Purely
Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
JUMBLED PALESTINE ISSUE
Commonweal is our favorite Catholic
weekly. It is liberal, fair and objective,
and is eminent in the American journal-
istic field for its friendly attitude to-
wards Jews and the needs of the op-
pressed.
The article in its De,c. 13 issue under
the heading "Palestine and Murder," by
its literary editor, C. G. Paulding,
therefore came as a shock _and as a deep
disappointment that Commonweal should
lend Itself to giving credence to exagger-
ations:.
Mr. Paulding should have known that
terrorism in Palestine is not Jewish pol-
icy. that it is not condoned by Zionists
and that responsible Jewish leaders are
striving to uproot it.
Apparently. however, Mr. Paulding
fell victim to a statement made to him
by a girl who, proud of her brother's
departure for Palestine, preferred to
keep his objective a secret but added
that he is taking "a course in sabotage."
Mr. Paulding therefore concludes:
During the war a man who took a course
in sabotage might - be dropped behind the
line, somewhere and if he was caught he
was shot. Or if he were in occupied territory,
a Frenchman or a Pole or anything. he would
he tortured and shot—even before he had
accomplished anything. just because he was
there. But this young American will not be
shot w hen he enters Palestine, not even if
the British know about the course in sabo-
tage. They may not let him in. and why not,
they may put him Is jail. and why not. If
he gets in I hope he loses his nerve, and goes
to work teaching school or being useful on a
farm and returns to talk about the British
tyrant,. but if he turns out to be the hero he
thinks he is he will blow up a few steno-
graphers or wreck a train. and he will be a
murderer."
We agree wholeheartedly with Mr.
Paulding's conclusion, but our contention
is that he has taken an isolated case and
has generalized about it. It is possible
that the boy he refers to is under the
impression that he will study "sabotage",
but to the Jews of America and of Pales-
tine it will be a revelation that an Amer-
ican boy is even being offered such
training. We are certain that the minor-
ity of II gunists in Palestine trains its
small 'group of followers in sabotage, but
well informed writers should know that
Ow only recognized resistance group in
Palestine—Haganah—is concerned only
with facilitating the entrance of Jews into
Palestine-fm4 of defending the JeWish
position there—a right acknowledged by
civilization as God-given in self-defense
and in providing homes for the homeless.
Whatever courses ever have been of-
fered in "sabotage" to Jews in Palestine
were those sponsored by the British
during the war, under the leadership of
the late Orde Wingate who was the
creator of the Jewish group known as
P.drilach. Had this been recognized by
the Commonweal writer, he would not
have generalized to the detriment of the
entire Jewish community of Palestine
and its supporters in this country.
•
•
•
A Word to Assimilationists
By I. L. PERETZ
-
An Excerpt From the Writings of The Famous Yiddish Author
In the Middle Ages there used to be .disputations between us and the others.
The priest spoke on behalf of the others. Our spokesman was the rabbi.
When the rabbi silenced the priest the ylriest had him burned at the stake.
So we lapsed into silence. For years they kept arguing, while we kept silent.
They seemed to be in the right even in the eyes of our own people who, in
accordance with your prescription, left home to drink wisdom from alien springs.
But now that the pyres have been extinguished and living people are no
longer thrown into the flames (the author could not imagine the Hitler era—Ed.),
our tactics must change; we must not remain silent.
We must make answer, but not to you! It is so hard' to take you seriously.
You chant the old servile praises of every conqueror while we present to
the world the widest demands of equalizing the rights of "majority" and "minor-
ity," of "native" and "alien." Yet you look upon yourselves as progressives and
upon us as conservatives! . . .
One parting word of advice: Whatever the language in which you speak to
your. people, speak with respect!
Respect for the old, the oldest people, who knew as well as others, nay,
better and more nobly than others, how to rule a country and defend it to the
last drop of blood against the most powerful armies in the world! And then they
produced many generations of fighters, fighting to the last for their convictions,
not just like all the others, but more than all the others.
Respect for a people whose history is a grim world tragedy; a bloody tale
of self-sacrifice, martyrdom, and the most inhuman suffering for the sake of an
ideal!
