Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

`Gentile Reactions to Jewish Ideals'

The late Dr. Jacob Salmon Raisin, some of whose earlier books
already had established his record as a man of research and great
scholarship, gains added posthumous honors for literary achieve-
ments with his "Gentile Reactions to Jewish Ideals: With Special
Reference to Proselytes." This encyclopedic work of nearly 900
pages, published by Philosophical Library (15 E. 40th, NY16), vests
edited by Rabbi Herman Hailperin, of Pittsburgh, who has shown
good judgment in gathering and arranging the manuscript.
Rabbi Raisin was especially well known for his "Haskalah
Movement in Russia." His newest book enhances the rich career
of a man who well earned this tribute of his brother, Rabbi Max
Raisin of Patterson, N. J., in his foreword to this book: "As for
this volume which I saw growing in size and scope in the course
of many years, it is the swan-song of one who for more than forty
years served our people as preacher, teacher and writer, enriching
our literature with works of great excellence on a. variety of
themes in both English and Hebrew."
"Gentile Reactions to Jewish Ideals" is especially valuable for
its proof that Gentile-Jewish relations were not always an "unin-
terrupted account of persecution." On the contrary, as Rabbi Hail-
perin shows in his preface, "our author presents material which
clearly shows that Christian scholarship turned positively to the
intellectual heritage of its opponents for argumentation upon its
own ideas . .. The interest which Christian scholars had in re-
establishing the correct text of the Latin Bible with the help of
the Jews was great enough to make them ignore the ban against
associating with Jews."
"The Idea of Humanity as One Fellowship"—the Biblical and
Talmudic sources used to indicate the just attitudes to non-Jews —
refute "the innumerable calumnies invented to justify the perse-
cution of Jews."

"The singularity of the Jews," Dr. Raisin indicated., "con-
sisted in this—that they cared more for the good of mankind
as a whole than for the greater glory of Israel as a people."

He denies that Judaism ceased being a missionary faith:

"That after the rise of Christianity and Mohammedanism
their efforts at conversion gradually diminished is no more evi-
dence that JudaisM is not a missionary religion than that
Christianity and Mohammedanism are opposed to proselytism
because they no longer proselytize in Bolshevik Russia or in
Nazified Germany. The fact is that even when Jewish mission-
arYI efforts were necessarily diminished, they were not alto-
gether abandoned. The wall with which the Jews surrounded
themselves in order to prevent their own absorption among the
nations of the earth was not intended to keep the nations of
the earth without."

Sen. Watkins Trav els
To Europe Examining
Issue of U.S. Visas

WASHINGTON, (JTA) — Sen.
Arthur V. Watkins announce
he will examine the workings Of
the McCarran - Walter Inun-
gration Law in a tour of over-
seas consular offices starting
next month.
The Senator, chairman of the
Immigration • Subcommittee of
the Senate Judiciary Committee,
said he will especially watch, for
evidence 'bearing on complaints
regarding the law referred to
him by President Eisenhower
The President, in a letter to Sen
Watkins, said many complaints
had reached the White House
charging "many serious and in-
equitable restrictions" were con-
tained in the immigration law.
Sen. Watkins said he would
sit in with as .many consular
officials . as possible to observe
how- they handle applications for
immigration visas. He will not
check into any specific cases
involving complaints, but will
watch the general working of
the immigration law, he stated
The Senator's plans also call
for visits to European refugee
camps and for a check into ar-
rangements for handling the
Emergency Refugee Bill that was
enacted .last month. The• report
of his tour will form the basis
for action by his subcommittee
on - proposed changes in the Mc-
Carran-Walter- Act.
Sena Herbert. H. Lehman call-
ed upon President Eisenhower to
adopt as -part of the Administra-
tion's program. the measure
sponsored - by Sen. Lehman, seven
other Senators and 24 Repre-
sentatives to amend and liber-
alize the .McCarran Act.
In a letter sent in behalf of
the bill's sponsors, Sen. Lehman
said that they plan . to include
some revisions in the measure
next fall and that if the Presi-
dent were to support the legis-
lation, "we would be able to in-
clude with these changes other
modifications which might be
agreed upon as a result of con-
sultations with you and your
advisors."

Gentile reactions are reviewed in the age of paganism as well
as after the rise of Christianity. The entire volume is replete
with facts, illustrated with legends, and covers the entire historic-
al record of Gentile-Jewish relations, including those in America.
It is difficult, almost impossible, in a review, to cover the en-
tire area of experiences outlined in this very important book.
For the present, this Commentator desires to concern himself with
several of the stories relating to intermarriage, as corollaries and
sequences to earlier columns that dealt with the subject of the Croll and Crestohl
mixture of faiths.
Re-Elected Canadian

