Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Council Judaists' Defender: Arab and Russian Lies

Services Division
Wins Drive Trophy
At Stag Day

I call'd the devil, and he came
And with wonder his form this I closely scan;
He is not ugly, and is not lame,
But really a handsome and charming man-.
A man in the prime of life is the devil,
Obliging, a man of the world, and civil;
A diplomatist too, well skill'd in debate.
He talks quite glibly of church- and state.

s

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1955, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Washington Moods

The temptation was to utilize as the heading for this item the
quotation from "Anatomy of Melancholy" by Robert Burton (1577-
1640): "The Devil himself, which is the author of confusion and
lies." It is safer, however, to apply to the gentleman we have in
view the following from "Pictures of Travels" by Heinrich Heine
(1797-1856):

That's the sort of chap we have to deal with—the editor of the
so-called "independent thinking" Jewish Newsletter, William Zuker-
man, who has become the chief spokesman for the anti-Zionist, and
too-frequently anti-Israel Council for Judaism.
A few weeks ago, Zukerman acted as the front for the Arabs
by releasing a statement, in behalf of Ambassador Mohamed Kalil
Abdul Rahim from Yemen, that the "Arab position on Israel is in
no sense a position against the Jewish people" and that "just be-
nuse of the tense Arab-Israel relations, the Arab countries take
special measures in protecting citizens of the Jewish faith."
If the position of the Jews in Arabic countries, whence hun-
dreds of thousands of Jews have been compelled to escape to Israel,
were not so tragic, this would be a very huge joke. It is so easy for
our Semitic cousins to say that they are not anti-Semitic. How
can a Semite be anti-Semitic? But Zukerman and his colleagues,
some of whom a very short time ago accused the United Jewish
Appeal, the Zionists and all others who strive to rescue the op-
pressed from Arab countries with capitalizing on situations that do
not exist—meaning that the rescuers are falsifying truth when they
appeal in behalf of the Jews of Morocco. The North African de-
velopments have established which group of Jews has a heart and
who are the heartless. But. Zukerman has not hesitated to serve
as a front for Arabs who are determined to destroy the one haven
of safety that exists for those who have escaped from Nazi con-
centration camps, from behind the Iron Curtain, from the horrors
of persecution in Moslem countries—from Yemen, where Jews were
doomed to humiliating second class positions and where they are
denied the freedom of citizenship. (Is it possible that a Jewish news-
paperman has forgotten Operation Magic Carpet which marked the
evacuation of most Jews from Yemen into Israel?)
But the darling of the Council Judaists and of the Arabs appar-
ently is not satisfied with this attempt at confusing the minds of
people on the Arab question and at instilling mistrust of Zionists
and Zionism. Now he turns to another pet instrument: to Soviet
Russia. He has released another statement, in behalf of Clarence
E. Pickett, honorary secretary of the Quakers( American Friends
service Committee), who, upon his return from Russia, quotes Rabbi
S. M. Schleifer of Moscow and Rabbi Panich of Kiev as stating
"categorically that the Jews are having such a satisfactory experi-
?nee in relation to the government of the USSR that there is no
desire to leave and go to Israel."
We are told these things in defiance of latest reports from
Communist countries.
The most recent news from Russia—Ilya Ehrenburg's anti-
Zionist outburst and the Manchester Guardian's revelation that
-,Moscow Jews have been arrested for possessing Jewish literature-
2-oint in a peculiar direction. The rapid disintegration of Jewish
communities_behind the Iron Curtain—note the. New York Times
:eport from Warsaw—does .,3t reflect "freedom." The evidence
certainly does not support Zukerman and his associates.
Knowing what we do about the USSR—have you forgotten the
purges ; Comrade Zukerman?—we wonder whether Mr. Pickett,
whom we would like to consider and treat as a friend, really ex-
aecte-d anyone in Russia to speak differently. But Mr. Pickett ap-
aarently does not know the true conditions and the occurrences
• Moscow when Golda Myerson arrived there as Israel's Ambassa-
Jor. We call to witness the eminent writer, Pierre Van Paassen,
vho, in his new book, "Visions Rise and Change," (Dial Press, 461
4th, NY16), due to come off the press on Oct. 3, recalls the fol-
owing:
"When Mrs. Golda Myerson, Israel's first Ambassador to the
Soviet Union, was permitted to make an address in the Great
Synagogue of Moscow, the police had to clear her path through
the dense crowd of Jews, old and young, men and women, who
had to come to hear her but could not get inside the building,
which was filled to the bursting point. They pressed around
MrS. Myerson, kissing her hands, touching the hem of her gar-
ments, carrying on their shoulders the person who was to them
the personification of Israel, the evidence irrefutable of their
homeland's independence.
"In 1948 the Soviet government terminated discussion of the
Jewish question by ordering the press and the public prosecu-
tors to launch the accusation of cosmopolitanism and plotting.
Zion-minded Jews were arrested in Poland, in Hungary, in the
Soviet Union itself. The Prague trials saw Jews 'confessing'
to having plotted to favor the Land of Israel . . ."
It really should not be necessary to call upon Van Paassen for
)roof on this subject. Anyone who reads newspapers and who has
.3 memory dating back only two years will remember the witch-
1.unt that was conducted by the USSR against the Jewish doctors.
Anyone who studies history and knows current developments is
aware that when a handful of Jews are released from the USSR
Dr its satellite countries it becomes important news—because so few
are released. How can Jews in those countries be expected to speak
n defense of emigration to Israel when such action is proscribed?
3ut we would like to call upon Van Paassen for additional `evidence.
n his book, "Visions Rise and Change," Van Paassen relates that
ie "once asked Andrei Gromyko, who was his country's repre-
;entative at the UN when the Republic of Israel was recognized, if
,he USSR would not implement its show of good will by allowing a
Substantial number of Jews to depart to help in the reconstruc-
iion of national life in their regained fatherland. Mr. Gromyko
replied that there was no reason to assume that Soviet Jews any
:more than American Jews had the least desire to emigrate to
:srael." And Van Paassen added:
"But this is simply not true as far as Russian Jewry is
concerned. It is in Russian Jewry that the hope for a return
to Zion was always most urgently held. It may well be that
many young Jews in Russia have become estranged from the
Zionist ideal in following the Communist Party line of integra-
tion to the point of losing their group identity. One young
colonel of Jewish extraction and strong Semitic features sta-
tioned at the Kiev airbase said to me: 'Why should I go to the
desert of Palestine and live it life of hazard and insecurity when
I am a full-fledged citizen of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic and
- ,

