Purely Commentary
P.4
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
The White House and the Council for Judaism
Spoksemen for the Council for Judaism manage to reach high
places. They have misled many people. They have led.President
it. Eisenhower into believing that this anti-Israel group actually
understands the moral and spiritual values of Judaism.
Here is what the President -wrote to the head of the anti-
z Zionist group, Clarence L. Coleman, Jr.:
"Tension and hostility in the Near East require now, more
than ever before, the pursuance of policies based an genuine
rt friendship for all of the peoples of the area. In our country's
t-J effort to help remove the shadows of war from this historic
F. region, a more widespread understanding of ,the traditions and
0 beliefs that animate its people will assist Americans to follow
F with perseverance a right and proper course.
"The American Council for Judaism has contributed greatly
to a• better understanding of the cultural and moral and spiritual
values of Judaism. In this year's deliberation, I feel confident,
the Council.will again add to our knowledge and appreciation of
a faith ancient in years, but of an enduring and dynamic vitality."
Someone on his staff has pulled the wool over the President's
eyes. Anyone who thinks that a group that advocates policies
that would lead to the slaughter of their own brethren can add
"to our knowledge and appreciation" of an ancient faith, clearly
needs new—true—facts about the faith and its adherents.
, This - infamous Council has been repudiated by every ele-
ment in American Jewry. It stands alone in its treacherous - task
of .placing obstacles in the path of a people that must fight for its
life during every waking moment. Neither Reform, nor Conserva,
Live, nor Orthodox Jews—not even • the more extreme Agudists
and others—haVe given etidorsethent to the program of this
Council, whose destructive efforts have been described as anti-
Jewish and anti-American. -
We admire our President's desire to base his policies "on
•
genuine friendship for all of the peoples" of the Near East. That
is what Israel is aspiring to achieve: true friendship with its
neighbors, so that there may be true and genuine friendship for
the• entire world. But the anti-Jewish Council is not the group
to talk to about "genuine friendship." This Council first must
learn _the words, it must first understand the meaning of brother-
hood: that you can't have brotherhood among all the nations as
:long, as this group stabs . its kinsmen in the back with requests
that they should be denied weapons for self-defense.
There is a basically human principle among civilized beings:
that people have a , right to self-defense. Humail lives are sacred,
and a person, who- fails to protect his own life when attacked
is comparable to -one who takes a • life. A person who would
deny means for self-defense to any human being is an- accomplice
to murder. The Council for Judaism is an accomplice to murder.
The White House has dignified this treacherous group of mosrim
—of informers—with a warm message. It threW pearls to the
swine. We can forgive - the President only on the grounds that
he was not the first to be misled: President • Truman also was a
victim of_misinformation when he used to send messages to this
group of destructive people. •
•
10:1'
*4
e
More About Wingate, Weiztnann's 'Favorite Madman'
There are two other items about Maj. Gen. Orde C. Wingate
that deserve mention—as addenda to our review of the story of
this fabulous leader and friend of Israel, written by Leonard
Mosley under the title "Gideon Goes to War." The book, pub-
lished by Charles Scribner's Sons, • (597 5th, NY 17), already was
reviewed at length in this column.
Mosley relates that Wingate had written' to his wife "saying
how much he wished the war was over, so that he could go back
with her to Palestine to continue the work they both loved.
That had been some time ago, in 1943, and he had included a
message for his wife, in Hebrew: 'Im eskhokheych Yerusalaim
tisha yamini. (The spelling is his.) (And if I forget thee, 0,
Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her cunning.) In his letters
to his Jewish friends, the phrase 'Im eskhokheych Yerusalaim
tishka yamini' kept recurring."
Many stories are told to the effect that the British hated
this man Wingate, his Zionist attitude accounting for much of
that hatred. His death was kept "a top secret of the war." Mosley
states:
•
The secrecy might • well have pleased Wingate, for the par-
allel With two of his Biblical heroes was not inappropriate. 'Tell
it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon," lamented
David over the death of Saul and Jonathan, 'lest the daughters
of the philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of- the uncircumcized
triumph!, .
"And then came the announcement from London. Major-
General Orde Charles Wingate, D.S.O. and two Bars dead.
`With him a bright flame was extinguished,' wrote Winston
Churchill."
