THE JEWISH NEWS
`Friendly, Uninhibited and Proud -
16
Israel 'Propaganda' Is True
Reports Rubiner After Visit
U.S. Oil Alen Seek
Israel Investment
Samuel H. Rubiner, president
of the Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion, giving his impressions of
SAMUEL H. RUBINER
Israel where he visited last
month with Mrs. Rubiner: de-
clared that "all propaganda in
behalf of Israel is true." The
Rubiners were accompanied on
their trip by Mr. and Mrs. Ed-
ward Bernstein,
Stating that all the words
used to describe Israel—"friend-
ty, uninhibited, happy, joyous,
sacrificing, proud" are appropri-
ate : Mr. Rubiner said:
"Israel may be described in
many terms, including impres-
sive statistics. But statistics can
be garnered from government
or Jewish Agency handouts or
listed by expert economists. I
feel that the essence of Israel
is the character of its people.
I am sure that my fellow Jews
in Detroit and other American
commun ities will understand
the Jewish State better when
they know what kind of people
are building it.
"From the moment we land-
e at Lydda Airport and were
greeted by the ground stew-
ardess"Shalom, welcoine to
the State of Israel,' I found
myself constantly trying to
clear a lump in my throat, a
lump compounded of joy and
pride. The lump stayed with
me all during my trip through
t h e greatest humanitarian
enterprise in history, taking
place during our lifetime and
thrilling us most perhaps be-
cause we—you and I and
every member of Detroit's
organized - • Jewish community
—are a part of it"
Mr. Rubiner referred to his
conversations with Iraqi News
and said: "They and a thou-
sand of their fellows are daily
arriving in ISrael in the gigantic
Operation Baghdad, because we
in America provided the planes
and the personnel to bring
them home. Their first expres-
sion is one of gratitude and
thanksgiving. Their great con-
cern, however, is not with them-
selves, but with the ones who
have been left behind and are
similarly waiting deliverance.
"I mention this particularly
as it is typical of the spirit of
of selflessness pervading the
entire country and is the an-
swer to those who would close
the gates of Israel to further
immigration.
"Everywhere, we sa w in
process the absorption of the
newcomers—so that the 157
settlements in the country
when the British left had
multiplied to 503 by the time
we were there. At the port of
Haifa we watched the Tran-
sylvania dock, with 1,500 Jews
from Romania. Another ship,
with a thousand passengers,
waited its turn for disem-
barkation.
"The newcomers go immedi-
ately to transitional camps
where the Israelis' experience
has taught them to put immi-
grants to work immediately, re-
enforcing an insecure sense of
dignity. The new absorption
process is working very effec-
tively in removing the new-
(tomer from the idle nonpro-
ductive camp and speeding his
integration into the economic,
social and cultural life of the
country. A man remains a new-
corner no longer than six
months; after that he is an
Israeli.
"Most young people - choose
the army, even before they are
drafted, partly out of a desire
to serve and more immediately
because their food and clothing
needs are then automatically
met. Some 'shop around' at the
various booths to find which
collective settlements are seek-
ing new members. Some may
join a kibbutz, an Israel coop-
erative; others may choose a
(mosh.av a,' where each small
farmer is a fairly independent
entrepreneur.
"The most vivid memory I
carried away from visits to the
kibbutzim, kvutzas, m,oshavim
and other community instru-
mentalities that colonize the
land will be understood by any-
one who has ever loved a child.
Of course everyone in Israel
speaks Hebrew—the immigrants
learn it with remarkable 4uick-
ness and the children lisp it as
their native tongue.
"It is for the children that
the people of Israel are work-
ing. I talked to people from
scores of countries who natively
spoke many different languages
and we conversed—although my
Hebrew often faltered—in the
ancestral tongue of our fathers,
transcending time and distance.
What they said to me reflected
their common outlook — every-
thing is for the future. Watch-
ing the children, any visitor
recognizes that they are flower-
ing within the devotion, the
protectiveness and the freedom
that surrounds them. Children
from all parts of Europe and
Asia play together, devising the
games natural to children
everywhere.
"Industry is growing be-
yond conception. I was de-
lighted to find that a bar of
pure olive oil soap I had
bought in a New York City
drug store was manufactured
in a Haifa factory; the docks
were loaded with machinery
bound for the Kaiser-Frazer
plant; equipment was arriving
for a rock crushing project a
group of Detroit Jews have
financed; the Shemen and
Ata factories were booming
production . . . the list is
longer every day. Everything
grows with youthful vigor in
Israel, where no one seems to
understand the word 'static.'
"Youth was really having its
day on L'ag B'omer. Mrs. Rubi-
ner visited a beauty shop in
Jerusalem that week end and
found it crowded to the doors,
with many waiting for service.
