THE JEWISH NEWS Page rour As the Editor litiewssthe News... Whose Hand? * * * The delay in opening the doors to this country to DPs is aggravating the situation. But the major issue revolves around Pales- tine. The sooner the Jewish National Home is made Jewish, and national, and a home— through unrestricted Jewish immigration— the better for all concerned. Only the politic- ally unwise ar.4 those whose human spirit has become calloused can possibly fail to recognize this truth. Already committed to a speedy solution to the Palestinian problem by the establishment of a free Jewish commonwealth, the first and basic principle of which must be the aban- donment of restrictions upon immigration, land purchase and economic development, our government must be prepared to act swiftly to demand the end of a police state in Pales- tine and the return to reason and justice for the Jewish people. By GERHARDT NEUMANN `Cruel, Tragic, Stupid!' Cruel! Tragic! Stupid! These are the descriptions given by the Jewish Agency to British action against the unfortunate Jewish passengers on the "Exodus 1947" whom the great British empire has kept on three warships for several weeks and whom it has chosen to deport to detention camps in Germany, "the land of bitter memories." France, having no power over immigration to Palestine, has offered sancturary to these survivors from Nazism, but has ruled wisely and humanely that she would not force the 4,400 Jews to land on her soil against their will. After all their sufferings, these people have a right to state that they prefer to go only to a home of permanent se- curity. They have the right to assert that there is no hope for them except in Eretz Israel. But the British authorities chose to countermand this preference and to tell these survivors from Hitlerism that they MUST GO BACK TO GERMANY where Hitlerism even. today raises its ugly head! A subsequent attempt to send the refugees back to France does not minimize Britain's in- humanity. The cruelty, the tragedy and the stupidity is ascribable not only to the great British empire but also the world at large and to all member states of the United Nations which have permitted the horrible treatment of the European sur- vivors to go this far. It is as much a black mark on the record of our own government whose leaders should have and could have prevented the tragedy of "Exodus - 1947" by insisting that Britain adhere to her obligations under international covenants. The era of "Exodus 1947" represents one of the most out- rageous periods of political chicanery in world history. Britons Burn the Bible It was not so very long ago that the civilized world was fighting against Nazi ideologies which included the barbaric sport of burning the books of writers who were placed on Hitler's black list. Jews fought with Britons and Americans to end the Nazi terror, and our - people count 25 per cent of the total number of casualties—military and civilian—of the entire- World War II, more than 6,000,000 Jews having lost their lives out of a total human loss of 25,000,000. These facts, however, appear unimpressive to the British who, instead of adhering to the principles for which we fought, are now copying the Nazi program. Aboard three ships, anchored at Port de Bouc, France, with the 4,400 refugees who were taken off the "Exodus 1947" at Haifa for deportation from-the territory assigned by world public opinion to become the Jewish NationaCHome, British Inclependent Jewish Jewl , h •ei•-trar•hir At-ten , • authorities ordered a bonfire. r e 51 ttorli•ate 1, •ecs ∎ ervice. Seven A-ts Featu The books and magazines owned by or sent to the F•srvi•e. Paleor Agency. King Features, Central Press A-,:triat ion. refugees were confiscated by the British and were burned. Mer, '^r American Ascot-lath-to of EnclIsh-Jewish News- .i‘soelattors Among the books thus destroyed were Bibles and prayer P• 0111 ,-- cd every Frblav by The Jewish News Publish- books. The reason for their burning is that the books were Detr• It 26 Mich RA. 7956 in, co ', In POnnt,ont Club subset-lotion forelgn. S4 s", a vear printed in Hebrew characters. Only English and French books ever" fourth F•Iclov of the month to all subscribers to were absolved from the fire of destruction. A Jewish Tele- Tewish Welfare Federation of Ml•^ ,1 .10••kh C'a'' -'•-•n t'ear Dr -It Ill —nts graphic Agency cable from Port de Bouc states that one F.,• ,--,•1 as q-eo.,(4.••'--s matter Aug 6. 