Page Two
Purely
Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
5,000 VERSUS 160
The Associated Press is authority for
the statement that 5,000 British troops of
the Second Brigade of the First Infantry
Division swooped down on Sadoth Yam
for a search of the colony and the arrest
of its 160 male residents.
United Press, in its report of the "inci-
dent," points out that "all men and
women in the settlement, with the excep-
tion of the pregnant mothers, were held
in cages while the search was in progress."
Two days after the invasion of Sadoth
Yam, Britain's Sixth Airborne Division
swept into two other Jewish villages in
Palestine—Dorot and Ruhama.
The hundreds of Jews who were ar-
rested on • June 29, during Britain's un-
speakable • act of desecrating the Sabbath
by invading Jewish Agency and other
Jewish community buildings, remain in
the Raf a detention camp. Among them
are the Agency leaders—Moshe Shertok,
Dr. Bernard Joseph and Dr. Isaac Gruen-
baum. Their families are permitted to
visit with them for 15 minutes a month.
Habeas corpus and other elementary
rights established by civilized govern-
ments are thus being violated.
Nevertheless, there are people who con-
tinue to speak of "ungenerous behavior"
by Jews toward the British labor govern-
ment. It is inconceivable to us that any
one with a spark of justice in his heart
would adopt an attitude of unfriendliness
to the Jewish community of Palestine
and its supporters throughout the world
in this tragic period in Israel's history.
Yet, British intolerance and brutality is
a matter of record.
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JEWISH QUEST FOR PEACE
Throughout the trying period of British
attempts to subdue the spirit of our pio-
neers in Palestine, Jewish Agency leaders
have been most anxious to arrive at a
peaceful solution of the trying problem.
They have made numerous concessions in
an effort to restore amicable relations
with British officials arid with the Arabs
in Palestine.
With regard to the occurrence at Sa-
doth Yam, a spokesman for the Jewish
Agency referred to the search as "an
effort to continue the state of tension in
Palestine . . at a moment when most
people wish to attain a peaceful settle-
ment by negotiation." .
Recognized since 1929, when it was es-
tablished as spokesman for the Jewish
people with the aid of the late Louis
Marshall and_ Jewish leaders throughout
the world, in accordance with provisions
in the Palestine mandate of the late-
' lamented League of Nations, the Jewish
Agency should be continued as the cen-
tral authority in Jewish life in all mat-
ters affecting Palestine. But the British
labor government now indicates that it
will, of its own accord, without consulting
Jewish leadership, call upon other Jewish
groups to participate in discussions on
Palestine. This, coupled with the affront
to Jewry in the acts perpetuated during
the past 10 weeks, is an unheard-of
breach of faith which has earned the re-
sentment shown by Jewish communities
everywhere.
*
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JEWISH RECALCITRANTS
It is most unfortunate that there re-
f
mains within Jewry an element that is
determined to grind its o _ wn ax in the
present crisis.
Lessing J. Rosenwald, claiming a mem-
bership of 12,000 in his American Coun-
cil of Judaism, now asks for a voice in
the negotiations on Palestine with the
British government.
. It is possible that the British govern-
ment's intention to invite "other Jewish
groups" to the proposed conference, with-
out consulting the Jewish Agency, has
something to do with the new campaign
begun by Mr. Rosenwald to undermine
Zionist aspirations. New York newspapers
gave prominent space to Mr. Rosenwald's
statement, and the N. Y. Times saw fit to
feature an interview with the recalcitrant
anti-Zionist in a by-lined article.
If we could afford to gamble with time
so. that history alone would judge Mr.
Rosenwald and his group, we could be
confident of a result that would place
these recalcitrant and stubborn enemies
of Zionism in a category with the repudi-
ated sinners among our people. But time
is of the essence, and we must recognize
that- the Council for Judaism is rendering
great harm to the Jewish cause at a time
when unity is essential and when it is
most damaging to the cause of justice
that Jews should sit on the side of • our
enemies.
