THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20. 1951
Member: American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News .Publishing Co., 708-10 David Stoll Bldg., Detroit 26. Mich., WO. 5-1155.
gubscription $9 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 and Publisher
Vol. XXII--No. 16
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
December 26, 1952
Page 4
Sabbath - Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the ninth day of Tebet, 5713, the following Scriptural selections will be read in
our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion. Gen. 44:18-47:27; Prophetical portion, Ezek. 37:15-28.
WORLD PEA Cr
pEACE IN ISRAEL
EL imitormAl 0,40 - . R- 1107(4,
Ft/ItTHER Hott4N Riohi. r7
,4/D ro ISRAEL.
t iEWISH cot/CAT/PH
Fast of Tebet Scriptural Selections, Sunday
Pentateuchal portion., Ex. 32:11-14, 34:1-10; Prophetical portion Is. 55:6-56:8.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Dec. 26, 4:49 p.m.
The Difficult Road to Israel-Arab Peace
In his "blue print for peace" with the
Arabs, presented to the United Nations Ad
Hoc Political Committee on the eve of the
vote the committee members cast in favor of
direct negotiations between Israel and the
Arab states, Israel's chief delegate to the
UN, Abba Eban, warned against the "ring-
ing of doorbells and running away" on the
part of the Arabs. Mr. Eban stated:
"What is unique and distinctive in th? Arab
record is that four of their acts of non-com-
pliance have had a very special attribute
which does not mar the record of Israel or of
any other state. On three occasions Arab op-
position to resolutions has taken the form of
armed attack. and on one occasion it has taken
the form of a stubborn maintenance of a war-
like blockade. Nobody has any record of non-
compliance with resolutions in the slightest
degree comparable to this.
"It reminds me of the practice which some
of us indulged in in our early youth, of ring-
ing doorbells and then running away when
there was the least chance of the door being
opened. Like the Arab references to previous
resolutions in the present .context, this prac-
tice caused amusement to some, annoyance to
others and practical advantage to nobody at
all. it is in the Jerusalem case that the Arab
habit of ringing doorbells is most vividly
lustrated. If you ring the Jerusalem bell, two
doors open—one towards the United Nations
statute for the Holy Places; which was -advo-
cated here two years ago; the other looking
out on an international enclave around the
main Holy Places. Eadh of these would have of-
fered honorable access to the central objective
of the United Nations, which was the ex-
pression of United Nations' concern for univer-
sal religious interests. But by the time either
of these doors were opened, our Arab col-
leagues had fled so far down the street that -
they were completely lost from sight; and
some of them are still so unobtrusive that Mr.
Shukeiri has had to pretend that he has rung
the bell on Jordan's behalf.
• "The government of Israel, on the other
hand, has always shown a serious attitude to
whatever proposals appeared able at any given
time to express and fulfil the interests of the
international community in the protection of
holy shrines and free access to them. This
earnestness and constructive spirit represents
our constant and reverent concern for the
sacred associations which hover over Jerusa-
lem and the Holy Land."
The Ad Hoc Committee's rebuke to the
Arabs, in the form of an early favorable vote
in support of the- plan for direct negotiations,
was reversed by the UN General Assembly
as a result of an interview, which proved un-
fortunate, granted to C. L. Sulzberger, New
York Times correspondent, by Israel's Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion. The Catholic,
Latin American, Moslem and - Soviet bloc
united to defeat the pro-Israel plan that had
the backing of the United States. In his in-
terview, Mr. Ben - - Gurion said:
"There is a large scope for Jewish-Arab
cooperation in this part of the world. There are
great possibilities.
"If, for example, the Egyptian chief of
state, General Naguib, is serious about his
program of internal reform and the desire
to improve the lot of the fellahin (landless
peasants) i doubt if he can do it without us.
He cannot depend only upon the German ex-
perts he now has ..."
This statement, and especially Mr. Ben-
Gurion's assertion that the Jerusalem prob-
lem has been solved by the inclusion of the
New City into the Jewish State, was like a
red-flag-waving-act to the Catholic delega-
tions, and the result was an unholy alliance
that scrapped the opportunity for peace in
the Near East.
