Israel Labor Join's Free Trade Union Armed Arabs
Federation of Pro-West International Attack Village
Of Rosh Pinah
TEL AVIV, (JTA)—A decision be represented at the conven-
to join the pro-Western Inter-
national Confederation of Free
Trade Unions was adopted by
the Histadrut, Israel Federation
of Labor, at a session of its
council. Members of the left -
wing Mapam Party and of the
Communist Party fought the
decision but were defeated by a
large majority composed of Ma-
pai and General Zionist labor-
ites.
The Histadrut left the Com-
munist-controlled World Feder-
ation of Trade Unions in 1950.
As a result of the latest deci-
sion, organized Israel labor may
tion of the International Con-
federation of Free Trade Un-
ions which opens on July 4 in
Stockholm.
The Histadrut council also
defeated a proposal by Mapam
members to oppose the bill on
a unified school system which
will be presented soon by the
Israel Cabinet to Parliament.
The council expressed satisfac-
tion with the' methods now used
by the government to decrease
unemployment in the country.
It was reported that the num-
ber of unemployed men and
women in Israel has dropped
to about 16,000.
Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
The Rosenbergs: Martyrology and Harm . to Jewry
Our generation's most sensational case—that of Ethel and
Julius Rosenberg—humiliates as well as baffles Jewry more than
any other group in the land. Not that we have any apologies to
make: we have stated the case again and again, that every
ethnic group has its saints and its devils, its people of honor
and its scoundrels, its patriots and its traitors. There are no
apologies to be made for the ancestors : we can only have sorrow
for the descendants of the condemned.
Nevertheless, there is a Jewish angle. The Rosenberg commit-
tee first dragged it in by trying to make an anti-Semitic issue of
the case—because the Rosenbergs are Jews, without noting the
fact that the judge and the prosecutor in the case also were Jews.
At the same time, it is impossible to igncire the fact that the con-
demned were born Jews. We always like to hear good things about
our kinsmen. Even when they are not thoroughly steeped in
Jewish knowledge, even when they are not vitally concerned with
Jewry's status, we like to think of the admirable qualities of our
sons and daughters, and we desire that their affiliations with
friends and organizational groups should be honorable ones. The
Rosenbergs were sinners against their fellow men and fellow
Americans, and therefore they sinned against Jewry. And the
anti-Semites may never stop remindiing us that among millions
of our patriots we happened to have two transgressors.
The Rosenbergs suffered from the established Communist
failing: an urge for martyrdom. Communists love to be perse-
cuted so that they may shout their grievances from the house-
tops; and then, when they are the persecutors, as has happened
only too often with Communists, there is no chance for the ac-
cused even to complain overly long, for they are shot down in
cold blood. While the Rosenbergs sought the status of martyrs, they
should have given credence to the fact that in this free land,
whose glories they should have cherished, their death sentence
was delayed time and time and time again. The rulers behind
the Iron Curtain never would have permitted it
What About Compassion?
We were among those who believed that the Rosenbergs
should have been granted clemency—because we are opposed to
capital punishment, and because we regret that the Communists
have two other heads on which to hang the label "martyrs." The
Rosenbergs were not martyrs: the courts studied their case and
declared them guilty. • On the eve of the execution; Dr. Max
Lerner wrote in the N. Y. Post:
"I have been reading the 'Death House Letters' which the
Rosenberg Committee has published. They have a pathos in
them, especially when the father and mother write to their two
boys. But they are stilted and mechanical letters, that read
like Daily Worker editorials. And the effort to exploit the boys
themselves is another evidence that communism dehumanizes
its soldiers.
"I need scarcely repeat here what I have so often writ-
ten—that only the Soviet cause will benefit from the execution
of the Rosenbergs. They are worth far more to the Russians
dead than alive. One of the clergymen who visited President
Eisenhower put it well when he said that the case has by now
become symbolic, and the symbolism of going through with the
execution would be the worst kind. What is at stake is the
image that world opinion will have of us. Let us not needlessly
spoil that image.
"I shall go to Sing Sing prison Thursday believing that
the Rosenbergs are guilty of espionage, despising their behavior
for almost three years as Communist marionettes, but also
believing that the death penalty for • them is unwarranted, and
convinced it is stupid. And whatever they did, I shall go with
compassion."
So much for a viewpoint that was expressed before Justice
Douglas had interceded with a last minute order to stay execu-
tion—an order that was countermanded the very next day. We
concur with Dr. Lerner: that the Communists alone are happy,
that the Rosenbergs and their defense committee had outrage-
ously exploited the two young boys, that the condemned were
guilty. But it is difficult to build up compassion. Lord Byron once
said that "The dew of compassion is a tear."
But there is another viewpoint, that of Junius, the unknown
18th century English political writer:
"Compassion to an offender who has grossly violated the
laws, is, in effect, a cruelty to the peaceable subject who has
observed them."