19 1 2 at Post Of- tr- ,Icr Act of Nlareh 3 1879. ".11 , 11 British officer asserted that he could not distinguish between 114-.. the Bible and prayer books and the works of Theodor Herzl. BOi RD OF DIRECTORS ' Dr. Chaim Weizmann and other Zionists, which were marked Philip Slomovitz Yr" ”r' ^e "rope-on Isidore Soheloff for burning. Fred M. Butzel Abraham Srere We thought and dared to hope that Nazism either was J.- 1" - e Tlr—qt1nre T.e ...•in Henry Wineman Maiir i^e II. Schwartz dead or was marked for early extinction but the British 1 PIII1 TT' . 1 .0110VITZ. Editor arrived on the scene to disillusion us! British authorities in Palestine already have "an indelible mark, on their horribly AUGUST 29, 1947 VW.. XI—NO. 24 inefficient record of misrule, for transplanting Nazi ideas Sah'sath S?riptnral Selections into Palestine. Now Britons are continuing their dastardly Sabbath, the fourteenth day of Eulu 5707, This the following scriptural selections will be read work even to the extent of burning the Bible! History will find it difficult to differentiate between Nazi book-burning in our synagogues: ceremonies in Berlin in the '30s and the British Bible desecra- Pentateuchal portion—Deut. 21:10-25:19. tions in the '40s of the civilized 20th century. THE JEWISH NEWS Prophetical portion—Is. Jewish World Opinion Bevin, Anti-Semitism Targets of Criticism Trouble in Germany Jewish and non-Jewish leaders have warned that unless there is an immediate solution to the problem of displaced persons, there may be pogroms in Germany during the coming months. The recent incident involving retaliations by Jewish DPs for indignities they suffered at the hands of GIs is a clear indication of what may be expected unless a permanent home is secured for the survivors of Nazism. It takes little fuel to incite fires of hatred and discord, especially in the present era of tension and constant recourse by offended persons to reprisals. * * * There is reason for serious concern over the existing situation, and the problem in no sense affects Jews alone. It concerns this country as much as it does the DPs, since GIs will be in Germany for many months to come under occupational necessities. Little good can possibly be accomplished in trying to pin blame on one party or another. Pent-up feelings often give rise to acts of a most deplorable nature. It is as easy to under- stand the resentment of DPs, when they are forced to live in detention camps under miserable conditions and on low food rations, as it is to recognize the reactions of young American boys who hate the thought of being away from home and who frequently get into trouble with those whom they are inclined to blame for being on foreign soil. • * * Here is additional proof of the existence of intolerable conditions and the threat of further trouble in Germany: In a special report from Berlin to the New York Times, Delbert Clark exposes the "working alliance" between Pastor Niemoel- ler and Dr. Kurt Schumacher of the Social Democratic Party for the purpose of reducing the influence of the Vatican in German poli- tics and of splitting the Christian Democratic Union composed of both Catholics and Pro- testants. Schumacher and Niemoller are labeled "good working partners . . . since both are primarily Pan-Germans" by Mr. Clark, who states in his report: "In Italy after his release by the United States Fifth Army, Pastor Niemoeller gave interviews denying the principle of German national - " guiltand defending those • who fought for Hitler as having merely obeyed the call of patriotism. During his visit last winter to the United States he stated publicly that anti-Semitism was dead in Germany—a statement known here to be completely at variance with the facts and widely denied at the time." Friday, Augus+ 29. 1947 A glance at the Jewish papers from countries aboard shows that the problems encountered by Jews are the same all over the world. This column attempts to summarize some of the salient viewpoints and give the reader a cross-section of Jewish opinion in countries where the Jews still form a coherent entity. British Jews are woried over the rising wave of Anti-Semitism. The London Zionist Review re- marks: "Gentiles should remember that it is not only Jewish freedom that Is at stake but the very basis of democracy. The most elementary prin- ciple of modern society, that no person shall be held responsible for the misdeeds of others is being flouted—and in a disgraceful manner. "As to Jews, nothing would be more