The shop was modern and well-
equipped, but each customer
had to bring her own towel. Not
only the customers of this shop,
but every woman on the street
seemed especially well coiffured
and dressed. We understood
why when we learned that 470
weddings were taking place on
the one day and it would only
be a hermit who was not invited
to some wedding. It is a warm
feeling to be in a community
almost totally Jewish on such
an occasion, when a happy holi-
day assumes the character of a
festival.
"Another week-end we at-
tended the Bar Mitzvah of the
son of Maurice Schwartz, the
noted Yiddish actor, and we
heard Chassidim sitting at an
Oneg Shabbat.
"We were pleased to hear that
the Jews of Israel are quite
aware of what we in America
are trying to do to help
strengthen the Jewish State. I
went into many shops and talk-
ed to, dozens of people on the
street. Everywhere I went I
heard the same questions: How
are the campaigns going? (like
our Allied Jewish Campaign in
Detroit) and how is the Israel
bond drive doing? Their atti-
tude made me feel privileged at
being a part of the American
Jewish effort for Israel.
The whole accomplishment
—
Friday, August 3, 1951
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Ameri-
can oil groups are interested in
investing in oil development
projects in Israel and are con-
ducting negotiations with the
Israel Finance Minister • Eliezer
Kaplan said.
The Minister said that the
American investors are waiting
for the next Parliament to adopt
a new law governing exploita-
tion of minerals and oil before
entering into the practical
stages of the negotiations. He
also disclosed that the govern-
ment had completed its fiscal
year with a surplus of 5,000,000
pounds ($14,000,000). He said
that total national income was
68,000,000 pounds, while expendi-
tures amounted to 63,000,000.
Commenting on the progress
of the Israel bond drive in the
United States, he said that pros-
pects for its success are very
good. Leaders of the drive ex-
pect to have between $70,000,000
and $80,000,000 worth of bonds
sold by the end of 1951.
Kaplan said that a' special
committee has already been set
up here to work out detailed
plans for using the money raised
by the bond sales. Top priority
in spending this money will be
to expand Israel's electric power
production.
Tells Chief Rabbi He Must
Be Tried by German Court
MUNICH—(JTA) — George N.
Shuster, American Commission-
er for Bavaria, was reported to
have told Bavarian Chief Rabbi
Aaron Ohrenstein that he could
not be tried by an American
court on charges of being in-
volved in restitution irregulari-
ties.
The report added that the
Commissioner told Rabbi Oh-
renstein that he "must be satis-
fied with German court pro-
ceedings."
is so magnificent that it as-
sumes real meaning only in its
details. One of the most effec-
tive things our dollars are doing
is to maintain the Village of the
Blind, administered by the
Malben project of the Joint Dis-
tribution Committee( set up
specifically to provide for the
aged, handicapped and sick of
the immigrants). The village is
the home of 90 Yemenite fami-
lies, at least one of whose mem-
bers is sightless. The residents
are learning to tend their own
gardens, build roads and earn
the money for their household
goods. This, too, is typical of
Israel's society—the thoughtful-
ness and intelligence that have
been applied to the task of en-
abling every immigrant to be-
come a dignified, self-respect-
ing, contributing individual.
"It is a temptation in a re-
port of this kind to be too
detailed, to list the dozens of
places visited, evidences of
Israel's growth — the agricul-
tural colleges established all
over Israel to prepare the
`new Jew' for making the best
use of the soil; the Haifa
Technion, training good engi-
neers and technicians; the
Youth Aliyah Transit Camp,
where a 24-year-old Egyptian
boy, who speaks six languages
and understands eight, is do-
ing a man-sized job of helping
orphaned children to wait
comfortably and bravely for
assignments to p e r ma nent
homes; the Hadassah Hospital
in Beersheba, where Arab pa-
tients park their camels in
the courtyard while they go
into the clinic.
"No details and no generali-
zations can do true justice to
the miracle that is Israel. It is
filled with problems and ten-
sions; it is hemmed in on all
sides by unfriendly nations.
But Israel has a weapon that
no armaments can destroy. The
people of Israel have the will
and the determination to suc-
ceed in this last-chance refuge
that will survive any problem,
any tension. any threat, just as
the Jewish people have survived,
with pride; dignity and courage,
through all history."
Louis Rocker Is New President
Jacob Landau, JTA Founder,
Retires from Neivs Agency
NEW YORK— (JTA)—Election
of Louis P. Rocker as president
and chief executive officer of
JACOB LANDAU
the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
was announced after the annual
general meeting of the corpor-
ation. He succeeds Rabbi Isa-
dor Breslau of Washington.
George S. Wise, New York busi-
nessman and communal worker,
has been elected chairman of
the JTA board of directors.
Rocker announced with regret
that Jacob Landau, founder and
:m a n aging di-
rector of the
'JTA, had retir-
ed from active
direction of the
agency's opera-
tions after 35
years of contin-
uous service.
Mr. Landau will
continue to
serve the agen-
Cy as a consul-
tant and mem-
ber of the
board. He es-
tabli shed the
Rocker agency in 1917
and, as managing director, de-
veloped it into a global news
network reaching the press and
Jewish Community in every
part of the world as the main
source for Jewish information.
