Education • in Israel

T e Homeland Hora

Government Sponsors Cultural
Programs ; Knowledge of Hebrew
May Be Necessary for Citiznship

By ADA OREN

(Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

TEL AVIV—The 60-year-old Council for the Hebrew lan-
guage, founded in the days of Eliezer ben-Yehuda, the reviver
of Hebrew, has recently been dissolved to make room for
Isiqel's Hebrew Academy.
The retiring Council reported on its work of publishing
scientific dictionaries and lists of Hebrew technical terms for

all purposes, including military and administrative terms which have
osbecome an integral part of military instruction and administrative
routine in Israel. The Council has for 16 years also published a
quarterly called "Our Language." It is hoped that the future will
see the Hebrew language enriched still further and also brought
into the compass of a still-to-be-coMposed comprehensive scientific
-
grammar.
The new Academy will have 23 members and an unlimited
number of advisory members. Its membership is to be built up
around some eight experts of the dissolved Hebrew Language
Council, to whom will be added two representatives of the gov-
ernment, two of the Jewish Agency, and one of the Hebrew
University; the rest will be elected from among prominent men
of letters living in Israel and abroad.
The prime minister, addressing the opening meeting, requested
the academy's help in the preservation of the absolute supremacy of
Hebrew in Israel in spite of the "Babel of languages" introduced by
the constant flow of immigration and expressed the conviction that
government assistance would be forthcoming. Material assistance
was also promised by Berl Locker in the name of the Zionist organi-
zation, and the Hebrew University pledged itself to scientific support.
*
*
The government of Israel has taken over the cultural department
of the Jewish National Council, including the network of evening
schools for Hebrew for immigrants and also of higher courses in the
Hebrew language for the public. This year the department's budget
reached a peak of $480,000, but since only a few thousand are at-
tending the courses it is seriously contemplated making the knowl-
edge of Hebrew in the future a condition for the acquisition of
Israeli citizenship in order to induce the newcomers to take the
trouble to learn the langUage in all seriousness.
The department also objects to the publication of newspapers
in the immigrants' various languages and induced the government
to prohibit the organization of foreign language theatrical troupes.
The Jerusalem Rockefeller museum, which used to belong to
.
the government of Palestine and houses a big collection of Pales
tinian antiquities of all periods, ':is situated in the Arab-held
sector of the city and is now inaccessible to Jews. Part of the
exhibits,,were transferred to. Britain at the last minute, but the
greater part remained and are being cared for by the Arab staff
of the museum under the supervision of the former British
director of antiquities, but now in the mine of the government
• .
of Transjordan.
Although the Mandatory appointed this director chairman of • a
supervisory committee on which the Hebrew University was also
to be represented, he has so far not communicated with the Jewish
member of this committee. It is, however, known that the Arab
Legion has prevented refugees from occupying •the buildings and has
lately removed the stores which it used to keep in its cellars.
It is to be noted that even in Mandatory days the museum did
all it could in order not to emphasize the importance of the Jewish
periods in the archaeological history of . the country. Excavations
copducted directly by the museum were concerned chiefly with
Moslem and other non-Jewish remains, and visitors used to notice.
that an illustrated synopisis of Palestine's archaeological history
gave one period as ending in the year 586 B.C.—a very exact date—:
without remarking that this is the year of the end of the first
kingdom of Judea.

•

Remains of a Herodian fortress guarding the western approaches
'to Jerusalem have recently come to light in the abandoned and
battered Arab village of Kolonia, ten .kilometres west of the city.
It is hoped that many interesting objects will be found in the neigh-
borhood, which- has always been of the utmost strategic importance.
A few years ago, during the laying of some kilometres of road
on an adjacent hillside as a by-pass to the well-known Kastel wind-
ings—the "Seven Sisters"—remains of a Roman bath were found,
and- 'ruins of a Roman Army camp belonging to the Tenth Legion,
which besieged and conquered Jerusalem under Titus, have been
uncovered in nearby. Suba. Remains of another camp of the same
Roman legion were discovered a few weeks ago in a western suburb
of Jerusalem. On none of these sites have any systematic excavations
taken place yet. The remains generally came to light through blast-
ing or digging on the spot in connection with the war.

*

*

*

A center for educational films has been organized by the
department for the press, information, broadcasting and cinema
of the Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with the public
education services of the government and the Tel Aviv munic-
ipality and the headmasters' council. The center will encourage
the use and production of informative pictures, including films
dealing with the geography of and life in Israel. There will be a
pool from which schools and youth groups may buy apparatus
cheaply' and borrow scientific and other educational _films. A
catalogue of all pictures available in the country will soon be
drawn up.
Exhibitions on various subject are being prepared by the Tel
Aviv museum. The Jerusalem Bezalel Museum is showing an instruc-
tive exhibition of graphics and also on various archaeological sub-
jects, while ancient Palestinian arms and military techniques used by
all armies which fought in this country in the past are being exhibited.

Jewish DP's begin their long awaited journey to Israel with a joyous dance beside their train at
the Munich rail station. American Jewry's support of the nationwide $250,000,000 United Jewish
Appeal campaign, this year will make possible the entry to Israel of 180,000 homeless European Jews.
UJA funds provide for the rehabilitation, resettlement and reconstruction programs of the Joint Dis-
' tribution Committee, United Palestine Appeal and United Service for New Americans. This is Ameri-
can Jewry's "Year of Opportunity" to empty the camps and to send them home. United Jewish
Appeal contributions are made by Defroifers through the Allied Jewish Campaign.

