Slomovitz Reports from Israel:
Jewish Agency Seeks $30,000,000 Gov't Loan
Funds Needed to Facilitate
Immigration to New State
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Exclusive Cables to the Jewish News
TEL 'AVIV Amid feelings of the general population that
Jerusalem will remain in the control of the Israel government,
the finance committee of the Knesset this week appointed
a. fact finding body to study proposals to negotiate a 10 mil-
lion pound ($30,000,000) government loan for the Jewish
Agency. •
—
This crisis in the • Jewish
Agency, which facilitates the
immigration of European Dis-
placed Persons, has cropped up
in recent weeks and only in the
last week or two has its plight
of an unbalanced budget. tlirown
a shadow across the path of the
Israel-bound refugees.
Officially, the all - important
loan sought is necessary for the
Agency to balance its budget
within the next six months.
Thousands of Homes
Significant with the feelings
that Jerusalem will remain a
part of Israel (with some sort
of United Nations control of the
holy places) was the fact that
the revival of the countrywide
.Sukkot pilgrimage into Jeru-
salem was marked without inci-
dent.
In my visit to the various sec-
tions of the country I noticed
with much gratification the
speed in which the workers are
constructing thousands of new
homes signifying the integration
of the new settlers.
The country's economy ap-
pears more stable with living
costs off 15 percent and there
is much ado about the in-
creased allotment of meat.
On a tour through Rishon le-
Zion, on the road from Lydda to
Tel Aviv, remain the strewn
ruins of the Jewish-Arab fight-
ing, but the Arab villages re-
main untouched. Minarets.
midst the rubble are proof that
the holy places along the road
were undefiled.
While the settlers continue to
marvel over the acquisition of
security since the Arab flight,
none appear to be worried over
the Jerusalem problem.
For weeks on end, before leav-
ing the U. S., we witnessed con-
sternation in American Jewish
ranks. Our people were worried
over the status of Jerusalem.
Panic Prevails
Panic, equivalent to the skep-
ticism that caused gloom in Jew-
ish ranks prior to the Nov. 29,
1947, UN decision on Palestine,
was the order of the day.
It is different in Israel. Al-
though UN action on the Jeru-
salem issue was deferred until
Noveinber, Israel's population is
little concerned about the mat-
ter now and never has let it
Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Paris interlude
al recognition to the poltical
status of the Government of
Israel in Jerusalem."
Source of Pride
The confidence which supports
Israel's attitude on Jerusalem
stems from a source of pride in
the Israel spokesman at Lake
Success.
Leaders and laymen alike=7
those who were in position to
read and to study the masterful
and statesmanlike address of the
Hon. Aubrey S. Eban before the
UN General Assembly at Flush;-
ing - Meadow—are deriving joy
from the dignity with whichthe
Jewish position was presented.
There is particular satisfac-
tion with Eban's following dec-
larations in his historic address:
"It would be a disservice to
realistic investigation to ig-
nore the exact relationship ex-
PHILIP SLO-
MOVITZ, pub-
lisher and edi-
tor of The Jew-
ish News, and
MRS. SLOMO-
VITZ, are
shown on the
first step of
their
pilgrim-
age to Israel, as
they boarded
an Air France
plane at . Idle-
wilde 'Airfield,
New York, en-
route to Paris.
From there,
they flew to
Lydda Airport,
Israel. Mr. Slo-
movitz' f irst
dispatch from
the Jewish
State is on this
page.
isting between the Jews of Jer-
usalem and the State of Israel
at this time; for that relation-
ship profoundly affects the
task of the General Assembly
in the Jerusalem question. The
situation may be briefly de-
scribed.
ulcerize its every day thinking
and living.
The reason for Israel's reac-
tions is an obvious one.
The Jewish State is deter-
mined to hold Jerusalem and to
stick to insistence on one point:
that the Holy Places should be
internationalized—with Israel's
help and consent.
economically—of the State of
Israel; and to have the shrines
and Holy Places in both cities
of Jerusalem under careful
responsible United Nations au-
thority.
"Let us not confuse eternal
and abstract values with the
problems of every-day citizen-
ship."
There Is Unanimity
This declaration by one of the
most eminent Christian author-
ities in the U. S. is in line with
the following assertion before
UN General Assembly by Israel's
UN Representative Aubrey S.
