Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Eden Adamant on And-Israel Stand, Despite
Sharp Criticism of His Policies in Commons
(Copyright, 1955
By The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The Jewish Publication Society: An Interesting Test
LONDON, (JTA)—Prime Min-
_! It will be interesting to watch the result of the effort being ister Sir Anthony Eden was
launched in Detroit and in other American communities for the
enrollnient of large numbers of American Jews in the Jewish
Publication Society.
This Society, which was organized in 1888 and has functioned
since that time as the first membership Book Club on record, has
produced some of our best classics. It has developed into a great
American Jewish institution, but unfortunately, the following it
has acquired has been select rather than popular. Let us clarify
the two terms. By select we mean a comparatively small group of
people who have recognized the merits of a Jewish non-profit
book publishing movement, whose leaders have zealously selected
for publication the most literary and most creative works on Jew-
ish subjects. By popular we mean numbers. It is the lack of the
latter that disturbs us.
At present, only 8,000 American Jews are members of the
Jewish Publication Society, and of this number less than 200 are
from Michigan. If the Society, with all it has to offer, with its
biggest book bargain on the market—for the minimum annual
membership of $5 the subscriber receives two volumes valued at
approximately $8 or more—and with its aim of providing the
Jewish community with the best results in Jewish literary research
—if this Society had - 150,000 members in this country, the number
would not be excessively large.
The small JPS membership is an indictment of Ainerican
Jewry. It proves that our ranks are dominated by a shocking sense
of indifference to Jewish cultural needs.
But the present JPS me m b e r s h i p does not necessarily
proVe that the existing shortcomings are incurable. American Jews
are offered an opportunity to enroll as members of the Society, to
benefit from its literary products, to encourage it in its future pub-
lishing•efforts, as well as in the task undertaken for the revision of
the English translation of the Bible, and to inspire authors to con-
tinue to write good Jewish books.
The JPS story will be told here Sunday, at the annual Jewish
Book Fair, by the Society's editor, Dr. Solomon Grayzel, and its
president and secretary, Edwin Wolf II and Lesser Zussman. They
deserve a large audience, and the cause they propagate has earned
American Jewry's hearty response. Is it too much to ask that 2,000
Michigan Jews _should join the Society and while assisting a major
American Jewish movement also personally benefit from it?
evacuated it. Asked whether It is likely, however, that the
Israel had been permitted to pur- government in the reasonably
chase any of these weapons, Mr. near future will approve the sale
Maclean said that the sale was of "small" quantities of military
open to other countries, but he equipment to Israel.
It was stated in Washington
did not see how Israel buyers
could have entered the Suez that even the sale of limited
Canal zone. quantities of munitions should
be linked to Israel's military
Meanwhile, the Archbishop
policies. Reprisals raids and
of York has added his voice to
any indication of preventive
urgings for boundary adjust-
war might cause an immediate
ment in Israel. Addressing the
severance of the trickle of sup-
York diocesan conference, Dr.
plies envisaged.
Cyril Garbett said that Pales-
Brig. Kadhim Abadi, comman-
tine had once again become the
der of the Iraqi Air Force, ar-
center of world danger. He
added that he came away from rived in the United States to tour
his last visit to the area more U. S. Air Force installations and
convinced than ever "that we view U.S. jet aircraft and aerial
cannot expect peace in the weapons with a view to strength-
erning the Iraqi Air Force: Iraq
Middle East until there's some
receives free military aid from
alteration in the boundaries of
Palestine and until the problem the United States under the
grant-in-aid program.
of the refugees is dealt with."
* * *
The Archbishop termed the
Israel
Protests
to UN
present boundaries "absurd,
Against Egyptian Acts
unjust and irrational."
