2
Harold Silver Gets Citation
—
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, February 9, 1951
Haggai and Gerbovoy
Address Histadrut
HAROLD SILVER, executive director of Resettlement Service,
receives a citation in behalf of the Jewish community for aid
given New Americans in Detroit. Mrs. IRVING M. ENGEL, hon-
orary president of United Service far New Americans, made the
presentation at the annual TJSNA national conference in New
York City. USNA is a beneficiary of the United Jewish Appeal
which receives support in Detroit through the Allied Jewish
Campaign.
Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
GENOCIDE: Its Origin—Now a Reality
When the League of Nations still was in existence as a name
that held out hopes which were never fulfilled, a Jewish scholar,
Dr. Raphael Lemkin, now a professor of law at Yale University,
submitted the draft of a law which would have prohibited the
destruction of nationality, racial and religious groups. The League's
leadership contended that since such a crime—which then had
no name—is unkown, it would not be feasible to adopt special
laws for rare occasions.
The subsequent occurrences now are a matter of tragic record.
In 1933 Prof. Lemkin used the name "Acts of Barbarism and Van-
dalism" in proposing his law. Startled by a statement made by
Winston Churchill at the beginning of World War II that "the
Nazis commit a crime without a name," Dr. Lemkin coined the
term "GENOCIDE"—from the Greek words genos (meaning nation
or race) and tide (meaning killing).
Prof. Lemkin, 47, whose relatives were murdered by the
Nazis in gas chambers, labored diligently for his idea. In his
book "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Anal-
ysis of Government, Proposals for Redress," published in 1944 by
Columbia Univerity. Press, he devoted a full chapter to the new
term, "Genocide." It was an uphill battle to assure the adoption
of. his proposal to outlaw the mass murder of peoples and re-
ligious groups.
As of Jan. 12-90 days after 20 member states of the United
Nations had ratified the Genocide Convention which was adopted
by the United Nations—Genocide has become an international
law. Members of governments and private individuals now are
punishable under the new world law code for participating in
genocide. Dr. Lemkin, admitting that economic sanctions as wea-
pons of the United Nations might prove very painful, pointed to
another type of instrument to enforce genocide:
Histadrut workers of t h e
Labor Zionist movement and
Trades and Professions divi-
sions will gather at the mid-
campaign breakfast S u n day,
10:30 a.m., at the Labor Zionist
Institute, to review campaign
accomplishments to date and to
map plans to hasten the com-
pletion of the campaign.
J o s eph Haggai, prominent
scholar and former resident of
Israel, will be guest speaker.
Abraham Gerbovoy, director
of community relations of the
National Committee for Labor
Israel, will address the weekly
Histadrut campaign rally
Thursday evening at the Labor
Zionist Institute.
Morris Liebermann, campaign
chairman, issued an urgent call
to friends of Histadrut for im-
mediate financial aid so that it
may continue its great historic
tasks in the up-building of the
Jewish State.
The first week of the special
"Namir Drive" indicates a defi-
nite increase in the tempo of
the campaign. Branch 10 of
LZOA is leading the labor Zion-
ist movement with 101%, LZOA.
branch 6 and PWO Club 1 with
83 %. The furniture division
reached 112% and communal
workers division 97%. Leaders of
the special drive are: N. Rose,
Bereznitzer; H. Laker, Pinsker;
H. Schumer, W. Gayman, N.
Cottler and W. Klafer. Farband
137; D. Mondry, LZOA 10; B.
Laiking, LZOA 3; S. Dronzek,
independent.
Urgent Plea to UJA
Immediate Financial Aid
Needed to Speed Rescue
Of 54,000 Iragian Jews
In an urgent plea to Edward
M. M. Warburg, general chair-
man of the United Jewish Ap-
peal, immigration authorities in
Israel called on American Jews
for immediate additional large-
scale financial help through the
United Jewish Appeal to make
possible the rescue before May
30 of 54,000 Jews from Iraq.
The Israeli plea for help,
which presented the United
Jewish Appeal with one of the
most serious emergencies since
the end of World War II, ex-
pressed the fear that Iraq will
terminate further Jewish immi-
gration to Israel at the end
of May.
The cabled appeal for help,
which followed a meeting of the
Israel government and Jewish
Agency immigration coordina-
tion committee and which was
attended by Foreign Minister
Moshe Sharett, emphasized that
aid must come immediately
through the UJA to mobilize a
fleet of airplanes and other re-
sources for a monthly move-
ment out of Iraq of 13,500 Jews.
The request for assistance
pointed out that this figure
represents an increase of 8,500
over the close to 5,000 trans-
ferred from Iraq each month
since last June.
Itzchak Raphael, Jewish
Agency immigration chief, who
signed the plea to Mr. Warburg,
informed the U J A general
chairman that the stepped-up
movement of Jews out of Iraq
would also force an upward re-
vision of Israel's total immigra-
tion from a present monthly in-
The American ORT Federa- flux of 15,000 to a near record
tion (Organization for Rehabili- of 22,000.
To make possible this emerg-
tation Through Training) has
ency increase in Israel's immi-
gration, the UJA general chair-
man was told that a serious cut-
back was being made in the
number of Jews scheduled to
come from other areas. Mr.
Haber Elected
ORT President
Warburg was assured, however.
that the cut-back would not
affect the regular inflow of
Jews from Romania.
United Jewish Appeal funds
rushed to Israel, Mr. Warburg
was told, will provide for the
monthly rescue of 13,500 JeWs
from Iraq, 5,000 from Romania,
with only 2,500 monthly from
other countries.
Community Clinics
Continued by JWF
More than 200 women partici-
pated in "community clinics"
sponsored by the Women's Di-
vision of the Jewish Welfare
Federation last month, and at
least this number will have an
opportunity to learn how the
Jewish community is organized
at 11 clinics planned for Febru-
ary, Mrs. Alexander W. Sanders,
chairman of the Division's edu-
cation committee, announced.
Hostesses for the February set
include Mesdames Frank Ber-
man, Richard Burton, Benja-
min Chestnut, Edward Lutz,
Jack Medvin, Harold R. Nelsoni
Ben Snider, David Vogel, Manny
Warshawsky and Leonard Wein-
berg. Organizations which have
scheduled clinics are American
Jewish Congress, Northwest
Child Rescue Women and ORT.
Participating in the clinics as
discussion leaders are Mesdames
Henry Berris, Max Chomsky,
Robert Coggan, L a w r enee
Fleischman, Samuel Grandon, I.
Jerome Hauser and Benjamin E.
Jaffe. Resource personnel in-
dude Mrs. Lewis B. Daniels,
Mrs. Stanley Fleischaker, Mari-
lyn Kopel, Mrs. Julian H. Krolik,
Mrs. Norman Naimark, Mrs.
Sanders and Irwin Shaw, Fed-
eration's assistant director.
.
- "The most important sanction will be condemnation by
world opinion. This is a most powerful weapon now in times of
a gigantic development of mass communication such as the
press and radio. The task of world opinion is facilitated now
that genocide is no longer a political affair but a crime like
homicide, larceny, or the kidnapping of children. Even dictators
appeal, in their own way, to public opinion and sometimes they
are concerned with its reactions. Here is an example: Hitler
had discussed the extermination of the Jews with some of his
close advisors. One of them warned him that he could not do
it because public opinion would be aroused against Germany.
Hitler answered: Who now remembers the Armenians? They
will also forget about the Jews.
"We are asked how can the Genocide Convention deal with
cases of genocide if committed in the Soviet Union? The answer
is simpler than we think. The Soviet Union is engaged in an
ideological struggle with the western world. It looks for friends
and supporters in the western world. First of all among work-
ing men. If a case of genocide committed in the Soviet Union
is put before the world opinion as a criminal case, not as a
political matter, then the Soviet Union will have to take into
consideration the human reactions of the western world and
especially of its present friends and supporters. Do you think
that a communist worker of a Detroit factory, a woman, a moth-
er of children, will approve throwing children into sewers or
other practices of genocide? Genocide is a crime which can be
committed only by the sub-human, by the most depraved part
of humanity. Certainly no government would like to sink to
the sub-human :level in world opinion. However, in this respect,
the Genocide Convention can work only if we will have the
decision to make it work. It can work only when our conscience
will be constantly kept awake and when we will press for actions
under this new law. But our task will be easier because we have
a law."
• The task could be made = easier if the world's leading nations
were to back it •up. Unforturiately, the United States Senate, ig-
noring the appeals of. F'resident Truman, thus far has failed to
act on the Genocide Convention. The Senate has been influenced
more powerfully by vested opposition interests in the American
Bar Association than by world public opinion. That is why Prof.
