THE JEWISH NEWS
Caught in the Middle
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20• 1951
Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial ,Asso-
ciation.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35, Mich., VE.
8-9364. Subscription $4 a year, Foreign $5.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6. 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
SIDNEY SHMARAK
4dvertising Manager .
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the second day of Elul, 5715, the following Scriptural selections will be read in
our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Deut. 16:18-21-:9. Prophetical portion, Is. 51:12-52:12.
Rosh Hodesh Elul - Reading of the Torah . on Friday, Nunn: 28:1-15.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Aug. 19, 7:08 pan.
VOL. XXVII — No. 24
Page Four
August 19, 1955
if They Will It There Can Be Peace
The fluctuating tendencies in the frantic
efforts ..to attain peace in the Middle East
are adding to the . discouragements on the
worldwide scene. While all men of good will
are praying • for the success of the United
Natioris, there • is a - justified feeling of skep-
ticism lest the _UN's fate should approximate
. that of the League of Nations. Only firm
action by the world powers, in the direction
of peace, can assure triumph for the sincere
efforts ofth6Se
. _ . _ Who - are striving for amity.
The "Atoms for Peace' conference in
Geneva adds to the spirits of optimism. The .
nations who gathered in Switzerland to plan
the applications of atomic power to peace
needs are serving as an inspiration to those
who not only preach peace but who work
for it.
At the same time, however, in the Middle
East, diabolical forces are at work to disrupt
good will. For several weeks now, under the
able direction of the United Nations truce
chief in Palestine, Maj. Gen. E. L. M. Burns,
Israel has been straining her energies to
remove the tensions that have existed in the
Gaza area since t h e establishment of the
Jewish state. But every report that an accord
had been reached was followed by obstacles
that nullified all the good arrangements that
had been made through the efforts of Gen.
Burns and the Israeli spokesmen.
Twice in the past week there were re-
ports of agreements on plans for cooperative
efforts to end the tensions, but they were
only momentary flashes and they proved to
be over-optimistic. Egypt appears to be aim-
ing only for a continuation of a state of
war. In fact, Yoseph Tekoah, the director of
armistice affairs in the Israel Foreign Minis-
try, went so far as to warn that Egypt's
policy seems to be heading toward "ominous
confirmation that direct contacts between
the two countries 4s possible only in war or
border incidents." If this is true, then the
entire Middle East has much to be concerned
about.
• *
*
Is it possible that the harsh warning
made by Israel's spokesman is .a result only
of impatience? Apparently much more than
patience is involved here.
Let us call to witness the New York
Herald Tribune correspondent in Jerusalem,
who revealed the following in one of his
.
.
'White Council' Expose
In an expose of the "White Council at
Work," in his •article on "Grass-Roots Rac-
ism," in the Nation, Alfred Maund reported:
• The reluctance of the White Citizens Coun-
cil chieftains TO talk publidly about tactics
was matched by tbeir .,desire to claim respec-
tability. Appearing as an impeccable front
for the Mississippi unit was its executive
secretary, Robert_ Patterson. Ex-football star,
operator of a large Delta plantation, relatively
decorous in speech and modest of manner, he
told how women's auxiliaries were being
formed in his home state. His fellow Missis-
sippian at the festival, Yale-educated Judge
Tom Brady of Brookhaven, was saturnine,
and enamoured of purple prose. He is- lightly
regarded as a perennial officeseeker in Mis-
sissippi, but this day he outdid Talmadge as
a spellbinder. Still, he sprinkled his harangue
with exhortations to "keep our cause on a
high plane." He denounced the N. A. A. C. P.
as being party to a giant plot by "Socialist
preachers, Communist teachers, and leftist
editors" to stir up class, racial, and religious
strife; he pleaded .;'.or unity_ and tolerance.
However, his paper-bound book. "Black _Mon-
day," which was being peddled at the, meet-
ing, held stronger views. "It is lamentable
that attention should be called to the alarming
increase- of Jewish names in the ranks of
Communist-front organizations of this coun-
try," one chapter of the rambling, super-
charged text disingenuously begins.
Thus; the line-up is •the same:. "rambling,"
vsuper=charged,"
bigotry that aims to tar-
.
and-feather all who align themselves with
liberal ideas; intolerance that would brand
all who favor desegregation as Communists.
