Hameiri's Hebrew Novel In English Translation As the Editor Views the News... BIG Day BIG stands for Bonds of the Israel Gov ernment. It is a big word with a big order— calling for cooperation in a tremendous effort to enroll American Jews in the great . investment undertaking which makes it pos- sible for a person who can purchase only a $50 bond to be a partner in Israel's indus- trial ventures, but which also calls upon those with means to become big investors in the history-making project. Sunday, March 9, has been designated as BIG Day. Many hundreds of- volunteer : workers will visit the homes of Detroit Jews with requests that they purchase Israel bonds. It is a great day on our calendar, and all of us, by lendins, our cooperation, can make it a truly BIG b Day in history. The value of the Israel bond effort al- ready has been indicated on numerous oc- casions. It is imperative that we speed the day when Israel will become self-supporting through investments by increasing the funds available through bond purchases. We urge all Detroit Jews to give a hearty welcome to the unselfish volunteer workers when they approach them with Israel bond applications. Sunday happens to precede Purim by two days. It will present the additional sugges- tion for the use of Israel bonds as shalach nionos, as gifts on this joyous festival. Let us help make BIG Day a great day on our calendar. The Lesson of Purim Purim's lesson is as valid today as it was in the days of Mordecai and Esther. When Haman 4, sought a reason for persecuting Jews, be gave this argument, recorded m the Book of Esther: "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they king's laws; therefore it profiteth not the king to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten-thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have charge of the king's business, to bring it into the king's treasures." Modern anti-Semites have advanced the same arguments: that Jews are different, that their laws vary from those of the state, and that they must therefore be destroyed. While arguing that "it profiteth not the king to suffer them," he at the same time ar- gued for expropriations of their posses- sions for personal profit. Anti-Semites who profess to read the Bible continue to propagate these ideas. They know full well that when Jews differ they are in no sense more variable than oth- ers in their midst who are acceptable to the majority—Catholics and Protestants, Greek Orthodox and Spiritualists, Poles and Aus- trians, Hungarians and Venezuelans. But Jews just are good targets for bigots. Thus, as recorded in one of our prayers, "Not one tyrant alone has risen up against us to destroy us, but in every generation tyrants have sought to destroy us." And in all generations tyrants have failed. Some have been more successful. Haman would have envied Hitler for the latter's success in exterminating 6,000,000 Jews. But in the long run, the Midrashic admonition—"King- doms arise and kingdoms pass away, but Is- rael endureth forever"—prevails. This lends reality and added joy to our Happy Purim greeting to Jews everywhere. THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951 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., WO. 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 FRANK SIMONS, City Editor Vol. XX—No. 26 Page 4 March 7, 1952 Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the eleventh day of Adar, 5712, the following Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portions—Ex. 27 :20-30:10; Deut. 25.17-19. Prophetical portion—I Sam. 15:2-34. Avigdor Hameiri's novel of World War I, "The Great Madness," translated from the Hebrew ("Hashigaon Hagadol") by Rabbi Jacob Freeman, has just been published by Vantage Press (230 W.. 41st, N.Y. 18). Hameiri, whose name originally was Feuer-. stein, served as an officer in the Hungarian army. His novel is a first person account of his experiences during which he encountered a .great deal of anti-Semitism. Of special interest in this novel is Hanieirl's account of many of his comrades who posed as Christians to escape degradation and who;. 1* developed, were Jews,' Then there is the account of the Zionist de- velopments, of the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, of opposition to Zionism and the author's adamant effort in behalf of the cause. Referring to his visit with Rabbi Samuel Jor, dan in the city of Satmar, he comments: "Rabbi Jordan was an enthusiastic Zionist, which was unusual for a Hungarian rabbi." Hameiri tells of the spread of lust and faith- lessness during World War I, having learned "that only one class of women remained faithful to the end—the prostitutes, the cabaret girls, the *Ricks/ _ J E .V:115 frivolous dancing girls." 44446146"-- ci-fiLDREN Competition for the favor of Jews became evident in both the Allied as well as German offers to re-establish the Jewish state. Many portions of "The Great Madness" art' The many months of deliberations and discussions be- powerful. The story will. bring back many mem- tween committees representing the Jewish Community Coun- ories of the first world conflict and its aftermath, . For A More Perfect Union ... cil and the Jewish Welfare Federation, which preceded Tuesday's annual meeting of Federation, came to a show- down which, unfortunately, was marked by a great deal of bitterness. It is regrettable that ill feelings could not have been avoided. Now, however, with the decisions definitely ar- rived at in true democratic fashion by majority vote of con- tributors to the Allied Jewish Campaign, it is of cr im- portance that a basis of understanding should be arrived at in the best interests of our community and that a modicum of unity should be attained .at once and that the aims of both factions—since factions do exist—should be to strive for harmony. The Jewish Community Council is charged with im- portant functions which can not and will not be abandoned. At the same time, the Jewish Welfare Federation remains the major body which supervises the functions of all agencies and conducts the Allied Jewish Campaign in behalf of local and national causes, Israel and overseas needs. While the objectives of both groups are of paramount importance, the efficiency with which they operate is dependent upon the cooperative spirit with which Federation, on the one hand, finances the Council's work with community funds and the Council, on the other hand, fulfills its missions. Since a co- operative spirit must exist, we revert back to our earlier proposals that the Detroit Jewish community should be or- ganized on the same - basis as our sister community functions today in Cleveland. - It will be recalled that in Cleveland; until Oct. 31, 1951, there were two functioning bodies-Federation and Council —not unlike the situation which continues to exist today in