U. S. Spokesmen Take Firm
Pro-Israeli Stand at UN
2—THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, April 22, 1949
Movie-Producing
Company Founded
Israeli -American
by Emanuel Neumann to Moshe
Sharett at the Waldorf Astoria
ceremony attended by 300 Zionist
and civic leaders. The. plan,
By ADA OREN
drawn up by engineers of the
(Member
of the Staff of the
Jewish Agency's . Commission on
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Palestine Surveys, will be sub-
Bureau in Tel Aviv.)
mitted by Sharett to his govern-
ment. Speakers included Sharett, (Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)
Neumann,' Dr. Walter Lowder-
TEL AVIV—A new Israeli-
milk, Herbert Bayard Swope and
American company for the erec-
Bartley Crum.
tion of film-production facilities
Golda Myerson Leaves Russia such as studios; laboratories, etc.
MOSCOW—Golda Myerson left has recently been founded.
Moscow for Prague en route to Machinery will be imported from
Israel. She was seen off at the the United States. A number of
airport by Molochkov, Soviet well-known names in the Holly-
Foreign Office Chief of Protocol, wood world are being mentioned
and friends of diplomatic corps. in connection with the project. -
The Israel Legation is under tem-
According to some newspapers
porary control of Counsellor
Mordeai Namir who may be ap- an American group, which in-
cludes Edward G. Robinson,
pointed minister.
Eddie Cantor and Robert Nathan,
has undertaken to raise in the
"Operation Hebrew" Begins
TEL AVIV—The Israeli Army United States $250,000 for invest-
Present Lowdermilk Plan
Command ordered that every ment in the enterprise, if their
NEW YORK—A completed soldier in the army be taught Israeli partners succeed in rais-
Lowdermilk Plan for the de- Hebrew from June 1 on, now that ing a similar sum from local
velopment of irrigation hydro- they have leisure time. The pro- sources.
electric power for Israel and gram is called "Operation He-
The Hebrew press is somewhat
neighboring states was presented brew."
sceptical about the prospects of
selling abroad products of an
Israeli film industry if its lan-
guage is to be Hebrew, although
it is admitted that other small
nations are successful in docu-
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
mentaries, scenic films, and first-
class drama.
Unnecessary Publications
Israel so far has 75 movie
This brief and to the point headline, is inspired by a request that theaters and 20 agencies for the
has come to us from American Red Mogen Dovid for comment on distribution and advertising of
its new publication which—so its editor claims—"will be mailed to foreign and local pictures, em-
over 200,000 persons, including our members, officers of national and
local organizations in all parts of the country, editors, etc. • . . We ploying 2,000 people in all, and
shall be greatly indebted to you for commenting in your columns on is flooded by them with Ameri.=
can and other foreign pictures of
the appearance and contents of the first issue."
Since RMD's editor has asked for it, here is our opinion, which little value and often little in-
terest to the rapidly growing
merely repeats sentiments we have expressed in the past:
The new periodical is unnecessary, it represents a waste of local audiences.
-money, it adds nothing to the value either of Red Mogen Dovid or
A documentary on "The Heroes
Israel's future, and should be abandoned before any more money of Negba" has recently been com-
is wasted on it. We already have so many publications which cover pleted. The picture was shot by
the needs claimed by RMD that we see no need for another publica-
tion with a grandiose scheme of reaching 200,000 people. If RMD Sasha Alexander for Israel Film
is serious about this figure, it may have to spend most of its income Production, Ltd., whose directors
on its •publication. - •
are J. Krumgold and Norman.
There is so much waste in the production of unnecessary publi- Lurie. The new filth has already
cations that our communities ought to call a halt to such practices. been sent to the U. S. for editing.
