THE JEW'1SH NEWS

Page Two

Purely
Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

CAUSES FOR CONCERN
There are many causes for concern
over the results of the General UN Ses-
sion on Palestine.
For instance—of the 11 states selected
as members of the UN Inquiry Com-
mittee (Canada, Czechoslovakia, Iran,
Netherlands, Peru, Sweden, Uruguay,
Yugoslavia, Australia, India and Guate-
mala), at least four are going to the bar
of justice with prejudices, and one is un- .
desirable. India has shown her preju-
dices, Canada and Australia may be con-
sidered under the influence of Great Bri-
tain and Iran's attitude is poisoned. In a
recent editorial under the title "Iran Is
No Neutral," the New York Post ex-
pressed the following warning:
If a "neutral" commission to investi-
gate Palestine for the United Nations"
means a commission made up of coun-
tries with no axe to grind, then we
think the United States and Britain are
right in fighting for it, Such a commis-
sion made up of small states, would be
preferable to one including any mem-
ber of the Big Five.
The proposal of the United States
and Britain that the commission have
Iran as a member does not conform to
our notion of a commission free from
known bias.
To include Iran would be no Iess
cynical than to make Saudi Arabia a
member. Iran is not generally con-
sidered an Arab State, but the sister of
the Shah of Iran is married to King
Farouk of Egypt, a country that is
active in the Arab League and which
has as an honored guest the Grand
Mufti of Jerusalem. The Grand Mufti,
by the admission of the secretary of
the Arab _ Higher Committee, directs
its strategy from headquarters in
Cairo.
That is not all. The government of
Iran has tolerated, as recently as last
December, publication of pro-Nazi and
violently anti-Jewish propaganda. In
view of strict licensing Jaws and other
circumstances, this could not take place
without connivance of high Iranian
officials.
Iranian Minister of Labor and Propa-
ganda Arameche„ until recently, was
the active editor of the newspaper
"Bahram," organ of Premier Gha-
ram's "Democratic Party of Iran."
The man who now occupies his desk
at. "Bahram" and acts as his press
agent is Achmed Namdar, formerly a
secretary of the Nazi' German Consu-
late at Teheran. He is also editor of
the violently anti-Jewish weekly,
"Paycar Roos," which recently de-
nounced the execution of Nazis con-
victed at the Nuremberg trials and said
there were plenty of Jews who de-
served death as much."
We call upon President Truman to
insist upon \ an amendment of the
United States proposal to exclude
Iran.
Apparently this warning has fallen on
teal ears. Therefore the responsibility
of guarding against unfairness in the
coming inquiries devolves upon all who
save any concern at all about the future
of Jewry.
Another matter for concern is the ar-
rogance of the spokesmen for the Arab
Higher Committee. Emile Ghory saw fit
k state, with reference to the Mufti, in
response to charges by Moshe Shertok:
`The Jews are questioning the record
if an Arab spiritual leader. Does that
properly come from the mouth of a
people who have crucified the founder
of Christianity?"
True, he was called to task by the
chairman of the political committee, Les-
ter Pearson. But it seems to us that
the injection of such bias into the pro-
ceedings of an international body called
for a more severe rebuke.
• • •
A GOOD POINT
One of the most interesting points in
support of the Jewish position was made
by David Ben-Gurion, thus:

"We are bringing homeless and persecuted
Jews to our own country and settling them
is Jewish towns and villages. There are
Arab towns and villages in Palestine—Nab-
las, Jenin, Rantleh, Zamucka, Libia, Ter-
sckicha. You will not tInd a single refugee
is any of them. The Jews whO are return-
lag to their country are settled in Petach
Tikvah, Rishon L'Zion, Tel Aviv, Haifa,
Jerusalem, Dagania and other cities and vil-
lages built by us. The return of the Jews
to their country is a work of self-liberation
and self-reconstruction which is contributing
to the reconstruction and liberation of the
country as a whole."
"On the contrary, it is our deep conviction
that historically the interests and aspira-
tions of the Jewish and Arab peoples are
compatible and complementary. A Jewish-
Arab partnership based on equality and
mutual assistance will help to bring about
the regeneration of the entire Middle East.
We Jews understand and deeply sympathise
with the urge of the Arab people for unity,
independence and progress. And our Arab
neighbors, I hope, will realize that the Jews.
in their own historic homeland can Under

