Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

The Decaying Portion of Jerusalem

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles' recent statement of
policy on the Middle East made reference to "the status of
Jerusalem." Although the issue appeared to have been forgotten,
there are statesmen who occasionally revert to it. Spokesmen for
the Arabs also speak of it whenever they choose to attack Israel's
IStsition. All this is done in the interest of internationalizing the
Holy Places. In spite of repeated presentation of facts to indicate
that nearly all of the Holy Places are located in Jordan-held
Jerusalem, the anti-Israel propaganda continues.
Meanwhile, those who are so deeply concerned over the -Holy
Places are overlooking the dangers that face the Holy Places that
are under the supervision of the .Arabs.
_ In a special report to the New York Times from the Jordanian
Sector of Jerusalem, Kenneth Love described the deterioration of
the Holy Places in that sector. His story is sufficiently important
to be passed on to a_wider public. Mr. Love reported:

The most sacred shrines of Islam, Christianity and Judaism
the Jordanian. sector of jetusalem are either in a serious state
of decay and disrepair or in disuse.
Although leaders of the three- faiths . have manifested .grave
anxiety, political and religious disagreements have so far prevented
effective measures to remedy the situation.
In the case of the Moslem Dome of the Rock and the Chris-
tian Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a number of restoration sur-
veys have been made in the last decade. However, no work has
been done except for minor patching and shoring up;
The massive - stones in the ancient Wailing Wall of the Jews
have not deteriorated, but no Jew has been allowed to enter Jor-
dan-held territory to worship there since the Arab-Israeli- war of
1948.
The Dothe of the Rock, usually called the Mosque of Omar,
• is one of the oldest and greatest examples of Moslem architecture.
Beneath the dome is a massive rock traditionally regarded as the
place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. ,
Moslems believe that the Prophet Mohammed rode through
the night sky from Mecca on his steed, Burak, and prayed at the
rock before ascending into 'heaven.
Byzantine artists under . the Omayyid 'Caliph, Abdel Melek
Ibn Marwan, built the mosque in 691 A. D. as a rival place of
pilgrimage to Mecca. It is on the site where, more than 500 years
earlier, Roman legions destroyed the Jewish temple.
The Wailing Wall, where Jews traditionally lamented the de-
struction of the Temple, is a Second Temple. Built by Herod and
razed in 70 A.D., it was incorporated into the foundation of the
Haram esh Sharif, the vast sacred courtyard surrounding the
Dome of the Rock.
Rain and wind, aided by shellfire in 1948, have breached the
rich, jewel-like windows of colored glass set in gypsum "honey-
combs" and the lustrous, figured tiles with •which Suleiman the
Magnificent sheathed the dome in 1545.
-. , Pieces of the, rich mosaics -and tiles of - the interior, loosened
by water seeping into the walls behind trein, are dropping to the
floor. The wooden framework of the dome is partly rotted and a
: supporting column is out of kilter.
The Jordanian Government has collected about a third of. the
£500,000 ($1,400,000) estimated to be needed for the restoration of
the mosque. Most of it has come from the oil-rich countries of
Saudi Arabia, Huweit and Bahrein. -
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the traditional
site of Christ's burial, is an architectural complex, braced inside
and out by wooden and steel scaffoldings and actually held to-
gether by an iron girdle fastened around the upper part.
According to the Rev. Eugene Hoade, superior of the Fran-
ciscan monastry of Gethsemane and an authority on Jerusalem's
history, most of the structure is now :believed to have been built by
the Byzantine-Emperor Monomachus after an earlier church ,was
destroyed by the Fatimid Caliph Hakim in 1009 A. D.
Major additions were made by the Crusaders in the twelfth
century. _Further rebuilding and alteration was done by the Greek
. Orthodox Church after a disastrous fire in 1808.
Rivalry among the Greek Orthodox, the Roman Catholic and
the Armenian Orthodox Churches, which predominate hi control
of the church, as well as the Copts, Syrians and Ethiopians, which
hold minor interests, has prevented major reStorations.
It is reliably reported that the Roman Catholics and Armenians
have agreed to insist on restorating the church to the condition it
was in immediately after the Crusades. The Greek Orthodox are
reported to have disagreed' with this proposal since it meant elim-
inating the extensive remodeling they did on the church 150 years
ago.
In an effort to settle the new disagreement, the Jordanian
-Government commissioned the British architect, Basil. Urwin
Spence, who recently designed a new cathedral for Coventry, to
draw up new plans. Mr. Spence visited the church in June and is
now drafting a restoration plan.

in

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Meanwhile, in spite of charges to the contrary, Israel is pro-
tecting the few shrines that are located in the New City of Jeru-
salem. Jews have reason to be concerned over the status of the
Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. They are prohibited
from visiting the Wailing Wall and its importance is presently re-
placed by Mount Zion, on which is located the grave of King David,
as the major shrine for Jewry. Only an effective and . permanent
peace can possibly assure, not only the restoration of the shrines,
but also their protection.

