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Modern Maccabees

Hanukah 5710

Hanukah's lesson never was as vivid as
it is today. For the first time since the days
of the Maccabees, we are able to recognize
miracles—because we have witnessed the oc-
eurence of miracles in our own lifetime.
When the story of Hanukah is recounted
today, Jews have the right to feel as if they
are experiencing anew the Maccabean strug-
gles and victories. The Hanukah story reads
as if it began not 2,116 years ago but in the
year 1947, when an enbattled Palestinian
Jewry fought against great odds to reclaim
its right to freedom and to political inde-
pendence.
Our prayers will have to be rewritten to
suit our own times. Jewry's thanks must be
uttered not only- fore the miracles in the era
of the Maccabees but also for the great
events which took place in our time.
We are living witnesses to the repetition
of events that occurred in the days of Ezra
and Nehemiah, in the years of the Macca-
bees, in the eras when. Jews fought and won
battles for economic, political, social, mili-
tary and religious freedom. Who is there
to deny that ancient history repeated itself ?
This, therefore, is a time for rejoicing.
This is a season for self-congratulation
that we were privileged to have witnessed
the miracles of our lifetime. This is a time
to greet the modern Maccabees, but our
greetings must be in the form of renewed
assurances that we shall not let them down.
Blessed be the miracles of old and the
victories of our day. May they lead to the
perpetuation of justice for Israel and all
mankind.

Nazis In Old Posts

A report from New York Times corres-
pondent Drew Middleton in Germany re-
veals that "in 1945 about 12,000 teachers
were dismissed from their jobs in Bavaria
because of their Nazi affiliations. Today
about 11,000 of them are back."
Middleton shows how "renazifica-
tion" is taking place not only in the elemen-
tary schools but also in the universities and
high schools. Basing his conclusions on fig-
ures • from an official report to the Office
of the Land (State) Commissioner for Ba-
varia, he states that "Bavaria is no worse
and no better than other states in western
Germany," and it is daily becoming clearer
that the Nazi ideology once again is in the
forefront in Germany.
The growing tension in Germany is em-
phasized in a report by the Vienna corres-
pondent of the Manchester Guardian who
describes a disturbing incident at Braunau,
Hitler's birthplace, during a debate between
Austrian Socialists and neo-Nazi Independ-
ents who won 16 seats in the recent elec-
tions. When a Socialist party member re-
called Nazi atrocities in the Jewish concen-
tration camps, one member of the audience
shouted, "We'll make lampshades of your
skin, too!"
Political atmospheres apparently a r e
changing wherever there are Germans and
the situation is becoming progressively worse
in view of the disturbing attitude prevailing
in Washington where concessions are being
made both to German and Austrian (for-
mer ?) Nazis.
Meanwhile there is evidence of increas-
ing anti-Semitism in Germany. A Jewish
cemetery was desecrated at Cham, in upper,
Bavaria, and 13 tombstones were over-
turned. Jews are less secure than ever and
once again the Nazis appear to be winning
in the political arena after losing two world
wars which they had started and in which
millions of lives were sacrificed under battle-
cries of "saving the world for democracy."

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers. Michigan Press Association.
Services: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Seven Arts Feature
Syndicate. King Features, Central Press Association, Palcor
News Agency.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1155.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit. Mich.. under Act of March 3, 1879.

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK. Advertising Manager
RUTH L. CASSEL, City Editor

Vol. XVI—No. 14 Page 4

December 16, 1949

Sabbath Hanukah ScriptUral Selections
Pentateuchal portions—Gen. 37:1-40:23; NUM.
7:18-23.
Hanukah Scriptural Selections
Prophetical portion—Zech. 2:14 74:7.
Sunday, NUM. 7:24-35; Monday, Num. 7:30-41;
Tuesday, NUM. 7:36-47; Wednesday, (Rosh Ho-
desh Tebet), Num. 28:1-15, 7:42-47; Thursday,
Num. 7:48-59; Friday, Num. 7:54-8:4.. .

