THE JEWtSH NEWS Page Four Clearing Away the Weeds <1\1 1) As the Editor Views the News... Misrule Inspires Murder the old Czarist outrages, of the worst pro- groms in Poland and of the Nazi brutalities under Hitler. While British officials resent the painting of accusatory slogans in front of consulates in this country, fair-minded people will surely know how to judge the anger of American Jews by taking into con- sideration the provocations that emanate from T ondon and Jerusalem. impossible to ignore the incident of "Exodus 1947" in judging the cumulative events affecting the Jewish position in Pales- tine. The 4,550 men, women and children on the "Exodus" went to Palestine "as of right, and not on sufferance"—to use a Churchillian statement. By denying them admission to the JEWISH NATIONAL HOME, Birifis)i authorities have betrayed a sacred trust and have lost the right to pro- test against the actions of Jews who insist on bringing home their kinsmen, many of whom have fought in the underground on Britain's side against the Nazis. World Jewry has clearly gone on record on the major issues affecting Palestine: 1. We are opposed to violence and the official Jewish bodies in Palestine never have condoned extremism and violence. Haganah is prepared to fight it. But- 2. We demand the immediate admis- sion of Jews seeking entrance to Pales- tine, the opening of the doors of the Jewish National Home to the passengers on the Haganah Ship Exodus. The burden of ending injustice, intoler- ance and hooliganism-lies upon Britain. Great Britain owes a responsibility to her own citizens and to the Jews of Palestine who are suffering from hooliganism to en- force the justice and to prevent outrages caused by misrule and lawlessness. Britain, not Jewry, is before the bar of justice facing the serious accusation of inspiring murders. THE JEWISH NEWS Member Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Independent Jewish Press Service, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate. Religtous News Service. Palcor Agency, King Features, Central Press Association. Member American Association of English-Jewish News- papers and Michigan Press Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish- ing Co.. 2114 Penobscot Bldg.. Detroit 26. Mich_ RA. 7956. Subscription. $3 a year foreign. 84. Club subscription. every fourth Friday of the month, to all subscribers to Allied Jewish Campaign of Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit. 40 cents pei year. Entered as second-class matter Aug. 6. 1942. at Post Of- fice. Detroit. Mich.. under Act of March 3, 1879. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Philip Slomovitz Maurice Aronsson Isidore Sobeloff Fred M. Butzel Judge Theodore Levin Abraham Srere Maurice H. Schwartz Henry Wineasan PIirLIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor AUGUST 1, 1947 VOL. XI—NO. 20 Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath—Sabbath Nahamu (the Sabbath of Consolation—the sixteenth day of Ab, 5707,) the following Scriptural selections will ,be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion=Deut. 3:23-7:11. Prophetical portion—Is. 40:1-26. Yethen Suppresses Jews In Typical Nazi - Fashion By GERHARDT NEUMANN Responsible Jewish leaders and organiza- tions, including the Jewish Agency, the Vaad Leumi, the Zionist Organization of America and other representative groups, were un- animous in their condemnation of the Irgun's "dastardly crime" of hanging two innocent British sergeants. It was an act of despairing and desperate men who are not subject to discipline from publicly recognized Jewish bodies and whose underground activities have caused them to ignore appeals from Jewish spokes- men to refrain from resorting to violence which has hurt the Jewish position. However, the pious and "holier-than-thou" asseverations of the British have been nulli- fied by similarly destructive acts of equally as undisciplined hooligans who have run riot in Pardees Hanna, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Liverpool and Manchester. "We have consistently warned the Irgun that "murder begets murder." It was our sincere hope that they would avoid pursuing scandalous acts that are ,unworthy of a people that is engaged in the task of building its homeland. But it always has been evident that without provocations from the British authorities in Palestine, who receive their inspira- tion from London, the acts of terror would never have taken place. Now, the British claims of "morality" have receiv- ed a further set-back as a result of the "pogroms" in several cities in England. Neither the British nor the Jewish posi- tions are improved either by executions or by the destruction of