HE ISH NEWS
Churchill and
Abba H. Silver:
Two Historic
Addresses
A
Editorial, Page 4
VOLUME 25—No. 18
Weekly Review
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper—Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
akeia. 7
17100 W. 7 Mile Rd.—VE. 8-9364—Detroit 35, July 9, 1954
Austro-Jewish Negotiations Collapse
Calendar Reform:
Conflicting
Catholic-Jewish
Attitudes •
Commentary, Page 2
$4.00 Per Year; Single Copy, 15c
Again
Fear of Incurring Former Nazis'
Wrath in Coming Fall Elections
y Have Caused the-Breakdown
Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News
VIENNA—The Austro-Jewish negotiations on world Jewish claims
for heirless Jewish property in Austria and for restitution and indemni-
fication for individual victms of Nazism collapsed Tuesday after more
than a month of negotiations. This is the second breakdown since the
Austro-Jewish talks opened more than a year ago.
There is one chance left that the Austrian cabinet may make a new
proposal before Thursday, when the last of the Jewish negotiators leaves
for Zurich to attend a meeting of the executive board of the Jewish Claims
Committee Against Austria. If the Austrians do make an acceptable re-
versal by then, the Jewish negotiators will return to work out the details,
hi the fall when the Austrian Parliament is in session, Moses Beckel-
man, chief Jewish negotiator, indicated.
The disruption of the talks followed a conference between the Jews
and Chancellor Julius Raab, Vice Chancellor Adolph Schaerf, Ex-Chan-
eellor Leopold Figl and Finance Minister Reinhardt Kamitz. At the con-
ference, the Jews were told that the Chancellor would not improve upon
the latest offer by Dr. Kamitz who last week-end offered 50,000,000 schill-
ings in a lump sum settlement of heirless property claims. Earlier, he had
indicated the Austrian government would offer 125,000,000.
Mr. Beckelman and the other Jewish negotiators turned down the
50,000,000 schilling offer and several other proposals by Dr. Kamitz on
individual claims, all of which the Jews found to be reversals of earlier
promises and unacceptable.
When Chancellor Raab told the Jews that the Cabinet could take no
further responsibility in this matter without consulting Parliament, which
would not meet until after the summer, Mr. Beckelman told him that the
Jewish team was going to the Zurich meeting July 11. At this point the
Chancellor said he would try to give the Jews a final answer within, a
few days.
Mr. Beckelman said he would be pleased if reconsideration at this
time would lead to acceptable proposals. If it should, he said he would look
forward tco working out the details and the necessary documentation in
the fall.
Observers here believe that both parties in the government coalition—
the People's Party and the Social Democratic Party—have an eye on the
fall elections in several provinces. No party wants to incur the wrath of
former Nazis who might be tempted to vote for the neo-Nazi League of
Independent Voters if the government came to an agreement with the Jews.
Jordan's Barbaric Shelling' Creates
Small !Merl Israel Orders Restraint
New Citizen:
ESTER BASKIER, who took and
passed her examination for citizenship before a Federal judge
just before Independence Day, receives her diploma in Ameri-
canization from ILJA M. DIJOUR, citizenship director of
HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, at the graduation
exercises of the Americanization and Citizenship Class, held
at the HIAS Shelter in New York. Mrs. Baskier, a native of
Poland, whose husband and child were killed by the Nazis
in a concentration camp,' and who is herself a veteran of
several concentration camps, was assisted in her immigration
to America by HIAS five years ago.
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—The Jordan government must bear full responsibility for the "bar-
baric shelling of Israel's capital for three days, for jeopardizing the lives of innocent people and
for endangering the Holy Places of three religions," Pinchas Lavon, Israel Defense Minister told
Parliament in reviewing the events of la* week in which three persons were killed and 27
wounded in Israel.
Immediately after the Defense Minister concluded his report, the deputies held a debate on
the government's handling of the Jerusalem battle, which was opened Wednesday when Arab
Legionnaires on the walls of the Old City began firing into the New City's main thoroughfares
with automatic weapons, mortars and grenades. The Mapai, General Zionists and Mizrachi-
government parties—upheld the govjrnment's policy of cooperating with the Israel-Jordan Mixed
Armistice Commission in this affair. Mapam attacked the role of Western Powers inthe con-
flict, while the rightist Herut group and the Communists criticized the coalition government.