* *
`The Jewish Vote'—A Myth Debunked

Father-Son Team Aidstity of Hope

Annual Champagne Dinner on Sunday Evening

heart disease, leukemia and tu-
berculosis.
Founded in the early 1900's
with two tents and cash assets
totaling $138, the institution to-
day is one of the largest in the
world under Jewish auspices.
Officers of the group, besides
the two Messrs. Epstein, include
Goldberg, George Gray and N.
P. Rosse n, vice - presidents;
E. Epstein
N. R. Epstein
George Spoon, treasurer; H. J.
Goldberg and Joseph Lee, sec-
A prominent father and son retaries; and Sol Siegel, sgt.-at-
team will again be among the arms. Morris Canvasser is chair-
Detroit leaders whose once-a- man of the board.
year, all-out effort for the City
of Hope brings in thousands of
dollars.
With N. R. Epstein as honorary
president and his son, Eugene
Epstein as president, the Detroit
Businessmen's Group of the City
of Hope will hold its annual
Champagne Dinner-Dance Sun-
day evening, in the Sheraton-
Cadillac Hotel.
Chairman 0 f
this year's "by
invitation only"
program is Ben
Goldberg, w h o
states that na-
tionally - known
entertainers will
highlight t h e
evening's show.
Dr. Eugene
Roberts,
a form-
Goldberg-
er Detroiter who
is now affiliated with the City
of Hope's department of bio-
chemistry, will be the evening's
guest speaker.
Dr. Roberts is here to attend
the International Symposium on
Enzymes, which was held this
week' at Henry Ford Hospital.
Dr. Roberts,is a former member
of the biochemistry department
at the University of Michigan.
The City of Hope, the nation-
ally-recognized medical center
at Duarte, Calif., is a non-sec-
tarian institution which treats
and does research -on cancer,.

Milton Doner Appointed
to AJC Foreign Affairs

NEW YORK—Milton J. Doner,
was appointed a member of the
national Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee of the American Jewish
Committee, it was announced
here by Irving M. Engel, presi-
dent of AJC.
Mr. Doner, who is an active
member of the Detroit chapter
of the AJC, is also closely identi-
fied with the United World
Federalists and the Fresh Air
Society. He is president of the
Michigan Chandelier Co.
The problems which concern
AJC's national Foreign Affairs
Committee include safeguarding
the rights of Jews abroad, and
the development of their .com-
munal life, implications of de-
velopments abroad which affect
the position of American Jewry,
and cooperation in the foreign
affairs field with other organiza-
tions.

Expect New Documents
To Clear Capt. Dreyfus

LONDON — (JTA)—Official
German documents which would
add conclusive proof of the in-
nocence of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus,
central figure in the treason case
which rocked France at the turn
of the century, may be among
papers recently returned to Ger-
many by the Russian occupation
forces, Dr. Bruno Weil of New
York said in a lecture here.
The innocence of Capt. Drey-
fus has been established "beyond
a doubt," Dr. Weil said. The proof
is now known to be supported by
a number of official German doc-
uments, some of which have been
traced to this country and others
which are believed to have been
returned to Germany.
Capt. Dreyfus, a Jew, was ar-
rested in 1894 on a charge of
betraying French' military sec-
rets to Germany. He was con-
victed in star chamber proceed-
ings permeated by anti-Semitism,
and sentenced to Devil's Island.
He was later cleared after a bat-
tle for justice that brought
France to the verge of civil war.

The steering committee for the
Champagne Dinner - Dance is
comprised of Robert Adell,
Harry Brodsky, Canvasser, E.
Epstein, N. R. Epstein, Sally
Fields, Goldberg, Harry J. Gold-
berg, George W. Graym Irwin
Green, Bob Hall, Allan Layne,
Lee, Al PoSen, William Rossen,
N. P. Rossen, Dr. Gil W. Schoen-
field, Siegel, Harry Spoon, Max
Spoon and Albert Winnick.
All 40 members of the Busi-
nessmen's Group actively parti-
cipate in the endeavor, which is
the organization's only fund-
raising campaign of the year.