he conditions be made to remain a saberdiss-

' 't

Friday, May 23, 1947

Shevuoth Reflections

By DR. TRUDE WEISS-ROSMARIN

If I were asked to quote the short text which I consider most characteristic
of Judaism, I most likely would choose "The world exists only by merit of the
school children." There is no other pronouncement I know which summarizes so
perfectly and succinctly the very essence of Jewish survival; the philosophy and
the reality of the dedicatiOn to the eternal things of the Spirit which, in turn, has
endowed us with eternity.'
In keeping with this, supreme valuation of -the "school ✓ hildren," we, the
People of the Torah, introduced general compulsory educatiOn some 2,000 years
before it became a feature of the educational scene of the Western world. The
Talmud categorically avers that "a town without a_school deserves to be de-
stroyed." Moreover, a Jew may not dwell in a town ,where the Jewish com-
munity does not provide for the education of the children.' Under the stress of war
and other emergencies, our modern school facilities are Vnot infrequently curtailed.
Jewish law does not authorize the suspension of school for using school buildings
for registiation of soldiers, and similar purposes unrelated to study. As a matter
of fact, "The instruction of school children must not be interrupted even for the
sake of the building of the Temple." Nothing is permitted to interfere with Jewish
education!
It is rather instructive that Jewish civil law interdicts the operating of busi-
ness establishments that would disturb residential quiet and privacy. Yet, if a
teacher opens a school in his apartment, the neighborhood cannot object on the
strength that the noise disturbs their rest. And a teacher, already established, can-
not object to another teacher opening a school next door to his. All usual amenities
and claims are overruled by the principle of the primacy of study. •
Once we grasp the scope and nature of what the Jew groups under the term of
Torah, we also begin to understand why its study is so dear to him. It is the "light,"
the joy and the real meaning of his life. It is his companion in loneliness and the
balm to all his ills. Generations upon generations of plain, everyday Jews in all
countries considered poor only him who had no Torah knowledge. In the ancient
Palestinian academies they used to say: "He who has knowledge has everything;
but what has he who lacks knowledge? On the other hand, what does he who
possess knowledge lack?" The 'result. of such teaching was that Jews tended to
recognize only one type of aristocracy, that of the intellect.

,

Copyright, 1947, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate

Heard in
The Lobbies

By ARNOLD LEVIN

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

REPORT FROM FLUSHING MEADOWS
This is our last report from Flushing
Meadows until September . • . Arabs were
so taken aback by Mr. Gromyko's rever-
sal_ of Soviet policy on Palestine, that
they refrained from all comment. Only
the Arab newspapermen talked, and one
of them, in perverse fashion, sought to
rationalize the Soviet reversal as a vic-
tory for the Arabs. "This is a demonstra-
tion of the extent to which the USSR will
go in wooing us," he said. "By going all-
out for Zionism, they are really seeking
to corall us into their camp." This Arab
newspaperman's amusing distortion of
fact, and of the art of logic, was shared
by none of the Arab states, nor by other
observers at Flushing Meadows, we can
assure you.
Although Mr. Gromyko was quite ac-
cessible to newspapermen, some news-
hawks learned however that the best
time for catching his ear without being
slyly and dexterously maneuvered away
by his attendants, was at eleven o'clock
when Mr. GromykO, a man of habit, went
to the washroom to wash his hands. The
towel in the washroom became an as-
sembly center for newshawks daily at
eleven a. m.
The State Department's Loy Hender-
son, man of many promises to the Arabs,
was so taken aback by the Soviet state-
ment, that he actually paled, and State
Departmenters began circulating rumors
that Mr. Gromyko had merely stolen a
move on them, for this was the position
they had reserved for September.

,

ate, dependent minority, as they are in all
other countries of the Diaspora."

If the politicians and power politics
could be eliminated from the picture, it
is our conviction that the Arabs of Pales-
tine would cooperate with the Jews in
assuring peace and prosperity for the
land, and for all the inhabitants. Under
conditions involving oil, territorial de-
signs and aspirations to dominate the
world, it becomes more difficult to
cement friendships and to put an end
to strife inspired by men with selfish
motives.