Thus, there is no let-up in prejudice and
in warmongering. The Jewish Observer and
Middle East Review of London last week in-
dicated that there have been evidences of
changes in General Naguib's original at-
tempts at stabilizing Egypt's position. The
observer points out that—
"For three months Naguib has done pretty
much what HE wanted, and successfully put
his moderating imprint on the Revolutionary
Movement, .But for the past three weeks, he
has come under increasing pressure from in-
side and outside the Movement— until this
week, in his first display of impatience—he
spoke of giving up his burden."
Naguib's protests against reparations to
Jews by Germany, his expressed lack of con-
fidence in Jewish spokesmen, his yielding to
"unpredictable elements in the Egyptian sit-
uation," do not augur well for the peace of
the Middle East.
In his statements to Mr. Suzberger, Mr.
Ben-Gurion gave assurances that Israel is
ready to assist the Arab refugees "financial-
ly and with the help of our experience." He
ruled out, however, any possibility of a re-
turn of the refugees .to Israel—a matter in
which the major world powers now agree
with Israel, concurring that repatriation of
Arabs would be impractical. Thus, a major
bone of contention continues to plague the
nations involved in the controversy.
The disquieting situation is not new in
Zionist experience. Documents just made
public in London, as reported in the Jewish
observer and Middle East Review, reveal
that in 1919, shortly after Dr. Chaim Weiz-
Mann received a letter of encouragement,
embodying an offer of cooperation with the
Zionists from Emir Feisal, Maj. J. N. Camp
reported to Lord Curzon:
"In my opinion, Dr. Weizmann's agreement
with Emir Feisal is not worth the paper it is
°JEWISH l'ELEGRApHic AGENCY
Biography of Freud Explains
Development of Psychoanalysis
Rachel Baker, biographer of Chaim Weizmann, has produced
another important book in which she not only ably delineates the
life of a great man but also effectively describes his creative work.
Her "Sigmund Freud," published by Julian Messner (8 W. 40th,
NY18), is an able evaluation of the Freudian science and the rise
of psychoanalysis as an important part of medicine.
Mrs: Baker's story reviews Freud's life, his youth and his
struggle to attain status in the medical world, his battles with his
own followers who tried to splinter the ranks of the psychologists
and the eventual triumph for his ideas.
Freud's Jewish background, his birth into a "free thinking"
environment and his eventual realization of the struggle he and
his ideas would encountetr because of his Jewishness, are inter-
estingly reviewed by the able biographer.
One of the most interesting epiNdes related in Mrs. Baker's
biography tells about the split in the ranks of his colleagues and
written on or the energy wasted on the con- their refusal to accept the leadership of Dr. Carl Gustav Jung be-
versation to make it . . . No greater mistake
cause he was "Swiss." Freud faced his antagonist with the asser-
could be made than to regard Feisal as a rep- tion: "We are Jews. Psychoanalysis will be condemned as a
resentative of the Palestine Arabs . . . He is Jewish movement." And he added : "The Swiss will save us."
capable of making contradictory statements
Freud's life was endangered under the Nazis, but the spokes-
with the French, the Zionists and ourselves;
men from several nations came to his aid, compelled him to emi-
of receiving money from all three, and then grate to England and his last years were spent away from the
endeavoring to act as he pleases."
Hitlerite menace.
Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis share in importance in
How are such disheartening opportu-
nistic approaches to be overcome by peace- Rachel Baker's story which has the merit of a very fine biography.
seekers? It is clear that the Arab leaders are
not amenable to reason and that other ave-
nues will have to be found to solve the prob-
lem that involves the peace of many mil-
lions of people. Only the influence of the
United Nations, and especially the deter-
mined will of the United States, can possi-
bly induce the recalcitrant Arabs to sit to-
gether with Jews in the interests of peace.