Agitators Techniques,
German Anti-Semitism
Covered in Research

PROPHETS OF DECEIT: A Study of the Technique of the
American Agitator. By Leo Lowenthal and Norbert Guterman.
Harper & Bros.
REHEARSAL FOR DESTRUCTION: A study of Political
Anti-Semitism in Imperial Germany. By Paul Massing. Harper
& Bros.

The first in a series of studies in prejudice,
these two books are the result of thorough re-
search conducted in behalf of the American
Jewish Committee and its Department of Scien-
tific Research. Three additional volumes in this
series will appear soon and will present the re-
sult of the explorations into the social and psy-
chological roots of prejudice, with emphasis on
anti-Semitism.
In "Prophets of Deceit," the authors base their
findings and conclusions on speeches delivered
by anti-Semites. Coughlin and Smith orations
delivered in Detroit form a basis for study of the
techniques resorted to by demagogues and agi-
tators.
The agitators' themes, the authors state,
"constitute a kind of secret psychological lan-
guage." In his "ambiguous activity," we are told,
the agitator "never merely said, he always
hints." Always, in his hints, doubletalk, allusions,
"the agitator appeals to those elements of the
contemporary malaise that involve a rejection of
traditional western values."

Decline of- UN Prestige

Dr. Massing's "Rehearsal for Destruction"
is a highly valuable work because of its social
and political explorations and the fact that
. he deals with the background of historical
facts which led up to the Nazi outrages rather
than with the Hitlerite horrors themselves.
There are many important revelations in
this book. Dr. Massing shows that the anti
Semites in Germany were the city rather than
farm populations, that the highly-educated
were the leaders in promoting bigotry rather
than the lower classes. The universities, the
white collar assemblies, the petty officials were
the spreaders of anti-Semitism, and their
work was one of the results of German nation-
alist development of the past century.
The author, a non-Jewish anti-Nazi, has out-

Disregarding admonitions offered by realistic men that
the proposal to internationalize all of Jerusalem is unwork-
able, aside from its immoral purpose to deprive 100,000
Jews of citizenship in the Jewish state, the United Nations
General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the plan.
Faced with opposition from the Jewish community in
the New City of Jerusalem and the Jordan Arabs in the old
walled city, the UN is confronted with a task which her
representatives will find impossible to fulfil.
Acting under pressure from the Vatican and from the
Arab states which have been fearful of Abdullah's rise to
an important thesis which should serve as
power, the UN delegations refused to take into considera- lived
a guide in dealing with the newly-developing
tion the established facts:
German nationalism. He points out that "there
That modern Jerusalem was built by Jews and were movements in Germany which made the
is populated mostly by Jews ; that there are few holy places fight against Jews the mainstay of their activity
there—those now functioning in the New Jerusalem having long before Hitler rose to power." We learn that
been built after the Jews pioneered in establishing this com- the pre-Hitler anti-Semites "kept alive and dis-
munity; that Israel forces risked their lives to protect this seminated anti-Semitism throughout German
city and to defend the lives of its inhabitants against invad- culture" and that "they formulated the racist
ideology long before the Nazis came into ex-
ing forces who sought to destroy them ; that nothing would istence."
The knowledge of these facts should
have been left of this community if Israel had not defended help in the
battle against a recurring anti-
it; that the New Jerusalem derives its strength from Israel, Semitism.
pays taxes to Israel, is an inseparable part of Israel.
The problem of assimilation, the demands
Jordan's Arabs have entirely different arguments. They
that were made that Jews abandon their his-
contend that they are efficient enough to guard the Holy , torical connections with Jewry, the rise of labor
Places—contrary to the Jewish proposal that the UN should- 1 Zionism, the reactions of socialists against anti-
supervise the holy sites while leaving the New City along ,. Semitism are a part of . this thorough study
and permitting the Jews in the modern Jerusalem to retahr whose notes and references and appended docu-
ments shed a great deal of light on the subject
citizenship in Israel.
dealt with by Dr. Massing. .

