• -•
Biblical Films - A Study of Sex
7 ith Little Emphasis on Bible
•
26—DETROITJEW19-1 NEWS '
Israel Army Chief
On Pleasure Cruise
Friday, October 9, 1953
Jewsin Italy Warn
Against Nazis Claim
ROME, (JTA) — The Union
of Italian Jewish Communities
h as sharply rejected the asser-
tion by Nazi Field Marshal Kes-
selring that he helped save the
lives of some Italian JeWs by
flouting the orders of Heinrich
Himmler to - deport -to . - their
deaths the entire JeWisir
tion of Rome.
a statement Which labels
Kesselring "one of% the most
ferocious authors of Nazi mas-
sacres," the Union call's . h i s
claim of having helped save the
remnant of Italian JewrY "an
insult . to the men, women and
priests of Italy" who must be
credited frith the fact that a
ortion of the Italian Jews was
able to save itself.
Underlining that the Jewish
community renews its accusa-
tions against Kesselring, the
Union's statement warns the
Italian people against believing
the statements that the former
commander of German troops
in Italy makes.
Ai American Jewish Press Feature
•
The series of Biblical films
which has eminated lately from
Hollywood is the inspiration for-
am article--"It May Be Box Of-
fiCe, But- Is It the Bible?"—in
the current issue of The -Report-
er, national Magazine.
.Its author, William Lee -Miller.
takeS to task the motion pieture
industry for releasing • -these
films, but states that "the fatilt
is:not entirely withHollywood.''
me," the
"Sowe of the bla
author writes, "must rest on
the kind of religion in Amer-
ica which provides the audi-
ence for these fibrils. If people
are taught that there is some
special edification to be de-
, rived froni the annual repe-
tition of the details of the
Story of David and Goliath, or
from the memorization of Bib-
lical verses out of context, or
from the dressing up of three
boys in bathrobes and bed-
room slippers to play Wise
Men in the pageant; then peo-
ple are sure to think these
movies are religions."
Miller takes most of his wrath
tit on Rita Hayworth's recent
vehicle, "Salome," which he says
'"represents this genre in some
thing like its worst form: it has
sex,- crowds, noise, collo'', thrills,
religious • sentimentality, big
names and at the heart of-it all
a• monumentally fatuous plot."
What Miller dreads, howeer,
more than the release of these
films is the scheduled release of
1 filnii of their ilk during the
coming year. Some of these he
Hats: "The Robe," "The PrOdi:-
gal," "The Story of Mary Mag-
dalene," "The Ten Command-
m-ents" . and "Pilate's Wife."
,In ridiculing "Salome" the
Writer points out that the. film
is made from a sure-fire form-
ula—"religion baptizing sex and
sex making religion more inter-
esting. -In case anyone" should
miss the fact that Miss Hay
worth represents sex, she is
greeted whenever she makes an
entrance . . • by a surge of vio-
lins,- a stir in the crowd, a great
deal of ogling by the male mem-
bers of the cast and consider-
able dialogue about her beauty."
' Miller continues; "In 'David
and Bathsheba,' which was
:better than most of these Bib-
heal films, it was not just that
Bathsheba's arm plainly bore
the mark of a. smallpox vacei!-
:nation, or that David • urged
Uriah to try to look at things
from the woman's point of
view, but that Batlisheba's
lationShip to David was made
a modern, romantic love. story.
"In Quo Vadis' a genial and
avuncular St. Peter told his boil
companion that maybe when
they were through with fishing
for men they would have time to
fish for fish.
"These movies are like that.
the grafting of Biblical figures
and events onto essentially mod-
em categories. They make men-
tion of Galilee and of the Jor-
dan, but the message comes
straight. from Southern Cali-.
fornia.
"The message is that the real
world is that of size, color, noise.
thrills and the most primitive
and immediate emotions, the
world of earthquake, wind and
fire. The Biblical movies appeal
to the same motives and imply
the same scale, of values as the
beast and monster pictures, with
supersize'lizards and the like ..."
Movies, like these, Miller con-
cludes, "play to the crudest part
of American religiosity, a part
which unfortunately is not
small."