• • •

PLAY ON WORD "HEFRER"
There are two dissenters with our
assertion that "Hefker" is "an almost un-
translatable word the closest meaning
of which is 'irresponsibility."'
Dr. Noah E. Aronstam says "its real
meaning connotes a similar word in the
German `vogelfrer—scotfree, without the
law. Hefker means to be a prey to any
force, physical or mental."
Bernard Isaacs suggests other trans-
lations: "renunciation of ownership as
regards to property, as given in Mar-
cus • Jastrow's Dictionary of the Tal-
mud; with regards to men, such as 'men
of hefker,' he translates the word simply
as outlaws or lawless."
When spoken in Hebrew or in the ver-
nacular, the word has much stronger
connotations, and we accept the sugges-
tion of the two distinguished scholars that
hefker connotes lawlessness and being a
prey to any force.
Still, as we applied it to the Jewish
groups which, sought to split our unity
at the UN, or with reference to the de-
structive forces. within our ranks, even
these terms sounds just a . bit too nice.

Strictly
Confidential

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1947, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate)

UN-AMERICANA
Congressinan Karl E. Mundt (R.-S.D.)
is a prominent member of the House Un-
American Committee . . . This committee
is supposed to investigate and expose un-
Americans ... Yet we ran across an arti-
cle in Gerald L. K. Smith's pro-fascist
and anti-Semitic hate sheet, "The Cross
and the Flag," bearing the by-line of Karl
E. Mundt ... Yes, the same (R.-S. D.) ...
"He who is without sin, let him cast the
first stone."

•

•

•

SPORTS NOTES
The National Bnai Brith Bowling As-
sociation is winning new members and
setting up new leagues all over the coun-
try . . It already comprises 1,100 five-
man teams . . . Starting next fall the
Bnai Brith keglers will conduct an inten-
sive fund drive for the benefit of the
Damon Runyon Cancer Fund . . . The
drive will honor Max Levine, who was
president of the Dayton Bnai Brith league
until his untimely death several months
ago . .. "Rocky" Graziano, the middle-
weight contender, and John Garfield—
who dons the padded mittens in his la-
test film "Body and Soul"—have become
fast friends . . . The - Italian slugger and
the Jewish actor both fought their way
up from New York's lower east side.

•

•

•

BROADWAY GOSSIP
Edward G. Robinson, slated for the lead
in Paramount's forthcoming "The Night
Has a Thousand Eyes," is vieing with
Johnny Garfield for the juicy role of
hizzoner Fiorello LaGuardia in a produc-
tion to be titled "The Little Flower."
Dinah Shore's radio show ends for the
summer, and we hear for good, on June
18.
Charlie Chaplin and (Nana are back in
Hollywood now—and glad to leave the
limelight we'll bet.
Herbert ,Jacoby, who owns New York's
Blue Angel Cafe, leaves June 10 for a
nine-week talent hunt in Europe.
After being voted the "world's funniest
comedian" by British Broadcasting Corp-
oration audiences, Danny Kaye is "can-
ning" a special one-hour show for British
listeners.
•
•
DID YOU KNOW?
By this time you surely know that the
Hapoel soccer team of Palestine beat the
American Soccer League All-Stars, 2-0,
in the opener of their good-will tour .. .
But did you know that nine of the Hapoel
hooters are veterans of service with the
British Army in World War II . .. That
the Palestinians have competed in Syria,
Iraq and Egypt, and that -Egyptian teams
have come to Palestine . . . That until
recent British restrictions, Hapoel en-
gaged in friendly competition with many
Arab teams in Palestine . . . That the
purpose of this tour, besides good-will, is
to help raise money for a 20,000 seat
stadium in Tel Aviv which is to include a
fresh-water pool.
•
• •
ANSWERING THE MAIL
Mr. J. B. of Niantic: Probably the best
summary of the differences between Ju-
daism and Christianity can be found in
Dr. Trude Weiss-Rosmarin's tome, pub-
lished by the Jewish Book Club in 1943
and entitled "Judaism and Christianity:
The Differences."