danger- ous than complacency. The events of the past week may yet be a portent of graver things to come. The fight against anti-Semitism must, therefore, be made an integral part of the struggle of the democratic forces in Britain against reaction and Fascism." At the same time it promises the government that, in the present crisis, "the Jews of England will stand side by side with their non-Jewish neighbors and will respond wholeheartedly to Mr. Attlee's call to the country." • • • The South African Jewish Chronicle devotes much of its space to the silver jubilee of Binyan, a corporation that can take much credit for the economic reconstruction of Palestine. The follow- ing paragraphs reveal the importance of Binyan for South American Jewry as well as for Pales- tine: "The South African Palestine Enterprise (Bin- yan) Corporation Ltd., or simply The Binyan, as it is popularly known, is now in Its silver jubilee year. Founded by a group of South African Jews at a time of uncertainty and difficulty in Pales- tine, when little but the foundations of the Na- tional Home had been laid, but faith in the future was great. The Binyan and everyone con- nected with it can look back upon 25 years of solid achievement and take pride in the role this first of the South African enterprises has played in the growth of the Yishuv, particularly of towns and areas like Haifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nathanya and Behovoth. "There were many who, at the time of its in- ception, regarded the undertaking with some scepticism, and if they took shares did so more from sentiment than from the point of view of a business investment But time has proved that sentiment and business'ean be combined, for The Binyan has brought benefit both to the Yis- buy and to its sharehOlders, while the hopes of those who were responsible for the formation of the company have been more than fulfilled. "The success of The Binyan has demonstrated firstly that private enterprise and capital are complementary to the National Funds and each in its sphere has an important and indispens- able part to play in the building of Frets Israel, and secondly that investment in Palestine is not charity but good basiness." • • • Politically, the Jewish Herald of Johannesburg, South Africa, takes a' strong attitude against the British policy in Palestine and remarks sarcastic- ally: "There has been only one side that has per- jured its oath under the covenant that is still binding on the 52 Nations who granted it and on the Nation which undertook its obligations. That those Nations have now renamed themselves United and disbanded their League does not alter the sacredness of that covenant "That is the supreme fact which the Fact- Finding Committee must realize if it is at all dis- interested. In that case it can do no other than —in the words of General Smuts—have due re- gard to the policy of the National Home em- bodied in the Balfour Declaration and the Man- date. In that case it must realize—as Mr. Attlee himself declared in 1944 before his metamorpho- sis—that 'there is surely neither hope nor mean- ing in the Jewish National Home unless we are prepared to let Jews if they wish enter this tiny land in such numbers as to become a majority. Facts You Should Know Answers to Readers Questions ... Who was Abaye? A Jewish philosopher, who was one of the great- est_and most often quoten teachers of the Baby- lonian Talmud. He lived at the close of the third and at the beginning of the fourth century. • • • What is the significance of the "Kiddush" on Friday night? The Sabbath's special significance in the life of the Jewish people sets it above and apart from all the other days of the week. The Bible (Exodus' 20:8) directed special attention towards the Sab- bath by proclaiming: "Remember thou the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it." From this the Rabbis (Talmud Pesakin 106) deduced the fact that the Sabbath was to be ushered in by _blessings as a means of sanctification. The word "Kiddush" means "sanctification." The content of the "Kid- dush" liturgy, comprised of special blessings, views the Sabbath as a symbol of the creation after which the Almighty proclaimed the seventh day as a day of rest. • • • Who discovered the telescope? According to history, it was discovered by three Dutchmen in 1608. The Talmud, however, men- tions that Rabbi Gamliel (Eiruvin) possessed a tube through which he could see a distance of 2,000 cubits on land and sea.