Progress As the- Editor Views the News .Rabbi Akiba's Love an Revolt of Bar Kokhba A 'Two-Story House • Israel's Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett views the United Jewish Appeal and the Is- rael bond drive as a "two-story house." He made a logical presentation of the case when,' in an address before the Council of Organizations of the UJA in New York, he stated: THE LAST REVOLT—The Story of Rabbi Akiba. Joseph Opatoshu. Translated from the Yiddish by 114 Spiegel, Philadelphia, Pa- The Jewish Publication Society America. "We must build a two-story house. I call the United Jewish Appeal the ground floor. Through the UJA you do things which are absolutely vital and elementary. You sink money in the land and in the soul of Israel. You build up a new soul and character. of the people. On that you expect no returns, yet you create new life for the country and the people. "In the second story, you proceed to bring into bring one after another, methods of long- range production. And it is there where we spend the money which we get from the sale of Israel bonds on which we issue interest. It is useless to start building a second story without first building the first story. We still must strengthen the very foundation of our work through the United Jewish Appeal." This analysis will remain logical provid- ed there is a safe stairway from the ground floor to the upper story. There must -be no loose wires, no weak boards. leading from one idea to the other. There must be no stumbling blocks on the passage way be- tween floors, no faltering as we move from one obligation to another. But there have been such obstacles, and in some communities there has been confu- sion. Before very long we shall be faced with another year's challenges in the fund- raising and investment areas. American Jewry must be prepared to respond to both calls. Therefore all obstacles must be re- moved. There is an old French saying: "Better stumble once than be always tottering." Mr. Sharett has outlined a plan of action which should be acceptable to all American Jews, leading towards eliminating unnecessary obstacles. Then we may hope to function in a peaceful and progressive two-story house. The Arab Boycott A Christian, Science Monitor report from Beirut states that there is a frank admission, by Arab leaders, including Sami Bey Solh, Lebanon's Premier, that the anti-Israel boy- cott has injured Arab economies. Neverthe- less, the Premier of Lebanon is quoted as reiterating that the boycott is the Arabs' only weapon against the Jews and that it will not be lifted unless Israel agrees to move into boundaries originally outlined in the United Nations partition plan. in addi- tion to compensating the Arab refugees for their lost properties. The Monitor's corre- spondent makes this observation: "Arab willingness to admit that the situa- tion—political and economic—is beginning to hurt is something new on the Arab scene. No careful observer would dare call such signs any more than straws in the wind, though they possibly might be the first public signs of a long-term trend toward an Arab-Jewish settle- ment which Arab leaders still publicly deny." We consider this a realistic comment on the existing situation. But in the meantime radio broadcasts quote the Arab League's Secretary General Azzam Pasha as stating that steps are being taken to prevent trade between Israel and Libya and that the Arabs are not contemplating peace with Israel. Peace would benefit the Arab states as well as Israel and sound. judgment should dictate speedy embracement of amity. But the inconsistencies that are evident in Arab action do not indicate early accord. A long struggle is in evidence before all obstacles to genuine good will are removed, especially in view of the fact that Israel is established in her present boundary lines which can not be abandoned if the young state is to retain an independent economic existence. The Vatican Sues Israel Pope Pius' highest ranking representative in Israel, Msgr. Anthony Virgani, and the Rev. Fr. Leo A. Rudloff of the Church of Dormition on Mount Zion, have -brought suit in Haifa against Israel's custody over German property, charging that the Catholic church has been prevented from selling certain of its property on the ground that it was German-owned. The report from Jerusalem to the New York Times, by . Dana Adams Schmidt, points to the raising of a test issue which may involve - the Church of Dormition's 500 acres of farmlands at Tabigha on the shores of Lake Tib- erias from which the Benedictine monks who occupy the church derive their income. Fr. Rudloff., who is an Ameri- can citizen, asserted that the property in question, includ- ing several Haifa shops, was registered during the British mandate as the possession of the "archepiscopal see of Cologne, which is entirely a creation of the Vatican," and that the properly is therefore Catholic and not German- owned. Dormition Church's history dates back to the presenta- tion of the site by Kaiser Wilhelm II to the German Catho- lic Society of the Holy Land in 1918. Forty German monks occupied it before the war. Pursuing a policy of fairness towards all faiths, an of- ficial of the Israel Ministry of Church Affairs stated that his government is willing to make "adequate compensation for the property of the Dormition Church, as it did in the case of Lutheran church property, in spite of this being "unquestionably German property tinder the terms of Is- raeli law." He added that "the best authorities we have consulted say that the church contention that there is an overriding Vatican ownership does not apply." But Catholic experts claim that this case has inter- national significance, applying to countries like Palestine under the League of Nations mandate and to Israel, which have no law requiring property to be registered in the name of a locally organized public, body. This test case is one of the inevitable results of state- hood and of the acquistion by Israel of property belonging to the arch-enemy: Germany. , In view of Israel's readiness to make "adequate compensation" in all instances involving religious claims, the Catholic suit undoubtedly will be set- tled amicably. There will, in the course of time, be suits involving Arabs who have fled the land, abandoning their property. Israel has given assurances that there will be proper compensation to all former-owners. While, at the moment, a test case is disconcerting, it cannot be viewed as a major issue as long as the new state is on record as ready to render justice in matters of re- ligion, the property of religious groups and the rights of minorities. Boston Jewish Advocate: 50 The Jewish News joins in extending greetings to the Boston Jewish Advocate on its 50th anniversary. Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle The continuous publishing of an English-Jewish weekly commencing with issue of July 20, 1951 for a half century mirrors the courage of its sponsors who Member: American Association of Englisb Jewish News- papers. Michigan Press Association. have had to overcome many obstacles until they have helped Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing establish the need of an English-Jewish preis in this country. Co. 708.10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1355. Subscription S4 a year; foreign $5. Durins, the last 35 years of its service, the Jewish Ad- Entered as second class matter Aug. 6. 1942 at Post Office, Detroit. Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879. vocate hasbeen under the editorship of Dr. Alexander Brin. e' PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor Together with his. brother, the late Dr. Joseph Brin, the SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager present managing editor, Joseph Weisberg, and their asso- FRANK sImoNS, City Editor ciates, have produced a good newspaper and are in the Vol. XXI—No. 18 Page 4 July 11, 1952 forefront of creative effort in Jewish journalism. Sabbath Scriptural Selections The Boston Jewish Advocate has demonstrated that a This Sabbath, the nineteenth day of Tammuz, strong Jewish press is the best guarantee that our com- 5712, the following Scriptural selections will be munities will pursue creative projects in the process of ad- lead in our synagogues: vancing Jewish ideals. It has earned the encomia now being Pentateuchal portion—Num. 25:10-30:1. accorded it by the city of Boston and Jewish leaders through- Prophetical portion –Jer. 1 :1-2:3. THE JEWISH NEWS - Licht Ilensheit, Friday, July II, 7:49 p.m. Life in 2nd Century Palestine out the land, The past helps us understand the prese and the present can sometimes be used to - plain the past. Consider, for example, the es lishment of Israel. We are acquainted with chain of circumstances and the combination internal forces which brought about the birth the state. Still fresh in our minds are the ho raised by the promise of emancipation in va ous countries, and subsequently dashed; transmutation of Jewish values in the Diaspo the tragic and oppressive sense of homelessn in many parts of the world. These factorp derlay the origin and growth of Zionism resulted in the Jewish state. Many of us m be astonished to hear that forces in some fash' resembling these operated also in the seco century; but a person gifted with imaginati who understands the present and knows past, will find no difficulty in seeing the parall This is what Joseph Opatoshu succeeds i doing in his latest novel, "The Last Revolt translated from the Yiddish by Morris Spieg and _just published by the Jewish Publicatio Society. On the surface, it is a simple, idyl love story on .a background of Palestine in t days immediately preceding the outbreak the Bar Kokhba revolt. The scholar will re nine and appreciate the vastness of the a thor's learning and the astonishing skill whic enabled him to offer a magnificent descri Lion of Jewish society of the year 130 C. E., t details of home life, the everyday tasks an even the scenery as contemporary eyes behel it. Familiar names are given body and spirit Rabbi Meir and his wife Beruria, the bac lor-mystic Simeon ben Azzai, the thoughtf weakling Pappias, the scholarly pronely Aquila. Persuasive contexts are found for f miliar statements, which thereby add to the meaning. And beneath all this are matters greater moment and more profound. signif cance. Joseph Opatoshu is a master at the writi of historical fiction, which means that he able to personalize the generalizations whi one uses to explain a historical movement. • in second-century Palestine, as Opatoshu d scribes it, consisted of numerous conflicts: tween old and young, between Galileans Judeans, between Jewish nationalists and similationists to Rome, between traditionali and adherents of the then new-tangled religi of Jesus of Nazareth. Opatoshu's characters lustrate these conflicts and make clearer th any historical description possibly could why how that generation was driven to such desp as to take up arms against the legions . mighty Rome. Opatoshu weaves all these strands into simple and touching love story between a you man of aristocratic Jewish family and daughter of Rabbi Akiba, the former shephe who was laying the foundations for a new ty of Jewish aristocracy, of intellect and spiritu attainments. Akiba, the majestic sage, stands o like a mighty oak representing the strength deep-rootedness of Judaism. The turbulence well as the flavor of that period is thus Iran mitted in this novel and, although Bar Kokh himself appears only at the very end, the shad of the Last Revolt grows longer throughout. The Fast of Tammuz The Fast of Tammuz—Shivah Asar b'Tamm —the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tamm which this year occurred on July 10, is one the four fasts which, according to the Proph Zechariah (8.19), are in the future to be turn into days of joy. The destruction of Jew nationhood in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonian's commemorated by all the fasts referred to. The Fast of Tammuz marks -the breaki through Jerusalem's walls by the enemy attacked the Holy City. Jerusalemites held o for a year and a half. But when food was hausted, it became impossible to hold out t stubborn fight against the Babylonians who e tered the city. Carnage followed and there w fighting within for another three weeks. Tisha b'Ab the Temple was destroyed. Facts You Should Know: Is it forbidden for a Jew to have on his skin? a "tatto Etching a tattoo on one's skin is express forbidden in the Bible (Lev. 19:28) where says: "Ye shall not make any cuttings in yo flesh for the dead, nor imprint any marks upo: you. I am the Lord." This is taken by the co mentaries to expressly outlaw the art of to ing upon the skin of a Jew. It is believed b some that a tattoo was originally the sign use to brand one with eternal symbols of servitud to idols. Some conceive of the notion that . ta toeing itself might have been a form of idol- wo ship. Some conceive. of the notion that tatto ing is a matter of, mutilating part of the livin body and Mutilating. any part of the bodi strictly forbiddan. - -