•

Between
You and Me

By BORIS: SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1917. Jewish . Telegraphie
Agency, Inc•)

UN TRENDS

How strongly will the- Soviet govern- 1
went back its UN pledge to support the
partitioning 6f •Palestine into separate
Jewish and Arab- States if that seems the
only feasible solution? . This question
is four foremost in the minds of Jewish
Agency leaders . . . Essentially the USSR

is for a bi-national state . . . But for the
transition period between the termination
of the mandate and the establishment of
independence, which may last years, Mos-
cow may insist on an international trus-
teeship with the USSR as one of the trus-1 1
tees . . . Elated as Jewish Agency leaders
are over Gromyko's statement that th'e
Jews are entitled to a state of their own,
they are nevertheless adopting a "wait-
and-see" policy.
The trend of the work of the inquiry
commission will soon show what can be
expected at the September session of the
General Assembly . .. Soviet authorities
are, in the meantime, displaying extreme
interest in the Jewish reaction to Grorny-
ko's historic declaration . . . They are
carefully checking the comments in the.
Jewish press and are quietly canvassing:
the opinions of Jewish circles . . . Per
sons in New York close to Soviet diploii
mates had been predicting for mang
months that Gromyko would come out ink
favor of a bi-national state ... They indi-
cated that that was what Moscow meant
by advocating a policy of independence
for Palestine . . . However, even they
were taken by surprise when Gromyko
suggested the establishment of separate
Jewish and Arab states in Palestine as
an alternative to a bi-national state .
Whatever are the motives of Gromyko, he
certainly caught Britain flatfooted and
beat the United States to the gun.
It has been an open secret for some'
time that the American government was
inclined towards partition, but would not
say so until the September session of the
UN Assembly . . . This is one case where
the Jews benefited from Soviet-American
competition in the field of international
diplomacy . . . If both the United States
and the USSR are consistent, Britain may
find itself sandwiched between the two
in their support for the partition idea .
The British are still sticking to their r
Morrison "cantonization" plan and are
opposed to outright partition.
UN SIDELIGHTS
Somebody in the Jewish Agency slipped
during the United Nations session .
Otherwise Poland would have been one
of the 11 states on the inquiry commis-
sion . . . It was Chile that suggested that
another Slav country be named to the
inquiry commission, in addition to Czech-
oslovakia . . . With proper guidance by
Jewish Agency experts, Chile would have
been just as glad to name Poland instead
of Yugoslavia . . . And the naming of Po-
land would have received the same ap-
proval from the other UN delegations as
the nomination of Yugoslavia .; . . The
difference between Yugoslavia and Po-
land meant nothing to the UN Assembly,
but for the Jews it means a great deal
. Yugoslavia has a large Moslem popu-
lation and Poland has no Moslems . . .
The Yugoslav delegation was quite in-
different to the problem of the displaced
Jews when their plight came up for dis-
cussion at the UN session, while the Po-
lish delegation was the first to raise this
problem and insisted on' linking it with
the Palestine issue . . . Of course, now it
is taken for granted that the representa-
tive of Yugoslavia on the inquiry com-
mission will follow Gromyko's line . . .
The delegate of India, who considers him-
self a shrewd diplomat but who proved
himself a "nudnik" with his long speeches
at the United Nations, threw a cocktail
party for the delegations . . . True to his
assertions that the Arabs and the
Jews are "cousins," he invited both
the Jewish Agency and the Arab delega-
tions to his party . . . His favorite "cou-
sin," of course, is the Palestine Arab.
Competent observers at the United Na-
tions all agree that' the Jews owe a vote
of thanks to the Arabs for the tactless
mistakes they made which helped to
switch the sentiments of most of the dele-
gates from the Arab side to the Jewish
.. . The first and most serious blunder
was made by the delegate of the Pales.
tine Arabs who compared the Mufti with
George Washington in defending the
Mufti's collaboration with Hitler .
The second blunder was the introduction
by the same speaker of •the crucifixion is-
sue as an argument against Jews ... The
third mistake was that the Arab dele-
gates talked altogether too much and too
long ... The members of the UN Assem-
bly regarded the Arabs as small town
politicians who' were exaggerating their
own importance.