Intermarriage as Related to Proselytism

"Though the Jews refrained from propaganda for their faith,"
Dr. Raisin wrote, "a number of Christians accepted Judaism and in
some communities the most zealous workers in behalf of the faith
of Israel are born Christians who bedame 'Proselytes of Righteous-
ness'." In many instances, intermarriage was a natural result.
They were not always happy and successful unions, but many
were unusually interesting in their development.
We are told the story of Elizabeth Whitlock, one of the earli-
est proselytes in this country: "She married Moses Mordecai, one
of the signers of the Non-Importation Resolution and, after his
death, became the wife of Jacob I. Cohen, of Richmond, Va. One
of her sons, Jacob Mordecai, was a partner of Haym Salomon, the
financier of the Revolution."
Especially interesting is the story of the beautiful and talented
Philadelphia school-mistress, Jeanette Picken, who, in 1806, met
Abraham Hyman Cohen, "son of the 'Jewish priest' of Philadel-
phia's Mikveh Israel synagogue at the home of a mutual Christian
friend, and the young folks fell deeply in love." The congregation's
trustees made him promise he would marry only within the faith.
Miss Picken became a Jewess, and was given the name Sarah
Jeanette, and she accepted Judaism as "nothing . but what the
most devout Christian could conform to." But when her first son
was born she felt compunctions about inducting him into the
Covenant of Abraham, and when the child died in 1814 she was told
by Christian friends that it was a punishment for her abandoning
Christianity. She became ill, and saw visions of a frowning Christ.
When her second son Henry Luria also died, she broke with Juda-
ism and left her husband with three of her four daughters, one
of whom married a Jew and remained a Jewess.

Later, "S. J. Cohen," as Sarah Jeanette signed herself, wrote

a little book, entitled "Henry Luria; or, the Little Jewish Con-

vert," to caution the young against "their entering into a union
where great disparity exists, especially in religious matters."
But she explained that she did not write with bitterness of
feeling, since she experienced kindness and affection from Jews.
"I love them still," she wrote, "fondly love them, as a. part of
that nation to which my dear husband belonged, to which he
clung with undying tenacity during his life, and with his last
breath reiterated, `Shemangi Israel'!"

There are numerous stories of this sort. There is this one:
"In Detroit, Kalman Wagner reverted to Judaism and converted
his Christian family because of a dream. As an orphan child of
seven he had been taken in by a Christian minister, raised as a
Christian, became the organist of his benefactor's church, and
married his daughter. Ten years later he dreamed that his father
reproached him for not remaining in his faith. He told the dream
to his wife, and the entire family officially accepted the Jewish
religion and assumed biblical names (1916).
In its totality, "Gentile Reactions to Jewish Ideals" is a power-
ful work. It is an overpowering history of interesting experiences
related to Christian-Jewish relations. It is history that reads like
romance.

2.—DETROIT.JEW16+4 NEM/g.

Friday, August. 21, 1953 -

Parliament Members

Israel to Coordinate Diplomatic Missions
Abroad ; Slash in Pay Is Pro- posed

JERUSALEM, (JTA) — A plan
for the basic reorg!mization of
Israel government departthents
abroad dealing with econo-
mic and financial matters, cut-7
ting the diplomatic staff by. ten
percent and slashing between
five and 25 percent off the sala-
ries of Israel's diplomats. has
been prepared at the behest of
the Cabinet by Zeev Sharef, sec-
retary of the government.
According to the report, the
diplomatic service cost Israel
$3,340 000 in the last fiscal year.
plus $271,000 for military at-
taches and $1,012,000 for the
salaries and administrative ex-
penses of the representatives of
other Ministries, such as the
purchasing mission and treas-
ury representatives.
Sharef recommends the .sav-
ing of considerable manpower to
be effected by unifying the dip-
lomatic services in such moves
as combining the positions of
First Secretary and Counsellor
at the embassies and legations.
Another portion of the report
suggests that the functions of
"economic representations"
abroad should be turned over to
the regular diplomatic and con-
sular missions.
Pointing out that there are
currently 15 economic missions
functioning abroad, the govern-
ment secretary proposes that no
Ministry shall be permitted to
establish its own missions
abroad without the Cabinet's
specific approval-. It is also pro-
poSed 'that the. Foreign Ministry
draft- a special foreign service
bill giving legal form to the ar-
rangements a n d regulations
governing the service.
In a comparison of salaries
Paid diplomats -by- Israel a,nd by
other nations,. the report . es-
tablishes that the salaries of
Israeli ambassadors are only
one-seventh that of salaries
paid their British counterparts

. and only half. that paid to Swiss
ambassadors.
It- found that while the civil
servant in Israel worked 283
days a year, the Israeli 'diplo-
matic staff abroad averaged 218
clays annunlly. Sharef proposed
that every Israeli office abroad
work - -the same number of days.
The report also stated that in
•the 1951-52 year, 1,466 civil ser-
vants travelled abroad on gov-
ernment business.

$65.,000 Israel Bonds
Sold at Snead Exhibit

The state of Israel benefited
to the tune of $65,000, in in-
vestment bonds sold at the
Sammy Snead
Exhibition at
Knollwood
Country C 1 u b,
Tuesday.
Snead was
defeated by two
holes by the
local opponents,
Nate Margolis
of K n o llwood,
Harvey Hubar
Margolis of _ F r an klin
Hills and Dr. Sam Cha.ttman of
Tam-O-Shanter.
Hubar won the trophy for the
-lowest scoring.