• But the bright flame, the sacredness of his memory, lives
hi• the Israel whose revival he dreamt of, for whose liberation
he, was ready to fight—even if it was to mean a fight against
his own government.
*
- *
Alben W. Barkley, ,Philo-Semite
-
Humanity mourns -the passing of Senator Alben W. Barkley.
He was a great American but he belonged to •mankind, not to
our country alone.
He was a: mean of the people, and he understood the needs
of his fellow_ -Ainericans as well as those of the downtrodden
everywhere.
One of the' most distinguished Christian Zionists, he ap-
proached -Jewry's needs, and became one of - Israel's strongest
supporters. His efforts in behalf of the Jewish national cause
were the result of his love for the Bible and his appreciation
of Prophecy; but more especially, his recognition of the realities
of the movement that sought to re-establish a homeland for
the homeless persecuted Jews.
His voice was among the most effective protesting instru-
ments against the Nazi brutalities. He was unhesitant in 'his
challenge's to the British when they placed obstacles in the
paths of Jewish immigrants who sought a haven in the Holy
Land.
He was a philo-Semite because he was a humanitarian. Of
Alben W. Barkley it will truly be said in Jewish history that
he was one of the hassideLumoth ha-olom—one of the genuinely
consecrated men among the nations of the -world.
tiIpqApri hp hic mc.mArcrt
Dulles Assures Bnai Brith of Eisenhower Plan
of No Aggression with Impunity in Mid-East
(Direct ITA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News
WASHINGTON—Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles re-
iterated that the U.S. stands
firmly by President Eisen-
hower's declaration that "inso-
far as this country is concerned
-there could not be aggression
with impunity" against Israel.
Although Mr. Dulles repeated
his opposition to an arms race,
his statement on arms dis-
crepancies was the most positive
public indication yet that the
U.S. will look with favor on
efforts to correct the deficiency
in Israel arms, even if it does
not supply the arms itself. At
present, the U.S. will confine
itself to encouraging its allies.
traditional suppliers of Mid-
East arms, to 'sell to Israel.
.Mr. Dulles reported to the
Bnai Brith convention Tuesday
night that the Arab-Israel situa-
tion was discussed at the NATO
Council meeting in Paris. He
said there 'is the "conviction
that the safety of countries of
the Mid-East is not to be found
in an arms race, particularly
one which tended to pit - great
lieve that solid reliance can bet
placed upon principles of the
UN Charter that no nation of
that area which conforms inter-
nationally with those principles
will stand alone . . .' Past efforts
toward a settlement of these
substantive issues in the Mid-.
East have- encountered serious
obstacles. The task is immensely
complex. I have no illusions-
that solutions will come easily.
But there are grounds for hope
that it may be possible to main-
tain the momentum now estab-
lished by the Secretary ' Gen-
eral's current efforts."
Mr.- Dulles said that '"as
members of the Ul, we all. in-
tend that the State of Israel
shall be maintained in its in-
dependence." He said, however,
that the U.S.. wanted good re-
lations with all nations of the
area "on a basis of impar-
tiality." He said "we do not
believe that the two goals are
incompatible."
He said there was concern in
Paris that Russia "sought to
further its ends by playing fast
and loose with peace in the
area. There is a feeling that
this very fact made it more
important for the -Western na-
tions to act with firm delibera-
tion and with care. -
(In Tel Aviv, Israel Premier
David Ben-Gurion stated Tues-
day that= as long as the Arabs
refuse to talk peace with Israel
there remains the danger of
war. He was skeptical about
the Dag Hammaskjold mission,
in view of new'infiltrations by
Arabs.
(At the United Nations
was indicated that Mr. Ham-
maskjold plans another Middle
Eastern trip to seek a peace
settlement, as a follow-up to
his truce negotiations.)
Praise Work of Junior Division
world powers against each
other."
He said "there was recogni-
tion at Paris that wide dis
crepancies in armed strengths
would be likely to create dan-
gerous tensions." Mr. Dulles
said that at Paris, however "it
seemed particularly important
to avoid a situation where great
military powers confronted each
other by proxy under condi-
tions which would engage their
respective prestiges in a man-
ner ominous for peace not only
within' tht area but possibly
throughout the world." -
He said, "There • is a belief
that reliance should above all
be placed upon processes . of
the UN; that we can perhaps
do so now with somewhat
greater confidence since the
Soviet Union seems It least to
Ibe increasingly aware of dan-
gerous consequences of reck-
less action had indicated that
it too would be prepared to
support a solution through the
UN.
