Purely Corn mentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Jewish Agency Plans Increased Flow of
Immigrants From North Africa to Israel
cision reached by the plenary
session. The decision of the Agen-
cy plenum must be approved by
the Actions Committee of the
Zionist bodies, which began its
meeting here.
The session heard a proposal
000 new
immigrants,
mainly
North
Africa,
and to plan
for from
an by Dr. Abraham Granott, head of
the Jewish
National
Fund, that a
additional 5,000 immigrants. The joint
foundation
be established
The other evening I had dinner with a young Norwegian
by
newcomers will be transferred
friend who wanted to know what I thought about the correction
from their ships direct to settle- the Israel government and the
of accents. He had made great strides in correcting his, but was
ionist Organization to centralize
ments.
told by his teacher that it was unwise to "remove the last vestige
It was learned at the meet- all matters concerning nationally
of an accent," that this comprises an important facet of personality.
ing that in addition to the owned land.
In this latter I certainly agree but I feel, too, that unless there
funds raised by the Jewish
It was noted that since 1948
some
very
good
reason
for
taking
a
course
in
accent
correction
is
Agency,
through the UJA and when the Jewish State was estab-
that for most people there is little sense in it.
Jewish world keep silent when
Actors and actresses, of course, are expected to erase indica- innocent Jews are being mur- Keren Hayesod, for the settle- lished, the Jewish Agency has
tions of local origin in their accents, for they must play a variety dered in Morocco, Jewish prop- ment and absorption of new spent 832,000,000 pounds, much
immigrants in Israel, the Israel of which went for the initial
of parts.
erty plundered and Jewish liveli-
government will place at the stages of absorption of the 750,-
Some, of course, never can lose their accents, so for them, hoods ruined?"
Agency's disposal this year a 000 immigrants who swelled Is-
quite frequently, they add to their charm. Can you imagine
But the Moroccan Office of In-
loan of 8,000,000 Israel pounds rael's population since 1948.
Charles Boyer speaking Boston English?
and Documentation in
for the construction of about Among the programs financed by
The kind of accent that should be corrected, at least to some formation
Elmhurst, N. Y., speaking for the
the Agency was the establishment
extent, is that which is really almost incomprehensible to us here. Istiqlal Party of Morocco, has 1,750 new farms.
All the new settlements found- of 438 settlements in which 30,-
The Israeli accent in English is to my ears quite delightful, issued a statement to the effect
but the very heavy Yiddish accent, some . Italian, German, Russian that "there is no justification for ed in Israel since the establish- 000 immigrant families now live,
and Scandinavian ones do need some modification—at least when the fear that in an independent ment of the Jewish State are the maintenance and education
the individual moves out of familiar neighborhoods into those Morocco the Jews would suffer under the aegis of the Jewish of some 40,000 children within
Agency,' it was emphasized in a the framework of the Youth Ali-
where these accents are difficult to follow.
discrimination in any form." report to the meeting. An addi-
Many Yiddish words have made their way into contemporary from
statement, released by Ah- tional investment of about 200,- yah organization, and general
English or I might say American, and we hear them in the movies, The
and educational activi-
med Balafrei, secretary general 000,000 is needed to put them on cultural
ties.
on the radio and in television. I find them colorful and interest-
of
the
Istiqlal
Party,
makes
ref-
a financially firm basis.
ing.' I can think of no equally effective English word, for example,
Income for the 18-month period
erence to anti-Semitic • incidents
It was revealed at the meeting exceeded 182,000,000 pounds, the
for "schlemiel." -
So don't be afraid of accents, lively foreign words and idioms in France, involving Jewish of- that ' three-year- housing plan is report said. Some 102,500,000
of your own national background. America is made up_ of all ficials, as follows:
about to be instituted and 1,750 pounds of the total came from the
Colonial propaganda based on houses' for new immigrants will Israel Foundation Fund (chiefly
kinds of people, all races and religions, contributing to what we
the "divide and rule" principle be erected, as well as 1,450 units from the United Jewish Appeal);
all have together.