synagogues. The latest occurrences in England are reminiscent of UN Aspirant • t •IMLIA4111Aftre. Bitter Results of Retaliations Occurrences in Palestine and in England present the gravest challenge our people have faced in more than a gen- eration. Spread of anti-Semitic feeling from battle-scarred Pal- estine to what were hitherto the friendly shores of England is proving more disturbing than the trying days of Coughlin- ite propaganda against the Jews a decade ago. In the instance of outbursts of anti-Jewish feeling in England, the disturbances are a result of Jewish efforts to put an end to homelessness and despair. Unlike outbursts of anti-Semitism in this country, the English manifestations have resulted from reactions to Jew- ish "bravado." Many Jews have been in the habit of believ- ing that Jews are suffering from prejudices because they do not fight back. In Palestine and in England, attacks upon the Jews have resulted from conditions the exact opposite: they are a result of retaliations which the non-Jews are meeting with counter-retaliations. • It is clear, insofar as Palestine is concerned, that retali- atory acts have boomeranged. The cause is understandable. Instead of battling a square fight, above board, decently, with honor, the Irgun saw fit to hang two innocent British soldiers. They did this contrary to the appeals of the organized Jewish community and of the Haganah which has pursued a policy of resorting to arms only when it becomes necessary . to defend Jewish lives and the rights of Jews to settle in Palestine. We condemn the acts of the Irgun and we sincerely hope that they will not be repeated. In fact, it is our wish that Irgunism should go out of existence. * But the problem has become more serious. If, as a result of dastardly acts, anti-Semitism should spread, then the position of Jews everywhere including the United States— will be seriously affected. It becomes necessary, therefore, for Jewish leadership to be on guard everywhere against outbursts of passions which may both mislead Jews or cause them to become — Yemen has been propelled into the news again. Newspaper: reports say that she stands to good chance of being admitted soon to the United_ Nations. The Arab countries have a representation in the United Nations Assembly, which is far beyond their political or cultural importance and, as we see it, is in no proportion with the cooperation which the Allies received from the Arabs during the years of struggle against aggression. Another Arab member in the United Nations strengthens the anti-Jewish front and adds to the obstacles strewn in the path of the advancing cause of Jewish revival. Recently, Prince Saif al Islam Abdullah, son of the ruler of Yemen, was received by President Truman whom he told of the "increasingly friendly relations of Yemen with the United States." But in his meetings with the press he forgot to mention the deplorable state in which Yemen's 45,000 Jews find themselves. The World Jewish Congress urged the Security Council of the United Nations to withhold ap- proval of the application of Yemen until such time as that country grants full equality to all its inhabitants without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion. • • The Jews in Yemen look back at a long history. It is estimated that during the days of Jeremiah about 75,000 Jews settled in Yemen. For six cen- turies they were a prosperous people, mingling freely with the Arabs and adopting their customs, but clinging tenaciously to their religion. But they are living in abject misery. During the past decade the Arabs of Yemen did everything in their power—and successfully so—to drive the Jews out of their occupations. Discriminatory laws limit their employment, they are excluded from agricultural work, and they are even barred from their traditional occupation as silversmiths. And who would not be reminded of Nazi "law" upon reading that, in Yemen, Jewish testimony is not valid in court, or that Jews are not even allowed to use the common means of transportation. • • • The Jews in Yemen are looked upon as pariahs whose very touch is contagious and deadly. If they are so undesirable, one should think Yemen would be only too glad to let the Jews emigrate to Palestine. Strangely enough, however, Pharaoh won't let his people go. The law strictly forbids Jews to leave the country, and also compels every Jewish orphan below 13 years of age to em- brace the Moslem religion. However, if the law conflicts with the necessities of life, the will to live exerts itself. The Jews of Yemen—or at least several thousand of them— managed to cross the border into Aden. • • • With the mass of refugees increasing from day to day, conditions in Aden