He said, ."We all welcome the
active part now being taken by
the UN Security Council to pre-
serve- the integrity of armistice
agreements. We are encouraged
by the fact that the Secretary
General's mission to the area
seems to have prodUced some
initial positive , results. We be-,
Name Lowenthal on
Faculty of Brandeis
MarYin Lowenthal, historian,
essayist, and critic,: •has been
appointed director of special
services. at Brandeis University
Library, it was announced by
Dr. Abram L. Sachar, president
lgof the univer-
3ity.
M r. Lowen-
thal also • will
conduct a
course in t h e
Brandeis Uni-
iersity School
Humanities
)n "The Age of
•IOntaigne."
A distin;
guished editor
and author,
Lowenthal- his lateSt work,
"The Diaries of Theodor Herzl,"
is being published this month
by Dial PresS;
Mr. Lowenthal's "Autobiog-
raphy of Michel de Montaigne"
is being reissued this fall by
Vintage Press. •
. Among his • books- are ."A
World Passed: By," ,"The Jews
of Germany—A Story of Six-
teen Centuries," "The Life and
Letters of Henrietta Szold," and
he is co-author of "This Was
New. York—The Nation's Capi-
tal in 17519 4
Singing the praises of workerS in the Junior Division of
the 1956 Allied Jewish Campaign at a recent party for division
members are (left to right) Norman Feinberg, N. Brewster
Broder, Leah Nelson, Saul Saulson and Nancy Drusker.
Betweeh You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1956, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
U.S. Plan
•
The United States Government is now actively interested in
encouraging tourism to Israel...A team of nine American Point
Four experts have completed a plan aimed at attracting 103,000
visitors a year to Israel...Last year about 50,000 visitors toured
Israel, which is about 25 percent more than in the previous
year...Israel's income from tourism last year was more than
$115,000,000, including the money paid by tourists for transporta-
tion by Israeli ships and planes... The American experts con-
ducted a mail survey of American tourists to find out why they
had visited Israel i how long they stayed, and what they liked
and did not like...They also . polled 41 travel agents in 18
Ameriean cities who organized tourist groups to Israel...More
than four-fifths of those who replied-90 percent of them Jews
...said they would like to visit Israel again...More than three-
fourths said they had found Israel more satisfying than expected.
...The picture that emerged showed half of the tourists as being
over 50 years old...The survey established that "Christian visi-
tors already number about one-third of the total visitors to
Israel"...It predicted that this ratio would increase gradually
until it exceeded the percentage of Jewish visitors...The recom-
mendations contained in the report are detailed and extensive
...They range from a suggestion to hire a French chef to train
Israeli cooks, to the creation of a national park at the Dead Sea.
*
.*
Holtzman's $50,000 Club
"Joe Holtzman's $50,000 Club" is not an exclusive club,
except that each of its members contributed at least $50,000 to
the Special Survival Fund of the United Jewish Appeal.:.Joseph
Holtzman, a prominent Jewish leader of Detroit and a national
chairman of the UJA, started it last November at a conference
of Jewish community leaders from all parts of the country...
He then announced a gift of $25,000 in addition to the $52,000
which he contributes annually to the UJA...However, he told
the gathering that he. would increase his extra gift to $50,000,
if 99 other individuals would do the same...His announcement
electrified, the meeting and today the "Joe Holtzman $50,000
Club" has. many members...Mr. Holtzman, although he works
energetically for UJA and many Detroit Jewish causes, shuns ,
the limelight .. His dedicated activities have won hirh national
recognition and the respect and affection of his fellow citizens
in Detroit...He is a former member of the Detroit Street * Rail-
way Commission...Despite his success as a builder—he has built
more than 11,000 homes in Detroit—he has never forgotten that
he was once a shoe shine boy, peddled papers, worked as a day
laborer and ran an elevator...One of the great turning points
in his life was the trip he took to the Jewish DP camps and
Israel in 1948 as a member of a UJA mission...From that time
on, he has devoted himself to helping the people of Israel and
all Who seek 'sanctuary -there