As the Editor
Views the News ...

Uncle Sam, Keep Him Out !

Arabs on the March

Arab propagandists are on the march
again. Editorial offices are being flooded
with vitriolic attacks written by anti-Zionist
. educators and by emissaries from Moslem
countries. The chief object at the moment is
to defeat Israel's efforts to secure an Ameri-
can Grant-in-Aid in the amount of $150,000,-
000. From present indications they have
scored a partial victory. The State Depart-
ment favors a grant to Israel to be limited to
$25,000,000, and it will take a lot of battling
to break down resistance from a source that
has never been too friendly to the Jewish
state.
A typical example of anti-Israel propa-
ganda is a letter to the New York Times by
Dr. William Ernest Hocking, the notorious
anti-Zionist. Dr. Hocking makes the state-
ment that as an American citizen he resents
being called on "to support not democracy
in the East, but the self-interested aims of a
.state willing to create for itself an environ-
ment . seething with potential hostilities,
whose consequences we shall have to share
just to the extent that we abet Israel." He
adds that "we can safely lend our support
to Israel only when we can make it clear
to all, including the Arabs, that we are not
supporting Israel against the Arabs."
This is a rather brazen statement which
seeks to to give the impression that Israel,
not the Arabs, are constantly fomenting
trouble. Dr. Hocking does not indicate that
the Arabs and not Jews were the aggressors;
that Israel, not the Arab states, consistently
pleaded for peace.
There is one encouraging note in his
letter: he does refer to Israel. Until recently
it has been the policy Of men like him, and
of Arab spokesmen, to refuse to mention
Israel by name.. Now they are acknowledg-
ing Israel's existence. It is therefore to be
hoped that before long they also will recog-
nize the validity of assisting the Jewish state,
the only true democracy in the entire Mid-
dle Eastern area.
The question of a Grant-in-Aid to Israel
nevertheless remains a serious one to be
dealt with both by Jews and non-Jews. In a
recent article, the noted columnist, George
Sokolsky, has this to say:

"The value of Israel to the United States is
not sentimental. It has to do with having a
friendly nation in the Middle East, so that
if we need to defend ourselves against Rus-
sian imperialism, we shall not be faced there
by universal antagonism.
"Although this country has done much for
the Arabs, the fact is clear that in the United
Nations, the Arabs stood by India against the
United States in Korea. The Arab-Indian
alliance imperiled our position in Asia. They
seek neutrality—a middleman's course, getting
benefits where they can and ducking obliga-
tions.
"In a word, this is the time to make friends
in the Middle East and by friends, I do not
mean such as love us platonically, but such
as will stand up in a fight as Chiang Kai-
shek has been willing to do and as the South
Koreans have done. Our only prospect for
this kind of practical friendship is in Israel.
"The objection to the grant can come only
from the State Department's unwillingness
to antagonize the Arabs. If we help Israel
to build a western outpost in the Middle
East, the Arabs will have to think twice about
their kind of neutrality which endangers
America."

These are basic facts. They must be re-
membered by all who seek to do justice to
Israel.
Meanwhile Jewish spokesmen must rec-
ognize that the battle for a grant-in-aid has
only begun and that vile propaganda from
Arab quarters must be met with a coura-
geous stand in defense of truth.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Sephardic and Ashkenazic
Jewries United in Israel

By FRANK SIMONS
(An American Jewish Press Featiire)
The bonds of a native land and a common
tongue are today, in Israel, serving to reconcile
two branches of Jewry, each of which boasts of
an ancient and proud heritage.
For many centuries Ashkenazic and Sephar-
dic Jewries had maintained separate customs
and a different language. The two groups bad
little concern for each other, sometimes to the
point of outright hostility.
The Sephardim, centering mostly in Spain
and Portugal, enjoyed their greatest period of
renown during the "golden age" which preceded
the discovery of America in the 15th Century.
The Ashkenazic J e w s were confined in the
ghettos of Europe, and, having little contact with
the non-Jewish world, developed their own aris-
tocratic culture.
After 1492, violent persecutions of the Se-
phardim forced their removal from Spain, and
165,000 emigrated mainly to North Africa, France,
Italy, Holland and Turkey. They formed their
own language, Judeo-Spanish, which was called
"Ladino," still spoken by Jews in Spain and Tur-
key today.
As ideals of freedom and equality spread
throughout Europe, the Ashkenazic Jews became
powerful factors in the enlightenment which
spread through Germany, France, Austria-Hun-
In the City of Philadelphia, in the Independence Hall gary, Poland and Russia. Their prominence is
which cradled our liberty and watched it grow into our demo- most evident today, as the history of modern
Jewry is dominated by the achievements of the
cratic way of life, a great celebration will take place on July Ashkenazic
Jews.

4i) JEW1Sti TC.C.E4fAVIIK ft4EACY

175th Independence Anniversary

4, marking the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Decla-
ration of Independence.
In a special Executive Order issued by President Truman,
marking this historic event, it is indicated that "we, the
people of the United States, should carry on our efforts for
peace and freedom with a fuller understanding of the great
truths set forth in the Declaration of Independence, with
renewed determination to maintain our cherished freedom,
with faith and hope in that Divine Providence which has pro-
tected our country from its beginnings."
The Philadelphia Independence Homecoming Program
marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,
is a signal for similar observances throughout the land, in-
cluding our own city. It is heart-warming to note that special
themes for the celebration mark the reaffirmation of Ameri-
can idealism. The central themes for the current celebration
are: "In God We Trust"; "E Pluribus Unum" ("One froni
Many") ; "Qiiir lives, Our Fortune and Our Sacred Honor"
"United We Stand." And the Advertising Cothacil of America,
spearheading special promotional material, uses the slogan
"Freedom Needs YOU!"'
Indeed, Freedom needs every American to perpetuate
the ideal of justice which has made America great. The spirit
of 1776 calls upon all of us to make this "one nation indivis-
ible." We rejoice that the 175th anniversary of American
independence finds this country strong in the faith that the
democratic ideal, as we defend it, can never be destroyed.