grew so intolerable that, in 1943, the British issued an ultimatum: improve conditions or no more Jews will be allowed to cross the frontier. With the aid of the Joint Dis- tribution Committee, the Jews of Aden received help, and the border remained open. Total JDC appropriations in 1946 for refugees in Aden were $85,000, and to continue its work, JDC has'approved $42,000 for the first six months of this year, with funds provided by the United Jewish AppeaL . In Palestine, on the other hand, many of the Jews from Yemen, especially, the older generation, are problem children. They are deeply embedded in the Arab traditions and they find it hard to adapt themselves to the western-style civilization of modern Palestine. Special schools were founded to pave the way for the younger Yemenites and to prepare them for a constructive part in the recon- struction of Zion. We'll. Redeem Honor , Bernstein s Last Words By WILLIAM BERNSTEIN Editor's Note: This article. describintoWis own words the late William Bernstein's trip a the 'Exodus 1947,' has been compiled by the Independent Jewish Press Service from letters which he had written to his brother. Morris Bernstein, and which Amor-leans for Hagansh made public. Bernstein was killed by a British naval boarding party aboard the 'Exodus, July 18. panicky. The Zionist organizations especially are obligated to en- Three days ago the Jews here in Marseilles and force discipline so that careful consideration should be given aboard my ship celebrated the fourth anniversary to matters affecting policy. We must have more light and of the resistance of the Warsaw Ghetto. Everyone of 600,000 Jews was massacred there defending a less heat, a more reasoned approach to a situation that affects street with small arms against the German army. of the embryo Jewish State as well as that of the the status We held it for five days—only five days Of re- sistence in four thousand years of persecution. Jewries of the world. UNSCOP and the DPs Something we should be ashamed of. However, the time isn't far off when we will redeem our honor. This is it! Working, hiding and chasing all over Europe, for months, we are finally on our way a seven-day voyage. I am not sure but by the Shifting the scene of its activities from Palestine to for time you receive this letter, our ship will be in. Geneva, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine The chances are slim as far as getting through. We finally has decided to visit displaced persons camps. The 6 to 4 vote on this question—with Karel Lisicky of Czechoslovakia abstaining—poses the question whether there has not been an undue amount of mind-poisoning among the delegates. It would be interesting to know why the four who op- posed on-the-spot investigations in DP camps—Vladimir Simic of Yugoslavia, Dr. Arturo Garcia Salazar of Peru, Nas- rollah Entezam of Iran and Sir Abdur Rahman of India— should have objected to learning at first hand the position of the Jewish survivors' from Nazism, their needs and their preferences in accepting places of refuge. Surely, the urge to be open-minded should have encouraged UNSCOP to seek an opportunity for complete study of the problem affecting Jewish aspirations in Palestine. The hour of decisions is approaching, and it is encourag- ing to know that UNSCOP is not passing up opportunities to learn all there is to know about the issue—even if the deci- sion in favor of so vital a step as the visit to the DP camps was reached by a very small margin. will do our best, but the important thing is that these people are out of Europe and will end up with their own people sooner or later. This is the biggest ship to do this kind of work and, conse- quently, we are carrying the greatest number of people ever transported in one ship. I've eaten in the crew's mess hall on many a ship but in all the- time I've spent at sea I have never yet heard the kind of talk I've heard here. The ordinary run of conversation on the average ship stems from the subject of women. Not so here. If you don't know integral calculus, at least one- third of the conversation at the dinner table is lost to you. If you don't know what Aristotle told his mother on his sixth birthday, another slice of the conversation is lost . . . and if God forbid you shouldn't know what opera played in Pittsburgh two years ago, you are completely ignored. One must have a good working knowledge of Yiddish, plus a smattering of Hebrew! The chief mate's name is Yitzhuk, he's a Palestinian. I still jump when I hear someone shout his name. To hear the bosun give an order in Yiddish and have everyone comply as if there's nothing strange about it!' (Copyright. 1947. Independent Jewish Press Service, kris)