Red Step Up Trials
Of Jews in Satellites
Relaxing aboard the S.S. Jeru-
salem on a recent Mediterran-
ean cruise are Gen. MORDECAI
MAKLEF (left), commander-in-
chief of the Israel Army and his
young son. With them is Capt.
ELIEZER AXCEL, skipper of the
passenger liner. The Zim Israel
line's fastest ship, the Jerusalem
Adopt Indemnification Law
will inaugurate scheduled sail-
ings betviten the U. S. and Is .-
BONN, (JTA)—The West Ger- rael on Nov. 13.
man law for indemnification of
individual victims of Nazism,
adopted by parliament eight Israel Releases Lebanese
weeks ago, has now been prom- Ship; Vessel Fled Storm
ulgated through publication of
HAIFA, (JTA) — A Lebanese
the text - in the Official Gazette.
The law went into effect Oct. 1. ship and its crew, which sought
Not a single implementation sanctuary from a Mediterranean
regulation or administrative di-7 storm last Wednesday by enter-
ing Israeli %raters near here, was
rective has yet been issued.
released by Israeli "naval forces.
The release of the ship is in ac-
cordance with an Israeli-Leban-
ese agreement concerning Ves-
By NOTE KOSLOWSKY
sels in distress.
(This is" the first of a series of paintings of the Israel land-
scape\ by the famed artist. Note Koslowsky- who spent a full
year in the land. (This is a feature of Seven Arts Feature Syn-
dicate.)
Israel through an. Artist's Eyes
A YEMENITE JEW
Israel vs. Desert
. VIENNA, (JTA)—Nine promi-
nent Jewish leaders have been
sentenced to long prison terms
by Czech courts. Other reports
from the Czechoslovak capital
stated that 60 Jewish leaders,
who have been in jail tor years,
are now concentrated in one
prison in Bratislava, evidently
in advance of a trial. .
A new outbreak of anti-Semit-
ism has been reported from Rom-
ania. The latest -campaign is
apparently going on in secrecy,
probably in fear of western pub-
lic opinion.
Refugees from Romania _ and-
other travellers from -Bucharest
say that five Zionist leaders
were recently sentenced to ori-
son terms of 10 to 16 years, and
that another trial involving
Romanian representatives of the
World Jewish Congress is in pre-
paration.
•
Turn ye' again now every one
from his evil way . .. and dwell
in the land that the Lord hath
given unto you.—Jerfl 25:5.
BEERSHEBA, (IIP)—The war
for progress waged by Israel
against- the unremitting forces -
of the desert continues in the
first hours of the New Year 5714,'
as, with assistance from Israel
bond investments, workers push
ahead on fronts ranging from
Metulla in . the Far North to the •
sandy plains of the Negev. •
Above, one of the vast army of
workers knocks on the door of
one of Israel's ,. hidden water
houses, in search of the all-im-
portant supply of water . which
will aid most of the new state's
ventures in agriculture and in-
dustry.
Syhiington Wins BE Award.
-
• N E W - YORK, .• (JTA),—Sen.
Stuart Symington of Missouri, .
who was the-first United States
Secretary for the Air Force,'•was
presented • with the 1953- "Hu-
manitarian and Distinguished
Public - Service Award" of the
Metropolitan. Council. of Bnai
Brith. The presentation was
made at a reception at the ninth .
annual all-day conference of
1.500 community and civic lead-
erA held at the Astor Hotel.
1
Are YOU
Your children, your neighbors fully: informed
about American Jewry's status and the position of
world Jewry ? Do you keep abreast of stirring
events that challenge our interest in-
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This is a portrait of a Yemenite . Jew, who was saved from
Arab atrocities immediately after the establishment of Israel. The
'aonizing expression on his face mirrors the two-thOusand-year-
tong Jewish galuth. The portrait was made in a camp in Tiberias.
language difficulties made it difficult for the artist to communi-
Cate with' the subject. When the artist was on the verge of corn-
- eting the painting, the Yemeriite Jew asked for a gift. KosloW-
Oat offered him clothing, money.and food but he kept on shaking
his head negatively. When an interpreter came' along, Koslowsky
!learned that. all the poor man asked for was a .book, so that. he
'could pass- some of his time in - studying. -
scriber, if your children a?e,
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