When Irish- jeivish Eyes Are Smiling
20—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, August 20, 1954
Israel OKs Women's Right Convention
Genocide's Birthplace
Now Its Resting Place
The entire religious schoel of Dublin's Progressive Congrega-
tion came out to greet an eminent American educator on a visit.
Visitor • is Dr. EMANUEL GAMORAN, director of education of the
Union of American Hebrew Congregations, who recently returned
from a sabbatical tour during which he lectured at Reform temples
in France, England and Ireland, and at Hebrew University in
Israel. To the left of Dr. Gamoran is Mrs. Gamoran, who ac-
companied the famed educator on tour and appeared with him
before the student body of Ireland's Reform temple.
BONN, (JTA) — The United
Nations Genocide Convention
is now a law in this country—
the land which originated the
crime outlawed by the UN.
President Theodor H e u s s
signed the bill passed by the
West German Parliament in-
corporating into the penal
code the provisions of the In-
ternational Genocide Treaty
already adopted by the
United Nations. The Official
Gazette immediately p u b -
lished the law, thereby com-
pleting its promulgation and
formal enactment.
The measure interpolates
into the penal code an article
providing that life imprison-
ment — the highest physical
penalty in the German penal
code — may be imposed on
any person guilty of genocide
in this country in the future.
Israel Ministry Asks
Funds for Immigrants
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
Ministry of Welfare asked the
government for an additional
allotment of 1,000,000 Israeli
pounds to help provide the min-
imal needs of approximately 50,-
000 newly-arrived immigrants
now housed in the government's
transitory camps for new ar-
rivals.
According to t h e Ministry's
figures, the transitory camps
cared for 27,515 persons in June
who depended entirely on gov-
ernment relief allowances. Ap-
proximately 23,000 others had to
be given supplementary relief by
the government. The additional
allocation, according to the min-
istry, would be expended in the
(tamps for food needs only.
community and the related pur-
poses which you claim to serve.
"The fact that the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency enjoys the
financial support of a number
of Jewish national organizations
and fund-raising institutions, in-
cluding many local welfare
funds, I believe places an addi-
tional responsibility on this
agency, lest its behavior be laid
at the door of these organiza-
tions," he asserted.
Mr. Rocker, in his reply, told
Mr. Katzen that "the manage-
ment of the Jewish Telegraph-
ic Agency has full confidence
in the integrity and sincerity
of its staff" and in its loyalty
to JTA policy and "the prin-
ciples of a free and honor-
able journalism." He declared
that "we must flaty reject
your sweeping and completely
unsubstantiated denunciation."
He added, however, that "if
you will submit specific com-
plaints and the supporting evi-
dence, you may be assured that
our board of directors will give
them proper attention." Mr.
Rocker also communicated the
text of the statement he had is-
sued previously to newspapers
asking for comment on the Kat-
zen charges. In that statement,
he declared:
"Mr. Katzen's attack on the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency is a
shocking assault on freedom of
the press. As such, it will be re-
sisted to the limit by JTA with,
I am confident, the full support
of the American Jewish press
and community.
"Mr. Katzen's implied threat
that national and local Jewish
organizations will be held re-
sponsible for the activities of
JTA is unprecedented in Ameri-
can political affairs. It will not
deter JTA from doing its job to
the best of its ability."
The attack made upon the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency was
severely condemned by the
English-Jewish press. Newspa-
per editorials voiced support
of the JTA, and approved the
statement by Mr. Rocker. The
Detroit Jewish News, in an edi-
torial entitled "Erring Politici-
an," said that Mr. Katzen had
"committed worse than a blun-
der when he resorted to high
pressure in seeking 'publicity'
from the Jewish Telegraphic
Agency. That was the height of
arrogance."
Some of the English-Jewish
newspapers also criticized Mr.
Katzen for his attack on Mr.
Irving Engel, president of the
American Jewish Committee,
whom he charged with being
"partisan" for criticizing the
McCarran - Walter Immigration
Act which is being opposed by all
major Jewish and liberal organ-
izations. Mr. Engel refuted the
charge, emphasizing that the
American Jewish Committee fa-
vors revision of the McCarran-
Walter Act because, since the .