Is it the last breath of a rapidly-expiring
Intolerance? 'One thing is certain: those who
still cling to such views certainly are in a
very small minority.
reports, in which he described Egypt's rejec-
tions of Gaza peace plans:
The refusal by Egypt to accept any plan
to control the Gaza border is typical of the petti-
ness which •hampers efforts to normalize rela-
tions between Israel and the Arab states. The
task clearly will take twenty-five years.
Under United Nations Armistice Commis-
sion leadership, the Israelis and Jordanians
have worked out an understanding which has
reduced border troubles to near zero for almost
a year. Part of the arrangement is a telephone
line betwen the Israeli-held New City in Jeru-
salem by which the commanders on each side
can ring up and say that there is trouble at
such and such a spot, and move quickly to stop
trouble.
But when Israel proposed such a phone
line for the Gaza area, the Egyptians not only
rejected it. They dispatched their negotiator,
Col Salah Gohar, to the Old City of Jerusalem
(Arab Sector) to tell the Jordanians to pull
their phone line down and stop dealing inde-
pendently with the Israelis. Col. Gohar, visited
Jerusalem on Saturday, and the phone went
out that night.
Meanwhile, on the Colonel's return to Cairo,
the Egyptian government announced that four
Arab states bordering on Israel would meet in
Damascus on Aug. 20 "to adopt a united stand
toward Israel's attempts to drag the Arab coun-
tries into bilateral agreements providing for
- direct contact and by-passing the truce super-
vision organization."
In this atmosphere, the outlook for any
progress toward peace is very poor. It remains
to be seen, however, whether this presages a
fresh outburst of border violence from either
side.
Two Tercentenary Publications
While in some quarters severe criticism is being leveled at the
national Tercentenary committee for its failure to make the celebra-
tion of the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Jews in this
country more representative of American Jewry, there nevertheless
are a number of creative efforts which continue in the literary field.
Especially impressive is the Tercentenary Issue of the Jewish
Quarterly Review, published by Dropsie College, Philadelphia. This
issue contains a series of three articles outlining the problems and
achievements of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism, by
Dr. Joseph H. Lookstein, Dr. Ben Zion Bokser and Dr. Solomon B.
Freehof.
The editors of the Quarterly Review, Drs. Abraham A. Neuman
and Solomon Zeitlin, are the authors of articles on "Our Historic
Horizons" and "Jewish Learning in America." The latter presents
an historical outline of the development of Jewish theological
schools in this country.
There are articles in this issue by Chief Justice Horace Stern,
Prof. Robert H. Pfeiffer, Dr. Eisig Silberschlag, Dr. Joshua Bloch,
Prof. Leo L. Honor, Prof. Bernard D. -Weinryb, Dr. Abraham G.
Duker, Prof. Nathan Reich, Dr. Lee M. Friedman, Dr. Bertram W.
Korn and Edwin Wolf 2nd. • '
Another creative work, published on the occasion of the Ter-
centenary, is the 66-page brochure, "An Inventory of American
*
Jewish History," by Moses Rischin, of Brandeis University, with a
While we refuse to fall prey to Mr. foreword by Oscar Handlin, published by Harvard University Press.
Mr. Rischin has approached his complex subject in such a way
Cook's pessimism, we recognize nevertheless
to make clear the materials, of American Jewish history—biblio-
that there is due cause to be disturbed over as
graphical aids, research institutions, reports of societies, newspapers
the. procrastinations in the Gaza talks, the and periodicals, memoirs, biographies, histories. He then presents
threats of new "incidents," the frequent at- an outline for the study of American Jewish history — discussing
tacks that are being leveled at Gen. Burns the colonial period, the national period, recent history, and un-
and the apparent attempt to revive a com-; written volumes of American Jewish history. Notes and a full index
make this book an easy one to use.
mon Arab front for action against Israel.
Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyp-
tian Premier, was quoted by the Christian
Science Monitor correspondent in Cairo,
0. M. Marashian, as stating: "The United
Nations and the big powers are driving us
to negotiate with Israel but we have rejected
high-level talks except by mixed armistice
officers.' Mr. Marashian reports that Egyp-
tian leaders are hammering the following
three "noes' of Egypt's domestic and foreign
-policy:- - -
1. No return • -to the constitutional parlia-
mentary system, which meant, no political par-
ties and no elections, hence the continuation of
the military regime in a mellowed form.
- 2. No --direct high-level talks with Israel;
this meant no immediate prospects of peace with
Israel and the continuation of the present shaky
armistice with only better safeguards of avoid-
ing border clashes.
3. No regional defense alliance with the
West.
*
*
What hope is there for peace under such
a dictatorial rule? What hppe, in fact, is
there for the oppressed Egyptians who are
being blinded :by ;false Propaganda into be-
lieving that their leaders are protecting their
interests? - -
The success of the Herut in the last
Israel elections s e r v e d to mislead many
people into believing that "activists" have
gained full control in the Jewish state. But
the so-called "activists" nevertheless remain
a minority in a country that continues to
have perfect democratic elections, while its
neighbors are dominated by dictators and
by the rule of force.
Fortunately, there are better results on
the Israel-Jordan front.• A direct field tele-
phone line_has been re-established between
military commanders on both sides and there
is a cooperative contact to halt or to prevent
incidents.
Why can't similar results be attained'
with Egypt?
The efforts for peace must continue—
in spite of what the negotiators have termed
to be "sticky days" in the deliberations.
Meanwhile, however, the United States, and
the big powers who dominate over the world
scene, are challenged by the facts: if they
will it, there can be peace.
Lincoln Documents in Jewish Archives
The American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College, Cin-
cinnati, were enriched this week by the acquisition of hitherto un-
published documents that throw light on the Civil War and on
Abraham Lincoln. The documents were presented by Mr. and Mrs.
Edward Rosewater, of Elkins Park, Pa.
Dr. Jacob R. Marcus, director of the Jewish Archives, states
that the collection is rich in the history of the Republican party
in Civil War days. The documents tell of the career of Edward
Rosewater, a grandfather of the donor, who was a telegrapher
during the Civil War and-who worked next to Lincoln as dispatches
came in from battlefronts. He wrote that the defeat of the Union
forces at Fredericksburg, Pa., "seemed to crush Lincoln. He looked
pale, wan and haggard. He did not get over it for a long time, and
all that winter of 1863 he was downcast and depressed."
HUC Gets 3,500 Nowakowsky Manuscripts -
The 3,500 original Manuscripts of David Nowakowsky, 19th
century composer of synagogue music, have been presented to the
School of Sacred Music of the Hebrew Union College—Jewish In-
stitute of Religion, Dr. Nelson Glueck; president of HUC-JIR, an-
nounced. The presentation- was made by David and Jack NOvak,.
sons of the late composer, _
An editorial committee - from the School of Sacred Music and.
other leaders in the field of Jewish music will select and superviSe
publication of the manuscripts, most of which have never before
been published. They will, -be published by the school on a sub,.
scription basis.
The manuscripts were protected from the Nazis by a daughter
of the composer who brought them from Odessa to Germany, then,
occupied France and, finally, to the sons in New York. Nowa :,
kowsky, who was born in Russia in 1849 and died in Odessa in
1921, became choirmaster of. the Broder Synagogue in Odessa when
he was 21 and held the post for half a century. His compositions
became world famous and visitors from all over Europe came to
the synagogue.to hear them sung by Cantor Pinchas Minkowsky.
'Here and Nowf
New Israel Weekly
Israel already boasts of an unusually large number of pub-.
lications for a small country. It is perhaps the most literate country
in the world—if judgment is to be based on the number of books
published and •purchased (and therefore also read) and on the
number of newspapers and magazines.
The newest Israel magazine is the weekly, "Here and Now."
Its editor is Dr. Shimon- Ben Eliezer, who previously has edited
other magazines and is a former Jewish Agency official. Its man-
aging editor is Misha Louvish, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who
has edited the Jewish Agency youth paper "Israel Youth Horizon"
and has worked for the Israel 'Government Information Services
and for Kol Zion Lagola.
"Here and Now" carries interesting comments on world affairs,
informativ'e articles on conditions in Israel, book reviews and theater
and film criticisms.