What would you give to save the lives of these children?
Leukemia and cancer takes more lives of children under 15 than
any other known disease. Research will someday find the cure
that will give these children back their lives. The Detroit Busi-
ness Men's Group of the City of Hope is on a drive to raise
$100,000 to fight this menace. Contributions are being accepted
by the City of Hope at 0379 Livernois.

Robert Kasle Heads JWF' Jr. Division's
Leadership Institute; to Start Nov.' 20

The president of the Junior
Division of the Jewish Welfare
Federation, William Wetsman,
this week announced plans for
the Leadership Institute, to be-
gin Sunday, Nov. 20, 8 p.m.
Robert Kasle is chairman of
the Institute slated to continue
for five successive Sunday eve-
nings, ending on Dec. 18. Kasle
noted that his committee aims,
through the Institute, to give
Junior Division members a thor-
ough grounding in how Federa-
tion is organized to provide serv-
ice, what services Federation

agencies provide and a discussion
of recent trends and needs in
social welfare, recreation, edu-
cation, health and community
relations.
Working with Kasle are Dor-
othy Brown, Daniel Hoffer, John
C. Hopp, Jr., Phil Krawitz, Dan-
iel Levine Judy Oberstein, Ron-
ald Rothstein, Walter Rubiner,
Ivan Scholnick, Marlene Wein-
garden and Fred Winkelman.
Young adult members of the
community interested in learn-
ing more about the Institute can
call Armand Cohn at the Fed-
eration office, WO 5-3939.

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

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

The UN Yoke

Saul Carson, JTA correspondent at the United Nations, has
performed a great •service for the UN . . . He has written and
produced at the UN headquarters—in • cooperation with the UN
In one of his recent columns, David Lawrence claimed that "the
Department of Information — an album of phonograph records
Jewish vote" plays a role in our Government's Middle East policy.
giving the actual voices of practically all the important people in
He expressed a view, that is often injected in political discussions,
the world who spoke from the UN platform .. . He has thus not
especially during Presidential elections, by editorial writers and
only immortalized the voices of people like President Eisenhower,
columnists. In "The Lyons Den" in the New York Post, Lawrence's
John Foster Dulles, Dag Hammarskjold, Henry Cabot- Lodge, Mme.
speculation that our State Department is being influenced by "the
Pandit, V. 'H. Molotov, Andrei Vishinsky, Harold Macmillan, Abba
Jewish vote" in its new Middle East policy was answered by
Eban, and many other personalities, but- also •their- views on such
Leonard Lyons as follows:
subjects as the Palestine question, the Korean war, the Atoms for
"No one ever can prove that a 'Jewish vote' exists. On the
Peace issue and other such problems of international and historic
contrary: In N.Y.C., which has the largest number of Jews in the
importance . . . The album, which was released on UN Day,
world, no Jewish candidate ever has been elected Mayor . . . Mr.
this month, as part of.the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the
'Lawrence also reported that Pres. Truman switched the U.S.
United Nations, is a valuable historical document-for-ear . . . En-
policy on Palestine in 1948, just to raise campaign funds. Truman's
titled "This Is the UN," it is acclaimed by experts as an invaluable
book will prove this - assertiOn untrue. A delegation called on him
aid in the teaching of 'the aims, principles and achievements of the
to switch, before his speech at the Garden rally. Mr. Truman told
United- Nations . . . It will, no doubt, find its way into thousands
them he wouldn't do it just to make political capital. 'You have
of high schools, colleges, universities radio-stations, and community
the same choice now that your ancestors -once had, long ago,' he
organizations ... It is narrated by Melvyn Douglas and covers the
said. 'It's either the Tablets or the Golden Calf.' "
period of 1950-55 UN ,activities . . . A similar album produced by
It will be recalled that many years ago the great Jewish leader,
him at' Lake Success in 1950 was distributed• by the 'Depart-
the late Louis Marshall, challenged those who spoke of "a Jewish
number of its overseas -information:centers-. . .
'Vote' and denied its existence. -It was never a fain allegation and it 2—DETROIT JEWISH' NEWS ment of 'State to a
It was also accepted as a teaching aid by the Dominion of Canada.
Friday, November 4, 1955
is encouraging to know that Mr. Truman, too, nails it as a lie.