Judean Sect Observes Festival
In Fashion Taught by Ancestors

(Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

While millions of Jews throughout the world commemorate the
exodus from Egypt and their liberation from Pharaoh's bondage by
celebrating the beginning of the traditional Passover festival with
eleborate ceremonies on Seder night, a unique commemoration of this
event is enacted every year in the hills north of Jerusalem by--a
small sect, tracing its history back some 2,600 years.
Thii sect of some 400 men: wo-
men and children living in- the the men sing their prayers in
Arab town of Nablus (the ancient Hebrew.
city of Shechem) is known as
The highlight of the ceremonies
Samaritans. By their looks and
way of life they can hardly be is the traditional offering of a
distinguished by the casual ob- lamb which is slaughtered ritual-
server from their Arab neighbors, ly and then put into the flames of
yet their religion is Jewish.
a bonfire to the accompaniment of
loud sing-song prayers. Mean-
Historical Background
while the women have prepared
Their history dates back to the boiling water in huge kettles over
times when the ASylians took open fires and this is later used to
Samaria. After the separation of clean a goad number of sheep
Israel and Judah, the city of slaughtered for the midnight
Shechem became the religious meal. The sheep are then roasted
center of the Northern Kingdom, on skewers over the same • fires
while the political capital was and the fast is broken at mid-
transferred to the newly built night.
city of Samaria. In 772 BCE
All Adults Fast
Samaria fell to the Assyrians and
Unlike the crisp square or round
those of its original inhabitants
who were not deported or killed Matzoth eaten in most parts of
were regarded later as the rem- the world where Jews celebrate
Passover, the Samaritans have
nants of Israel.
large, thin, oblong soft pieces of
. On the eve of Passover the Sa- doughy unleavened bread. The
maritans leave their homes in traditional Passover herbs and
Nablus in a long procession lead- spices are rolled into these Mat-
ing over the stony hillside to the zoth, lending some flavor to the
holy site of Gerizim only a few otherwise tasteless baked dough.
miles away. A big square on the
Eating and singing continue un-
hilltop is roped off and around
this square the Samaritans pitch til dawn of the first day of•Pass-
their tents in which they live over and the visitors are invited
to partake of the food. At the
during the eight-day festival.
end of the eight-day festival the
Special Type Matzo
camp is broken up and the Sa-
Throughout the day before the maritans return to their Arab
'Seder all adults observe a strict neighbors and occupations in Na-
fast and at sunset the male mem- blus.
bers of the community assemble
for prayers which continue until 10 THE JEWISH NEWS
'Friday, April 15, 1949
midnight. Led by their high priest

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bad to plan a picnic, bald a hawse or pave
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AN.

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When his Uncle Sammy called him. hero Homy
, lamed the fray.
And for every big maneuver. Henry flea some
. word to say.
Whether it was digging ditches, peeling apses
), or standing guard.,
,
Goldbrick Hank was always ready. —sormdiag
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Both as citizen

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for
Passover

BY ERNEST ASCHNER

HOPELESS HENRY

. : : :,: i

Jest

Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphil
Agency, Inc.)

By I. ZAAC

Fifty-fifty: "What - did you
preach on this morning at the
synagogue?" asked the • rabbi's
wife.
"Well since PassoNier is ap-
proaching," said the rabbi, "I
spoke on the importance of the
rich providing for the poor on
Passover."
"Do you think your sermon was
a success?" asked his wife.
"Well, fifty-fifty," replied the
rabbi.
"What do you mean fifty-fifty?"
"Well," answered the rabbi, "I
think I convinced the poor people
of the rightnpss of the idea."
* * *

Jewish Highwayman: A poor
Jew did not have money to buy
wine for Passover. He decided he
would go out and be a highway-
man in order to get the necessary
funds. He went out into the lonely
highways waiting for a "custom-
er." He waited and waited. Sud-
denly, he realized that the sun
was near setting and he hadn't
"davened mincha" (recitted the
afternoon prayers). So he turned
to the east and began to intone
the prayers.
In the middle of his prayer an-
other Jew passed by. At last,
there was someone to hold up, but
he was in the middle of his pray-
ers and it is stringently forbidden
to "mafsig sein," to interrupt
one's prayers. He could not, there-
fore, speak to the stranger. So he
merely mumbled -um-um-um-um
for the passerby to wait until he
had finished.
The passing Jew understood
and waited to the end of the
service.
When he had ended his
prayers, the poor Jew said:
"Listen, I am a highwayman and
I want fifty dollars from you
or I will cut you to pieces with
this knife."
"That's a joke, why should I
give you fifty dollars?" said the
passer-by.
"Well give me twenty-five
dollars."
"Don't be crazy," said the
passer-by.
"A dollar, maybe?" said the
would-be highwayman.
"I wouldn't give you five
cents," replied the passer-by.
"Well, at least give me a cig-

•

1111IM

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,

Now that all the fighting's over, there's a new
world to be won.
Standing by like Useless Henry isn't going to get
it done.
Building the United Nations and the brotherhood
' of mar ,
Helping people work together as the war has
shown they con —

And neighbor-

Peace begins

In your back yard.

arette."

4;1131=s• ..a.

"Now you are talking like a
man," said the passer-by, hand-
ing the Jewish highwayman a

"papyross" (cigarette.)