has failed completely to create . in kibbutzim, and 1,500 addition-
This subject is even more intriguing than it sounds on the sur-
61,000,000 pounds in German re-
the myth of Moslem-Jewish ani- al rooms for large families in parations funds and the recovery
face. Miss Vanderbilt has reopened the question in an interesting
mosity in Morocco, just as it has exisiting smallholders settle-
of heirless and communal Jewish
and most fascinating fashion.
failed to create that of Arab- ments. property in Germany; and the
We recall a statement by Jean Jacques Rosseau (1712-78):
In a special report distributed remainder came from Youth Ali-
"Accent is the soul of language; it gives to it both feeling and truth." Berber differences.
Discrimination in Morocco in advance of the meeting of
Let us remember that accents are not necessarily foreigniSms:
yah and other campaigns, the
since 1912 is directed against the Actions Committee, it was
accents help us differentiate between peoples living in the same
return of loaned funds and the
both Jews and 'Moslems.
revealed that the Jewish Agen- floating of various loans.
country but in different districts. A southerner differs in - accent
The administration is impar-
cy spent a total of 188;300,000
from a Michigander, while a New Yorker or a New Jerseyite has a
Expenditures for the 18-month
tial in its dislike of Moroccans,
pounds during the 18-month period exceeded 188,000,000
musical pitch all his own.
whatever
their
faith;
in
short,
From Shakespeare we can quote of having "beguiled you in a
period between October, 1953, pounds, with the six million
both Jews and Moslems are in
plain accent," and William Thackeray spoke of "a perfect accent."
and March, 1955. Fully two- pound deficit arising during the
the same boat, subject to racial
thirds of this sum was spent last six months of the period be-
And there - is this elevating thought from John Dryden:
discrimination and colonial re-
on agricultural settlement pro- cause of the- need to transport
"Winds! On your wings to Heaven her accents bear,
pression.
grams, the report stressed.
and absorb thousands of North
Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear."
An anti-Jewish campaign was
That is truly a tribute to soothing accents, to the symphonies of
The next World Zionist Con- African immigrants who began
initiated recently by the French
beautiful expressions!
gress will open in Jerusalem on coming to Israel in waves from
colonists, who saw in Pierre-
This brings us to another • subject: names. Name-changing is
June 4, 1956, according to a de- the summer of 1954 on.
areas.
-other
Mendes-France
and
Gilbert
common in many lands—in this country, in Israel and in
Grandval, both of Jewish or-
In Israel, the custom of changing names to Hebrew derivatives be-
igin, two forceful and inde-
came a general practice during the first few years of the state's
pendent men slipping out of
existence. Recently, however, objections have been heard against
their grasp. As reported by the
this practice. The view now is being expressed that retention of
American press, Mr. Grandval
original names, to indicate the presence in Israel of peaples from
By BORIS SMOLAR
was kicked and refused admis-
approximately 60 countries, would lend glamor to the miraculous
sion to a church by French
(Copyright, 1955, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
fusing of peoples from various backgrounds. It is serious—and not
colonists, who cried: "Dirty
an uninteresting—proposal.
Jew, go to your. Synagogue!" The Jewish Scene
Names, accents, dialects—all have their distinctive characteris-
An interesting summary of a study on the growth of American
On the other hand, it is well
tics. Let's treat them with respect. -
*
*
known that Mr. Grandval was Jewry during the last 10 years has been published by the Jewish
has
received by the Moroccan 'popu- Welfare Board . . . It established that the Jewish population
Our Weakness in Public Relations
grown
during
that
period
in
almost
all
Jewish
communities
.
