THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Two

Purely
Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

"STAR OF THE UNBORN"
- Franz Werfel believed that his latest
work,. which he had completed before his
death under the title "Star of the Un-
born," was his greatest creation. His pub-
lishers, Viking Press, are hailing this
"novel" with the author's own evaluation.
Had he lived, Werfel would have been
deeply grieved by the reviews his work
has and will receive.
It is far from being his greatest work.
In fact, it is far from being a very good
book. It is more a travel story, as the
author frequently describes it, than a
novel. But either as a travel story or as
a novel it is displeasing.
We find it difficult to recall very many
books which were as hard to read as
"Star of the Unborn." You pick it up
with the expectation of being introduced
to great Werfelian writing. The disap-
pointment is depressing. This book
rambles, it attempts to take you into a
future world and to introduce you to
great developments. But except for an
occasional flash of genius one would
rather read Jules Verne's or H. G. Wells'
similar prognostications.
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TWO SURVIVING SYSTEMS
In Franz Werfel's Astromental Era,
only two systems of our own time sur:
vive; the Catholic church and the Jews.
The author—speaking in the book as
"I" and F. W., led through the labyrinths
of the new era by B. H., is informed that
"the other Christian sects were absorbed
by Catholicism . . ."
Insofar as the Jews are concerned, we
are told in the fantastic Werfelian story,
in the words of B. H. to F. W.:
"The church wasn't even persecuted;
it was nothing but a laughing stock. But
this in itself sufficed to make it great
again and to usher in an era of new
triumphs. The deluded Jews too, who
wanted to get rid at last of their mystic
past, burned their Torah scrolls, prohib-
ited the use of the Hebrew language, and
implored the entire globe to adopt Anglo-
Saxon as the Monolingua. It was all in
vain, for the Bible could no more be de-
stroyed by flames than could the works
of scientific naturalism."
The influence both of Catholicism and
Judaism is in evidence in Mr. Werfel's
sentiments which we read in his posthu-
mous work.
But even his tribute to Catholicism
and Judaism as the two surviving forces
in the Astromental Era is as incoherent
as the rest of the book. It is less con-
vincing than the latest demonstration in
Rome which marked the crowning of new
Cardinals; . or the declarations of the
Jewish patriots in Palestine who refuse
further to tolerate indecencies and are
resorting to Irish tactics in forcing the
attention of the world upon the breaking
of pledges . by Great Britain.
Your Commentator regrets that he can
not boost "Star of the Unborn." He would
have liked to do• better by Mr. Werfel's
memory, but he can't.
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SEN. BREWSTER AND BRITAIN
In his testimony before the Senate De-
fense Investigating Committee, U. S.
Senator Owen Brewster of Maine de-
manded that Great Britain should be in-
structed not to use American funds to
"shoot down Jews in Palestine."
It was a brave demand by a brave
American, and it is to be hoped that
others will follow his example and will
let themselves be heard on the question
of the U. S. loan . to Britain in similar
fashion. •.
Should Great Britain persist in shoot-
ing innocent people in Palestine and in
ignoring the demands of the patriots who
insist upon adherence to pledges, it may
be advisable and necessary to raise a loan
of our own to finance the work of the
Haganah.
We need to be prepared to defend our
rights, and we welcome Senator Brew-
ster's valuable assistance.
•
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TONS OF LITERATURE
•
If any one tells you that Jews do. not
read enough, point out to him the scores
of publications issued periodically .Under
Jewish auspices.
In the past few weeks, we have re-
ceived a number of "Vol. 1 No. 1" bulle-
tins. The Jewish Congress alone sends
us two new national publications and one
new loCal.
Every Zionist and civic protective- group
has its own paper: .
• Talk about duplication of effort! Fre-
quently these publications carry news
-
that is a month old.
Will the multitude of periodicals do us
any good?
_
- Is it wise fO. Ptit so much effort into

Purim and Jewish Destiny

On the occasion of Purim, to be observed on Sunday, we publish the follow-
ing quotation from the Book of Esther (III.5) which shows how Jewish history
repeats itself. In our own time Jewish survivors from modern Hamanism are
determined to put an end to dependence upon tyrants. Purim is a reminder that
Jews must do everything in their power to become masters of their own destiny.
And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence,
then was Haman full of wrath. But he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai
alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: Wherefore Haman sought
to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus,
even the people of Mordecai . . . . And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is
a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the
provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse from those of every people;
neither keep they the King's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer
them. If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed: and I will pay
ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have the charge of the
king's business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. And the king took his ring
from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the
Jews' enemy. And the king said unto Haman, the silver is given to thee, the people
also to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king's scribes called
in the first month, on the thirteenth day thereof, and there was written according
to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the governors that
were over every province, and to the princes of every people; to every provinee
according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the
name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and it was sealed with the king's ring. And
letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay and to
cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one
day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar,
and to take the spoil of them for a prey. A copy of the writing that the decree
should be given out in every province, was published unto all the peoples, that
they should be ready against that day. The posts went forth in haste by the king's
commandment, and the decree was given out in Shushan the palace: and the king
and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed . .
. . . And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that
were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, to enjoin them
that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth
day of the same, yearly, as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies,
and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from
mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and glad-
ness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. And the Jews
undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them, because
Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised
against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume
them, and to destroy them; but when the matter came before the king, he com-
manded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews,
should return up on his own head . . .