Abe Kasle's Fighting Words'

in his closing message of the 1951 Allied Jewish Cam-
paign, Abe Kasle uttered some. "fighting words." He issued
a challenge to the community for a partnership in the total
efforts of the Jewish Welfare Federation and he saw fit to
criticize those elements which abstained from active work
and resorted chiefly to lip service, without regard to the
true objectives of democratic programs. He was "sorry to
say," that his experience as chairman of the drive proved to
him that among the abstainers are to be found some rabbis.
In the best interests of good community action, his words
should be taken seriously, without ill-tempered fretfulness
and undue peevishness. The truth is that unless we act in
support to total community efforts, we undermine the very
foundation of the working organization which makes possible
our meeting together in behalf of Israel, in support of our
cultural agencies, in the interests of the agencies which make
up a community. - Lip service to democracy is not sufficient.
Action to solidify democratic causes is vital. Without partici-
pation in a community program, by remaining in the back-
ground and just preaching, we can't get very far.

This season of commencements and of the graduation of
many thousands of our young people into serious life en-
deavors impels us to say amen to Mr. Kasle's call. We are
watching with anxiety the long lines of youn men and
women who are receiving their diplomas in our high
gh schools
and colleges and we ask: In what direction will these people
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
move? They are no longer babies. They are men and women.
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
Some of them are potential leaders. All of them will assume
Vol. XIX—No. 16
Page 4
June 29, 1951 control of life before very long. How will the Jews among
them be integrated into Jewish life? They won't move with us
if
we are splintered, if we build communities that are ships
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
without rudders, unmanned by skilled craftsmen.

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.

This Sabbath, the twenty-sixth day of SiVall,
5711, the following selections will be read in our
synagogues:
Yezztateuchal portion—Num. 13:1-15:41.
Prophetical portion—Joshua 2.
on Wednesday and Thursday, Rosh Hodesh
Tali/ MUZ, Nunz. 28:1-15 will be read during morn-
ing services.

Communities must plan for the future. They must em-
brace the young people and make a plaCe for them in our
existence. They must act in harmony when action is required,
while permitting difference of opinion in accordance with
democratic procedure. But no one has a right merely to be
an adviser without also being a participant in community
efforts. We applaud Mr. Kasle's plea for genuine community
cooperation.

'Heart Upon the Rock'

Gaer's Splendid Novel

Those who have read Joseph Gaer's "How the
Great Religions Began," published more than 20
years ago, have reason to expect 'good writing
and a good plot in his new novel, "Heart Upon
the Rock," published by Dodd, Mead & Co.,
432 4th Ave., N.Y. They won't be disappointed.
Mr. Gaer narrates the story of the Bessar-
abian Jewish widow Hannah and her family.
The story may well be called a tragedy—but for
that matter the life of all Jews in-Bessarabia, as
in all of Russia, in the era described, was tragic.
"Heart Upon the Rock" is the story of a
struggle for life, for retention of ideals, for per-
petuation of Jewish values. And Hannah, like
the heroine of old, is courageous. Part of the
family is in America, a daughter left to study in
Odessa and landed in Siberia after becoming in-
volved in revolutionary anti-Czarist activities,
and the young son Daniel, too, is sent to Amer-
ica in order to divert his attention from Odessa
and a possible repetition of his sister's fate.
The tragedy becomes evident when Hannah
istold—without realizing the significance of it—.
that Daniel, who went to America in the hope of
studying medicine, became an "operator." The
struggle continued for the family even in free •
America.
But throughout the entire story there is a
faith that-is indestructible. Hannah is staunch
in observance. Even the anxiety about her family
in America is not permitted to stand in the way
of Sabbath observance and she does not open
the letters until the Sabbath is over.
Mr. Gaer reveals excellent knowledge about
Jewish traditions. His quoted prayers lend dig-
nity and strength to his fine novel which de-
serves a very wide sale because of the wholesome
plot, because the compassionate theme is well
executed and because it throws so much light on
life of Jews in Russia prior to World War I.

Facts You Should Know . • •

What is the Kabbalah?
This body of Jewish religious literature is
generally divided into two distinct parts. One is
called the "Written Law" and includes the vari-
ous books of the Bible which are accepted as
part of the official Hebrew Canon. The other is
called the "Oral Law" and includes all the rest
of Jewish religious literature such as the Mish-
nah, the Gemorah, the Talmud, etc. The dis-
tinction between these two segments is that
while the former was written and textually
handed down, the latter was originally orally
transferred, i. e., from God to Moses, from Moses
to his successor, etc. A part of the latter was
deeply steeped in mysticism.
According to the traditionalists this was kept
secret and divulged only to the . purest and most
erudite of scholars< This segment of the Oral
Law was given the name "Kabbalah" which
could be taken to mean "Tradition." The actual
word "Kabbalah" comes from a word meaning
to "accept." "Kabbalah" is the "accepted" tradi-
tion of mysticism of traditional Jews. Among
its books are the "Zohar," the "Sefer Yetziroh"
and others. The term "Kabbalah" infers that
these teachings were "received" from generation
to generation. Some claim the popularity of
Jewish Mysticism, which is what Kabbalah is,
stems from a reaction to the rigidity of the legal-
isms of Talmudic and Post-Talmudic scholar-
ship. "Kabbalah" flourished as an independent
study in the 13th century.