We regret any death penalty, but we hesitate with our com-
passion. The executed couple has harmed our country; they have
offended the Jewish people; they have left stains in the paths of
their children; they have left a memory that is not blessed.
The Exploited Sabbath
On the day of the execution of the Rosenbergs, a rumor was
circulated that the condemned couple had renounced Judaism.
Simultaneously, however, there came the announcement that the
Jewish Sabbath would be respected and the electrocution would
take place before the day of rest. The Rosenbergs' attorney,
Emmanual Bloch, was bitter: he had asked—so he charged in
his funeral oration—that the execution be deferred until after
the Sabbath and instead it was advanced for the previous day.
Bloch could at least have refrained from exploiting the Sabbath.
For Jewry, it was an added injury in an already humiliating case.
TEL AVIV, (JTA)—Armed Ar-
abs have made a new attack on
an Israeli village, this time hit-
ting Rosh Pinah in. Upper Gal-
ilee.
One Jew was wounded when
a hand grenade was thrown into
his home. The attackers were
soon driven off by Jewish
guards. Their tracks led in the
direction of the nearby Syrian
and Lebanese borders.
A Syrian boat captured in Is-
raeli waters some two weeks ago
was released and turned over
to the Syrian authorities.
Grave concern over the future
Israeli villages in the Jordan
valley which have been using
Yarmuk River waters is felt here
following announcement of a
Jordan-Syrian pact for use of
the Yarmuk River for power
stations and irrigation projects
in the Arab states. Diversion of
the Yarmuk for these purposes
would dry up irrigation systems
in some Israeli villages.
It was reported by Haaretz,
independent news paper, that
the World Zionist Organization
has demanded international ac-
tion to prevent damage to the
Israeli settlements. The paper
added that the Israel Govern-
ment has already contacted
United States authorities re-
sponsible for the Point Four
program, under which the Syri-
an-Jordan scheme would be fi-
nanced. Israel circles point out
that if this plan goes through,
Point Four funds pledged to de-
velop under dev eloped areas
would be used to turn flourish-
ing fields into a desert.
The Israelis claim that the
area now watered by the Yar-
muk could be irrigated by a
change in the irrigation system
and a diversion of the course
of the Jordan River. Such ac-
tion, they point out, would de-
ny water now used by Syrian
villages on the eastern bank of
the Jordan River. To guard
against major dislocations to
all parties, the Israelis would
like a tri-partite agreement cov-
ering the use of Yarmuk River
waters.
Elect Dr. N. Salit President
Of National Rabbinical Body
Between ou and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1953, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate)
The Non-Zionist Issue:
None of the non-Zionist leaders in the United States has as
yet been approached to join the Jewish Agency, as advocated by
Dr. Nahum Goldmann and other top Zionist leaders . . But they
will be approached soon after the Jewish Agency executive con-
cludes its plenary session early in July .. In all probability the
non-Zicnist leaders will be invited to join the Agency as indi-
viduals and not as representatives of the organizations which
they head. . . . They will be coopted as members of the American
branch of the Jewish Agency, since no elections can formally take
place until the next World Zionist Congress . . . Behind the move-
ment to attract non-Zionist leaders to active participation in the
Jewish Agency lies the fact that Israel's demands upon American
Jewry are sure to increase , Hence, Dr. Goldmann, supported
by other members of the Jewish. Agency executive, is of the opin-
ion that the Zidnist movement must face up to the problem of
giving the non-Zionists a voice in determining constructive pro-
grams for the Jewish state . . They consider it wise, and in the
interests of Israel, to have broader elements of the American
Jewish community directly responsible for the expenditure as well
as the collection of the large s - ums which are being raised for
Israel in the United States . . Especially since it is no secret
that most leaders in Israel, regardless of party affiliation, are
beginning to get worried over the slackening of the Zionist
movement in this country. . . These Israeli leaders have the
feeling that the Jewish people ,
not fully behind the state and
that the Zionist movement in rica
me
has done little, since 1948,
to mobilize this type of support . , They also point out that the
United Jewish Appeal has maintained a status quo and that in
come from the Israel bond drive is on the downgrade, while
Israel's financial position is more difficult today than even two
years ago . . . They maintain that Israel's only weapon against
all kind of difficulties—internal as well as in the field of foreign
affairs—is the Jewish people as a whole . . . And they are not at
all certain that the leaders of the Zionist movement can do the
job alone . . . The non-Zionist leaders have, on the other hand,
proven themselves very devoted to Israel's interests . . Dr. Gold.
mann and others who strongly favor the enlargement of the
Jewish Agency see, therefore, no reason why non-Zionists should
not be brought into the Agency's executive in New York and
thereby increase American Jewry's responsibilities towards Israel.
.. . The Zionists will, of course, continue to be the pace setters
on promoting Hebrew education, stimulating Jewish youth to go
to Israel, and other matters which are of basic importance to
the World Zionist movement.