.
lation with every mark of
Arab propagandists are on the loose. Brazenly spreading libels
sympathy and enthusiasm. Scur- Jewish families became larger in size . . . Numerous Jews moved
against Israel: frequently slinging mud at American Jewry, the
rilous tracts against Mendes- out of the more densely populated city areas to the outskirts and
recently established propaganda office of the Arab League, in New
into the suburbs . • Many bought their own homes . . . By 1954
France and Grandval have been
York, is flooding American newspapers with misleading statements
they showed a higher percentage of home ownership than did the
published and widely distribu-
about Arab refugees and other elements of dispute in the Middle
general population . . . The proportion of those in the working class
ted by the French colonists, the
East.
shrank considerably, with a further increase in the proportion in the
text of one of which was pub-
Now, according to a broadcast from Cairo, monitored in Wash-
professions, managerial positions and in small businesses . . . The
lished
by
the
French
newspaper
ington, we learn that Arab students have been directed by the
educational level increased markedly . . . There was a rising number
Le
Monde
(July
23,
1955):
Arab League to participate actively in anti-Israel propaganda, to
of Jewish adults who had attended college, and even graduate
"Europeans of Casablance: The
send pro-Arab and anti-Israel articles to American newspapers and
schools . . . Increasingly, Jewish people joined synagogues and a
renegade
Jew,
Hirsch-Allendorf,
to deliver lectures against Israel.
greater percentage of children attended Hebrew and Sunday schools
called Grandval, the friend of ... In spite of occasional internal diversity, Jewish communities be-
This does not surprise us. It has been going on for a long time.
Abromivich,
called
Mendes-
The Arabs have infiltrated into many ,quarters and have spread
came more unified and better coordinated . . . The Jewish commu-
France, has come to sell out nity centers made marked contributions to this development.
reports that are harmful to Israel.
Morocco as was Tunisia. You
Typical exampies are the letters that have been used by a local
have shown them one aspect of
newspaper as "editorials," and the space that was given in all
Communal Affairs
your irresistible force .. We ask
Detroit newspapers to false claims by the Jordan travel bureaus that
All kind of surveys in many aspects of American Jewish life
you to be ready to liberate our have been conducted lately by various organizations . . Why not
only the Arab countries permit ffee entry to tourists. Contrary to
second country by force if a survey on Jewish communal property in this country? . . . It is no
truth, Israel was accused of discriminating against tourists, in spite
necessary."
of the well-known facts that only in Israel are tourists permitted to
exaggeration to state that buildings and other property belonging
The Jews of Morocco share to Jewish institutions throughout the United States are worth bil-
travel freely, and only recently Israel has abolished use of the visa
the same hopes and national lions of dollars . . . However, no national inventory seems to have
for entry into the country.
Attacks on Jews are not new occurrences. We have faced
aspirations as the Moslems.
have been made of this property by any central Jewish body, al-
Jewish Moroccans are un- though such general inventories have been taken by the Catholic
antagonism before and should be able to tackle problems as they
swerving in their demands for and- Protestant central bodies . . . Data released by the Protestants
arise. We raise the issue involving Arab propagandists because
there has been a slackening in Jewish public relations activities
an end to the colonial regime reveal that the Protestant Church has been putting up new build-
and because too few .among us appear to be sufficiently trained
and the re-establishment of na- ings during the last few years at the rate of about a half a billion
to meet the Arab propagandists in debates or properly to reply
tional sovereignty in Morocco.
dollars a year . . . The American Jewish communiy is, of course,
What is implied here, of small in comparison with the Protestant community . .. However,
to their slurs upon Israel.
Many weaknesses have become evident since the rebirth of
course, is that Jews and Mos- Jews in this country are not much behind in the erection of new
Israel. The reduction in Zionist activities has not helped the situa-
lems alike are suffering at the buildings for Reform temples, Conservative synagogues, Jewish
tion. On the contrary, the weakened Zionist spirit is harmful to
hands of those who are denying hospitals, homes for the aged, Jewish centers and other Jewish
our communal structures,- and especially to our public relations
national aspiration to Morocco.
institutions . . . The value of the new buildings put up for such
The question, nevertheless, re- Jewish institutions during the last ten years runs into many millions
programs.