There is, of course, another way: that
of enlightening the Arab masses that their
leaders are misleading them and are perpet-
Uating their state of war and poverty. We
would, however, be asking for miracles in
hoping for the opening of the eyes of the
fellahin to. their unfortunate plight. That is
why Israel, too, must continue to struggle
under the burdens of a war economy.
A Sound Coalition
The Mapai-General Zionist coalitiOn in
the Israel government is a sound partner-
ship.
The bases for cooperation are commend-
able. Since the agreement is to remain in
effect until the end of 1955, there is a good
chance that the previous disputes will be
avoided.
Of special significance in the new co-
alition agreement is the plan to introduce a
new election law, restricting Knesset repre-
sentation to parties gaining ten per cent or
more of the total national vote. This should
serve to reduce the number of small parties.
Another valuable plan provides for re-
form in the present haphazard educational
program and for the elimination of party
trends in the numerous school systems,
In addition, there are strong provisions
for the scrapping of economic controls and
the introduction of measures to encourage
private investments, at the same time pro-
viding for more equitable income taxes.
The new Israel government is on the
right track. Jews everywhere will watch new
developments with keen interest, in the hope
that Israel now will triumph over internal
controversies and will be able to meet the
economic challenges with courage, strength
and dignity:
An Attractive Children's Book
STORIES OF KING DAVID. By Lillian
Publication Society of America.
S.
Freehof. Philadelphia, Pa. Jewish
When the author of Ecclesiastes said that "of the making of
many books there is no end," he was not speaking of Jewish
juveniles. Of such we have not nearly enough, especially of the
kind rooted in the Jewish literary and spiritual tradition. For,
whatever one expects from the books meant for all children, those
intended for a Jewish child must be tested by their effectiveness
in introducing their readers to Jewish religious and cultural
values.
Mrs. Lillian S. Freehof has met the problem inherent in
Jewish juvenile literature and has solved it successfully, with
skill and imagination. For material she turned to that inex-
haustible supply of Jewish imaginative literature which goes by
the name of Midrash. Those midrashic elements which cluster
about biblical personalities have been collected in that peerless
scholarly work, "The Legends of the Jews," by Prof. Louis Ginz-
berg, published by the Jewish Publication Society a good many
years ago. Mrs. Freehof took the suggestions given there and
expanded them into charming and amusing short stories, each
centering about • an incident in the eventful life of David, King
of Judah and Israel.
There are about twenty stories, beginning with the explana.
tion of the reason why David lived exactly seventy years and
concluding with one of the many tales which hint at David's
immortal influence. Between these are set the adventures of the
shepherd, the chosen king, the fugitive from Saul, the conqueror,
The illustrations of the book deserve separate consideration.
Mr. Seymour Kaplan has given these stories a pictorial attractive-.
ness rare in Jewish juvenilia. He not only caught the spirit of
the legendary past, but has succeeded in representing it with
modern dynamism as well as a touch of humor. Printed in color,
the book is sure to capture and hold a child's attention.
Hebraic Literary Odditties
,Solomon Lenchitz has acquired fame for his collection of odd-
ities from Hebraic literature. In illustrated form, 55 of them now
appear in his new book, "Pictorial Oddities From Hebraic Liter-
ature," published by Exposition Press (386 4th Ave., NY 16).
We learn from this collection that the sons of Jacobs hurdled
75-feet ramparts in the battle to avenge their sister Dinah; that
builders of the Temple were never ill during the seen years of
construction; that Rabbi Ishmael ben Kumchis was a giant who
was able to carry in his palm 16 quarts of incense while ascending
the altar.
One of the items states that the Rabbis disagreed on the
number of rooms in Noah's Ark, one saying there were 300 and
another that there were 900. Other interesting oddities are: Rabbi
Hamnuna Saba maintained that the earth was global 1250 years
before the discovery of America; King Solomon was able to fly
at a speed of 1400 miles an hour on his trained eagle; 1500 years
before Galileo, Rabbi Gamliel possessed a hollow tube he used as
a telescope; there are 39,300 kinds of kosher fish; Esther was a
beauty queen winner at the age of 40.