Heard in
The Lobbies

.

Strictly
Confidential

By ARNOLD LEVIN

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1946, Independent Jewish
' Press Service, Inc.)

Copyright, 1946, Seven Arts
Feature Syndicate, Inc..

NO HATE CARTELS YET
Perhaps we should be glad that the
hate industry is still highly competitive.
As long as there are enough crackpots
with delusions of grandeur and not
enough crackpots prepared to shell out
their hard cash to make hate cartel in
this country practical, we may expect to
see a plethora of hate organizations
struggling for the available business.
There is little danger that people with as
much hate in them as Winrod, Smith,
Koch, Lovel, Rankin, et al, will suddenly
find it possible to sit a friendly table for
the purpose of organizing a cartel. But
they must be stopped, because there is
always the danger that a clever new-
comer to the hate business may snare
all the customers they are creating.

FASCISM WITHOUT ANTI-SEMITISM
Bryce Oliver, news commentator on
the New York radio station WEVD, who
speaks under the auspices of Friends of
Democracy, revealed an interesting story
the other day . . . Oliver reports that a
clash has developed between the rank
and file membership and the leadership
of "powerful Jewish organizations" . .
He alleges that 40 rabbis from Brooklyn
and Manhattan "walked forth in silent
consternation -from a meeting in Willkie
Memorial because they had been told, on
high authority;; that great and powerful
Jewish organizations were not set up to
fight fascism but only anti-Semitism . . ."
In the same broadcast Oliver charged
"two of the most influential members of
the Jewish faith" with having come to
an understanding with Joseph Patterson,
editor-publisher of the Daily News (the
tabloid which features the column of
John O'Donnell) . . . The understanding
is based on an assurance by Patterson
"that no more anti-Semitism would creep
into the columns of the Daily News . . ."
Oliver went on to say that "the repre-
sentatives of the Jewish faith went away
satisfied that the° Jews had won a victory"
. . . as a result of this friendly conference
between Patterson and the two distin-
guished Jewish leaders, the Daily News
published an editorial extolling the prin-
ciple of the "Brotherhood of Man" . .
The consequence of this understanding
was that the attack on the Daily News
was called off and Big Advertisers were
encouraged to go right ahead supplying
the News with financial sinews for the
attack on democracy and News circula-
tion picked up again."

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Friday, March 8, 1946

Between
You and Me

By BORIS .SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1946, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

CONGRESS NOTES
Some Zionist leaders in this country
still believe that the forthcoming World
Zionist Congress will be held in the U. S.,
even though the Jewish Agency has de-
cided to hold it in Palestine . . . Members
of the Agency originally suggested that
the Congress be convened on a ship in
neutral waters "somewhere in the Medi-
terranean" . . When the question of
holding the Congress in the U. S. was
discussed, it was pointed out that it
would cost more than $500,000 to bring
the Palestinian and other delegates to
America . . . On the other hand, trans-
portation of a large American delegation
to Palestine would not cost the Zionist
movement any money, since it is taken
for granted that each of the American
delegates would pay his own fare and
maintenance . . . Yet there are Zionist
leaders in the United States who main-
tain that it is a mistake to hold the Con-
gress in Palestine . . . They point out
that the proceedings of the Congress,
which usually get a "good press"..through-
out the world, will not receive as com-
prehensive coverage as usual in the
American press if it is held in Palestine
. . . American correspondents, they pre-
dict, may water down the Congress . by
"balancing" the news with Arab utter-
ances which will, no doubt, be made by
Arab leaders in Palestine to counteract
the effect of the Congress proceedings.