Eban: •
"My delegation will propose
the General Assembly should
limit the commitment of the
United Nations to the safe-
guarding of Holy Places and in-
itiate such formal agreements as
may be necessary between the
United States and the tSate of
Israel for the implementation of
those safeguards. My govern-
ment aspires to full internation-
Insofar as the New Jerusalem
and its Jewish population of
100,000 are concerned, there is
unanimity—except for the dif-
fering view of the fanatic Netu-
rei Kartha group—that on one
has a right or dares to inter-
fere with the freedom of the
Jerusalemites who are linked in-
divisbly with Israel..
In Israel, there is a feeling of
satisfaction over the viewpoint
expressed on the Jerusalem is-
sue by the Rev. Daniel Poling,
one of the leading American
Christians.
Dr. Poling's letters to the New
York Times and the Washington
News appear to express the
agreed attitude of Christians and
Jews who are concerned that
there should be no unnecessary
disturbances in Jerusalem as a
result of unjust decisions.
ORLY AIRPORT, Paris, Oct. 5—Even the superb service of
Air France is not sufficient to excite the brief stay in Paris for
your two travelers on the way to their pilgrimage to Israel. It is
the ultimate goal that matters: One more day, and we shall be
circling over the small but Holy Land. Ours will be the privilege
of seeing in action the developing Jewish community which, for
the first time since the Bar Kochba rebellion in the year 135, is
free and independent.
Thus, Paris is merely an interlude. It is good to be able to
take a long vacation—the first in many years. Your Commentator
sets foot on European soil for the first time since 1910, and for his
native American wife it is the first trip abroad. France is inter-
esting—but only as an interval, as a between-the-acts inspection
Text of Letter
of a great community on the road to the land of miracles. Israel
Dr. Poling's letter, treasured
is the goal of the two pilgrims—Israel for which we labored so
many years in order to achieve the most sacred humanitarian here, stated:
"I have just read the report
act: The end of homelessness for unfortunate people.
We are about to enter the Fourth Jewish Commonwealtn. of the plans for the inter
Israel's political life first began with the Exodus from Egypt. There nationalization of Jerusalem
proposed by the United Na-
is dispute over the year. Some claim that the Exodus took place
in 1226 B.C.E. There are Biblical archaeologists and chronologists tions Palestine Conciliation
who claim that the year was 1445 B.C.E. The Israelites entered Committee, and I cannot rid
my mind of the memory of
the Promised Land 40 years later—after four decades of wander-
ing in the desert—either in 1405 or 1186 B.C.E.—when the First two phrases deep-rooted in
Christian thought and tradi-
Commonwealth began. The land of the Hebrews was subjugated
and attacked many times, until the establishment of a monarchy tion: "The Earthly Jerusalem"
under Saul and the House of David. The two rival states—the and "The Heavenly Jerusalem."
"Ancient as these phrases
Kingdoms of Judah and Israel—were established in 933 B.C.E.
are, they have, it seems to me,
The latter ended in 721 B.C.E. when it was conquered by Assyria.
a very direct bearing on the
The former was subdued by the Bablyonians in 586 B.C.E.—the
year of the end of the First Commonwealth, on Tisha (the ninth) present tangled poltical situ-
ation in the Middle East.
b'Ab.,
"The Earthly Jerusalem of
The exiles were permitted to return to Judaea by Persia's
our time—the workaday cities
King Cyrus in 538 B.C.E. The Temple was restored. The Latter
Prophets preached and life began anew for Hebrews on their of Arabs and Jews—is no con-
native soil. The Second Jewish Commonwealth began in 168 cern of the international com-
munity. Those cities are the
B.C.E. when the Maccabaeans defeated Antiochus Epiphanes. An-
other glorious period commenced for the Jewish people, but it specific abiding places of men
lasted only 77 years. When Pompey stormed Jerusalem in the and women who have as much
year 63 B.C.E., on Yom Kippur, the Second Commonwealth fell. right as any of us anywhere
to liye normal lives as citizens
There were subsequent periods of independence— from 37 to 4
- Heavenly Jerusalem .
B.C.E. and from 41 to 44 C.E.
"It is the Heavenly Jerusa-
But there followed a very short era of complete independence
from • 66 to 70 C. E.—after the reassertion of Jewish national lem—as conjured up by the
feeling which was -demonstrated in a Revolutionary War. The shrines and memories that
years 66-70 of the present era were the brief years of the Third evoke Bible past and Bible
Jewish Commonwealth. This period could be recorded as having truths—that must be the pos-
lasted until 73, year of the last stand in the Third Common- session of all mankind.