This is as true of local groups as it is of national movements. Why a
* * *
group of women in Detroit should suddenly yield to the urge of
An
American
veteran, Murray
additional publicity—and we mean publicity, not news coverage of
their activities—is beyond our comprehension. Is it necessary for an A. Nelson of New York, who was
entire community to condone self-glorification of a few leaders at stationed in Palestine as a flier
a terrific expense involved in the printing of a new and totally un- during World War II, has re-
necessary bulletin—even if it is given the high-sounding title of ceived from the Israeli Govern-
CLUB WOMAN?
ment all necessary permits for
* *- -,;;`
the introduction of coin-operated
Unwarranted Abuse of English-Jewish Press
washing machines into the coun-
Jacques Back, - writing in the Jewish Observer of Nashville, try. According to the plan 300
Tenn., takes exception to criticisms leveled at the English-Jewish Bendix machines and auxiliary
press by Harold Ribalow, in the Congress Weekly. Ribalow's sin-
cerity and good Jewish background have elevated him to a high equipment are to be set up short-
place among the abler of the young Jewish writers. But his lack of ly in residential areas all over
information about Jewish communities and their "demands" and the country. Part of the equip-
"responses" reduces the value of his recent discussion under the ment is already on its way from
heading "Why Jewish Writers Do Not Write for Jewish Magazines." the U. S.
Ribalow confuses two subjects: that of Jewish writers and the
* * *
position of the English-Jewish weeklies which serve our communi-
The first case of bigamy in
ties. He • overlooks the fact that the English-Jewish weekly, even in
is to be
its worst stage, fulfills a need. If it is not literary, as it should be— Israel's short-
and the exceptional instance listed by Ribalow hardly proves his tried shortly according to an
point—it is because our communities have stooped very low in their amendment in, the laws of per-
standards and have yielded to gosSip sheet demands. Some of us are
trying to cover the world scene, to publish important articles and to sonal status introduced since the
introduce new features, but these aspirations are limited by available inception of the state of Israel.
space due to the general lack of support from our communities. 'The problem is somewhat coin-
Jacques Back is right in pointing out that our weeklies follow plicated by the fact that Jewish
exactly the line of make-up and content that are pursued by daily law has never declared a man's
newspapers. There are news and society columns, and the better second marriage invalid and the
periodicals try to have as many special features and cartoons as
possible. To overlook this basic fact is to be blind to reality. In his Mandatory agreement, chiefly to
avoid hurting the susceptibilities
references to the English-Jewish press, Ribalow is that blind.
Of course, there still are the few periodicals whose editors and of its Moslem subjects, _refrained
publishers are merely printers who fail to fulfill their great respons- from introducing secular laws of
ibilities to Jewry. In three instances in this country, publications
even have interfered with campaign plans for the United Jewish personal status. As a result a
Appeal. (They begin to bend as soon as UJA releases a full page Jewish man who succeeded in
advertisement.) But in the main our English-Jewish newspapers evading Rabbi Gershon's pro-
are trying to fulfill- an important task and should be given the proper hibition of taking more than one
support, without the sting that comes from uncalled for criticism wife of European origin could
like Ribalow's.
not be punished if he married a
*
*
*
second time, and Jews of Orient-
Three Noted Scientists
al origin could do so without any
Three eminent scientists recently were awarded honors in Israel legal restriction whatsoever.
by the Tel Aviv municipality. Prof. Saul Adler was given recogni-
To prevent such infringement
tion for his work in the field of combatting malaria and healing of modern morality of the family,
leprosy. Prof. Adler,. (he is a cousin of Rabbi Morris Adler), whom
Detroiters had the pleasure of hearing and meeting last year, is one it was recently decided by Jew-
of the outstanding authorities in the world in his field of work. ish religious aiithorities to re-
Prof. M. 011endorf, of the Haifa Institute of Technology was honored quire all those who wish to take
for his achievements in chemistry and bio-chemistry. Dr. M. Rosen- a second wife to get permission
feld of the Weizmann Institute of -Science at Rehoboth was recog- for this act from the Chief Rabbis
nized for work in the field of vision.
of both the Ashkenazi and Sep-
These distinctions were accorded these leaders in honor of Dr.
Chaim Weizmann's election to the Presidency of Israel. It is thrilling hardi communities and to pros-
to feel that henceforth we shall be thinking in terms not of Jewish ecute all evaders of the new "ad-
sufferings and of the necessity of organizing protest meetings, but ministrative regulation for re-
rather of Jewish accomplishments.
ligious courts."