No wonder you, frivolous pleasure-seekers, have deserted; you have run
away from those who preach life and must suffer to those who preach suffering
and lead a life of pleasure! Better men than you, some of our standard-bearers
have grown tired and are seeking refuge far from the struggle and all the tribu-
lation. More than one, grown "worldly wise," wants to renounce the inheritance
so as not to have to pay the debts; the burden is too heavy!
You have gone away altogether; good luck to you! But as if not content
with that, you come, like black crows, and croak to us about impending doom.
You do not frighten us. We heard the same talk from your kind in Egypt,
Persia, Assyria, Babylon and Rome; we are used to it. Not by your word are
worlds shattered or built!
Preach whatever you please—the wind will carry it—but with respect!
If you do not want to suffer with the people, go your way! If you no longer
can love it, we'll do without your love! But respect it you shall, you must!
Bow your frivolous heads to the eternal fighter, to the eternal people!
Strictly
Confidential
(Copyright, 1946.
Mr. Friedman quoted at length from
American and British authorities — Rich-
ard H. S. Crossman. M. P.. British mem-
ber of the Anglo-American Inquiry Com-
mittee: Lord Wedgwood. Michael Foot,
M. P., Sumner Welles and Bartley C.
Crum, American member of the Inquiry
Committee. All are in agreement that
British policy is responsible for existing
conditions and that abandonment of this
policy will lead to restoration of peace
in Zion.
We look upon Mr Paulding and his as-
sociates on Commonweal as friends and it
is our sincere hope that they will learn
the true facts before generalizing unto
the extent of blaming all Israel—instead
of transgressing Britain—for an unfor-
tunate situation.
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1946. Jewish Telegraphic
Agency. Inc.)
CONGRESS ECHOES
Now that the Zionist Congress is over,
it can be revealed that a partition pro-
(Copyright. 1946. Independent
•
SCALLIONS
Scallions to A. M. Sobel of New York,
tournament director of Ontario Bridge
Tournament.. . . Mr. Sobel barred Leon
Beard from participating because Mr.
Beard is colored—a West Indian civil
servant . . . Racism scored another vic-
tory when the Negro actor who played
"Uncle Remus" in Walt Disney's latest,
"Song of, the South", was not permitted
to attend the gala premiere of the film in
Atlanta, Ga.... What did Disney expect
in Atlanta' . . . This tallies with the
reputation that Disney is making for
himself as an arch-reactionary.
•
•
•
•
REMEMBER THE DEAD
One of the greatest unsung heroes of
the war is the late Sgt. Samuel Hurwitz
of Montreal Grenadier Guards . . . His
story has just been written up by Maj.
Ivan P. Phelan, M. C. . . . If you are
interested. get a reprint from the Cana-
dian Jewish Congress, 1121 Saint Cath-
erine St., W., Montreal.
•
•
•
before the executive of the Jevtish Agen-
cy suggested it . . . Strangely enough,
THERE'S A REASON
The Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League
deserves a lot of support . . . Its expose
of the Columbians was a masterpiece
which proved that it takes something be-
sides money to fight fascism in this coun-
try . . . The big defense organizations
were scooped by the Anti-Nazi League
although they had a lot of material about
the Columbians a long time ago ... They
didn't follow up because their leaders
simply decided not to believe the stories
about fascism in action.
•
•
•
Jewish
SUBVERSIVES
Upton Close, radio commentator who
has become the darling of the boys men-
tioned most prominently as "the plot-
ters" in John Roy Carlson's "The Plot-
ters," is still on Mutual broadcasting. Dr!'
Frank Kingdon, leading liberal radio
commentator and one of America's fore-
most leaders in the fight against Close
and his ilk, has been dropped by WOR.
We wonder what these radio stations re-
gard as salubrious programming, and
what they regard as baneful, judging by
the irrespective treatment of Close and
Kingdon . . . Carlson reports that posing
as a veteran he wrote a letter to Close
asking .him for the name of a respectable
veteran's organization which he might
join. He received a quick response from
Mr. Close—a pamphlet issued by the
notorious Fred Kister's Christian Vet-
erans, accompanied by a note from Close
lauding the outfit.