L. Prentis Heads OF
Allocations Committee

M.

Meyer L. Prentis has been re-
named chairman of the alloca-
tiOns committee of the United
Foundation.
The former treasurer of Gen-
eral Motors Corp. will be assist-
ec't by a committtee of 23 which
includes Samuel Rubiner, presi-
dent of the Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration.

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1953, .iewisti. Telegraphic Agency)

Washington Trends:

Although Israel is satisfied with the fact that it will receive
from the U. S._ Government financial aid to the extent of about
$70,000,000 this year—which is about the same amount as last
year—it doubts whether this will also be the case in the future ...
In fact, a campaign will be started soon to make American Jews
conscious of the possibility that a time will come when it will have
to take over the full burden of financial aid to Israel . . . Jews
will be warned not to take it for granted that American financial
aid to Israel is a permanent institution, although the U. S. Gov-
ernment- is interested in seeing Israel become economically strong
. Already Congress has shown an inclination to cut aid to Israel
along with other states ... However, the Eisenhower Administra-
tion used pressure to prevent cuts in allocations for the Jewish'
State . . . On the whole, the present Administration displayed as
much interest in Israel as the Truman- Administration . . This
despite the fact that the State Department is annoyed by the
recent transfer of Israel's Foreign Office from Tel Aviv to Jerusa-
lem . . . On the other hand, Israel is not disappointed over the
refusal of the United States to help the Jewish State repay its
Soviet Emissaries
short-term American loans by granting it a long-term loan .
The entire picture will be brought into the open soon when the
Attend Eban's Party
campaigns for the United Jewish Appeal and for the sale of Israel
Bonds
are renewed for the coming year.
NEW YORK, (JTA)—For the
*
first time since the resumption
of Soviet relations with Israel, Diplomatic Notes:
members of the Russian delega-
There is no truth whatsoever in rumors now being spread that
tion to the United Nations and Israel Ambassador Abba Eban is about to be replaced ... The
her satellites, attended a party rumors apparently arise from the fact that Reuben Shiloah, one
tendered here by Israel Ambas- of Premier David Ben Gurion's most trusted men, has been named
sador Abba Eban.
Minister Plenipotentiary to Washington . . . But Mr. Shiloah is
The affair honored Gideon Ra- coming to the United States to replace Minister David Goiten who
fael, a member of the Israel is returning to Israel after a period of service in Washington. ..
delegation to the UN, who is re-
Eban, who is also the head of the Israel delegation at
turning to his country after sev- the United Nations, is scheduled to leave for Israel Aug. 24 for
eral years in the U. S. Andrei discussions with his government on- Israel-American relations ...
Vishinsky, head of the Soviet He will probably be back in the United States in time for the
delegation, who could not at- opening of the next U. N. General Assembly in mid-September
tend, sent a personal note to There are no Palestine problems on the agenda of this Assembly,
Eban with Semyon Tzarapkin, but it is expected that the Arab delegations may at the last minute
who represented him at the inject the Jerusalem issue into the agenda . . . This is an issue
party.
in which the Latin American countries and the Soviet bloc are
going along hand-in-hand with the Arabs, since they all wish to
15 Chaplains Enter Services see Jerusalem placed under international supervision ...Israel is
NEW YORK, (JTA) — Fifteen on the alert, and Mr. Eban will come back from Israel ready for
new Jewish chaplains have re- any possible debate on this issue.
The Federation of Syrian-Lebanese American Clubs vigorously
cently entered the U.S. Armed
Forces, and four will report for protested to the Syrian Ambassador to Washington, Dr. Farid
duty by Rosh Hashanah, it was Zeineddine, for criticizing the Zionist movement in a speech which
announced by Rabbi D. David- he delivered at a convention of the Clubs in Houston, Tex. . . The
son, chairman of the National Syrian diplomat was asked specifically to leave politics out of his
Jewish Welfare Board's Com- address, but he ignored the request ... The Federation therefore
mission on Jewish Chaplaincy. decided not to invite any diplomatic representatives to its future
The chaplains received their conventions ... "As Americans and Christians we hold the great-
ecclesiastical endorsement est admiration and highest respect for our Jewish friends and we
through the JWB Commission, do not want this hapless incident to affect our friendship of long
which represents the three standing,," says a statement issued by K. Antone, chairman of the
major. U. S. rabbinical bOdies. l , executive board of the Fed,eyations.

MONLREAL, (JTA) — David
Croll of Toronto and Leon Cres-
tohl of Montreal, the only two
Jewish members of the Cana-
dian Parliament, were r e -
elected in the Liberal Party's
sweeping return to power. Both
men are well known communal
workers and Zionist leaders.
Adrien Arcand of Quebec. who
gained notoriety in the past de-
cade or so as the "Quebec Hit-
ler," was defeated in his cam-
paign for Parliament. During
the election campaign, Arcand
renewed his anti-Semitic incite-
ment.