Between You and Me

SAMUEL L. GREENBURG
(right), chairman of the Serv-
ices Division in the 1955 Allied
Jewish Campaign, accepts tro-
phy awarded to the outstand-
ing Trade and Professional di-
vision in the 1955 Campaign.
The presentation was made dur-
ing the Stag Day program at
Knollwood Country Club by
JULIUS MEHLER, chairman of
the food division, which won
the trophy last year.

More than 250 members of the
Detroit Service Group who gath-
ered at Knollwood Country Club
Sept. 13 for the sixth annual
Stag Day, heard the cheering
news that six divisions partici-
pating in the 1955 Allied Jewish
Campaign exceeded 100 per cent
of their 1954 totals.
The report was given by John
E. Lurie, general chairman of the
1955 campaign.
The services division, with 1.10
percent of its 1954 total, was
named the outstanding division
of the Seven Trade and Profes-
sional Divisions for 1955.
Other divisions in the Trade
and Professional classification
which exceeded 100 percent of
their 1954 totals were the real
estate and building council, led
by Mandell L. Berman and
Daniel A. Laven, 105 percent;
food division, Julius Mehler, and
Louis J. Cohen, co-chairmen, 103
percent; professional division,
chaired by Sidney J. Karbel and
Dr. Leo Orecklin, 103 percent.
Also exceeding 1954 totals were
treasury gifts, Milton Lucow,
chairman, 118 percent, and Worn-
en's Division, led by Mrs. Sidney
J. Karbel, 101 percent.
Latest 1955 tabulations, an-
nounced at Stag Day, disclosed
that campaign pledges have
brought this year's total to $4,-
080,000.
Part of the Stag Day program
was the election of the 33 nomi-
nees to the Detroit Service
Group's board of directors, whose
names were listed in The Jew-
ish News two weeks ago.
Joey Adams was guest speak-
er at Stag Day, Frank Winton
won a prize for carding a 79 at
golf. Milton Lucow and Russell
Nida tied for another golf prize.
William Utley was awarded the
golfing consolation prize. Albert
Coleman and Seymour H. Rowe
were quiz winners.

2

—

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, September 23, 1955

Is Secretary of State John Foster Dulles flexible in his stand
on the Arab-Israel issue? . . Will he realize that by making his
recent proposals contingent upon an Arab-Israel pact he complicates
his own good intentions, since the Arabs seem to be determined
not to enter into any peace agreement with Israel? . .. Will he be
ready to modify certain parts of his policy statement on Palestine
when he realizes that the Arabs are bent on sabotaging it while
Israel is inclined to accept it with certain modifications? .. . These
questions are now being asked in Washington where it becomes
obvious that the Arabs are hostile to the Dulles proposals, which
aim at bringing about tranquility in the Middle East . . . It is taken
for granted that the Secretary of State will not let his suggestions
hang in the air for too long and that he will have to follow them
up in some way . . . He will then certainly have to take them out
of the blind alley into which he himself led them by making them
dependent on agreement by the Arabs to conclude peace with
Israel . . It is clear in Washington by now that the Arabs intend
to use this stipulation to block Mr. Dulles . . Their spokesmen
have as much as stated that they don't want to conclude any peace
pact with the Jewish State . . Furthermore, they object to the
fact that Mr. Dulles, by his proposals, considers Israel as a state
whose existence must be recognized by the Arab rulers .. . Israel,
on the other hand, which has always wanted peace with the neigh-
boring Arab countries, has its doubts only with regard to the part
of the Dulles statement which suggests changes in the existing
Arab-Israel frontiers . . . This doubt can also be heard in Con-
gressional circles . Some Congressmen are of the opinion that
border friction between Israel and the Arabs could be eliminated
to a great extent if the Gaza strip were ceded to Israel . . . The
Gaza area has become a source of sharp irritation between Egypt
and Israel, although it lies so far away from actual Egyptian terri-
tory and despite the fact that Egypt can have no real claim to it .
Some of the Arabs living in the Gaza strip could be absorbed by
Israel, while others could easily be settled in the Sinai area where
Egypt wants to settle Palestine Arabs . . . This would contribute a
good deal to the solution of the Arab refugee problem.

