Page Forty-Eight

Friday, April 4, 1947

THE JEWISH NEWS

Highest Ranking Jewish Officer in the UN

Benjamin Cohen

- A Jew who made his mark

A G I ted
T rio

PASSOVER
1-11C7=

By PAUL GREEN

Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

(Copyright, 1947,

As a leading Journalist and

Diplomat in his Native Chile

By PAUL GREEN

HEN the secretariat of the United Nations was being

organized, the Latin American countries were asked
W
to nominate a man for the post of assistant secretary general

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in charge of the department of information. Although split
on many other matters, they had no difficulty in agreeing on
50-year-old Benjamin Cohen-a Jew who made his mark as
a leading jo rnalist and diplomat in his native Chile.

Cohe the highest ranking Jewish officer in the United
Nations, a stocky individual with a deep voice and an
engaging personality, who manages to get a huge amount
of work done in his office at Lake Success.

.1r-

4.

•

He looks on himself primarily as a Chilean, but now on
his new job he sees himself as a "citizen of the world." How-
ever, he has no hesitancy in talking about himself ,as a Jew.
He feels that he was able to become successful in his career
because Chile is free from discrimination.
"The best evidence of the truly democratic natuee of
Chile is the fact that although I have no financial, no social,
and no political backing, I rose from the ranks to become
an ambassador of my country," he told me sincerely. • He
emphasizes he is not the only one to do so-many Jews are
influential in Chilean life, particularly in politics, and also
in law, medicine and industry.

C

OHEN'S life reads like the typical success story of

the son of poor Jewish immigrants who was able to
rise to the top on the basis of pure ability.
Cohen's father was from Lithuania, his mother from
Poland, when both countries were part of Russia. His father
left Lithuania to work as a coal miner in England, spent a
few years in Chicago, and
finally emigrated to Chile at
•
the request of relatives. There
he met and married Rebecca
Gallerstein, and together they
pioneered in what was then
the Indian frontier of Chile,
something like our own Wild
West. He was born in Concep-
cion, an only son. He has three_.
sisters who are still in Chile.
His parents were not religi-
ous and he received a secular
education. Although they
sometimes spoke Yiddish
among themselves, the son
spoke English and Spanish
with his father. Although he
has no particular preference
for Jewish food, he still speaks
fondly of his mother's tzimes,
BENJAMIN COHEN
gefulte fish and potato latkes.

HEN he was a youth, few Jews were so adventurous
as to settle in that isolated part of the world. Anti-
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Semitism, except for a trace in "society," had not developed.

He could therefore identify himself completely with his
neighbors.
He points out the great influx of Jews into Chile came
after 1938, when the Jews fled Germany. It was a sad thing,
he says but many of them were forced to buy visas illegally,
eausing a great scandal in Chile. This raised a certain amount
of difficulty for them, but he denies Chile has any serious
Jewish problem.
Young Cohen went into journalism, spending 11 years in
that field and rising to the post of associate editor on several
leading Chilean newspapers. Then he turned to diplomacy,
serving in the Chilean embassy in Washington, and being
appointed ambassador to Bolivia and then to Venezula. At
ease with five languages, Cohen has traveled widely as his
country's representative and is considered an authority on
international affairs.

• H

E takes little official interest in Jewish affairs. When he was a
newspaperman in 1920, he yielded to the urging of his fellow
Jews in Concepcion and represented them at the first Zionist con-
gress held in Chile. But since then he has been away from the
country most of the time, and as a diplomat, he feels he should not
affiliate himself with Jewish organizations.

As an international civil servant, Cohen is careful about
taking a stand on controversial Jewish issues. "But something
must be done here at the United Nations, although what direc-
tion It will take, I do not know."
He places great hope in the International Refugee Organi-
sation for settling displaced Jews.
As a result of his own experiences, Cohen is optimistic about
the chance of a Jew to achieve success in his life's work. "It's true
that it's a little more difficult for a Jew to rise to the top," he
admits. "but if he has the qualifications, he is given the chance to
prove himself."
^tly the career of Benjamin Cohen, one of
That illustrate'
77nited Nations.
the leading

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(Copy.'

47, Jewish Telegraphic ALLti,:y, Inc.)

1 T has become an accepted phe-
I nomenon for the world of en-
tertainment to come up each year
with spectacular Jewish crafts-
men. Invariably they make their
bow on Broadway and from there
gravitate to Hollywood or to the
radio.
Three young ,men - each ,de-
voted to a different field of the
theater have come up with giant
strides to become accepted lead-
ers in a most difficult profession.
One is an actor. His name is
Jules Munshin and he is the star
of the GI-revue "Call Me Mister,"
who went into the Broadway
show two days after his discharge
from the Army where he served
three years. Munshin previously
had been an entertainer in cafes
and with stock companies, but
greatness dawned on him when a
company of former servicemen
handed together under the aegis
of Melvyn Douglas to stage a
happy, rollicking show written
by Harold Rome.
• •
THE SECOND, a writer who
has with single strokes of his pen
almost dwarfed the rest of the
field in screen-writing, fiction and

Okss °Oar GreetivAs

•••• ■ •,- ri

Design For Passover:

7. 1W

Art

I

These illustrations for

Passover are reprinted from a manual entitled "JEWISH DESIGNS,"

published by the National Jewish Welfare Board, which contains
illustrations and decorations for reproduction in publications issued
by Jewish Community Centers, YM and YWHA's and other Jewish

agencies.

