Israel Foreign Minister Speaks Here
4>opens in Washington on Sept.
20.
Mr. Sharett will be met at
the airport by a delegation of
community leaders and repre-
sentatives of Jewish organia-
tions. A motorcade of cars
with police motorcycle escort
will convoy Israel's spokesman
to his hotel. A City Hall re-
constructing his country's ception is planned, with Mayor
Cobo or other high city of-
economy. Max Osnos, chairman ficials xtending Detroit's cour-
of the Detroit Israel Bond Com- tesy to the distinguished guest.
mittee, will preside at the din-
The foreign minister will re-
ner meeting.
new acquaintance with a De-
Mr. Sharett's appearance here troit friend, Hickman G. Price,
will be one of a very few during
his current visit in this country.
He came to the United States
primarily to attend the • Ameri-
can Economic Conference for Is-
rael, sponsored by the Israel
bond drive organization, which
Officials to Honor Him;
Detroit Bond Committee
Sponsors Dinner Meeting
A report on the economic de-
velopment program of the state
of Israel will be presented next
Wednesday evening to a Detroit
audience, at a dinner at the
Book Cadillac Hotel, by Israel's
Foreign Minister Moshe Shar-
rett.
Appearing here under the
sponsorship of the Detroit Israel
Bond Committee, Mr. Sharett
will discuss the role of the $500,-
000,000 Israel bond issue in re-_
Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
State Department's Blunders—Israel's Triumphs
United States Senators vied with one another last week, dur-
ing the debate on the Mutual Security Act, to pay tribute to Is-
rael's accomplishments. Senator Benton of Connecticut told the
Senate that Israel already is manufacturing a high percentage of
arms for her army of 200,000; that the Jewish state's population,
which has doubled in three years, "has unleashed in the industrial
field the kind of enterprise and initiative which we like to asso-
ciate with the best of what we call the enterprise system in the
Unted Statics."
An interesting exchange of views on the attitude of our State
Department towards Israel took place between Senators Douglas
and Humphrey of Illinois and Minnesota. It would have been a
good occasion for one of them to insert in the Congressional
Record portions of James G. McDonald's book "My Mission in Is-
rael," in whicn the anti-Israel attitude of the State Department
similarly is exposed.
The colloqui between Senators Douglas and Humphrey is suf-
Iiciently important to deserve full quotation. Here it is:
MOSHE SHARETT
executive vice-president of the
Kaiser-Frazer Export Corpora-
tion. They met in Haifa, when
Mr. Price dedicated K a i s e r-
Frazer's $2,500,000 Israel assem-
bly plant.
If his schedule permits, Mr.
Sharett may meet with other
Detroit industrialists c o n t e m-
plating investments in Israel.
The visiting diplomat will
meet the press and radio
representatives at a confer-
ence in his hotel room.
"Mr. Sharett's visit to Detroit
to give a preview of the report
he will make to the National
Economic Conference in Wash-
ington ,is an event of great sig-
nificance to our community,"
Osnos declared. "Detroiters will
hear the personal report of the
man who helps shape the major
decisions on Israel's economic
and political future.
"Mr. Sharett was one of the
authors of Israel's four point
economic development program.
He has wrestled personally with
the economic problems Israel
must' overcome, and has helped
decide how the first American
dollars derived by the sale of
Israel bonds shall be invested.
His report will have tremendous
meaning for every responsible
and business-minded American
Jew."
Mr. Sharett was Israel's ne-
gotiator in the mixed Armistice
Commission and b e f ore the
United Nations body which fixed
Israel's boundaries. Right hand
m a n of Premier Ben-Gurion,
and his stand-in as acting prime
minister and minister of defense
during Mr. Ben-Gurion's U.S.
tour this spring, he has been
intimately associated with the
Israel prime minister in the
struggle to build a Jewish state.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Israel has probably the strongest army in
the Near East.
Mr. HUMPHREY. I will say to the Senator from Illinois,
who has taken such a deep interest in the economic welfare of
the new State of Israel, that it appears to me that the State
of Israel is one of our strongest links in the Near East, find
that she can make great contribution, not only to the stability
of that area, but to the whole force of freedom in the Mediter-
ranean and in Eastern Europe.
Mr. DOUGLAS.: If the Senator will further permit MR—
Mr. HUMPHREY. I yield.
Mr. DOUGLAS. I hope I do not reflect unduly upon the
State Department, but is it not true that the predictions of the
State Department concerning Israel have been shown to be
almost completely false? The State Department expected Israel
to go down. The State Department expected that Israel would
not be able to defend itself. The truth of the matter is that not
only did Israel defend itself against the Arab attack, but it has
built up a strong nation of Israel.
Mr. HUMPHREY. I know that there was a period of time
when our Government was surely vacillating about the recog-
nition of the independent status of Israel. have tong worked
for a free and independent Palestine.
Mr. DOUGLAS. I think it is a general understanding that
the State Department was hostile to Israel, that the Department
adopted a pro-Arab and pro-British attitude and position by
shutting off aid to Israel, and - expected Israel to go down. I
think that background should be considered, because a great
many of those approaches still carry over in spite of the fact
that history has shown them to be false.
Mr. HUMPHREY. In reply to the Senator from Illinois, I
will say that it should be clear now even to those who had the
strongest doubts, that because of its valiant people this little
nation is firmly implanted and will survive. It has the will to
survive; I emphasize that. What Israel has done is another
demonstration of the fact that if a nation has the will to live,
it can survive against tremendous odds. The armies of several,
nations moved against Israel, and yet she survived, and she
will continue to survive. I intended to point that out later in my
speech, but inasmuch as it has now been brought up, I shall
deal with it at this point.
Let us take a Zook at the State of Israel. Israel is in an arid
area of the world that is supposed to be literally lost. Its soil
was exploited. Its people were oppressed. Yet in that poverty-
stricken, arid region of the world, a determined people, with
creative ability, with ingenuity, with perserverance, with -limited Israel I ndustra I fists
economic resources, have literally converted vast areas of that To Address Conference
country into a fertile garden.
Moshe Bejarano, owner of
My legislative counsel is visiting Israel, and I have received
Assis, Ltd., the largest cannery
many letters from him. He says that present day Israel is one in the Middle East, and Joseph
of the most thrilling and inspiring sights he has ever seen. Sugarman, managing director of
The people have been able to take the soil, which-was as dry the Jerusalem Shoe Co., are
as the sand one finds on the side of the road, an area that was coming to this country to par-
naked, without any covering whatsoever, and by means of ir- ticipate in the first National
rigation, by the use of science and technology, literally to cre- Economic Conference for Israel,
ate whole areas into rich farm lands producing all sorts of which will be held Sept. 20 to
fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains. .I think that is a great 23, in Washington, D.C., at
example of what can be done by the will of the people and the the Shoreham Hotel.
application of science to the building up of a nation.
Mr. Bejarano and his brothers,
Thus, the State Department again stands condemned for acts
which proved unwise and lacking in vision. True—very few people
believed that Israel would be able to resist the armies of all Arab
states, that the emerging Jewish state would triumph, that the
inexperienced state-builders would prove more ingenious than
their antagonists; yet, it was totally unnecessary to obstruct—
and that is what the enemies of Israel in Washington did. But
this is a new era—even though only three years old—and what is
asked of the men in Washington is friendship and humaneness.
The recent Friendship Treaty was a step in the proper direction.
Former enemies in London say so as loudly as the good-hearted.
Americans in the District of Columbia. Therefore things look bet-
ter now than they did only a short time ago. After all, adoption
of a grant to a very small state by our country—the world's most
powerful nation—is not to be looked at lightly. It is a great his-
toric step. Shehecheyanu ... I
natives of Bulgaria, also operate
the largest alcohol distillery in
Israel and the third largest cig-
arette factory in that country.
He is president of the Jaffa-Tel
Aviv Club of Rotary Interna-
tional and a former Economic
Counselor of the Israel Foreign
Office.
Mr. Sugarman, a former law-
yer and businessman of Boston,
recently established the Jerusa-
lem Shoe Company, only mass
2
—
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 14, 1951
production shoe plant in Israel,
in conjunction with the Gen-
eral Shoe Company of Nashville,
Tenn. He is a member of the
Advisory Council of the Israel
Government Investment Center.
Among principal speakers at
the Conference in Washington
will be Israel Foreign Minister
Moshe Sharett; Maurice J. To-
bin, U. S. Secretary of Labor, who
recently returned from a visit
to Israel; David Horowitz, Di-
rector-General of the Israel Min-
istry of Finance, and Hickman
Price of Ann Arbor, Mich., vice-
president of Kaiser-Fraser Ex-
port Corp.
Leaders of the State of Israel
Independence Bond Drive who
will participate in the Confer-
ence are Henry Moi`genthau, Jr.,
chairman of the board of gov-
ernors of the American Finan-
cial and Development Corpora-
tion for Israel which directs the
bond drive; Rudolf G. Sonne-
born, president; James G. Mc-
Donald, chairman of the advi-
sory committee; Julian _B. Ve-
nezky, chairman of the execu-
tive committee, and Henry Man-
ton, vice-president.
DETROIT DELEGATES
Detroiters who have already
announced their intention to
take part in the conference de-
liberations and to report to the
Detroit community on its re-
sults include:
Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Barg-
man, Mr. and Mrs. Israel David-
son, Mr. and Mrs. Louis David-
son, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Holtz-
man, Mr. and Mrs. Max Osnos,
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Temchin.
Mesdames Samuel Croll and Carl
Schiller; and Louis Berry, Leon
Kay, Isidore Sobeloff, Philip
Stollman, Zvi Tomkevitz and
Osias Zwerdling of Ann Arbor.
Rutland, Vt., First Over Top
Rutland, Vt., has the distinc-
tion of being the first communi-
ty in the United States where
ednesday
every Jewish family is a
chaser of Israel Bonds.
With Bonds- in the amount
$60,000 already sold, the local
committee now is well on the
way to enrolling every single
Jewish man, woman and child as
a Bond purchaser. Meyer Hackei
is chairman of the Rutland Bond
Drive. -
The Israel Bond drive for the
state of Vermont was launched,
at a dinner meeting in Burling-
ton which had as participants
Governor Lee E. Emerson; May-
or Edward Moran; Theodor Kol-
lek, Israel Minister to the U.S.;
William I. Ginsberg, state bond
chairman, Joseph Wool, Burling-
ton bond committee chairman,
and Henry Montor.
of
United Foundation
Calls Volunteers
The United Foundation issued 'A
a plea for 20,000 volunteer soli-
citors to raise the largest ),
amount of money ever sought in
a single drive in any commun-
ity.
The third annual Torch Drive'.
Oct. 16 to Nov. 8, will atempt to
raise enough money to support :1
150 different health and corn-
munity services through 1952,)
The goal, as yet unannounced, is 1
exepected to exceed last year's,/
$10,350,000 by more than a mil-( 1
lion dollars.
Combined in one campaigx,
will be all the national heal'
services which formerly h e :: 1
their own annual drives, e,
cepting only the National Fourr )
dation for Infantile Paralysis:,,
Donations to the Torch Driv
will aid polio sufferers in the,
Detroit area through support c'
the Sister Kenny FoundatiOn
and rehabilitation center in
Herman Kiefer Hospital.
BetWeen You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1951, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Lae.)
The Israel Scene
A new problem has arisen in Israel in relation to the office
of President . . . Unlike the post in the United States, the Israel
presidency is not a repository of real power, but of ceremonial
functions and symbols ... President Weizmann's personal powers
are now failing . . . At 77 he has behind him a life not only of
hard work, but of hardship . . This is now taking its toll . .
Dr. Weizmann was too weak to escape this summer's climatic
rigors in Israel to the more clement climate of Switzerland
Also, the burdens of heading the state are too great for him
He could not even appear at the recent Zionist Congress in Je-
rusalem .. After cutting all official duties to the bone, it was
still necessary to appoint Dr. Leo Kohn Presidential Counsellor
. • Now it appears that there is need for a Vice-President to act
for the President . . . Knesset Speaker Joseph Sprinzak, who by
law replaces the President during his absence, has declined to
act for him during any other incapacity . . . There is talk of Dr.
Pinhas Rosen, Minister of Justice, becoming Vice-President no
and perhaps succeeding to the Presidency when that becomes
necessary.
It is an established fact that one of the major reasons why
the Mapai—the government party—failed to get a 51 percent
majority of votes in the recent parliamentary elections was a
sudden shortage ,of ice . . Domestic ice is the principal means of
preserving food at home in Israel
. Everyone has an ice boX,
few a refrigerator . . In July, just on the eve of the elections,
a shortage of ice suddenly occurred, causing a panic . . . The sit-
uation affected, and still affects, tens of thousands of homes
Food spoils easily in Israel's climate, and if rationed foods spoil,
a calamity occurs . . The ice shortage was attributed by the
thousands of voters to the fact that last year the government
refused to grant a few dollars of foreign currency to buy spare
parts for ice plants . . . Hence, many voters "retaliated" by voting
against the government party.
w
.
Domestic Issues
•
Steps are being undertaken with regard to Prof. MacIver'S
report on the activities of the Jewish organizations engaged in
combatting anti-Semitism .
The report, which has become %-
controversial issue in American Jewish communal life, will cor
up this week-end before the Evaluative Studies Committee
National Community Relations Advisory Council . .
later—Sept. 24—the executive board of NCRAC will m.. -6et tct
t
sider the conclusions of the Evaluative Studies Committee .
that time all Jewish groups affected by Prof. MacIver's
will have submitted their observations on the re-commendatio
in the report . . . One need not be a prophet to --Predict that
matter what the observations are, things will not remain as th
are today in the field of civic protection work . .. There will,
course, be compromises . . . Most of the larger Jewish Federatio
and Welfare Funds, which financed Prof. MacIver's study; co
sider his recommendations "an excellent first step" in re-valu 1
tion of the work of the civic protective agencies .
They poi'
out that back of their desire for Prof. MacIver% - Study were t
following questions . .. 1. Were the funds that were allocated
civic protective agencies expended to the best advantage? .
2. Was the cause to which these funds were dedicated served
the most efficient. manner by independent agencies that gat
evidences of a contentious separation? , . 3. Were the claiil
of great achievement they severally made—each speaking
itself alone—validated? . . . They are. particularly interested
checking the duplication of services..