Detroit. On that date, the two groups merged into one com- munity organization now known as the Cleveland Jewish Community Federation. Cleveland's action was not by unani- mous vote: the decision for a merger barely attained the required two-thirds majority, the action towards unity haV- ing been attained by an 82 to 40 vote in the Council Dele- gate Assembly. It received the unanimous vote of the Feder- ation board. There are people in Cleveland today who are dissatisfied, but the decision for unity stands and a single organization is functioning there today. In an explanatory article under the heading "A More Perfect Union . in which he aimed to show that the Cleveland merger aimed to strengthen the community's central structure, Henry L. Zucker, the new Cleveland organization's executive director, advanced the following argument: Not everybody in the community is satisfied that the plan is ideal, and some opposed its acceptance. Some persons wished to make the Delegate Assembly the final authority in the or- ganization. Others believed that the community relations and internal relations functions belong in a functional agency, separate from the central planning, fund-raising, and coordinat- ing body. Some would like to see a different distribution on the Board of Trustees, giving greater weight to the local agencies, or the congregations, or the non-philanthropic organizations, etc. A , few persons felt that the fund raising potential and the budgeting process will be threatened by the new setup. There was even some skepticism about leadership. However, we believe that it is the consensus of the com- munity that the new setup will be an improvement over the old and that the opportunities for further development of Cleve- land's Jewish community are far greater under a single or- ganizational structure. Many leaders regard the new Jewish Community Federation as an important milestone in our communal history. They look upon it as a sign of the growing maturity and cohesive- ness of our Jewish community. They believe also that the merger will encourage new lead- ership, a larger and more representative degree of participa- tion in community affairs, a broadening of the vistas of con?, munity obligation, and a welding of the positive social forces of the community. In view of the fact that Cleveland's communal structure and conditions are akin to ours, we believe that attempts should be made to merge the Federation and the Council locally, without in any way sacrificing any of the functions of the two movements. It is not only a question of economy in operations that should dictate such a move: of far greater Fast of Esther Selections, Monday importance is the matter of cooperation and good will. Ill Pentateuchal portion—Ex. 32:11-14; 34:10. feelings must be avoided at all costs and that can be attained Prophetical portion—Is. 55:6-56:8. Scriptural selection read on Purina, (Tuesday), only by unifying the two groups, by creating a single com- in additiOn to the Book of Esther: Ex. 17:8-16. munal. organization, by getting together for the Common . Licht Benshen, Friday, March 7, 6:09 p.m. good. WC` • 1111.4” ,fir Howard Fast ' S partacus' Great Libertarian Novel r. Howard Fast continues his brilliant writing. It is difficult to understand why publishers should have rejected his "Spartacus," which he considered his best work and which he published privately, offering it for sale through his P.O.. Box 171. Planetarium Station, New York 24. His . first edition was completely sold and considerable interest is now being shown in this book. Fast's eariler books still are read and praised, Reviewers have been almost unanimous in ac- claiming his "Glorious Brothers," "Haym Salo- .. . mon," "The Last Frontier," his edited works of Tom Paine and other outstanding books. Yet, because of the linking of his name with leftists,. publishers who liked his latest book have re- jected it. This, in our day, is the price for associating with those with whom we are at war. Yet, we acclaim "SpartacuS." It is the story of the man who led the revolt against Rome. It is the story of the slave who led the slaves in the struggle for freedom. - Fast's personal ideas apparently are echoed in his novel when he causes Spartacus to say- . that. he will make his own law, that: "Whatever we take, we hold in common, and no man shall own anything but his weapons and his clothes." To which a Thracian slave responded: "There is enough for all to be rich." But in the main - "Spartacus" contains nothing offensive, nothing that could possibly be tied to Communism or subversion. It is strictly a novel about freedom- loving people, about the enslaved who refuse to be slaves. One of the most powerful chapters is the one that describes the last crucifixion of a slave in the subduing of the slaves' rebellion, the cruci- fixion of David the Jew. The novel proves, by the way, that crucifixion was a Roinan weapon. Fast's' major idea is expressed by Varinia, Spartacus' surviving wife, who said, describing her husband's aspirations: "He wanted a world where there were no slaves and no masters, only people living together in peace and brotherhood. He said that we would take from Rome what was good and beautiful. We would build cities without • walls, and all men would live in peace and brotherhood, and there would be no more war and no more misery and no more suffering." For this lesson alone, "Spartacus" should be hailed for what it really is—a great novel. Facts You Should Know: What happened to the "ten lost tribes" of Israel? - According to the Bible (II Kings 15:29) one thing seems to be definite. The King of Assyria transported them away after the defeat of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which they inhab- ited. The Bible states that he placed them in places called Halam and Habor. What happened to them after that seems to be a matter of spec- ulation. Some Talmudic source queerly states that they would never return. On the other hand other Talmudic scholars disagree with this stand (taken by Rabbi Akiba) and insist that . they will return. In the ninth century a travel- ler by the name of Eldad Hadani appears on the scene with a claim that he came from the tribe of Dan and knew the exact loCation of other tribes in parts of Southern Arabia. Many people have at one time or another claimed or have been claimed to be a part of the lost ten Tribes. Thus the Afghans claimed it, the Karaites 0t. Russia claimed it; the Hindus, in part, have been claimed to be so and even the Anglo-Saxons have thus been claimed. Also certain Japanese sects, the early American Indians and the Mo.. mons have been thought of in this respect. inr. vestigation and speculation is still going on. l one could really give an absolute answer to thin curious problem that has. occupied the minds o scholars throughout, the centuries.