If the attacks upon Israel, which very often become attacks mains: Why are Jews subjected of dollars ... Jewish centers alone have acquired new buildings dur-
upon all of Jewry, are to be answered with dignity, by the presen- to indignities and to persecution ing the last 10 years worth $35,000,000 and their property in build-
tation of the truth, by people who are equipped with knowledge if they share equally with the ings alone is estimated by the Jewish Welfare Board to be worth
about the Middle East and world affairs, something must be done Moslems the desire for national $75,000,000 . . . Not to speak of new synagogue buildings and syna-
speedily to repair the crumbling public relations machinery. This is independence? Must a partner gogue centers that have been built during the last few years in the
a task for the entire community; and especially for the Zionist become a scapegoat in a liber- suburbs of almost every city in this country . • . In New York, Jew-
movement. If some of the • Zionist parties feel that the realization tarian struggle? And if the Jew- ish organizations have, in the last 10 years, acquired buildings in
of their dream, through the establishment of Israel, has robbed ish officials representing France the fashionable Fifth Avenue section . . . Located•in the section are
them of a program, here is a vital task for them: to train their — specially Mendes-France — the headquarters of the American Jewish Congress, Jewish Labor
members, and especially their youth, to be able to meet antagonists are following a policy of freedom Committee, National Committee for Labor Israel, American Friends
on equal ground. And if they do not act quickly, they will defer for the natives in Morocco, why of the Hebrew University, American Committee for the Haifa Tech-
solution to' a problem created by the rising tide of the anti-Israel are the Moroccan leaders lax in nion, and others . . The Jewish Agency is also located in that
the efforts to prevent harm to section in a building of its own . . . Israel Consulate and the Israel
propaganda movement. *
their Jewish fellow-citizens—if delegation to the United Nations are located in two buildings in.
Conflicting Reports From Morocco
Numerous reports charge that the position of Moroccan Jewry this term is not to be inserted that neighborhood . . One . can also find there the Jewish Museum,
to which the Felix Warburg family gave its former residence as a
is "intolerable" (early August JTA report from Jerusalem) and that in brackets?
Istiqlars leaders owe Moroccan gift . . . A national inventory of Jewish communal property in this
the Jewish Agency has received an appeal from the North African
Zionist Federation's conference in Marseilles to provide for the im- Jewry, and their fellow Jews country should become a project for organizations engaged in con-
mediate immigration of 5,000 Jews from Morocco and 1,500 from everywhere who are concerned ducting surveys on 'American Jewish life.
Tunis (JTA, Aug. 14). In London, Dr. S. Levenberg, the Jewish with their welfare, another ex -
FridiY,•Ailiiist 26, 1955
2—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
,Agency representative, asked, at a meeting last week: "Why does the planation. •
Accents and Names: The Symphonies in Human Relations
Amy Vanderbilt's "Complete Book of Etiquette" (Doubleday),
when published in 1952, inspired our column on "Derekh Eretz," the
Jewish principles of decorum and rules of dignity, self-respect and
honor—and also logic.
We were intigued a short time ago by an article by Miss Van-
derbilt in which she advised those possessing an accent not to try
to hide it. Here is what Miss Vanderbilt had to say on the subject:
JERUSALEM (JTA) — T h e
Jewish Agency executive opened
its plenary session here with a
discussion of plans to increase
the flow of Jewish immigrants
from North Africa to Israel. The
question of the integration of
immigrants from Western coun-
tries in Israel was also discussed
at the meeting.
The session approved in prin-
ciple a draft budget of 138,500,000
Israel pounds for the coming
year to cover the requirements
of the Agency in the fields of
colonization, immigration, youth
aliyah and other activities.
The session also elected a spe-
cial commission to work out prac-
tical plans for bringing over 45,-
Between You and Me
.