Zionist Trends:
The plenary session of the Jewish Agency executive in 'Jeru-
salem next month will, in addition to dealing with the issue of
inviting non-Zionists to join the Agency, also consider the reor-
ganization of the American Zionist Council . . . Dr. Nahum Gold-
mann seems to insist that the decisions with regard to the reor-
ganization of the Council must implemented . . , He believes
that a reorganized Council may lead eventually to the merging
of all Zionist groups in the United States into a territorial Zionist
federation . . . This was suggested a long time ago by Premier
David Ben-Gurion . . . This was also advocated by Eliahu Dobkin,
head of the organization department of the World Zionist Organ-
ization, at a closed meeting in New York of leaders of the vari-
ous American Zionist parties . . Mr. Dobkin proposed that the
parties should surrender their prerogatives to the territorial
federation, and that the Zionist movement should be structurally
based on direct personal affiliation .. He expressed the opinion
that the enlargement of the Jewish Agency and the reorganiza-
tion of the Zionist movement must be considered and undertaken
simultaneously . . . Opposing the idea of establishiing a Zionist
territorial federation in the United States are the Zionist Organ-
ization of America and the Hadassah ... However, they are sup-
porting the Jewish Agency request that the American Zionist
Council take over some of the Agency's activities on the Amer-
ican Zionist scene . . . Some progress in this respect was made by
the Council last month ... Important additions to the Council's
staff will soon be announced in connection with the planned ex-
pansion of its activities . Incidentally, acting on a Jewish
Agency decision, the United Israel Appeal is allocating this year
$750,000 to the Mizrachi Palestine Fund, $750,000 to the General
Zionist Confederation, $166,000 to the Agudath Israel, $181,875 to
the Agudah Labor Party, and $90,000 to the United Revisionists.
. . . These allocations are being made on the basis of agreements
that none of these organizations would conduct separate cam-
paigns for funds in the United States . .. The funds received by
these organizations must be spent on constructive projects in
Israel.
NEW YORK, (JTA)—The Sy-
nagogue Council of America, the
over-all body representing Orth-
odox, Conservative and Reform
Judaism in this country, elec-
ted Rabbi Nor-gRK
man Salit o f
Lawrence, N.Y.,
as its president
for the ensuing
year, 1953-54.
Ordained by
the Jewish The-
ological Semin-
ary in 1920,
Rabbi Salit haS
Dr. Salit
been an active
Zionist and was president of the
Intercollegiate Zionist Federa-
tion, and a member of the na-
tional executive and admin-
istrative committees of Zionist
Organization of America. He is The American Scene:
Differences of opinion prevail among -major Jewish organiza-
a member of the bars of New
York and the U. S. Supreme tions in this country with regard to President Eisenhower's
Court.
quest to Congress for admission of 240,000 aliens from Europe
within two years outside of the immigration quota — . The
30,000 Attend N.Y. Conceit,
American Jewish Committee and Jewish organizations engaged
Proceeds Going to Israel
in immigration work testified in Washington in favor of this
proposal . . . But the American Jewish Congress and some of the
NEW YORK, (JTA) — More
groups affiliated with the National Community Relations
than 33,000 persons helped the Jewish
Council refrained from giving testimonial . . . President
American Fund for Israel Insti- Advisory
Eisenhower's proposal, which has been introduced in the Senate
tutions celebrate the fifth anni- by 18 Senators as an Emergency Refugee Bill, is considered by
versary of its annual "Music
American Jewish Congress "an unfortunate piece of legisla-
Under the Stars" concert at the
tion .. ." Jewish Congress leaders believe that President Eisen-
Ebbets Field, It was estimated hower's
as it is—is a poor substitute for the
that the concert brought a to- revision move—humanitarian
of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act which all Jew-
tal gross of more than $100,000, ish and- liberal organizations in this country demand . . They
which will aid the Fund *to also point out that the Emergency Refugee Bill retains an "ob-
maintain many of the educa-
racist concept" as a criterion for admissibility, since it IS
tional, cultural, traditional and noxious
built on the "ethnic orgin" principles . . . They emphasize the fact
social welfare institutions of Is - that
the proposed emergency legislation gives no significant relief
rael, which it supports.
to stateless Jewish refugees , , Nor does the bill do anything for
refugees who were eligible for admission to the United States
Israel Ship Leaves U. S.
under the Displaced Persons Act but whose right of entry was
Port With Coal for Brazil
lost because the Act expired before they were admitted ... -Other
NORFOLK, Va., (JTA)—The shortcomings of President Eisenhower's request as embodied In
first vessel flying the Israeli flag the Emergency Refugee Bill are pointed out by the American
ever to call at a South American Jewish Congress, which insists that the refugee problem cannot
port sailed from here with a full be treated separately from the question . of a, fundamental xeVim.
cargo of coal for discharge at sion of the McCarran immigration law.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ship,
Akko, is owned by Cargo Ships
Friday, June 26, 1.953
"El Yam," a Tel Aviv company. 2—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS