`This Our Pledge'
As the Editor
Views the News
Book Tells Aspects of
That Era's Jewish Life
S h e v u o th
Shevuoth, the Feast of Weeks, tradition-
ally had the double significance as a religious
and agricultural festival—as the event com-
memorating the acceptance of the Torah on
Sinai as well as the completion of the harvest
in the Land of Israel.
In our own time Shevuoth has acquired
added significance as the festival of con-
firmation, as the period of graduations and
of the dedication of youth t6 the ideals of
Judaism.
This festival, with all its joyous implica-
tions, carries a challenge into every Jewish
home. Its traditions admonish all of us not to
think merely in terms of the parties and cele-
brations in honor of confirmands and con-
secrants, but also to consider the future link-
ing of young Jews with their people and
their ideals.
Shevuoth must be treated as a festival
for solemn re-dedication of Jews to Judaism,
of the pledging of young Jews to continue
their education, of inspiring leadership for
the perpetuation of the highest principles in-
herent in Jewish living. In this spirit,
Shevuoth holds a major place on the Jewish
calendar.
AMERICAN JEWRY AND THE CIVIL WAR. By Bertram
W. Korn. Philadelphia, Pa., The Jewish Publication Society
of America, 1951. 345 pages, 22 illustrations. $4.
A Review by Dr. Jacob R. Marcus
Professor of History, Hebrew 'Union College
Challenge to Human Welfare
A protest by the American Zionist Council against the
ill-timed and inconsiderate sponsorship by the American dele-
gation to the United Nations of the resolution adopted by the
By way of London, we learn of a report Security Council, ordering cessation of drainage of the Huleh
heard over the Cairo radio that a mission of swamps, brought a reply to Louis Lipsky, chairman of the
17 officers has been sent to Sweden by the . Council, from U. S. Ambassador Warren Austin.
"The sponsors of the resolution agree that the drainage
Egyptian Ministry of War and Marine to
train for six months in "war factories." The project would undoubtedly promote the general welfare of
report states that on their return to Egypt the area, and that, therefore, they would like to see it put
these officers will organize, together with into effect as soon as possible," Mr. Austin wrote, adding that
four German exnerts—who already are in "the purpose of the temporary suspension of the project is
Cairo—and four Swedes, the four war fac- to facilitate the achievement of a pacific settlement of the
dispute."
tories to be set up in Egypt.
Mr. Austin was present when Israel's UN Representa-
The same Cairo radio broadcast stated
that the Egyptian cabinet has ended the tive Abba Eban admonished the Security Council: "I doubt
if any country in the world could ever have carried out a pro-
state of war between Egypt and Germany.
In the meantime, the Egyptians are incit- ject of land development or irrigation if it had not been able
ing trouble against Israel and are arming to assert the public interest as a higher right than that of
unconditional private ownership." The U. S. statesman knows
to the teeth.
The tie-up between Egypt and Germany from experience that this is true—that public interests have
is symptomatic of the links that existed be- justified condemnations of properties, for which communities
tween the Nazis and the Arab nations during have paid assessed purchase fees, in order to. make possible
the last war. Only when it became apparent vast improvements in communal areas for the public good.
that Germany was licked did Egypt declare Yet, the American delegation was responsible for harm to
a state of war. Up to that point, - Nazism was Israel by sponsoring the damaging.resolution.
These things need to be said in order that there should
encouraged—chiefly as a means of stifling
Jewish progress and of destroying the Pales- not be any misunderstanding regarding the desires of Israel
to drain swamps and restore health to the Holy Land. Only
tinian Jewish communities.
Israel's triumph has not dampened Egyp- seven acres are Arab-owned—and the area affected embraces
tian pro-Nazism. .The new Egyptian-German a territory of 25,000 acres. But the Syrians, for military rea-
alliance of "experts" is another indication sons, stood in the way of the project and enlisted the aid of
of the brewing troubles which place Israel all the Arab states to resort to political blackmail in extort-
ing from the- Security Council a resolution that negates the
on guard against the aggressors.
