Friday, Mardi 7, 1947

THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Two

Purely
Commentary

Expose of Arab Pro-Nazi

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

FIRST LAW OF NATURE
If proof is desired of the incon-
testability of the assertion that the strug-
gle for existence is the first law of
nature, it will be found in the battle for
life that is still being conducted by Euro-
pean survivors, especially the children.
Students of events in Europe during
the . rule of Nazism, throughout the war
and thereafter, have produced staggering
facts about children who formed gangs
in Europe after being left alone, their
parents having been murdered by the.
German beasts; hoW they fought for
bread, defended their lives, often killed
in self-defense.
One of the best descriptions of this
tragic era in our own lifetime is to be
found in Robert Neumann's "Children of
Vienna" (published by E. P. Dutton &
Co., 300 Fourth Ave., New York 10).
While the setting is called Vienna, the
author explains that it could be "any-
where east of the Meridian.of Despair."
It is a story of children who made their
home in the basement of a shattered build-
ing. A 13-year-old boy, who is called Yid
for short, is the wise leader of the group.
They are in search of a bit of clothing,
food and whatever articles they could
convert into merchandise to carry on
their existence. Young girls are already
veterans in the art of selling their bodies
for money or for the universal currency
in Europe—the cigaret.

41,

A CONVINCING PLEA FOR MERCY
In more than one sense, "Children of
`Vienna" is an impressive and convincing
plea for mercy for the survivors. If an

au-gument still is needed to convince
American Jews that they should give not
double but treble their previous gifts to
the United Jewish Appeal, it is contained
in this book. It is a heart-rending record
of suffering and is proof of the deter-
mination of the children to carry on in
suite of obstacles and the unfriendliness
of the world in which they live.
For An;iericans, there is a specially ap-
pealing angle in this volume in the
heroic character of the American Negro
chaplain, the Rev. Hoseah Washington

Smith. He enters the hideout and is met
with suspicion. He is stripped of every-
thing he has, after the youngsters eat the
sandwiches he brings, and they even
take the buttons off his uniform. But soon
he convinces them of the goodness of his
to lie and to cheat
heart. He is
for them in securing new clothing and
food from the U. S. army storehouses.
He plans to take them to Switzerland.
lie is caught in the act, is taken back to
be disciplined, and the youngsters again
have to carry on their own struggle, their
own way, after one of the girls, a former
Nazi, turns informer and brings Russian
soldiers to their hideout, forcing them

to migrate elsewhere.
Yid's wisdom is like that of a man of

60—that's how children aged under the
Nazis. The loyalty of the children to
their comrades, the manner in which they
cared for those younger than they are,
their stubborn will to live, are revealed
in dramatic and skillful fashion in Mr.
Neumann's brilliant book.
"Children of Vienna" is excellent tes-
timony in the hands of those seeking an
assurance that mercy shall prevail and
that a new life should be created for the
youthful vibtims of Hitlerism.

• • •

A BIT OF BUTZPAH

A news release issued by the Jewish
Council for Russian Relief, Inc., from
New York, presenting the impressions

When Lies Serve the Truth

An Editorial in the New York Post

Sometimes the magnitude of the lie reveals the truth, contrary to the teach-
ings of the late Dr. Josef Goebbels and his modern disciples.
What prompts this observation is the most recent utterance of Dr. Fadhel
Jamali, Foreign Minister of Iraq, who gave tongue on the subject of Palestine-to
this effect:
"You will remember that the Arab States rever recognized the legality of the
League of Nations Mandate or the Balfour Declaration. We insist that all the actions
taken by Britain to implement the Mandate in Palestine have been immoral and
illegal."
Nobody could have done a better job of putting the facts upside down, even
if he had spent a longer time as guest of the Nazis than did Fadhel in 1937 or had
had more practice than did Fadhel in the Iraqui pro-Nazi revolt in 1941. But this very
pervision of the truth serves to recall the actual events.
PROMISE TO THE ARABS
To begin with, the Arab States, as they are today, didn't exist when the League

of Nations gave Britain—and Britain accepted—the Mandate to create a Jewish
National Home in Palestine.
Allies, during the war to
The issue was perfectly clear and simple then. The
make the world safe for democracy, promised the Arabs that, in return for help
against Imperial Germany, Arab States would be set up.
True to their promises, the Allies allowed to be created the independent Arab
countries of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the Lebanon and, as a free gift to the Hashe-
mite Dynasty, the Kingdom of Trans-Jordan.