•
•
HOLLYWOOD LINE
We learn that Arthur Koestler's novel
"Thieves in the Night" has been bought
by Hollywood. However. we are yet to be
convinced that the novel will actually be
—
produce by our film magnates who dared
not produce an anti-Hitler film until the
eve of Pearl Harbor. and who, to this
date, have not produced a single picture
depicting the life of the Jews in Nazi
occupied Europe. God knows, the final
product of a movieized version of Koest-
ler's book might give a picture of Pal-
estine life after the fashion of Coca-
Cola's advertisements showing an Arab
in the wilderness . . . Or, in a spirit of
neutrality such as the North American
Newspaper Alliance has recently dem-
onstrated, the movie version might be
prefaced by brief statements by the Mufti
and an alleged Jewish leader to assure
the Hollywood type of "kashruth" of the
film . .. Here is hoping for the best, Mr.
Koestler!
HISTORY SPELLED BACKWARDS
Barnard Rubin, newest confrere in the
gathering of tidbits, reports that the Bing
Crosby production of "Abie's Irish Rose"
is being shipped to Germany for the na-
tives' amusement . . . This film is a
vicious caricature of minority groups ...
According to critics it will play an im-
portant role in the present revival of
anti-Semitism . . . Here's what the Na-
tional Conference of Christians and Jews
says about the picture: "Irish Catholics in
the film are caricatured almost equally
as badly as Jews . . . it sets us back 20
years in the work we have been trying to
do in bringing the people of America
closer together" .. . This is really'history
spelled backwards . . . Now the United
States is exporting anti-Semitism to Ger-
many.
• • •
WAR OF NERVES
Acting on a tip that the building was
mined, British soldiers of the Govern-
the details of this project were known to
the Arabs and to the Soviet government,
but not to the Jews ... It is possible that
this was due largely to the fact that the
project was prepared by the British au-
thorities in Cairo under the guidance of
Lord Moyne, British resident ambassador
for the Middle East, prior to his assassin-
tion by Palestine extremists in Cairo .. .
In Cairo the Arabs and the Soviet diplo-
mats are likely to obtain information on
British intentions regarding Palestine
much earlier than the Zionists . . . The
nature of Moyne's partition scheme is now
known to some of the top Zionist leaders
. . . It would have been proposed by the
British government iiad Moyne not been
assassinated . . . Whether it would have
been accepted by the Jewish Agency is
questionable, since it offered very little
even to those who believe that partition
is the only solution of the Palestine prob-
lem . .. Dr. Weizmarin believes that had
Lord Moyne not been killed, his plan,
meager as it was, could have become a
Press Service, Inc.)
•
basis for negotiations . .. Following the
assassination, the British tabled the plan
in retaliation. but the scheme may be
revived at the London Conference on Pal-
estine . . . The present sentiment of the
British can be judged from the absence
of their diplomatic representative at the
opening session of the Zionist Congress
. . . This is the first time since the Bal-
four Declaration that the British halPe
been conspicuously absent . . . But this
is also the first time in the history of a
Zionist Congress that representatives of
Soviet Russia and of the Vatican were
present .. . The change deserves atten-
tion.
•
•
•
DOMESTIC TRENDS
The three-day Conference of the Joint
Defense Appeal which opens in St_ Louis
on Jan. 4 to discuss plans for fighting
anti-Semitism in this country will be
unique in the sense that there will be
very few speakers . . . The program of
the conference has been so arranged that
the delegates will not be "talked at," but
rather have an opportunity to talk them-
selves . . . The conference is well-timed
in the light of the alarming signs of a re-
surgence of racial and religious bigotry,
which was less noticeable during the war
period, when anti-Semitic elements were
afraid to show their ugly heads . . . This
will be the first time that the entire pro-
gram of defense. as developed by the
American Jewish Committee and the
Anti-Defamation League, will be dis-
cussed and- analyzed by more than 1.000
Jewish communal leaders.