AJC's establishment, in 1906, it
has been keenly concerned. with
immigration legislation,
-
Final Merger of USNA and HIAS
Is Scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 24
!TA Contradicts Republican Official,
Calls 'Partisan' Charge Attack on Press
NEW YORK. (JTA)—The Jew-
ish Telegraphic Agency has re-
jected, as "completely unsub-
stantiated," sweeping charges
made against it by Bernard Kat-
zen, consultant on Jewish affairs
to the Republican Committee,
Louis P. Rocker, president of the
announced.
"The Jewish Telegraphic Agen-
cy has no axe to grind," Mr.
Rocker told the Republican offi-
cial. "Its policy since its incep-
tion in '1917 has been, and will
continue to be, to present the
news honestly and impartially
to the best of its ability, to seek
Out and report faithfully and
accurately all information on
current developments of concern
to the Jewish community and to
provide the community with the
facts on which to base judg-
ments and decisions."
In a letter to Dr. George 0.
Wise, chairman of the JTA
board, which he released to the
press before it was delivered to
the JTA, Mr. Katzen complained
of the "obviously partisan na-
ture of the reports disseminated
by your agency." He said he was
'aware of the duty of news
agencies to keep the public alert
as to the doings of the govern-
ment and of men in public life,"
adding that however, when the
picture is always one-sided, then
it ceases to be faithful reporting
and turns into partisan agitation
and propaganda."
Mr. Katzen conceded that he
was not submitting a "bill of
particulars illustrative of this
point, although I assure you of
my ability to do so." He as-
serted that "any unbiased
reader of these reports must
be aware of it. Not only are the
reports one-sided, but very of-
ten distorted with half truths
and editorialized with uncalled
for interpretations and com-
ments.
"I feel," he declared, "that
such a partisan attitude is not
only incompatible with the
principles of a free press and
American journalistic traditions,
but is also harmful to the in-
terests of the American Jewish
Israel became the 11th country to ratify the Convention on
the Political Rights of Women, which provides that women shall
be entitled to vote in all elections, to be eligible for election and to
hold public office on equal terms with men. Seen here at the con-
clusion of the ratification ceremony at the UN are (right to left):
MORDECAI R. KIDRON, Deputy Representative of Israel to the
UN; Mrs. ZINA HARMON, Advisor, Social Affairs of Israel Dele-
gation; Mrs. SOPHIE GRINBERG VINAVER, Secretary of the
Commission on the Status of Women, and CONSTANTINE STAV-
ROPOULOS, Principal Director in charge of the UN Legal Dept.
Czechoslovak Communist
Organ Attacks JTA
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — The
Czechoslovakian C o m m u n is t
publication "Vestnik" has at-
tacked the Jewish Telegraphic
Agency because of dispatches de-
picting the circumstances of
Jewry behind the Iron Curtain.
Accusing the JTA of "lying"
about Communist anti-Zionism,
the Communist periodical said
"The Jewish Telegraphic Agen-
cy seems to specialize in this.
NEW YORK — The United
Service for New Americans
(USNA), major Jewish resettle-
ment agency in America, and the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
(HIAS), 70 year-old Jewish glo-
bal migration agency, are sched-
uled to be merged on Tuesday,
into a single national and inter-
national Jewish migration and
resettlement agency to be called
"United HIAS Service, Inc.," it
was announced by an interim
committee arranging the final
details or me consolidation
On the Record
By NATHAN ZIPRIN
(Copyright, 1954, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate)
which will include the overseas
' migration services of the Joint
Distribution Committee.
Last week the memberships of
both organizations unanimously
I approved the consolidation plans
which have been in the process
of formulation for nearly two
I years. All that remains to be ac-
' complished before the board of
directors meet on Tuesday are
formal legal steps, which are ex-
pected to be completed within a
week or ten days.
The interior committee is corn-
posed of five members of USNA
and a similar number from HIAS,
under the chairmanship of Ed-
win Rosenberg, who acted as
chairman of the group which
negotiated the merger.
Merger proposals, announced
on Jan. 28 of this year gave the
first indication that USNA and
HIAS would consolidate into one
agency all their respective func-
tions and services, which include
the migration services of the
Joint Distribution Committee.
The United HIAS Service, Inc.
was planned to accord with the
desires of the Jewish community
at large to eliminate duplication
and overlapping in the migration
field.