"To me, at least, it seems
wealth, at Masada. Thereafter, there were other revolts, notably
the one led by Bar Kochba in 132-135. But since the year 135 obvious that the . best • and
Jewry Was in - ' complete exile. The introduction to the Fourth most desirable way, out of the
Commonwealth embodied in the famous Declaration issued in Jerusalem tangle,, ls to have
behalf of the British government by Arthur James Balfour who the Arab-inhabited . Old • City
become an inteirat part of
has been: referred to as the Modern Cyrus., The -rest is known
story,-since all 'of us have lived through the acts of struggle for whatever state will -be set :up
in the non-Israeli parts of Pal-
complete independence.
Soon, we shall step on Holy Soil—in the Fourth Commonwealth. estine; to have the new Jew-
known as Israel and .inhabited by a new people known as Israelis. ish city of .Jerusalem an in-
tegral . part—as it already ac-
Blessed be the morrow on which we alight at Lydda. And blessed
Wally is, both spiritually and
the land of our citizenship, whence we come and to which we
hope to return:with good tidings—the glorious US.Ae',which has
con tributed so much; towards th,e indepen dence,py. 2—THE JEWISH NEWS
Friady, (fetcher 14, 1949
Israel.
"When a law is promulgated
in Israel, the Jews of Jerusa.!
lern obey it. When the parlia-!
mentary institutions of Israel
are elected the Jews of Jeru-
salem, help to elect them and
participate in their operation.
"When civil or criminal lit--
gation arises in Jerusalem, it
is to the courts of Israel alone
that the Jews of Jerusalem
take their case. The coinage
and stamps of Jewish Jerusa-
lem are the coinage and
stamps of Israel. The slowly.
reviving economy of Jerusa-
lem is sustained and nourish-
ed from the State of IsraeL .
Special Strength
"Yet there is one particular
aspect in which the link be-
tween Jewish Jerusalem and
the State of Israel has an al-
together special strength. In
1947 the United Nations, hav-
ing undertaken full responsi-
bility, both for the religious
and secular life of Jerusalem
declined to carry out any re-
Continued on Page 14
Between You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
UN Trends
(Copyright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
The fight around the question of whether Jerusalem should
be internationalized is .. assuming a new aspect in the lobbies of
the United Nations . . One can hear some UN diplomats sug-
gesting quietly that the entire issue be left open for another
year . . . They believe that if the present session of the General
Assembly will not take any concrete action on the recommenda-
tions to have Jerusalem internationalized, it may be easier to
straighten the matter out at the next Assembly session . . • Their
opinion is that time will point the best way to the solution of the
problem . . . In Jewish circles the feeling prevails that this is one
case where time would work in favor of Israel.
United Nations experts who are studying the problem from
every angle are of the opinion that .internationalization of Jeru-
salem can not definitely be enforced against Israel's will .
Even members of the American delegation at the UN are begin-
ning to realize that imposing internationalization of Jerusalem
on Israel will be a most difficult job . . . However, no American
delegate has so far revealed his views on the subject to any
member of the Israel delegation . . ..It is being taken for granted
that the State Department will modify its policy advocating the
placing of all Jerusalem under international control, although
the U. S. Government is under heavy pressure to stick to.its policy
as announced by Secretary of State Dean Acheson . . . The chief
pressure is coming from the Catholic Church .. . American dip-
lomats claim that Cardinal Spellman, who conferred with Presi-
dent Truman on the Jerusalem issue prior to his making a trip
to the Vatican, is more "liberal" on this subject than "the younger
elements" in the Catholic Church in America . . . Britain would
rather see Jerusalem partitioned and not internationalized, since
this would keep Catholic influence out of Jerusalem.
This and That
The anti-Semitic movement in America has suffered two more
blows . .. One of the oldest anti-Semitic publications, AID, sus-.
pended publication . .. Another periodical, American in Danger,
has also ceased publication . .. Zionist, groups in America are
already embarking on campaigns for the sale of Shekolim for the
23rd World Zionist Congress . . . The Congress will be held next
June in Jerusalem . . . Sixty - seven scholarships at 33 colleges and
universities were awarded this term by the Shapiro Foundation.
. . . They bring the total of such scholarships to 817 since the
foundation was started 12 years ago by Benjamin Shapiro and
his brother, the late Max J. Shapiro, textile manufacturers .
The Philosophical Library of New York will publish at the end
of this year a book on the Army of Israel by Lt. Col. Moshe
Pearlman, chief of the public relations department of Israel's
armed forces .. . The volume will be richly illustrated and will
offer the first complete history of the origin and development of •
the Haganah, which evolyeci,intothe arnwoktkie.A.wish.,Aate.".. fi