PROMISE TO JEWS

No less than ninety-nine per cent of that part of the freed area which could
possibly be called Arab was turned into Arab States. Less than one per cent was set
aside as a place where the persecuted, hunted and murder-threatened Jews of the
world, by sacrifice and sweat, were supposed to be allowed to establish a home.
At that time, people capable of having decent opinion thought that one per cent
for the Sheikhs,
of the land, and that by no means the best, was cheap enough price
Effendis and Pashas to pay for freedom from_the Turk.
Moreover, the decision to give the Jews a haven was made not only by the
League of Nations but was especially approved by the United States. The only im-
morality to be charged against Britain was not that she lived up to the Mandate,
in part, but that she failed to do more. The overwhelming majority of the civilized
world had given Britain a responsibility. Only a few Arab political bosses wanted
her to shirk her commitment.

WHAT JEWS DIDN'T GET

The Balfour Declaration was nothing more than a reasonable restatement of
the orders contained in the Mandate itself. The really unjustifiable British state-
ment was the Lloyd George White Paper of 1939. And that was issued only after
Arab lawlessness, like the Hebron slaughter of Jewish men and women. bombing
and looting, suddenly became serious in the black portents of Nazi aggression.
Fadhel and other self-appointed spokesmen for the Arab world, such as Jamal
Husseini, another veteran of the Iraqui Revolt. and Haj Amin Huseini, the Grand
Mufti of Jerusalem, who spent months of World War II in Berlin, have continued
their threats of violence. They cut Jewish land-purchase and immigration almost
to zero.
They have succeeded in sabotaging the decent opinion of mankind up to now
take
—but now Britain is putting the case to the U N. The United States should
the lead in seeing to it that the original Mandate of the League of Nations is given
new life and validity and that it will be carried out.
Anything less, truly would be immoral and, in the highest sense, illegal.

Heard in
The Lobbies

Strictly
Confidential

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1947. Seyen Arts)

BARD IN PERSPECTIVE
We read in the papers that the Shu-
berts, who own the theater in question,
have requested that the Donald Wolfit
Shakespeare troupe drop "The Merchant
of Venice" from its repertory . . . People
have been writing the Shuberts it seems,
to complain that "The Merchant . . ."
slurs Jewish people ... This is, we think,
a wrong note . . We've never had any-
thing but contempt for the stereotypes of
bigoted dramatists . .. But anyone who
is familiar with Shakespeare would never
put him in that class . In the early I7th
century, when the immortal bard penned
"The Merchant . . .", his sensitive por-
trayal of Shylock as a tortured human
being was a tremendous advance from
the vicious caricatures then current among
writers ... Let's keep fighting defamatory
characteLizations wherever they appear,
but let's 'keep some perspective!
*
BROADWAY GOSSIP
Danny Kaye's next for Samuel Gold-
wyn will be "That's Life," a new title for
the old, old story of the long-haired music
professor who starts an academic study
of jazz . . . The script is secondary with
Danny . . . He's one comic who makes a
corny script funny instead of vice-versa.
Did you know that Milton Berle was an
accomplished magician? . . . His card
tricks are the envy of many sleight-of-

handers . . . Zero Mostel was discovered
by Barney Josephson, Cafe Society pro-

Between
You and Me

By ARNOLD. LEVIN

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1947, Independent Jewish
Press Service, Inc.)