In spite of these conditions, the Catholic church found
it feasible to enter into an unfortunate alliance with Arab
states which had invaded Israel in defiance of the UN and
sought to destroy the Jewish communities and with Soviet
Russia and her satellites who have reversed an earlier pro-
Israel stand.
It is possible that Russia's anti-Israel position is mo-
tivated not so much out of antagonism to Zionism (which
has not subsided) as against Jordan and Israel's supporters
in the Jerusalem issue : the United States and Great Britain.
It is much more difficult to understand the Vatican's po-
sition in view of the serious Israel efforts to establish friend-
ly relations with Catholic representatives and churches. Is-
rael has been commended highly by Catholic spokesmen
for her treatment of Holy Places, but the official Catholic
church ignores realities and forms new partnerships with
the Communist opportunists and with Arabs who now boast
that Mohammedanism and Christianity have jointly scored
a great triumph over Judaism.
The latter brazen statement is the most shocking result
of the entire Jerusalem debate. We are confident that Chris-
tians with a sense of dignity and justice will repudiate it
and we are hopeful that the Vatican will condemn such an
attitude which is rooted in bigotry and inhumanity.
*
It is a source of great encouragement to know that the
United States has recognized the fallibility of the adopted
UN proposal on Jerusalem. Our government has opposed
the plan and continues to look upon it with disfavor.
Thus, the U. S. spokesmen are trying to direct the
Trusteeship Council along paths of practicality and rea-
son, and there remains a slight hope that the threatened
dangers inherent in the adopted 'UN plan will be averted.
Meanwhile there is one important point to be made at
this time in evaluating the Jewish position:
On the eve of the latest UN decision, 50,000 Jerusalem
Jews, under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Halevy
Herzog, vowed never to give up the New Jerusalem which
they had built with their sweat and defended with their
blood. They repeated the "Im eshkachech Yerushalayim tish-
kach yemini"—"If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, may my right
hand forget its cunning," and they now stand firm by the
words of the Psalmist. Only people blind to reality can over-
look the fact that this vow was made in all sincerity, that
Jews who are fighting for freedom will not reverse it, that
even without such a vow Jews would be compelled to reject
the UN decision because it would rob them of citizenship in
the Jewish state and of their status as free men and women.
Because the UN ignored these truths its prestige has reached
a new low in the Jerusalem decision. .

The documents are in themselves a valuable
asset to those who desire to understand the
psychology of bigots. Stoecker's first -anti-Semi-
tic speech, the Catholic Center Party's attitude,
Engel's letter, the Marxist appraisal of Zionism
and the reply by a Jewish socialist are among
the valuable documents incorporated in this
study which acquires great significance in ef-
forts to protect libertarianism.

Facts You Should Know .

What does the term "Parve" mean?

Since it is forbidden to mix meat and dairy
foods or utensils, most foods or utensils are
known as either "Milchig," which means dairy,
or "Fleishig," which means "meat." New Uten-
sils which have not yet been used for either, or
foods which are vegetables and therefore. not
categorized as either meat or dairy foods, are
called "Parve," or neutral.

Why does an orphan begin to put on _the
Tefillin at 12 instead of at 13?

Though this _custom is widely accepted, not
all traditionally legal sources accept it. The
"Aruch Hashuichan" disagrees with this practice
entirely, claiming the age of 13 as a universal
standard. Sources that accept this custom claim
a boy who has parents will have someone to
look after his training for some time in advance
of his 13th birthday, in preparation for maturity
where he will be fully trained in such things as
wearing Tefillin. An orphan, without parents to
guide and train him starts to put on the Tefillin
a year in advance so that when his 13th birth-
day comes he is well trained. It is also claimed
that the deceased parent of an orphan boy
needs an heir to do good deeds in his memory.
The orphan thus commences putting on Tefillin
a year earlier to justify his parents' standing in
the tribunal of heaven; showing that the heir
observes religious commandments, even before
the time.

Why is it customary for those present at the
burial rites to cover the grave with earth?
This is the. last honor to be performed and

it resembles the loving affection with which a
mother draws the covers over her sleeping child.
It indicates that even in death men should help
and comfort each other. Some feel that it adds
to the forgiveness which the deceased seeks in
the eyes of the Heavenly tribunal. Others in-
dicate that it is a symbol of the fact that all
will eventually follow the path to the grave and
that the deceased is only a sten ahead.