The Name Is the Same
French anti-Semites have been giving Mendes-France some
anxious moments. Some weeks ago it was the outstanding com-
munist theoretician Duclos who daubed the Jewish Premier as a
"dirty Jew" and as a Frenchman with Jewish complexes. Now the
hate mongers of another color in France are employing a new line
of attack on the Premier—his name. Agonized by the mere thought
of a Jew bearing the name France, these purists have been feed-
ing the French public with the misinformation that the Premier
has but recently and deceptively assumed that name when the
truth of the matter is, as borne out by old tombstones and arch-
ives, that the name Mendes-France can be traced back to the
sixteenth century.
Interestingly enough of the four Jews who held premiership
posts in the past 50 years, excluding of course Ben-Gurion and
Sharett, three were Frenchmen—Leon Blum, Rene Meyer and now Tri-Country Incidents
Mendes-France. The fourth one was Luigi Luzatti of Italy who Flare on Israel Borders
was the first Jewish Premier of this turbulent century. The first
Premier of Jewish origin in the history of western civilizatLon was
TEL AVIV, (JTA) — Three
Britain's brilliant statesman Disraeli who was however converted more anti-Israel attacks—along
to Christianity long before he began his dazzling political ascent. the borders of Egypt, Jordan and
*
*
Syria — flared on the Israeli
East and West
frontiers over the weekend
The Western world in all its aspects "is a world of explanation, marking • the resumption of
while the Eastern world is that of implication. The West is cen- Arab-made incidents which have
trifugal, living in an unstable dynamic equilibrium; East is cen- broken a short period of rela-
tripetal, drawing into itself. It will therefore probably survive us tive quiet.
for a long time." This masterful contrast of two worlds in words
On the Jordanian border,
as measured as the idea they express is immense, is culled from a southwest of Jerusalem, infiltra-
most exciting book about the most wondrous and least known land tors fired on Jewish farmers
in the world, Secret Tibet from the fine Italian hand of Fosco while they were working in the
Maraini and published in English translation by the Viking Press. fields. The Israelis returned the
fire, a military spokesman- here
One Man's Opinion
said. There were no casualties
The adage that a courageous press is the most potent instru- among the Israelis.
ment in the preservation of a free press was perhaps never better
Syrians opened fire on the
illustrated than by the recent reaction of the English-Jewish press settlement of Shamir in the
to the impudent attempt of the Republican "consultant" on Jewish north. Here, the military spokes-
affairs to set himself up as dictator and censor over Jewish news man declared, a number of
coverage. But apart from this, and whatever the calculations of buildings were hit but, again,
the Republican National Committee, establishment of what ap- there were no Israeli casualties.
pears to be a Jewish department within a major political party is
The third incident occurred
a precedent fraught with potentially dangerous consequences
near the troublesome Gaza strip
since it implies a specialized or ghetto approach to the Jewish
along the Egyptian border. In
community.
• There is no quarreling with Republican leadership when it this latest flare-up, the military
striver to cultivate the Jewish vote—a term which, incidentally, is spokesman reported, an Israeli
purely fictitious since it is predicated on the wholly false and de- civilian jeep was the target of
rogatory premise that Jews vote as a bloc when the truth of the Egyptian automatic fire across
matter is that their political alignments are determined by the the Egyptian lines tear
same factors influencing general political affiliation -through pro- Reim. The car was hit in fo.k::.
viding the Jewish press with material favorable to the administra- places, but none of the jee!', -
tion. But when an attempt is made to harness that press to the occupants was hurt.
cause of the political party in office through pressure that what 1,8
good for the party is good for Jews, particularly when that strange Rabbi Named Prison Chapli,
thesis is coupled with threat that critical coverage of the Wash-
SAN FRANCISCO, (JTA)- ,
ington scene is harmful to the interests of the American-Jewish
community and the related interests served by the Anglo-Jewish Rabbi Julius A. Leibert, an:An .
press, it merits sharp rejection not only as a shocking assault on chaplain in two World Wars, b
the freedom of the press but as a brazen effort to graze in pastures been appointed chaplain for S2: •
Quentin Prison. He succeeds
where trespassers have no business. •
It was indeed a wholesome omen that so large a segment of Rudolph I. Coffee, whose activi-
the English-Jewish press summoned the courage to meet this grave ties as chaplain of state prisons
development. It was a sign of maturity and of profound awareness over many years won consider-
of the great role that the press is yet destined to play on the able attention throughout the
American Jewish scene,
country.