Only one thing matters for the Diaspora: that it should measure
The first case to be tried un-
up to the glorious hour in which we live. Jews everywhere must der this amendment concerns a
think in terms of long-range planning for the advancement of our Jerusalem Jew whose wife re-
cultural values and.for the spread of the spiritual and ethical ideals
which are our heritage from our Prophets. In the main, our people fused to divorce him. after 10
are spiritually improverished. The brilliant scholar, Dr. Cecil Roth, years of a childless marriage al-
during his recent visit here for an address at the Shaarey Zedek, though custom decrees that such
expressed the view that he has witnessed an upsurge in Jewish a woman should be divorced, and
loyalties and cultural advances during his present tour of this who -took a second wife on the
country, as against his experiences 12 years ago. American Jews
authority of an unordained
must strive to make such an opinion valid.
Direct JTA Teletype Wires to
The Jewish News
LAKE SUCCESS--The Amer-
ican delegation at the UN indi-
cated that it is opposed to fur-
ther delay on Israel's member-
ship application. Sentiment ap-
parently was expressed to coun-
teract maneuvers by countries,
opposed to Israel, which are at-
tempting a delay in consideration
of the application until the next
General Assembly session in
September.
Fernand van Langenhove, chair-
man of the political committee,
indieated there is no desire to
move the Israeli question from
last on the committee agenda.
Dr. Ralph Bunche arrived in
the U. SA and declared he is look-
ing forward to relief from Pales-
tine duties and reassignment to
his permanent position as direc-
tbr of the UN trusteeship division.
Purely Commentary
Liberalized DP Lmislation
Nearing Congress' Approval
U. S. Senator Homer Ferguson
of Michigan this week informed
The Jewish News
that he and a
group of Sena-
tors- who. are co-
sponsoring with
him amendments
to liberalize the
displaced p e r -
sons act have
been assured by
Senator Pat Mc-
Carron that ear-
ly action will be
taken on treir
Sen. Ferguson proposals.
Senator McCarran's assurance
came in response to the following
letter from Senators Ferguson,
Irving Ives of New York, H. Alex-
ander Smith of New Jersey,
Wayne Morse of Oregon and Lev-
erett Saltenstall of Massachusetts:
"On Jan. 5 the undersigned jointly
introduced a series of amendments to
the Displaced Persons Act of 1948
(S 98, S 99, and S 100), designed to re-
move some of the administrative
restrictions which have impaired full
and fair operation of the law.
"Mr. Ugo Carusi, chairman of the
Displaced Persons Commission, and
others have repeatedly charged that
the present Act - is unworkable largely
as a result of those restrictions.- Mr.
Carusi is reported to have held that
these provisions are chiefly to blame
for the fact that only some 12,-000 dis-,
placed persons have been admitted
to the United States under the Act
since it became effective more than
nine months ago.
"On Jan. 13 Senators McGrath and.
Neely introduced a similar group of
amendments having the same general
intent, and Senator Wiley has sub-
sequently proposed another series of
amendments to the same end.
"A special subcommittee of the Sen-
ate Judiciary Committee was appoint-
ed early in the session to consider
these and other proposals to amend
the Displaced Persons Act.
"In view of the foregoing we are
very anxious that hearings may be
set - down and a report made so that
the matter may be brought before the
Senate for action."
(Senator Ferguson, in his state-
ment to The Jewish News, quotes
the following from a letter he re-
ceived from U. S. Ambassador to
Israel James G. -McDonald: "If
your other. plans permitted you
to do so, I am sure that you would
enjoy seeing -here in. Israel the
extraordinary welcome being giv-
en by the Government and people
to the refugees from Europe and
elsewhere. These are arriving at
such a rate that every resident of
this country i._. -forced to draw his
belt a little tighter. Nonetheless,
though everybody has less- food,
less space in which to live and
must pay proportionately more,
everyone in or out of public of-
fice enthusiastically supports the
Government project to receive
this year a quarter of a million
additional refugees. A proportion-
ate rate of immigration to the
U., S. would be some thirty mil-
lion a year. Obvibusly, only the
greatest devotion to the ideal of
-making Israel a place of refuge
for all JeV7s who care to come
here would cause people to make
the sacrifices which are here so
gladly made.")
gress is expected to approve a
compromise DP immigration bill
calling for the admission of at
least 300,000 DP's which was
passed this week by the House
Judiciary Committee. The legisla-
tion was introduced by Rep,
Emanuel Celler, the approval of
the President, according to Rep.