Rocker, a member of the New
York Stock Exchange, has long
been active in Jewish affairs
and has been prominent in the
Zionist movement. He is honor-
ary vicezpresident of the Jew-
ish National Fund, a member
of the board of the Society for
the Advancement of Judaism
and has served as treasurer of
the Zionist Organization of
America. In a statement he de-
clared:
"The Jewish Telegraphic
Agency has a distinguished
record of performance in the
interest of the Jewish com-
munity throughout the world.
It discharges a vital function
in faithfully reporting world
developments of special con-
cern to the Jewish people, in
bringing to light attacks and
threats against the Jewish
community, in serving as a
bridge between Israel and the
world and in providing the
press of the world, the Jewish
community and Jewish lead-
ership with prompt, accurate
and objective news reports so
that they may have essential
information immediately avail-
able.
"We feel that the JTA, by the
nature of its services to the
community, fully earns and
merits the community's sup-
port. We trust that this will be
forthcoming. The JTA Board
will be at all times prepared to
receive and consider suggestions
from the community as to how
JTA can work to the best inter-
ests of the community."
Aided by a small group of
friends, Mr. Landau established
the agency in The Hague in
1917 primarily to serve as a
channel for presenting the Jew-
ish case to the world. The
agency, then known as the Jew-
ish Correspondence Bur ea u,
reached a wide audience on both
sides of the war front as well
as in neutral lands and created
a strong body of sentiment in
favor . of - Jewish claims,
Convinced of the impor-
tance of a world-wide news
service collecting news of con-
cern to the Jewish community
and making the information
immediately available to the
world, Landau re-established
the agency in London imme-
diately after World War I.-
It grew rapidly, offices being
established in Paris, Warsaw,
Berlin and New York. The
Palestine Telegraphic Agency,
now the Israel News Agency,
was established in Jerusalem.
JTA news was carried by the
major news agencies of the
world.
Landau transferred his head-
quarters to New York in the
early 1920's, and the system was
soon expanded to Latin America
and South Africa. The agency
soon acquired the status of
primary source of Jewish infor-
mation for the general press
JTA was the world's major
source of information during
the 1929 Palestine riots, and on
Hitler's persecutions from 1933
to 1940 when the Nazis banned
its operations there. The sys-
tematic extermination of the
Jews during World War II was
revealed to the world through
JTA.
As managing director, Lan-
dau's duties took him all over
the world. Personal contacts
with the late President Masaryk,
of Czechoslovakia; A r i s t i d e
Briand, of France and Gen. Jan
Christian Smuts, of South Af-
rica, proved of inestimable value
to those Jewish communities in
later years.
Landau succeeded in secur-
ing support and participation
from many outstanding Jew-
ish personalities for the con-
cept of an independent Jew-
ish news-gathering agency as
represented by JTA. These
included men like Louis Mar-
shall, Felix M. Warburg, Dr,
Cyrus L. Adler, Adolph S.
Ochs, Prof. Albert Einstein
and Herbert Bayard' Swope.
During World War II, Landau
took an active part in launch-
ing and organizing the Overseas
News Agency, a general news
source devoted to strengthening
the. Allied. position and the
democratic front throughout the
world. The ONA, which he
served as Managing director,
worked closely with JTA until
their separation in 1949.
*
*
Jacob Landau Analyzes
Prof. Maclyer's Report
In a series of articles in which
he analyzes the Maclver report,
Jacob L a n d a u, retiring JTA
managing director, makes the
following points:
He criticizes the author of the
report for his condemnation o'
ADL and for the praise he b
stows on the American Jewi
Committee and declares: "If t
Maclver report is acted up
assimiliationist tendencies NA
be intensified, all other ideolc4
ical approaches, including Ort:
odox and nationalism, weaken
Local mindedness will be
couraged and national budge'
established in an important i. .L \
of communal activity."
In a follow-up article, issu€ ('L
by Seven Arts Feature Syndicate,
Mr. Landau states that anti-
Semitism is strictly a gentile
problem and adds:
"Prof. - Maclver underestimates
the danger of anti-Semitism in
the United States. Age-old re-
ligious prejudice, if intensined
by excessive nationalism and
economic envy, makes it easy
for unscrupulous agitators to
turn the Jew into a scape-goat
for economic or political ills,
"The coincidence of a widely
spread anti - Jewish prejudice
and a minority of militant anti-
Semites is, according to Prof,
Maclver, the situation • in 'the
United States. This parallels ex-
actly the situation in Germany
which Hitler and Goebbels so
effectively exploited. It is not
necessary that the majority of
the people be actively or mill-
ta,ntly anti-Semitic in order to
render the Jewish position pre-
carious or dangerous.
"Germany - represents indeed
the classical case which dia.
proves Prof. Maciver!s-thesis!! •