Lernkin was impelled to refer to the Genocide Convention as "still
a weak child."
When Israel ratified the Genocide Convention, Arthur Lourie,
speaking for the Jewish state at Lake Success, asserted that it is
"a symbol and a hope for a better world"; that "this Convention
and our adherence to it is a reminder of the millions of our people
destroyed for no reason but that of their race." It remains to be
seen whether Genocide will be forgotten, as the Armenians and
the Jews were to be forgotten in Hitler's augury. With that danger
constantly threatening us, we should ever be under the weight of
the challenge to make the Genocide law a working reality.
Between You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1951, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Political Talks
Mr. Schulson, Dr. Haber
elected Dr: William Haber
(right) as president and ap-
pointed Hyman A. Schulson ex-
ecutive director.
Dr. Haber, professor of eco-
n o m i c s at the University of
Michigan, was a special adviser
on Jewish affairs in the Ameri-
can zone in Germany. Mr.
Schulson was counsel to the
American Zionist Council (1946-
49) and adviser to the Jewish
Agency (1949-50)
Dinner in Jacobs'
Honor on Monday
Community leaders and rep-
resentatives will honor Herman
Jacobs, retiring executive direc-
tor of the Jewish Community
Center, at a dinner and recep-
tion Monday evening.
The affair is sponsored by of-
ficers and board members of the
Center.
Spokesmen fo -• the CommunitY
Chest, United Foundation, Jew-
ish Welfare Federation, Jewish
Center and other agencies which
Jacobs has served, will review
their years of association.
Mrs. Leonard H. Weiner, chair-
man of the committee planning
the testimonial, is assisted by
Mesdames Sidney J. Allen, Hy-
man C. Broder, Julius Chajes,
Joseph Geschelin, Samuel A.
Glogower, Harry L. Jones and
Maurice Landau. Mrs. Abraham
Cooper is chairman of the com-
mittee planning musical enter-
tainMent.
The danger which threatens the Middle East in the event of
an armed conflict between Moscow and the Western powers is
giving the rulers of the Arab countries food for thought . . . Syria
is taking the initiative in attempting to convince the other Arab
countries of the necessity of a defensive alliance which would in-
clude Turkey, but would have no apparent connections with
British or the United States . . . However, the Turkish govern-
ment apparently insists that a regional defense agreement for the
Middle East must include Israel .. . This condition is so far not
acceptable to Syria or any of the other Arab lands . . . The Syrian
move has been interpreted as aimed not only against the Soviet
Union, but against Israel as well ... The Western powers are in
complete accord with the Turkish viewpoint that a solid Middle
Eastern defense bloc must include Israel under all circumstances
. . . Syria's Premier Nazem elKudsi, during a tour of Arab cap-
itals, has made it clear to the Arab rulers that the fact that the
Middle East has not figured prominently in the East-West con-
flict for the past three years does not minimize the possibility that
the region may be in danger of Soviet invasion in a future war
. . . Azzam Pasha, secretary-general of the Arab League which
still advocates the destruction of Israel, has allegedly returned
from Washington to Egypt with a more friendly attitude toward
America . . . He indicates that his ;talks at the State Department
convinced him that the Arab states must incline toward the
Western camp.
Jewish Affairs
The Synagogue Council of America and the Jewish War Vet-
erans were the only two Jewish organizations called in by the
State Department for a "completely off the record" meeting .on
the current international situation . . . They were among. the
30 leading American organizations invited to hear Secretary of
State Dean Acheson and other high ranking officials on the state
of affairs in the world today.
Meyer Weisgal is one of the men active in the machinery
which Henry Montor is now organizing for the sale of Israel
bonds . . . He is trying to secure permanent support for the
Weizmann Institute from the Israel Treasury, so that he can move
back to the United States and assume the post of New York' di-
rector of the Israel bond campaign.
American Zionist leaders are beginning to formulate their
views with regard to the issues which are bound to arise at the
forthcoming World Zionist Congress scheduled for July .. . There
will be between 450 and 475 dedegates at the Congress . . 122
are from the United States, including 66 from the Zionist Organ-
ization of America and Hadassah . . . Some of the American Zi-
onist leaders now advocate reforms in the structure of the World
Zionist Organization . . . They insist upon the abolition of the
system of double representation for Zionists in Israel, claim this
privilege is a hangover from an earlier generation, and demand
a single standard of representation for Zionists in all countries.