Francis E. Walther, chairman of
the Judiciary Committee.
The bill provides' tor the ad'.
mission of 18,000 former members
of Gen. Wiadislaw Anders' Sec-
ond Polish Corps, which has been
charged with containing- anti-Se-,
mitic elements. The measure,
which would also admit 4,000
Shanghai refugees,: authorizes the
President to grant admission to
another 100,000 in 1952 if he finds
that other nations are accepting
a comparable share of the refu-
gees.
Under existing legislation, DPls
who entered Germany after Dec.
22, 1945, are ineligible for admis-
sion to the United States. The new
compromise bill advances this
date to Jan. 1, 1949. Preferences
for DP's from the Baltic states
and for farmers are eliminated
from the new bill although there
is a provision placing farmers at
the top of the preferred list of
DP trades. The revised measure
also permits the admission of teth-
nic Germans up to one-half the
German quota to 1952. Germans
who assisted in persecutions of
Jews, however, or who have prov..
en themselves hostile to the
United States, would be barred.
The bill also drops the require-
ment of assurances of housing
and employments for DP's being
admitted.
Inside U. S. A.
This young newcomer to this
country is one of thousands to
enter the U. S. this year. More
are expected when Congress re-
vises the present DP act. Detroit's
Allied Jewish Campaign pro-
vides for adjustment of new-
comers through support of United
Truman for House Measure
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — Con- Service for New Americans.
Between - You and Me
Israeli diplomats' at the United Nations are not exactly disap-
The United Nations:
pointed over the fact that the General Assembly declined to vote
outright on Israel's application for UN membership and turned the
matter over to its Political Committee . • . But Israel's enemies
at Lake Success are elated by this move of the Assembly . • . Led
by Britain, they are now conducting a campaign behind the scenes
at Lake Success that no final action at all should be taken on the
Israeli application during the present session -of the Assembly and
that voting be postponed until the September session . . . By that
time the UN - Conciliation Commission will be ready with its report
regarding the internationalization of Jerusalem to which the Israeli
Government objects . . . Pro-Israeli forces at Lake Success are not
sitting by idly . . . They intend to see that the vote on Israel's admis-
sion to UN membership should be taken, under all circumstances,
at the present session of the Assembly . . It is admitted by UN
officials that Israeli diplomats at the United Nations were over-.
confident about Israel's immediate admission to the UN . . . They
did practically nothing to forestall any possible action on the part
of the anti-Israeli forces in the United Nations .. . This will be
rectified now.
In the diplomatic lobby of the UN, one can now hear plenty
cl compliments regarding Israel . .. They are made by high UN
officials in-the interests of the United Nations rather than the Israeli
Government ... Dr. Herbert. V. Evatt, president_ of the General
Assembly, and other -diplomats who are interested in strengthening
UN prestige, consider Israel as "Achievement No. 1" of the United
Nations • . . They claim that if not for the UN, the Palestin6 question
would have still remained unsolved . . • And they point to the fact
that it was the UN mediator, Dr. Ralph Dunche, who succeeded in
bringing about peace between the Jews and the Arabs . . . However,
they completely ignore the fact that if not for the Israeli Army, the
partition decision of the United Nations would not have been carried
cut even today . . . Israeli diplomats at. the United Nations do pot
permit this fact to be passed over ... I heard the Israeli Foreign
Minister -Moshe Sharett, reminding Evatt and others that the high
purpose which the United Nations had in adopting the Palestine
partition resolution has not been equalled by UN determination andt-
effectiveness ... Israeli diplomats are at the same time gratified to
hear UN leaders citing Israel as an example of what can be- achieved)
through peaceful 'mediation by the UN«
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