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Instruc-
Earlier, in the week, at Gettys-
burg, Pa., Israel's plea for lions have been sent to the Israel
American arms and security pact delegation at the United Nations
with the. United States was be- to protest to the Security Coun-
lieved to have been brought by cil against recent Egyptian ag-
Secretary of State John Foster gression against Israel, it was
Dulles before a Cabinet meeting announced here. A letter from
in which President Eisenhower the delegation will note the un-
broken chain of attacks by regu-
participated.
It is also believed here that lar Egyptian army units and the
Secretary Dulles outlined to the dispatch of raiding groups into
Cabinet the views taken by the Israel from Egyptian and Jordan
State Department on the present bases.
• * *
Arab-Israel situation. Emphasis
is being placed in the State De- Israel Cabinet Increases
partment t h i n k i n g on Israel Budget by 113 Million Pounds
agreement to a territorial com-
A decision to seek approval of
promise as a prerequisite for
a supplementary budget of 113
U.S. security guarantee.
million pounds for the current
The current view of the Execu- fiscal year, in addition to ex-
tive Branch of the United States penditures for 1955-56 of 631 mil-
Government, according to relia- lion was taken at an extraordi-
ble sources, is that the. Tripartite nary Cabinet session here. Fi-
Declaration of 1.950 and recent nance Minister Levi Eshkol again
expressions by President Eisen- presided over the meeting in the
hower should provide Israel with continued absence of Premier
all the assurances that can be Ben Gurion, who is recovering
realistically expected at this time. from an attack of the flu.
strongly criticized in Parliament
for the speech he made suggest-
ing Arab-Israel border "compro-
mises" and for offering to act as
mediator between Israel and the
Arab states. He was accused by
Labor M.P.'s of creating "pro-
found depression" in Israel and
of "playing into the hands" of
some Arab countries.
The Prime Minister, in re-
plying to the criticism, admit-
ted that he had not consulted
with the Israel or Egyptian
Governments before he made
his speech. He emphasized that
he had not called in his speech
for "very substantial conces-
sions" in territory. Pressed by
members to clear up the mat-
ter and to say precisely what
was on his mind when he
spoke of territorial concessions,
Sir Anthony refused to go into
details and stressed that he
would not withdraw "one sin-
gle word" of the speech which
he delivered at Guildhall on
Nov. 9.
Stressing the parallel ap-
proaches of the United States
and British Governments on this
issue, the Prime Minister said:
"Although I do not want to bind
our American friends to every
word of what I said at the Guild-
hall, it is a fact that we and the
United States Government are in
very close agreement on this dif-
ficult business." At another point
*
*
*
during the question-and-answer
The New Jewish Magazines
session, the Prime Minister told a
The quarterly magazine Midstream and the Jewish Digest are Laborite "certainly we adhere to
the latest additions to American Jewish periodical literature. Will the Tripartite Declaration" of
they succeed?
1950.
Only time will provide the answer. Efforts similar to the
Although he refused to go
sent
Digest
have
been
made
in
the
past,
and
all
have
failed.
pre-
into detail on his thoughts for
Other- magazines akin to Midstream were short-lived.
an Arab-Israel settlement, Sir
One thing is certain: it will take large investments to carry
Anthony did note a number of
both of these experiments through to success. Each, in its way,
problems that he expected
has 'Something to offer to American Jews who seek knowledge
would have to be solved in
about world Jewish affairs and who crave for opinions by noted
such a settlement. Among
writers on Jewish issues. But projects of this type need promotion,
these he included the Arab
and promotion is expensive.
The Jewish Digest is excellently edited by an able and veteran refugee problem and the Arab
blockade and non-recognition
editor, Bernard Postal. He has the ability to make his product
of Israel.
look good and contain the works of the best Jewish writers. But
Earlier in the debate, Prime
it will take more than that to secure the following needed for the
monthly magazine's success. It will require serious circulation Minister Eden told Commons
that - despite the delivery of
solicitations, and that's not easy.