Those who aspire to peace and retain a Preamble to the UN Charter which solemnly calls for the
loyalty to the struggling Jewish pioneers in promotion of "social progress and better standards of life in
Israel must not forget the implications of the larger freedom."
In his admonitions to the Security Council, Mr. Eban,
continuing alliance between Egyptians and
whose health has been sadly undermined by pressure of work
Germans.
in defense of Israel's position, quoted from Dr. Nelson
Glueck's book "The Jordan River":
Egypt and Germany
•
New Settlements
The 501st and 502nd settlements in Israel
—one of them a co-operative Iraqi village—
have been established on the road to Jeru-
salem.
Energetic little Israel carries on her task
of rehabilitating the oppressed and extending
the lifeline of the infant state with courage.
The number of settlements is mounting
a nd the population is swelling daily.
The sweat and blood that marks this trail
to progress is the symbol of pioneering which
defies desolation and brings order out of
chaos in the land that has been devastated
by centuries of neglect. The pioneer is bring-
ing progress into the Middle East.
THE JEWISH NEWS
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers, Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., W0.5-1155.
Subscription $4 a year; foreign $5.
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
Vol. XIX—No. 12
Page 4
'U. S. Jewry and Civil War'
June 8, 1951
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the fifth clay of Sivan, 5711,
the following selections will be read in our syn-
agogues.
Pentateuchal portion—Num. 1:1-4:20.
Prophetical portion—Hos. 2:1-22.
Shevuoth Scriptural Selections
Pentateuchal portions: Sunday, Ex. 19:1-20:23,
N2/77/. 28:26-31; Monday, Dent. 15:19-16:17, Num.
28:26-31.
Prophetical portions—Sunday, Ezek. 1:1-28,
3:12; Monday, Hab. 3:1-19.
"It is low and hot and feverish in the Huleh section whose
waters are gathered into a small Lake Huleh at its southern
end. Practically all children born in the swamps in the spring
and summer months die in early infancy with malaria; their
elders are worn by the ravages of this disease."
Israel seeks to make this a healthy spot for young and
old, but the Security Council, acting on a resolution spon-
sored by our misled statesmen, temporarily-stands in the way
of progress.
The Huleh area is vital for Israel. It was vital for Pales-
tine when the British assumed Manditory powers and, more
than 30 years ago, the United Kingdom delayed accepting
the Palestine Mandate until the Huleh region was included in
the Palestine area. David Lloyd George was quoted to the
Security Council as stating at " that time that his country
could not accept a mandate for "a Palestine which would
merely include the barren rocks `:of Judea, and which might
at any moment be rendered a desert through the cutting off
of the waters flowing through the same."
Mr. Eban asserted that there is "little distinction from
that remark and the statement that for these areas to fall
under Syrian conrol would place the State of Israel and its
developments at the mercy of Syria" by quoting this addition-
al declaration of Mr. Lloyd George.
"The waters of Palestine were essential to its existence.
Without those waters, Palestine would be a wilderness; and all
Jews were unanimously agreed that the sources of Hermon, and
the head-waters of the Jordan were vital to the existence of the
country. On the other hand, those same waters were of no use
to anyone holding Syria. They could in effect ,nIy be used for
the purpose of bargaining or fox the purpose of obtaining con-
cessions from Palestine."
Yet, the British and American delegates to the UN voted
in favor of a wilderness!
The statement addressed to Mr. Lipsky by Ambassador
Austin offers some hope that Israel will not be obstructed for
long.
In order for Israel to overcome the obstacles that have
been placed in her path it is necessary that those who strive
for human welfare should fight on her side. That is why the
Zionist organizations and their allies must continue to func-
tion with full power to prevent perpetuation of injustice. The
The writing of American Jewish history is
coming into its own these days. Maybe Adolph
Hitler is partially responsible for this. He de-
stroyed a majority of ',he Jews in Europe,
bringing to an end almost a thousand years of
Europe's cultural and religious leadership of
World Jewry.