20 Questions for Passover

EDITOR'S NOTE: As part of its program service to Jewish
Community Centers and YM-YWHAs the Jewish Welfare Board
has published a 96-page manual on Passover. From this manual
and from "The Jewish Holidays 250 Questions and Answers on
Their Signiticance, Origin and Observance," by Mordecai Soltes,
we have extracted this Passover quiz.

1 By what three Hebrew names is Passover known?
2. What is the agricultural significance of Passover?
3. Describe the ceremony of "B'dikat homez" and "Biur
homez."
4. What does "Seder" mean?
5. What is the Haggadah?
6. Name five symbols included in the Seder Service.
7. What are the "Arba Kosot?"
8. What is the Afikoman?
9. What Jewish custom does the Cup of Elijah typify?
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10. What is an `timer"?
H. What special ceremony which is observed for forty-nine
days begins on the second night of Passover?
12. Why is the ceremony of "Counting the Omer" observed?
13. In what special manner did our forefathers in Palestine ob-
serve Passover?
14. What are the four characters referred to in the Haggadah?
15. What is the Jewish custom of "Ma'ot Hitim"?
16. What were the Israelites compelled to build for Pharaoh?
17. How long did the Children of Israel remain- in Egypt?
18. How numerous were the Israelites whom Moses led forth
from Egyptian bondage?
19. What did Moses take with him out of Egypt?
20. What American festival resembles Passoyer?

•

ANSWERS

•

Z'man Herutenu (Season of our Freedom). Hag Ha'
Niazot (Festival of Unleavened Bread) and Pesah.
2. It marked the early barley harvest when the Jews
dwelt in Palestine.
3. It is customary for the head of the household to search
for "Hoznez" or leawen on the night before the eve of
Passover (B'dikat homez) and to remove or burn it the
following morning (Biur homez).
4. "Order." It refers to the order in which the home fes-
tival service is arranged.
5. It means narration and is the name of the special ritual
service recited at the Passover Seder, including the
story of Israel's exodus from Egypt, hymns, Jewish folk
songs and ditties.
6. Unleavened break (matzot), bitter herbs (moror), a
dish made of nuts, apples, raisins, almonds. cinnamon
chopped tine and a little wine added (haroset), a
roasted shank bone of a lamb (z'roa), salt water, pars-
ley or cress to be dipped in the salt water (karpas).
7. "Four Cups" of wine which every member of the fam-
ily who participates in the Seder Service is obliged to
drink during the services at the places indicated in the
Haggadah.
8. During the early part of the Seder Service it is custo-
mary for the head of the household to break the middle
of the three matzoth into half. to wrap part of it in a
_napkin and to lay it aside, to be consumed at the end of
the repast in order that the meal should end with
matzoth. (Hence it is called "afikoman" or "dessert").
9. It is emblematic of hospitality. The Seder Service be-
gins with an invitation to those who are hungry to enter
and to celebrate Passover.
10. An ancient Hebrew dry measure of approximately one-
half gallon.
11. Counting Omer (S'Firat Ha-Omer).
12. To commemorate the ancient offering of an Omer of
barley which was brought to the Sanctuary on the sec-
ond day of the Passover and the counting of forty-nine
days or seven complete weeks until the festival of
Shabuot. (Leviticus XXIII, 15-16.)
13. The Jewish farmers from all parts of Palestine used to
make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem during
the Passover Festvial.
14. The wise son (haham)•, the wicked son (rasha); the
simple son (tam); and the son that is unable to inquire
(she'eno yodea
15. It is customary to donate funds for'which matzoth and
other Passover products are purchased and distributed
among the poor and needy. The fund gathered for this
specific purpose is known as "Ma'ot Hitim" (literally.
"Wheat money").
16. The store-cities Pitom and Raamses.
17. Four hundred and thirty years.
18. About 600,000 men on foot besides children (Exodus
XII, 37).
19. Tho bone; of Joseph.
20. Inclepend..nce Dz, v.

1.

ARTHUR MILLER

in the legitimate theater. His
name is Arthur Miller and no
playwright since Clifford Odets
and William Saroyan has made
so notable an entrance as he did
with "All My Sons."
The third is a newcomer in the
sense that at long last he has
finally "arrived." He is Lee Sa-
binson, the producer, a man who
tried three plays before on the
Great White Way but who had
been doomed to failure. Where
"Counterattack," and "Trio" and
"Home of the Brave" were slated
for quick fade-outs, Sabinson has
.now produced one of the hits of
this or any day with the unusual
"Finian's Rainbow."
• • •
SO IT WAS natural enough
when Douglas. together with
Herman Levin, decided to put on •
a revue peopled with ex-GIs, that
Jules should be tapped for a trial.
He was an instant success.
It is not often a comedian can
prove a smash hit in a starring
role in his first venture. MGM has
signed him to a contract begin-
ning this June, with a six-year
option.
When Arthur Miller attended
Michigan University, he won the
Avery Hopwood Theater award
two years in succession and his
first crack at the Theater Guild
prize won him that honorarium,
too. When he wrote his first book,
"Focus," that became one of the
significant pieces of fiction of the
year.
On the basis of this work, be
went to Hollywood, wag assigned
to write "The Story of GI Joe,'
originally written by Ernie Pyle.
Sabinson owes much of his rise
to the American Jewish Arts. In
his early days in the theater he
operated on shoestrings and could
never afford the luxury of an of-
fice between shows. Then one day
he saw a notice in a paper saying
that the American Jewish Arts
was interested in helping finance
plays dealing with tolerance.
"Home of the Brave," a play
dealing with a. Jewish boy on a
Pacific island, was not a com-
mercial success and the AJA was
the poorer for it.
Sabinson, at 37, faces a Iwo'

and colorful career in the worl:'

of entertainment as a producer