THE JEWISH NEWS
All the King's Navies Can't Stop Me!
Story of an Uncertificated Immigrant
From an Article by a Visaless Settler in Palestine Which Appeared in
New Statesman and Nation, British Liberal Weekly
We do not call ourselves illegal. Our own people, the Jews of Palestine, call
us uncertified immigrants. I can't tell\ everything about my journey to the home-
land because I came on one of the boats that succeeded in getting to shore un-
detected. Several have been caught, but ours succeeded in getting through the
patrols and slipping away even after we were spotted by airplanes. Like Enzo
Sereni, one of the boats that was caught, our boat, too, was named after one of
the Palestinians who parachuted into Europe on an Allied mission during the war,
and was captured and executed.
As for myself, I am 21 and I come originally from White Russia. When the ,
Germans took the area, everyone in my family disappeared as we say, because we
don't like to say they are dead. Everyone except myself and one sister. We joined
the partisans. I have a medal which I received from the Soviet Union.
After the war I went back to my town and found there were no -Jews left
alive, and I couldn't live there any more. So I made my way into Poland, and
there in one of the larger cities I got in touch with some surviving Jews who were
trying to come to Palestine. Several of us started out together. My sister is wait-
ing to try later.
We travelled through several countries. We had a little money at the be-
ginning of our journey, and after that we were "Displaced Persons."
I can't tell the details, but we managed to get to the place where there was
a boat.
Two hundred and fifty of us crowded into the hold of a tiny ship. When I
saw that ship, I felt right away that I would never get off it alive. I know a little
about ships, and it was a tiny, weak old tub. I was sure it could never 'cross the
Mediterranean. The hammocks in the hold were so close together that when a man
lay in his hammock he pressed on the man below. We had to stay in our ham-
mocks all the time, as there was no room to move. -
But as there were no sanitary arrangements below deck we had to take turns
going on deck. We also went on deck in groups of ten for meals. We had to
keep to this small number for fear ,of our ship being suspected if it were sighted
and many people were observed on deck. We had tinned food, but very little
water. Our ration was one eighth of a litre a day. Since we had so little water,
most of us ate very little. Some didn't eat at all during the entire trip, which
lasted 12 days. At first everyone was seasick.
Even those who had been in concentration camps said this was the worst
period of all to endure, yet we would all do it again to get to Palestine.
The worst time was the tenth day. None of us believed we would get through
that storm. The captain was sure were finished, and so he got out some wine and
got drunk, waiting for the ship to break in two and dump us all into the sea.
Each time a wave engulfed us it seemed our prow would never come up, and the
ship would simply break. We tried to prevent this by lashing oil-barrels around
the cabin, so as to make a central mass.
During the storm we were spotted by scout planes, and two of them circled
above us all day long. Even though we thought we were going to drown, we kept_
up our precautions against being identified as an illegal ship. We ducked or flat-
tened to keep out of sight, whenever the planes came near. ,
The next night we reached the Palestine coast.
The ship struck a sandbar. We put off our one lifeboat and tried to get some
of the women ashore, as several of them were very week. But the sea was still
rough, and the lifeboat capsized. Many of us jumped into the water to save the
girls. But one of the girls, drowned that night, as we finally reached Palestine.
People had been on the lookout for us, and even though we were- in the wrong
place, they found us, and came out to help us land.
Once we got ashore we were quickly distributed over the country. So we are
Home.
Heard in
The Lobbies
By ARNOLD LEVIN
(Copyright, 1946. Independent Jewish
Press Service. Inc.)
ADVERTISING
Have you noticed the phony thing
about the "ad" that phony outfit, the pro-
Arabic Freedman League for Peace and
Justice in Palestine, has placed with some
newspapers last week? The 'ad' offered
$10,000 r e war d - for any one who
can prove - that the League is receiving
money from the Arab governments and
Britain and should therefore, register as
a foreign agent. On learning that anyone
producing evidence resulting in the pros-
ecution of the League by the Justice De-
partment would get ten grand we got
busy. Then we smelled a rat, and decided
to reread that ad. And sure enough, there
was the rat, in very small almost micro-
scopic type was a reservation: the reward
will be paid out only if the Justice De-
partment brings charges within one
month. Now that is a queer reservation.
