Friday, March 5, 1948
THE JEWISH NEWS
Page Six
Heard in the Lobbies
Sidelight of Tel Aviv:
By ARNOLD LEVIN
Breakdown in Communications
Threaten's Palestine's Economy
(Copyright, 1948, Independent Jewish Press Service, Inc.)
Conscience at UN
By SELMA S. HOLZMAN
Special Jewish News Correspondent
TEL AVIV— Tel Aviv has finally acquired a telephone
exchange of its own, manned by Jews. In Palestine, the only
safe means of communication is by telephone. Trains carry
the mails and are robbed daily by armed Arab bands. On oc-
casion, the same train has been robbed three times by differ-
ent Arab bands in the course of a single cross-country trip.
There is a conscience at the UN. It is not too evident, however, in
the delegates lounge. The smarty pants and career diplomats deal
with moral values and human problems as a junk dealer would with
a stradivarius until tipped off of its worth. Conscience is evident
among the clerical staff, the high officials, the intellectuals doing the
research for the UN. At the tables in the cafeteria, or button-holed
in UN lobbies, they confide their misgivings about the wisdom and
integrity of the stuffed shirts, the legalistic fiends, the policymakers
of the nations of the world in whose hands has been entrusted that
delicate creature—world peace. Conscience is most evident in the
press lounge where newsmen chew the rag and exchange views and
estimates of speeches delivered by the delegates, and in the press
room where amidst the clatter of typewriters and cable, machines,
newsmen write their daily dispatches and their flash bulletins on
events at the UN.
U. S. newsmen were indignant and embarrassed after Senator
Austin's Palestine statement. You could actually see the fever rise
in the pressroom as scores of correspondents pecked away at their
typewriters and dictated their stories by phone. Foreign corres-
pondents buttonholed the Americans for opinions, teased them about
the moral integrity of Washington's career 'diplomats. And U. S.
newsmen, outraged, hurt, indignant, could only concur in the es-
timates of foreign newsmen.
Newsmen badgered the "authorized sources," the "high Ameri-
can circles," to obtain from them some enlightenment, but to no avail.
The U. S. delegation called in the pressmen for an informal-, non-
attributable conference. Opinions were exchanged, questions were
asked, and State Departmenters skillfully evaded the barbed ques-
tion, the verbal trap, the attempt at clarification. These unofficial
talks generated even more dissatisfaction among the pressmen than
the AuStin statement.
This is quite certain: the indignant press reaction to Austin's
double-talk, will force the State Department to retreat. Austin's state-
ment contains virtually all extant Washington approaches to the
Palestine question, both doublecross through delay and action through
use of troops. Washington hoped that by hinting at troops its real
aim, double cross, would be smokescreened. The statement contains,
however, a sufficient quantity of strong, though oblique language,
to permit a return to a strong demand for enforcement, although it
is feared that Austin's doublecross hints were so strong as to have
completely demoralized those Security Council members who had
been ready to follow the U. S.
Lack of faith in the govern- -t>
ment's ability to carry the -mail the call spoke Hebrew, the best
has led the Jews to the practice he could expect from the oper-
of sending letters by taxis in con- ator was a slight discourtesy and
voy from city to city. But htis is relegation to the end of the long
an expensive (40 cents per letter) distance list. As a result, Arabic
and unsafe procedure since con- speaking Jews came to be in great
voys are attacked constantly in demand in Tel Aviv to place calls
Arab areas. At first the convoys with the long distance operator in
MR. AND MRS. PHILIP CAN-
merely had armed guards equip- Jaffa.
ped to reply to snipers and ward
Now, for the first time, Tel TOR are shown here- directing a
off attack from ambush when the Aviv which is the industrial hub booth at the military ball of the
convoy was forced to halt at road of the country, has acquired its Jewish War Veterans of the
blocks. Later the walls of buses own telephone exchange. Calls to United States last Saturday eve-
were equipped with armor plate. Jerusalem can be placed in He- ning, at the Masonic Temple, ac-
The Arabs, discovering that the brew—but still take 5 to 10 hours.
bus roofs were still vulnerable, What bothers the observer at cepting telegrams which were
adopted the practice of sniping present is the lack of prospects sent to President Truman and of-
down at the convoy from house for any communication whatso- ficials in Washington in appeals
roofs and hill tops. Jews then ever in this country, when the for implementation of the UN
equipped their bus tops with British leave and Palestine be- Palestine decision. Several hun-
armor plate. Finding the • steel comes a patchwork of armed dred wires were sent from this
sheeting proof against their 'bul- Jemii.sh sectors. .It will then be booth by special Western Union
lets, the Arabs have at last, be- impossible to get from one. Jew- representatives. Maurice Borde-
gun to disrupt road transport by ish center to another without
a means which has been feared crossing Arab territory—and vice love, state JWV commander,
and expected for some time— versa. Neither trains, road trans- stated that this effort is part of
the veterans' activities to se-
land mines.
port, nor telephone wire will be
er, Abraham Singer, Fannie Spin-
The net result is that no one safe in this country which vitally cure action by the United States Home Birthday Party ner, Bertha Stern and Sara Wolf.•
in
the
present
emergency
in
Pales-
travels in Palestine unless he ab- requires all three in order to sur-
Honors 10
Among those who provided
solutely has to and in any event, vive economically.
tine.
musical entertainment were Moe
at the risk of his life at all times
Seventy-five elderly persons Kesner, music director of the
and with the certain knowledge
from the general community
that the trip will be long and
Horne; Margit Kormendy, soloist.
joined residents of the Home for
arduous. The average convoy
Aged at the monthly birthday at. Temple Beth El; Selig Levine,:
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (40
party sponsored by the Women's violinist and Frank Rakovin.
mileS) takes from 4 to 7 hours,
during which time passengers are
Auxiliary of the Home, Feb. 26, pianist. Ezra Korman read selec-'
crowded into .a steel fitted, tight-
as 10 of the residents celebrated tions from Sholem Aleichem:
refugees
will
be
dependent
for
MUNICH, (JTA) — Military
ly sealed bus.
their
birthdays.