Midstream presents a different problem. It is a quarterly and Communist arms to Egypt and
it is under Zionist auspices, and the question may well be asked the other states, Britain intended
whether the need it fulfills could not be incorporated into existing to continue supplying arms to
Zionist publications, as well as into other and similar publications some Arab states with which it
like the American Jewish Congress quarterly Judaism. This is had treaty obligations, such as
the only problem evident to us in Midstream's call for support: Iraq and Jordan.
Sir Anthony rejected a de-
whether it really was necessary to produce another Jewish guar-
- terly magazine. But insofar as the contents of its first issue are mand that he seek a meeting of
concerned, we have only the best recommendation for it. The article the Big Four, including the So-
by R. H. S. Crossman (British M.P.) on the Arab-Jewish issue, the viet Union, in an attempt to es-
essays by several noted Jewish writers, the excerpts from books tablish an arms embargo . on the
and the two fiction articles are in the best taste, illuminating and Middle East. He indicated that
valuable guides to an understanding of Jewish values and prob- Britain did not favor' an embargo
because she was obligated under
lems.
We wish the two new magazines great success. If they succeed, treaties to ship arms to some
they will inspire greater interest in other Jewish journalistic and Middle East states, because the
literary creative efforts.
signatories of the Tripartite Dec-
laration of 1950 had recognized
the need of the Middle East
The Litvinov Notes:-Discussions of Authenticity
Two experts on Russian affairs, Isaac Deutscher, biographer of states for arms, and because
Trotsky, and Ernest J. Simmons, chairman of the department of there was no reason to expect
Slavic languages at Columbia University,- have written reviews of the USSR to go along with- an
"Notes for a Journal by Maxim Litvinov," in the Reporter and the embargo.
Prime Minister Eden indicated
Nation, expressing doubt as to the Notes' authenticity.
In view of the interest that was aroused by our own review that an approach had been made
of the book, we owe it to our readers to present the views of these to the Soviets and had been re-
buffed. "We have raised the mat-
distinguished authorities on the Soviets and their leaders.
Mr. Deutscher is especially outspoken in his attack on the ter with the Soviet government
book and he differs with Prof. E. H. Carr, who, in his introduction and the results do not encourage
to the Notes, gave credence to much of the material in the book, us to believe that this supply of
although he doubted some portions. Mr. Deutscher stated in his arms, nominally from Czechoslo-
vakia, is one upon which agree-
review in the Reporter:
"In my view, these Notes are a complete, crude, shabby, and ment is likely to be reached."
(In Baghdad at the opening
shameless forgery. They are worthless S even as a 'historical rom-
of a meeting of the five-
ance'; the portrait of Litvinov that is supposed to emerge from
them bears no relation whatever to the real Litvinov. No one nation council of the Baghdad
Alliance, Harold Macmillan,
writing about Communism with any inside knowledge, with a
British Foreign Secretary, said
sense of its climate, can hav-e any doubt about this."
that Britain would not attempt
But Mr. Deutscher makes no attempt to analyze the expose
to outbid the Russians in pro-
of anti-Semitism among Communist leaders in Litvinov's Notes,
viding arms for Egypt, nor
.; and it is our recollection that his own references to Trotsky's
would she attempt to balance
position as a Jew did not differ from the revelation in the Notes
deliveries by increasing ship-
under review.
ments to Israel. He also said
Mr. Simmons, while differing with some of Prof. Carr's con-
that Britain does not blame
! elusions, nevertheless states that "the case for and against authen-
Egypt, nor will she blame or
ticity is well argued in the introduction by the distinguished Brit-
laud any other Arab state
: ish expert on Russia, Mr. E. H. Carr."
which buys arms from the So-
Mr. Simmons proceed% to say that while readers will differ
viet bloc.)
on some points, regarding the Notes' authenticity, "the bulk of
.In the course of the debate,
material in the journal has the ring of truth. Many of the facts
recorded check with what we know. If the journal is a forgery, Fitzroy Maclean, Parliamentary
then it is an extraordinarily skilful one and could have been per- Undersecretary for the War Of-
, petrated only by someone who was extremely intimate with fice, replying to an MP, said that
Egypt had bought the largest
' Litvinov."