Even if the evidence were submitted on
the day the ad appeared, it would require
more than four weeks for the Justice De-
partment to check on it and file charges.
Why - the time limit? Is it possible that the
League's status will change within a
month? Incidentally, the New York Her-
ald Tribune advertising department should
have rejected that ad, if for no other
reason, because the qualification was car-
ried in such small type, also because some
of the quotations from great men used
in the ad were frauds. The impression the
use of those quotations tried to carry over
was that these men were opposed to a
Jewish state.. But most quotations were
ripped from context, and out of context
some could be interpreted as being
"anti-Zionist." Quoted were Nah Sokolow,
Dr. Chaim Weizmann and such. If this is
ethical advertising, we'll eat our hat. Not
that one expects ethics from Mr. Freed-
man, but one does expect it from the
N. Y. Herald Tribune.. We are certain that
the advertising manager was duped, be-
lieving the ads to be straight copy. But in
the future, Mr. Advertising Manager,
when that Peace-and-Justicer Freedman
of Connecticut comes along with his ads,
call up some people who know the sub-
ject to check on the text.
Between
You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1946, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency. Inc.)
THE PALESTINE ISSUE
Don't labor under the false impression
that the United States is indifferent to
the outcome of the conference on Pales-
tine which the British government called
. . This, despite the fact that the State
Department refused to send an observer
to the conference . . . There will yet be
plenty of action on the part of the U. S.
on the Palestine issue . . . Even the most
confirmed optimists (-7 o not expect the
conference on Palestine to yield real re-
sults . . . Thus, the U. S. government will
again be asked by Britain to lend a hand
in the solution of the Palestine problem
. . Especially if the matter is brought
before the General Assembly of the United
Nations . . . As the situation now stands
the Zionists are just as unhappy over the
prospect of bringing the Palestine case
before the UN as is the British govern-
ment . .. The reason is simple . .. It is
becoming more and more obvious that
the Soviet attitude at the UN will be that
Palestine must not become a Jewish State,
and not even a bi-national state . . . What
the Soviets are likely to suggest is that
Palestine become an independent state
in which all the inhabitants should have
equal rights . . • This would suit the Arabs
very well, but even the left-wing Hash-
omer Hatzair is opposed to it . . . Speak-
ing of bi-nationalism, which Hashomer
Hatzair advocates strongly, it will be in-
teresting for many te learn that Dr.
J. L. Magnes, "father" of the bi-national
idea, has done well during his present vis-
it to the U. S. . . . He avoided any publicity
of his activities, but he succeeded in get-
ting funds from very important Jewish
personalities for his Ihud group.
•
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ON THE SCREEN
A new motion picture analyzing anti-
Semitism will be released by the Joint
Defense Appeal . .. The picture features
Quentin Reynolds, noted author, as nar-
rator . . . It describes the work of the
American Jewish Committee and the An-
ti-Defamation League in fighting racial
and religious intolerance.
A commercial film giving the story of
the Jew in America will soon be re-
leased by a private company under
the title of "These Our People" . . . It
traces the history of the American Jew
from the time the first group of 23 Jews
landed on our shores in 1654 up to the
present day.
Friday, September 6, 1946
Strictly
Confidential
By PHINEAS J. BIRON
Copyright, 1946, Seven Arts
Feature Syndicate, Inc.