•
•
•
ANTI-IMMIGRATION TRENS
A "peaceful, battle" is now in progress
between leaders of two labor unions over
an article urging non-admission of dis-
placed Jews into the United States . . .
The article, which selects the homeless
Jews as the target of vituperation, was
published in the form of an editorial in
the International Teamster, official organ
of one of the largest labor unions in the
country . .. To add insult to injury, the
editorial appeared under the title "Immi-
grants Bring Evil Ideas" . . . This pro-
voked Charles S. Zimmerman, secretary-
ment House in Palestine recently ma- manager of Dressmakers Union. Local 22,
to write a two-page letter to Daniel To-
chine-gunned an ominous looking parcel
in the High Commissioner's room . . . bin, president of the Teamsters' Union,
The parcel belonged to High Commis- expressing indignation over the "venom-
sioner Sir Alan Cunningham and con- ous hostility" displayer' towards displaced
Jews and to immigrants in general . . .
tained his new $60 suede shoes.
•
Zimmerman, who recently visited DP
camps in Europe. demanded that the
POT POURRI
Pierre Van Paassen's "The Forgotten president of the Teamsters Union take
Ally" will be filmed by one of the major action "to eradicate the painful impres-
companies . . . Three Hollywood outfits sion created by the unfortunate editorial"
Tobin's paper, after receiving
are bidding for Van Paassen's Palestinian . . . But
Zimmerman's letter, published another
epic.
Sammy Kaplan. the popular assembly- e ditorial aggravating the situation rather
man from Brownsville section of Brook- than improving it . . The second article
gave "economic" arguments against ad-
lyn, will return to pro basketball this
mission of refugees which were ho more
winter if his legislative duties permit.
Leonard Bernstein will conduct a se- valid than the "ideological" reasons ad-
vanced in the previous editorial . . .
ries of concerts with the Palestine Sym-
Whereupon Zimmerman patiently wrote
phony Orchestra this winter.
Cecil Brown, radio commentator, is a another letter of protest to Tobin . .
patient at .Gotham Hospital in New York The result was a. personal reply from the
teamsters leader repeating the usual line,
.. Drop him a card.
Have you heard about the UN function such as: "some of my best friends are
where a featured singer broke into Jews" .. . But he reiterated his determ-
"Hatikvah" as she saw Ernest Bevin ination to fight againstthe immigration
of refugees.
leaving?
•
•
•1
ject for Palestine was in the making long
By ARNOLD LEVIN
Sews) Arts)
FLASH!!!
Haganah has evolved a scheme to stop
the Irgun-Stern terrorist groups ... Right
after the close of the World Zionist Con-
gress the terrorist chiefs will be kid-
napped and kept in forcible detention ...
The plan is said to have the silent ap-
proval of the British authorities, who
have proMised not to interfere . If the
Haganah succeeds in stopping terrorism
it will be recognized as an official militia
in Palestine.
• •
Between
You and Me
Heard in
The Lobbies
By PHINEAS J. BIRON
MISUSE OF TERM `TERRORISTS'
A .;rave injustice has been perpetrated
by the Palestine extremists who resorted
to measures that are disapproved by the
(AYR ial Zionist movement and by the
sh community of Palestine. But
jt
when Americans like Mr. Paulding con-
tinue to use the terms "gangsters" and
"terrorists" as applications to all partici-
pants in the resistance movement in Zion,
they are harming the entire Jewish
people.
The New York Times a few days ago
published a full-column letter written
by Elisha M. Friedman. a member of the
American Economic Committee I o r
Palestine and of the board of the Amer-
ican Friends of the Hebrew University,
who stated:
"The brave men who sacrifice their lives
that others may live are not 'Gangsters' or
terrorists.' They are not is a cuss with the
Black Hundreds of Czarist Russia or the Mafia
or ('amorra of 19th century Italy, or the Black
Hand of Slain who committed violence for
personal gain. The resisting Jews in Palestine
are descendants of Bar Kochba, who revolted
against the Roman tyrants. and of the Mac-
cabees, who fought the Greek oppressors."
Friday, December 27, I946
THE JEWISH NEWS
Pa ge Two
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