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ZIONIST TRENDS

Behind-the-scene ,campaigns for elec-
tions to the new World ZioniSt Exec -u-
' tive, to take place at the forthcoming
Zionist Congress, are under way, . . . It's
been exactly nine years since elections
to the World Zionist Executive and to
the executive of the Jewish Agency were
held .. . During these years the Zionist
movement in America has gained strength
and importance . . . But there is actually
no American among the members of the
World Zionist Executive .. . Only re-
cently, at the first post-war Zionist con-
ference in London, American Zionist
leaders were co-opted as members of
the executive, primarily to deal with the
American scene in the Zionist move-
ment . . . At the forthcoming Zionist
Congress, the ,American Zionists intend
to demand a number of seats on the
World Executive . . . The compe-
tition for seats in the executive will
be chiefly between the American and
Palestine leaders, since these two coun-
tries are today the pillars of the entire
Zionist movement . • . A fight will also
develop around the question of the presi-
dency, should Dr. Weizmann choose not
to run for re-election . .. It is predicted
that a triumvirate will then replace Dr.
Weizmann to be composed of one Gen-
eral Zionist, one Labor Zionist and one
Mizrachi representative . . • It is assumed
that the General Zionist will be Dr. Abba
Silver.
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DOMESTIC ISSUES

NAMES MAKE NEWS
Any columnist would have gathered
enough names for a week of columns at
the great meeting of the United Jewish
Appeal in Washington last week: In one
room he . would have seen Bernard M.
Baruch,. Herbert Bayard Swope, Herbert
H. Lehman, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Rob-
ert Nathan, George Backer, .Jonah B.
Wise, Paul Beerwald, William Rosenwald,
Edward M. M. Warburg, Edmund I.
Kaufman, Charles J. Rosenbloom, Mrs.
David M. Levy, Sylvan Gotshal, etc., etc.,
etc. One man complained that during the
meeting the spots he saw before his eyes
changed to stars.
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KLAN PLAN
The F.B.I. will drop the word "Jew" or
"Jewish" from "wanted" notices con-
The Ku Klux Klan is rearing its ugly
cerning criminals and fugitives . . As-
head again in Ohio, Michigan and Mis-
surance to this effect was given by F.B.I.
souri. Revival in other states is planned.
*
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headquarters to the • Anti-Defamation
They'll probably get their white sheets
MISCELLANY
League ... Washington has also ordered
in the black heart market.
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Jewish Black Book sponsored by the the Federal Housing Administration in
World Jewish Congress, Vaad Leumi, New York to delete the question of racial
QUICK, HENRY, THE FLITCRAFT
According to the Home Front, the rev- Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of Mos- descent from forms used to secure in-
ocation of the charter of Eugene Flit- cow and the American Committee of formation on individuals desiring to build
craft's Gentile Cooperative Association Jewish Writers, Artists, and Scientists homes and seeking credit.
The bill to cut the immigration quota
has been reversed. Not that it makes any will be officially launched at a Madison
in half, on which hearings are now being
difference. You don't have to be incorp- Square Garden meeting on March 27.
In the Feb. 24 issue of PM appears an held before the House Immigration Com-
orated to spray poison.
*
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article under the heading of "Fascist Ter- mittee, is not the only anti-immigration
ror in the USA" . . . Don't miss it because bill before Congress . . . There are
POLITICAL REACTION COMMITTEE
several other bills ... One of them would
The Propaganda Battlefront reports it gives evidence that a section of the Los suspend immigration for a period of five
Angeles
police
behaved
like
Storm
that the "Hatriots" are going political in
years . . Another would suspend it for
Chicago. Thomas .Clark Van Hyning, Pat- Troopers when Gerald L. K. Smith spoke 10 years . . . A third would not permit
in
that
city.
rick T. Vincent and Harold J. Dale are
immigration at any time, if more than
The Zionist Organization of America is 100,000 American citizens were unem-
trying to get Republican support for Con-
gressional seats. Quick, Henry, the Flit- looking for a big building in New York ployed.
craft is seeking the nomination for Coun- to move all its departments from Wash-
Frederick Kister, notorious anti-Semite,
ington to America's metropolis.
ty Commissioner:
who is attempting to build a "Christian"
Leon Blum will address a huge Zionist organization of war veterans, intends to
fighting anti-Semitism- and supporting or meeting in New -York next month.
run for Congress . . • He has filed a peti-
opposing certain legislation .among . Jews,
Henry Morgenthau will become a fi- tion from one of Chicago's CongressiOnal
when it is so essential to reach the non- nancial columnist for a national syndi- Districts.
Jewish communities? •
The . "International Jew," once, pub-
cate.
Rumors persist that Walter Lippman, lished by Henry Ford, has been removed
Your guess is as • good as the :Corn- -
•the political _writer will follow in the from libraries in Centralia, Ill. . . Bow
mentator's.-
••• •
One thing is certain: .the vanity, of, a .footsteps of...Clare Boothe Luce and em- about removing it from libraries in other
American cities?
lot of people is • assuaged by editorships. brace the Catholic religion.

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