HITLER OVER AMERICA
The press did not pay sufficient atten-
tion to a study directed by Arnold Fors-
ter, national director of the Legal De-
partment for the Anti-Defamation League
• . , This study was based on an analysis
of 150 German language newspapers in
this country . . . Forster says that "the
major portion of the German press in
America maintains that fascism has been
more prevalent in the Roosevelt Adminis-
tration and Truman Administration than
in Hitlerite Germany" . . . The Detroiter
Abendpost for instance published only re-
cently such choice items as "The Attorney
General of New York, Nathaniel L. Gold-
stein, requests that the state privileges of
the Ku Klux Klan be taken away . . . If
we were named 'Nathaniel L. Goldstein'
we would do exactly the same" . . . An-
other typical item reads "In a newspaper
we saw a picture from Paris `Secretary
Byrnes and his advisor, Ben Cohen' . . .
this explains a lot of our' so-called foreign
policy" . . . We agree fully with Arnold
Forster that "Democracy; world peace,
and the U. S. government are today once
again taking a beating in the pages of
the German-American press."
*
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ONE-MAN ORGANIZATION
Herbert A. Kent, president of the P.
Lorillard Tobacco Company is a one man
inter-faith organization in action . .. We
happened to fun across a trade paper
called "Retailer's Guide," in which we
read that Mr. Kent is one of the pillars of
the Tobacco and Allied Trade Division of
the United Jewish Appeal . . . that division
pledged $500,000 toward the 35 million
dollar quota for Greater New York . .
Kent not only contributed handsomely
but pledged his full cooperatibn. Few peo-
ple know that the same Mr. Kent has for
many years been a liberal contributor to
and an effective worker on behalf of the
Federation of Jewish Charities . . . Men
like Kent give hope for a better day in
interfaith relations.
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MISCELLANEOUS
The American Jewish Labor Couricil is
to be congratulated for sponsoring a two-
hour stoppage of the dry goods industry
in New York to protest against British
military terror against the Jewish people
in Palestine . The office of the Post-
master General advises us that it cannot
interfere with the anti-Semitic mailings
by the Protestant War Veterans of the
United States Inc., 1211-A Connecticut
Avenue, Washington, D. C. . . Post of-
fice regulations permit the spreading of
anti-Semitism as long as the "outside
cover or wrapper of mail matter is free
of 'scurrilous and defamatory matter'."
. . . The Hebrew Committee of National
Liberation will gain great strength from
James Roosevelt, the new president of
the California chapter of the American
League for a Free Palestine . . . James,
eldest son of the late President, is taking
his new duty very seriously .. . Dr. Josh-
ua L. Liebman's book "Peace of Mind" is
compiling a terrific sales record . . We
achieved a perfect peace of mind—deep
slumber—after reading a few pages.
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ATTENTION: EDITORS, PUBLISHERS
Rabbi Robert Gordis of the Rockaway
Park Hebrew Congregation is just back
from an overseas, survey mission to the
Pacific and Asiatic areas on behalf of the
Secretary of War and Secretary of Navy
... In the course of his trip he was en-
tertained at the homes of Gen. MacAr-
thur, Gen. Eichelberger, Commander of
the Army of Occupation in Japan, Gen.
Wagner Smith of Hawaii and Rear Ad-
miray Pownell, Governor of Guam . .
We suggest that enterprising editors and
publishers contact Rabbi Gordis for arti-
cles and perhaps a book based on his ob-
servations, experiences and conclusions
. . Here is a potential best seller •
Gordis is a gifted writer.
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IDA (MOSES) MARGOLIES
The daughter and feminine countei•part
of the late Chief Rabbi Moses Z. Margo-
lies passed away the other day . . . Her
name was Ida Newman .. . We knew her
well for she was the mother of "Gugu,"
wife of Maurice Bergman, advertising ge-
nius of Universal's motion picture empire
. . Whenever we visited her she im-
pressed , us with her philosophical calm
. . Ida lived on borrowed time for the
last two years . . . No impatience or in-
digmation about her fate . . . She died
peacefully in the arms of her daughter
Gugu, who never left her side during the
last two years . . . There were no news-
paper stories written about. Ida's passing
. . We mourn her as a wise, congenial,
saintly mother, the kind of Jewish mother
one does not see around in this age.