Palestine in 1935, said he was interests in the Near East since it could ing, Werfel were keeping to one faith and.
interested in Zionism for 30 years. - When counteract the effeCts of a British-con- avoiding another, contrary to his natural
Weizmann showed skepticism—having trollesi Pan-Arab Federation . . . If, how- bent. But then,. Jewish orphans in
never heard of this German Jew who ever, no pan-Arab Federation is formed, France, homeless Jews 'in Poland and
had just come to Palestine—the Stutt- then Russia would prefer to spread its in- Greece, are more deserving of pity than
garter said:
fluence gradually from Iran to Iraq, from this entangled pseudo-Christian, un-Jew-
, "Oh, yes, 30 years: 28 against—two for." Iraq to Syria, from Syria to Palestine
ish mystic.
Heard in
The.tobbies
Between
You and Me
,.
,
Friday, Decerniier ., 1944
Strictly
Confidential
By PHINEAS J. ,BIRON
(Copyright, 1944, by Seven Arts
Feature Syndicate)
YOU SHOULD KNOW. . . .
We are reliably informed that t h e
Moyne murder is being used by the
British Colonial Office, with Winston
Churchill's sanction, as a 'justification.
for freezing Zionist demands for, a com-
monwealth . . A number of Christian
friends. of Zionism are preparing -a blast
against the British Prime Minister, tak-
ing .him to task for exaggerating the
political significance of the . Moyne as-
sassination . . . One of America's most
brilliant jurists—a non-Jew—has been
asked to study the Moyne case With a
view to .help the defense.
We think it's quite important to 'know
that Marshal Tito abolished all anti-
Jewish laws in _Belgrade six hours after
he had entered the city.
Thanks to 'a Reuter's correspondent
named John Evans, a violin concerto
written' by a victim of 'the Lublin con-
centration camp Maidariek has been
saved for posterity, we hear . . . Evans
found the manuscript among the mitcel-
lanebus relics the Nazis preserved of
their victims — . He forwarded •the con-
certo, compose& by a young man. named
Ernst J. Weil, to the OWI, and Joseph
Szigeti may give it its first public per-
formance.
. :,•
LISTEN HERE
Few men keep their ears.; as close to
the • ground as. Walter Winchell. He
senses the slightest rumble emanating
from subterranean subversiVe headquar-
ters here .. . The other day he tad us
that anti-Semitism had received a...shot
in the arm from the political hooligan
groups that fought Roosevelt in the re-
cent campaign . . . Now more than ever
vigilance and counterattack are needed,
Walter warns . Keep in mind,' 'too,
that the KKK is not disbanding in the
South . . Several' of its most potent
political groups are mobilizing for total
war on labor—or, to be exact, on the
AFL unions in their territory . A
hopeful note reaches us 'from Detroit,.
however . Out of the 850,000 'votes
cast in that city on Nov. 7, Gerald L. K.
Smith's America First party polled '625.
The voters of - De-tit:lit, it seems, preferred
not to clear it with Gerald • But as
for the printer who mits out Sthith's
"The Cross and, the . Flag"—he must' feel
like a rat . .. For he is one of the 'peo-
ple whdm . , the Rev. Smith wants to
sterilize.
INTERIM REPORT
Frederick Heath, who attacked Rabbi
S. Steinberg on a railroad train , en.' route
to Stamford, Conn., has been sentenced
to six months in jail and a $100 fine...
-To us the sentence seems rather mild
. . . That case of the Jew beaten by, two
policemen in Philadelphia, of which we
told you last week, is the case .of Mr.
Anmuth, - and. the Jewish judge whp fined
the victim of the attack is 'Magistrate
Forestein.
READER'S GUIDE
Readers' Scope magazine is prepaying
a monthly feature that will rocket it in-
to the position of the land's most-quoted
magazine . • We can't tell you more
today except that the initials of. the au-
thors of this feature are J.R.C., A.E.K.
and H.H. . . . To those who send in to
us before Dec. 7 the correct names fitting
these initials—all three of them—we
shall send, as a gift, an autographed copy
of Pierre van Paassen's "The Forgotten
Ally".
If as a conscientious Hanukah-observer
(and we hope you are) you tend to grow -
a little worried when the youngsters
come hOme from school reciting the tra-
ditional poem, "'Twas the Night before
Christmas," be consoled by the know-
ledge that the author of those verses,
Clement Clarke Moore, published t h e
first Hebrew lexicon ever issued in these ,
United States ... That was back in 1809.
ABOUT PEOPLE
Dr. Ruth Gruber, Department .of • the
Interior field representative- whd was
in charge of bringing those 982 refugees
to Oswego, N. Y., has the .distinction of
having received her Ph.D. at the earliest
age on record . . . She was .only 20 when
she earned her degree. . .
Co-author of "The Desert Battalion," a
new book centering about General Pat-
ton, is Mrs. Edward G. Robinson, wife of -
the screen star. ,-
ANECDOTE .
From the new magazine Pageant we
cull this little story concerning the
Czechoslovakian statesman Eduard Benes
... When his' country still was free., . .
Nazi representatives called on him with'
the demand that he place restrictions on'
Jews . . . To which Benes replied: "Why,
the Jews are the only Czechoslovaks we
have . . . All the others are either Czechs
or . Slovaks." - .