Mr. Lavon declared that Israel had "clear proof" that the Jordanian government had planned
and carried out the attack on Jerusalem. He said that the Arab Legion had planned the
attacks several weeks ago and had brought into the city three additional battalions, two of
Legionnaires and one of national guards. He rejected the theory that the shooting was begun
by "nervous" troops, noting that green troops are not placed in front line positions and, further,
that "nervousness" rarely lasts three days.
He reported that he had instructed 'the Israeli troops to restrain themselves, although he
knew that restricting their freedom of action hampered their situation. But, he emphasized,
this had to be done to ensure that "the Holy City would not become a heap of rubble." As a
result, he went on, not a single Holy Place was hit.
He explained that despite its misgivings, the Israel government had agreed to participate in
the Israel-Jordan MAC meetings on this matter, but not under the chairmanship of Lt. Com-
mander Elmo R. Hutchison. "I admit without blushing that my colleagues and I decided to
participate in the MAC to give the UN a chance to show that it can judge rightly, not as in
the case of Scorpion Pass. Jerusalem will not be a second Scorpion Pass," he continued, but if
by this "brutal and cowardly" attack the Jordanians hoped to "scare the Jews they failed."
Reviewing the course of events on Lake Tiberias last week, where an Israeli patrol boat was
fired on and two Israelis killed and five wounded, the Minister noted bitterly that Israel had
been condemned by the MAC for firing back at the Arabs. He insisted that despite all con-
siderations the Israel Army would defend Israel's soil. "It is the meanest lie that Israel con-
templates an attack," he declared. "We want peace, but we will not yield our natural right to
defend our liberty and sovereignty."
Israel, Jordan Trade Charges on Origin of Jerusalem Battle
Israel Medical Center:
Construction
has begun on the new $10,000,000 Hadassah-Hebrew Uni-
versity Medical Center in Jerusalem, it was announced by
Mrs, Rebecca Shulman, national president of Hadassah, the
Women's Zionist Organization of America. It is _estimated
that three years will be required to complete the Medical
Center, which will include a 430-bed hospital, Israel's only
medical school, a large out-patient clinic and a nurse's train-
ing school. The latter unit is now under construction. The
financing and administration of the projected Medical Center,
which will be the finest institution of its type in the Middle
East, will be one of the problems discussed at the 40th an-
a e! convention of Hadassah Aug. 22-25 in New York City.,
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y., (JTA)—Israel and Jordan, in communications to the president of
the United Nations Security Council, traded charges and counter-charges as to who precipit-
ated the three-day "small war" in Jerusalem.'
Mordecai R. Kidron, Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel at the United Nations,
charged in his communication that the Arab Legion of Jordan started the fighting by opening
fire from its positions in the Old City of Jerusalem on the Israeli section of the city. "There
was not the slightest provocation for this deliberate attack," he stated. "It was obviously planned
in advance and centrally directed."
Issa Bandak, Acting Foreign Minister of Jordan, in a cable to the United Nations, said that
"armed forces of the Israeli Army have showered the Arab section of Jerusalem with bullets?'
Mr. Kidron emphasized in his communication that the Israeli forces were under orders not to re-
turn the fire. "No fire was returned for two hours," he stressed. "Eventually, however, as the
Arab firing continued to gain in intensity and striking power, it became necessary for Israel
forces to react," he pointed out.
"These latest attacks," Mr. Kidron said in his communication, "constitute a new deliberate
act of repudiation by the Jordan government of its obligations under the Armistice Agreement,
It would seem that the absence of any international reaction to Jordan's flouting of the Armis-
tice Agreement in the past has served to encourage the Government of Jordan to commit this
outrageous disturbance of the peace of Jerusalem, which constitutes an offense against the en-
tire civilized world, no less than against Israel:'
U. N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold conferred during the week-end with repre-
sentatives of the United States, Britain and France in connection with the flare-up in Jeru-
salem and also met with the Soviet delegate Semyon Tsarapkina ' •