This is our view regarding the Litvinov Notes (published by share of surplus arms, munitions
William Morrow & Co). Even if they are forgeries, they seem to and equipment left at the Suez
correspond with many well known facts about the USSR leaders, base when the British Army
notably Stalin, Molotov and Vishinsky, and their antagonistic at
DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
titude towards Jews, Judaism. and Zionism. It is well that the facts 2
Friday, December 2, 1955
are being . made known. ' •
—
Between. You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR-
(Copyright, 1955, Jewish. Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Fund-Raising Problems:
Jewish community leaders are beginning to think of the prob-
lems confronting the communities in 1956 . . . They see fund-
raising as "problem. number -one" that needs complete re-evaluation
.. . They compare the present state - of fund-raising with that of
exactly ten years ago , Ten _years ago, in 1946, 214 Jewish Fed-
erations and Welfare Funds outside of New York raised $85,000,000
. . In 1948, -which was the top year of Jewish giving, they raised
$130,000,000 . . . Today they raise only about $70,000,000. This
means that they raise 6 millions less than in 1948; and about 15
millions less than ten years ago . , . What happened? . . . Are Jews
in the United States earning less today than they did in 1948? .. .
Is their income smaller than it was ten years ago? . . . The answer
is that the income of Jews as well as of non-Jews in this country
has not declined 'since 1948 . .. On the contrary, this year was a
"boom" year with Jewish income greater than in 1948, and cer-
tainly larger than10 years ago ... Why, then, the decline in Jewish
giving? . . Some try to .explain it by the fact than many Jews
make substantial contributions to individual Jewish projects out-
side of their local -federation of welfare fund . . . But even so,
the discrepancy between 1948 and this year is still great . . . Some
try to argue that the emergency is not as acute today as it was in
1048 when young Israel fought for its existence and when hundreds
of thousands of Jewish DP's had to be transferred from camps in
Germany to overseas countries . . However, this argument is not
valid now, since Israel is threatened with the possibility of war
and since tens of thousands of Jews- must be taken out of Tunisia
and Morocco as speedily as possible . . . Jewish community leaders
thus feel that since - the situation today is as urgent as it was in
1948, contributions should go back to what they were in 1948.
*
*
*
Practical Proposals:
Speaking of Jewish giving 10 years ago as compared with con-
tributions today, it is worth noticing that in 1946 the United Jewish
Appeal agencies received from the federations and welfare funds
81 percent of the total funds raised . . -. Today the UJA receives
only about 60 percent . . Some Jewish community leaders realize
that this must not be the case in 1956 . . They feel . that the UJA
obligation _ s. during the approaching year are of exceptional im-
portance and must, therefore, be met in an exceptional way . . .
The Council' of Jewish Federations and Welfare •Funds asked a
representative group of leaders throughout the country for their
ideas on concrete proposals to strengthen fund-raising . . . There
was widespread agreement that one of the major tasks of com-
munities is tore-emphasize the primacy of the central community
campaign from which the UJA gets its share .. . It was pointed
out that the multiplicity of other campaigns for a variety of local
and overseas causes have adversely affected the primacy of the
central campaign . . . Concern was expressed that central cam-
paigning by the communities may suffer even more if multiple
appeals continued to divide interest, loyalty and contributions . .
It was also established that few contributors, in both large and
intermediate brackets, have taken full advantage of the provisions
in federal tax legislation which increased the limit for individual
deductions from 20 percent to 30 percent . • . It was also noted
that some corporations have averaged one-half to one percent of
their net income for charitable giving instead of the five percent
allowed . . . It was recommended that more attention be paid to
Jewish families who move from the larger, cities to the suburbs;
many- of them. have never been solicited, and make good prospects.
_
_ - _
.