Domestic Issues

Now that the schools have re-opened, the issue of introducing
religion in public schools is again coming to the fore .. . And it is
giving a good deal of a headache to Jewish leaders, rabbis, educators
and community relations workers ... Those who want to bring re-
ligion into the classroom through the backdoor are now asking
for a "common core" approach . . . This means that public schools
will be asked to teach certain religious principles supposedly corn-
mon to Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism . . . OtherS suggest
that schools teach "about religion" instead of teaching religion .. .
Central Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Com-
mittee, the National Community Relations Advisory Council and
, the Synagogue Council of America, are trying to formulate guid-
ance programs for American Jewry on the place of religion in the
public schools .. . And although the American Jewish Committee
and the NCRAC work separately, their views seem to coincide
. . . Basically they are of the firm opinion that -teaching about
religion is the function of the home, the church and the synagogue,
but not the public school ... They consider the introduction of re-
ligious teaching in the public school as contradictory to the Con-
stitutional provision for separation of church and state . . . They
definitely oppose the suggestion that the major religious doctrines
be compared in the classroom for their common elements, similari-
ties and dissimilarities . . . They reject the "common core" proposal
and also the proposal to invite clergymen into the classroom to give
religious instruction to children of their respective faiths . . . They
also oppose "released time" and Bible reading in the classroom,
and are certainly against conducting prayers in the classroom . .
They even have their doubts about joint religious celebrations in
the public schools such as Christnias-Chanukah celebrations, which
some believe foster intergroup understanding while others believe
compound the violation of the separation principle ... These views of
the major Jewish organizations will, no doubt, be taken into con .
sideration, but in a number of cities there are non-Jewish groups
who insist on the inclusion of religion in the school program.

-

A Nazareth Arab's Admonition

'Bad Psychosis,' Is His View of
Kismen s Opposition to Peace

- MINNEAPOLIS, (JTA)—A 26-
year old Arab from Nazareth,

-

Bahjat B. Khleif, who was among
the Israelis attending the meet-
ing of the National Student's
Association at the University of
Minnesota, declared in an inter-
view here that "If only the Arab
leaders Would say the word,

a collaborator in the greatest venture of all times to lift the
human race to a higher level?'
" 'But your parents,' I asked, 'what do they think?'
" 'My parents are pious Jews, they still have the myths con-
cerning the Holy Land on the brain. They would like nothing
better than permission to emigrate.'
"Such was also the opinion of Shlomo Grynboim, my guide
on the first trio to Russia. Escape to Palestine was almost an
idee fixe with him. He spoke of it in and out of season, 'in the
house' and 'by the wayside,' and he also taught it diligently to
his children .. ."
We shall return to Van Paassen's "Visions Rise and Change"
for further study of his views on Russia and the position of the
Jews and other religious groups under Communist rule. For the
present, suffice it to point out that the Council Judaists' opinions,
as backed by Zukerman, are false propaganda. If the Jews in
Russia are so happy, why do we know so little about them? If
they are so free, why aren't they as free as American Jews to go
to Israel if they choose—and American Jews are at liberty to go
to Israel, if they please, or to remain here, as nearly all of them
--
prefer it.
It is the distortion of facts that we object to, the talk `,'glibly
of church and state" that annoys us. That is why we must view
the Zukerman tactics as devilish.
There is an element of encouragement in the USSR's latest ac-
quiescence to the Jewish Labor Committee's request to send a dele-
gation to Russia to probe the status of the Jews in Russia. Let us
hope that some good will come of it and that the Geneva agree-
ments will prove workable.

1

I

'4. 440... •

•

peace could be achieved in no
time and everything ironed out."
The Arab student said that the
failure of settlement thus far is
"nothing more than an emotional
impasse that the Arabs have got-
ten themselves into."
Khlief, a candidate for a Ph.D.
in education at Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, was in-
terviewed by Janet F. Kroll, of
the American Jewish World of
Minneapolis-St. Paul. He was
accompanied by another Israeli,
And Distenfeld, 24, of Jerusalem,
a medical student at New York
University.
Khlief said he considered him-
self a "man with a mission"—to
show that Jews and Arabs could
get along well together.
He said that the Arabs of
Israel were "ever so much better
off than our people in other
Middle Eastern countries."
The Arab student stressed that
"this Arab hatred of the Jews
and their refusal to get together
with them at a peace table is a
Asked
terrible p sy chos is."
whether the Israeli Arabs might
show the way for peaceful re-
gional cooperation, Khleif re-
plied in the affirmative.
He referred to relaxation of
military restrictions in Arab
areas, greater freedom of move-
ment for Arab citizens and inter-
group cooperative projects as
trends to. achieve this purpose.