Dr. Bertram Wallace Korn the author of
"American Jewry and the Civil War," now rabbi
of Temple Keneseth Israel, Philadelphia, began
his career as a historian at American Jewish
Archives and Hebrew Union College.
This is not a book on the Civil War, on the
participation of Jews in that great conflict.
Those who desire to scan the war records of
Jews in the days of '61 may with profit consult
the material collected by Simon Wolf in "The
American Jew as Patriot, Soldier, and Citizen."
Korn has set out to study and tc write of cer-
tain specific aspects of Jewish life during the
war period. This is a thorough, scholarly work.
It gives the facts, soberly, and interprets them
dispassionately and objectively.
Of course, the question of slavery and anti-
slavery sentiment among Jews is discussed in
considerable detail. The author, quite correctly,
demonstrates that the Jews, always sensitive to
the influences of their immediate environment,
split on this subject just like their fellow-Amer-
icans. The Jews of the South were, with prac-
tically no exceptions, pro-slave; those ,of the
North were more divided.
Dr. Korn points out that during the Civil
War, Jews were, at first, not permitted, by law,
to enjoy the ministrations of their own clergy.
He traces the successful campaign to change the
law, a struggle that was led by America's first
Jewish civic-protective association, The Board of
Delegates of American Israelites.
Many years ago, Isaac Wise, one of America's
most distinguished rabbis, said that prejudice
against the Jew first manifested itself during the
Civil War period. Rabbi Korn has made an in-
tensive study of the problem of "anti-Semitism"
as it expressed itself in those days in the North
and in the South, in civilian homes and in army
encampments.
He devotes a whole chapter to General U. S.
Grant's unfortunate General Order, No. 11,
which drove the Jews out of certain army dis-
tricts in the South, on the charLe that they were
buying cotton from the enemy. Some historians
of today are inclined to think that Grant's order
was issued for the purpose of removing compet-
ing Jewish cotton buyers, and may well have
been prompted by the avarice of high military
officers and politicians with influence in Wash-
ington.
One of the best chapters in Korn's study is
his detailed description of Lincoln's relations
with the Jews during his term as President.
This is a good book, well worth having. It is
well written, informative, and authoritative.
'The Island in Time'
Novel Views Life of
Refugees in Camp
"The Island In Time" by Ernst Pawel (Double-
day, 575 Madison, NY 22) is a new novel by a
new author. It is the story of a man who, • from
personal experience, described, in his novelized
version of a great drama, the life of refugees in
an UNRRA camp in Italy.
It is really much more than that. It is the
story of a conflict between a group that was de-
termined to go to Palestine—in spite of British
interference—and those who insisted on staying
on, on finding refuge elsewhere.
Yehuda Abramov is the Palestinian emissary
who organized the move to Palestine. He mo-
bilized most of the refugees to enlist in the haz-
ardous effort to find a permanent haven in the
Jewish homeland. Rene, who tells the story in
the first person, rebelled and stayed on. But
Sidney Reznick, the Brooklyn-born head of the
DP camp, who let the displaced persons decide
for themselves, personally took the road to Israel
after his resignation.
The ideological conflict throws light on the
differences that tore some groups asunder, that
divided DPs and caused battles where there
should have been unity. But the rift over Pale-
stine—before Israel was a reality—was serious.
Not only Palestine, but also the U. S. beckoned
to the survivors from Nazism.
One of the actors in the drama, commenting
on the death of one of the DPs, put his finger on
the sad mess, thus: "The real horror is that a
man gat killed and nobody, but nobody, gives a
damn."
"The Island In Time"—the title representing
the DP camp—is not a first-rate novel, but it
has a great deal of merit from the point of view
of the light it throws on the battles among the
DPs over internal struggles. In the main, it is a
battle for justice—in Israel as elsewhere—has not ended. • I well told story.