Arrangements for the party
police suddenly - swooped doWn food on the German government
'Thus the ordinary citizen who on two Jewish displaced persons and will. be compelled to work in
Honored at the party were .Re, were made by Auxiliary Meth-•
has to communicate with Jer- camps and removed more than the German economy like all Ger- becca Goldberg, Bernard Gross- bees under the direction of MeS
usalem or Haifa, for example, 100 refugees, most of whom fled mans.
man, .Hannchen- Hess, Isaac Jac- dames Ben Arkin, Joseph ROse
from Tel Aviv, finds the only safe from Romania. within the last
obs, Goldie Lang, Abraham Ratn- and 'Jonas J. Torgow.
The
two
evictions
are
the
first
means in the telephone. As a mat- year. The action followed closely
ter of fact, in a country whose on the heels of Gen. Lucius Clay's known-- instances' where Gen.
cost of living has gone sky high in refusal to grant regular DP sta- Clay's- orders were implemented.
the last five years and. has soar- tus to approximately 1,000 recent- Jewish observers pointed out that
ed precipitously in the last five ly arrived refugees fom Romania both evictions occurred in an area
where Col. George Burgess is pro-
months, the telephone call is gen-
and Hungary.
vost marshall. Burgess is the
erally accepted as the best "bar-
One group of 55 persons, includ- same officer, Jewish quarters dis-
gain" for your -money in Pal-
estine ( 4 cents per call). The rub ing 23 children between the ages closed, with whom they had much
is that it takes ages to complete of six months and 12 years, was trouble during the past year; un-
taken in open trucks from the til he was transferred to Augs-
calls of any distanct.
An urgent call from Tel Aviv Leipheim camp to a German refu- burg. It was also emphasized that
to Jerusalem (40 miles) takes gee center near Augusburg, about Burgess' present action is "un-
THE BETTER VEGETABLE SHORTENING
from 5 to 10 hours to complete. 35 miles from here. An equal fair" in vieW• of the fact that the
•• • FOR BAKING, COOKING FRYING
This breakdown in the system number of Jewish refugees was Army and the International Refu-
stems from a variety of causes. evicted from the Neu Ulm DP gee Organization are still confer-
ring on the problem-of these new-
The telephone system is govern- camp.
A ROKEACH KOSHER PR V
ment-owned and run by the postal
It is expected that now these ly-arrived refugees.
department. British officialS are
"packing" in preparation for de-
parture from Palestine, (although
the feeling exists in some quarters
here that the bags are being pack-
ed in such a way that they can
easily and quickly be unpacked).
Such an atmosphere is not con-
ducive to efficiency or an inter-
marking closing of Detroit
est in good service on the part
of such officials.
Gewerkshaften drive
Moreover the post office and
telephone exchanges have been
and to a great extent still are
manned by mixed personnel of
SUNDAY, MARCH 21
Jews and Arabs. Periodically the
has
been
contributed
by
Detroit
Jews
for
the
Palestine
whole service breaks down'due to
$200,000
8 P.M. at
friction- between the groups of
Histadrut through the Detroit Histadrut Campaign.
workers. After an attack or out-
CASS TECH AUDITORIUM
break of violence. Jewish or Arab
$50,000 more must•be raised in the next 12 days to fulfill our minimum
workers will quit work en masse,
refusing to return unless granted
Detroit obligation.
Program: •
special protection in the form of
a body of armed guards of their
own race. Frequently, after a long
Histadrut and its institutions perform vital roles in providing trained
BARTL EY C. CRUM
delay, the problem will be solved
manpower, in supplying essential services and materials and in
by stationing an equal number of
Chairman, National Council, Americans
armed Arabs and Jews to guard
strengthening the hands of the heroic fighters in the Yishuv.
for Haganah; member, Anglo-American
the particular telephone exchange
• or post office—but this merely in-
Committee of Inquiry on Palestine;
' creases the possibilities for Eric-
noted lawyer and orator.
YOUR
CONTINUED
HELP
IN
SEEING
ALL
PROSPECTS
NOW,
. tion. The result has been that
: while airmail is handled fairly
IN ARRANGING YOUR HISTADRUT EVENINGS IMMEDIATELY,
expeditiously, sacks of regular
HALEVY CHORUS
mail, which miraculously, have
AND IN TURNING IN ALL PLEDGES AT ONCE WILL ENSURE THE
under direction of Pavel Slavensky
escaped plundering on the trains
by Arab bands, now lie piled high
RAISING OF THE ADDITIONAL $50,000 FOR OUR HISTADRUT
HABONIM YOUTH GROUP.
. in post offices awaiting long de-
layed handling. A letter mailed in
BUILDERS AND DEFENDERS.
Jerusalem addressed to Tel Aviv
averages 8 to 10 days in transit.
The telephone is a better bet—but
not by a very wide margin.
Another difficulty in long dis-
tance phone calls has been that
TO. 9-8660
the main trunk exchange was lo-
13722 LINWOOD AVENUE
cated in Jaffa and manned by
Arabs. When the caller placing
.
Residents
Army Evicts Jewish DPs
From Camps in Germany
$50,000 to Go!
HISTADRUT
DEMONSTRATION
A CALL TO HISTADRUT
CAMPAIGN • WORKERS
.
.
PALESTINE HISTADRUT (GEWERKSHAFTEN) CAMPAIGN