(copyright, 1947, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

prietor, several years ago . . . We caught
Barney visiting the Embassy the other
night to catch his erstwhile protege's new
show . . . Terrific, by the way.
Charles Feldman of Universal-Interna-
tional will produce Ben Hecht's scenario
"The Shadow," with Orson Welles in the

lead role.
Maurice Bergman, jovial Universal ad-
vertising executive, recovering from a
back injury.

•

SPORTS NOTES
Here's a switch: . . . Many sports fig-
ures have closed the books on their ath-
letic careers to move into the more gruel- ,
ing arenas of politics, but this is the first
time—that we know • of—that an elected
representative of the people has travelled

the road the other way ... We're talking
about Sammy Kaplan, New York State
Assemblyman from the 24th A. D. in
N. PRELUDE Brooklyn . . . Sammy is one of the all-
U.
INTERNATIONAL GRAPEVINE
from that
Jewish leaders are seriously consider- time basketball greats to come
. Ernie Bevin, loud-mouthed, bully, Brit-
ing
the.
question
of
a
united
front
before
cradle
of
hoop
stars.
.
.
A
veteran
of ,
ish counterpart of John L.. Lewis, gave the United Nations when the Palestine more than 10 years of professional ball
himself the hot-foot by blubbering out
and hailed by Coach Bernie Sedran as
those insulting innuendos against Presi- question comes up . . . It is felt that the "greatest basketball player that ever
dent Truman. After Moscow, Mr. Bevin Jewish unity is needed now more than laced on shoes" . . . Sam will return to
will retire to his union hall and make way ever if the UN is to be convinced that the peach-baskets on March 21, when he
for Foreign Secretary Dalton, author of the Jews are united on the PaleStine heads an all-star quintet—including such
the Labor Party's betrayed pro-Zion issue . . . Otherwise, the danger exists court artists as Bernie Fliegal and Hal
plank. It is dubitable whether Dalton will that UN will be flooded with a host of Judenfriend--against a Bronx American
be able to undo the damage already done memoranda from all kinds of Jewish Labor Party club which features many
by Bevin . . . How red, incidentally, the groups and would create confusion in the past and present CCNY netmen . . . The
fares of those who prevented an anti- minds of the delegations, proving detri- fracas is slated for New York's St. Nicho-
Bevin demonstration in New York during mental to the Jewish cause . .. The pos- las Arena.
•
•
•
his last visit, for fear that he would be sibility of all major Jewish organizations
antagonized after showing signs of "com- working together on the Palestine case MUSICAL NOTES
is now considered likely as a result of the
ing around" to the Jewish view!
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
statement by Moshe Shertok in Washing- will shortly announce plans to present
•
•
•

RECOMMENDED

Elmer Gertz's brochure "American
Ghettos" in the "Jewish Affairs" series
published by the Office of Jewish Infor-
mation of the American Jewish Congress.
It tells the sad story of compulsory racial
segregation imposed by realty interests.
Pamphlets in this series are only ten
cents a piece. Some of them were very
good, some were less than good, and
duplicated available material, but the
idea is excellent, and "American Ghettos"
is - among the best in the series. Others,
equally interesting: Alfred Werner's
"Basle to Jerusalem," Uriah Zevi Elgel-
man's "Educating the Jewish Child," Na-

ton that the Zionists might defer their
demand for a Jewish State if Britain
would observe the terms of the Pales-
tine mandate . .. The question of main-
taining the mandate is one of the major
points of interest in Zionist circles . .
The abolishment of the mandate - would
be like the expiration of a contract .. .
Britain seems to be eager to ease out
of the obligations imposed by the man-
date and to ask the United Nations for
new terms, if she is to remain the trustee
for Palestine . . These terms wilt re-
quire new bargaining and new efforts on
the part of the Jews . . . Since present
British policy is more favorable to the
Arabs than to the Jews, the bargain-
ing would be hard and far from friendly
. . . Jewish leaders feel that the best
Jewish minds and experts will have to
be molilized to fight the Palestine case
at the UN, and that Zionist action alone
will not be enough.
• • •

a series of concerts in New York by the
Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra . . .
The invitation extended by the New York
musicians is a part of the Palestine Or-
chestra's 10th. anniversary celebrations.
RCA Victor has released a new record-
ing of Chopin's Second Piano Concerto
featuring Artur Rubinstein as soloist with
the CBS Symphony Orchestra under Wil-
liam Steinberg . . . Rubinstein's match•
less piano is highlighted by' new -record-
ing developments which -give one a feel-
ing of concert hall realism . . . In this
performance, Rubinstein combines thor-
ough musicianship, scholarship and a
brilliant technical command of the key
board to the point where the music he
interprets seems to be born anew.

gathered by Paul Novick., editor of the
Communist Yiddish daily, Morning Frei-
heit, during his three and a half month than Goldberg's "Economic Trends Among
stay in Soviet Russia, announces this American Jews," Menahem Boraisho's
Council's embarkation on its "1947 cam- "The Story of Yiddish," Jacob Robinson's
paign for funds to help rehabilitate "Unfinished Victory."
concerning the Jews in the United
Soviet war orphans," and concludes with
• •
•
States . . . Jewish organizations fighting
this paragraph:
anti-Semitism in this country, after
FOUR
STAR
"The camylaign will attempt to fill' the
most careful deliberation, have decided
Don't
miss
Laura
Z.
Hobson's
"Gentle-
'gap left by the dissolution of UNRRA
to use "the silent treatment" for six
men's
Agreement,"
a
novel
about
a
news-
And the failure of the American Jewish
months in dealing with anti-Semitic agi-
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
paperman
and
what
happened
to
him
in
-Joint Distribution Committee to include
Gerald L. K. Smith is utilizing the Pal- tators . . This will be merely a six•
aid for the Soviet Union in its 1947 bud- the eight weeks he pasSed himself off as
estine situation for anti-Jewish propa- month experiment, allowing for special
a
Jew
to
gather
material
for
a
series
on
get."
ganda ... He soon will distribute a book exceptions in extraordinary circum•
For those who are acquainted with the race prejudice in America.
on Palestine which he terms "a bundle of stances . . . At the end of that period,
JDC activities, this is a huge joke. In
printed dynamite" . . . The title of the the effectiveness of the treatment will
the past, there were unreasonable people persons should be helped in areas served volume, which is about to come off the be reappraised in the light of results.
Homer Maertz, one of the most active
who felt free to criticize JDC because its by JDC.
The Jewish Council for Russian press, is "Does Jerusalem Belong to the publishers and distributors of anti-Semit.
program included relief work in Russia
Jews?"
.
..
Its
author
is
Rev.
Jonathan
on a non-sectarian basis. The reason for Relief makes no attempt to explain the E. Perkins of Los Angeles . . . Smith has is literature in this country, has discon-
past policies of JDC was that our great difficulties that are encountered by also embarked on a "new project" for the tinued his activities, which he conducted
relief-giving organization had selected JDC in its dealings with the Soviet publication of "millions upon millions" under the name of the Pioneer News
territories in Russia which were popu- Union, but it would have JDC "include of free tracts containing his propaganda. Service . . . He was convicted in New
lated in the main by Jews who could be aid for the Soviet Union in its 1947 bud- - Broadcasts to foreign countries which York just last year of unlawful assembly,
helped only if JDC were to provide help get." Not a word in this accusation about are now being conducted by "The Voice when he made "ritual murder" charges
. —as it did — in accordance with Soviet the specific needs of Jews in Russia, di- of America" have .elicited questions from and distributed "ritual murder" literature
help for whom is proscribed by the
demands that no distinction should rect
Soviet. What Hutzpahl listeners in various countries on matters at a street' meeting.
be made of Jewish needy and that all

