Friday, May 25, 1056—THE 1ETROIT JEW ISH NEW

p e n in September

C:enter 10-Mile Rd. niaiiC

Services Announced at Annual Meet
Construction Plans and Expansion of

Expansion of services to the
community through the devel-
opment of new facilities high-
lighted the 23rd Annual Meet-
ing of the Jewish Community
Center, Tuesday evening, May
22, in Hyrnaii C. Broder audi,

torium, Davison branch, 4059
W. Davison. 'Climaxing the
program was an announcement
of preliminary, plans for the
Center's new main building.
•George D. Keil, chairman of
the nominating committee, pre-

sented the slate of nominees to
the board of directors. Elected
for a three year term were
Sarnuel Frankel, Merwin K.
Grosberg, Harry L. Jones,
George D. Keil, Mrs. Charles
Lakoff, Maxwell Lowe, Bert L.
Smokler,- Mts.. Morris J. Brand-
wine, Lester S„ Burton, Brew-
ster N. -Broder, Mrs. Arthur I.
Gould, Irving Rose, Erwin S.

Purely Commentary

Bible and SWord: Reliiion and Politics in Middle East

All who are interested - in Zionism, in the rise of Israel, in
the role played: by - Great Britain in. Palestine, must read "Bible
and Sword: England and Palestine From the Bronze Age to
Balfour," by Barbara W. Tuchman. This thorough study, pub-
lished by New York University Press, deals with personalities
and events, with Christians who belieVed in the ultimate redemp-
tion of Israel, with the interest in the Holy . Land that has influ-
enced the thinking of the British people as a result of the impact
upon them of the Bible and Prophecy.
Mrs. Tuchman has ,dedicated this: book to the memory of
her Parents, Alma 1VIorgenthail and -Maurice Wertheim. The
importance of family background May attract additional atten-
tion to her book, in the writing of which she has so evidently
resorted to painstaking 'research.
The reader is told at once, in a foreword, that Britain's role
in the restoration of Israel originates in "two motives, religious
and political. One was a debt. of conscience owed to the people
'of the Bible, the other was the strategy of empire which required
-
Possession of their land."
"The Bible," Mrs. Tuchman points out, "came to be
- adopted, in Thomas Huxley's phrase, as `the national epic of
Britain. Thereafter England had, so to speak, one foot in
' Palestine. The other foot was brought in by the requirements
of empire that began to - be apparent during the Eastern Crisis
• of the 1830's and were epitomized by a writer in 1917 as 'the
. insistent logic of the military situation on the banks of the
Suez Canaf."
The able writer describes the development of the twin
•
motives, leadS uix to the conquest of Palestine from the Turks
by Lord Allenby, -refers to Bevin's attempt to "cancel out Balfour"
as "one of those tragic twists of history that can never be
erased" and adds that "in view of the ultimate result that the
Jews won for themselves, they can perhaps : afford to apply to
Israel Sir Horace Plunkett's dictum on his own country's history:
that it was one 'for Englishmen to remember and Irishmen to
•
forget'."
Mrs. Tuchman makes this additional interesting comment:
"Historically the occupier of Palestine has always met disaster,
•beginning with the Jews - themselves. The country's political
geography has conquered its rulers. But now that the original
occupant has returned, perhaps the curse will run its course,
and the most famous land in history may some day find peace."
In this connection, Mrs. Tuchman's postscript, "End of
the Vision," deserves attention. Admitting that the British
• Mandate "was flatly not a success," she asks the question
whether Israel exists today "because of the British or in spite
of the British," and her reply is: "As in the American colonies,
England had laid the foundations of a state and then resisted
the logical development of what she had begun until the
original bond frayed out in bitterness and strife. The answer
to the. question must be neither oue thing nor the other, but
partly both—one of those" unsatisfactory truths with which
history so often defeats its interpreters."
There are so many vitally significant angles to be touched
upon in reviewing "Bible and Sword-'-' that one must come to the
conclusion that a major appreciation of the book can only be
found in a classroom. This is not to say that the volume lends
itself only as a textbook: on the Contrary, it is so enlightening
that it should be- given the wideSt passible circulation. But for
total appreciation it should be made use of by study groups
concerned with Israel, the Middle East and the world's concern
in that area.
For, it is not England alone that figures ih this historical
analysis. Students ,of Middle Eastern affairs will gain a better
understanding of the existing situation and of the role played
in that part of the world by France and Russia upon reading
Mrs. Tuchman's review of world affairs in relation to the
Mediterranean countries in the past century.
Russia had designs upon Palestine. At one point "when the
Russian fleet approached Constantino*, Disraeli managed to
overcome Cabinet opposition sufficiently to send the British
k Beet into the Bosporus; bring up Indian reinforcements as far
as Malta, and call out the reserves." Thus, Russian intrusions
were checked, mainly by Benjamin Disraeli. But Russians
flocked to Palestine in large numbers and the foothold gained
there in the latter part of the 19th century may be responsible
in part for the larger gains ncAv . being made there by Commu-
' mist Russia. In any event, Mrs. Tuchman's "Bible and Sword"
throws much light on the historical background of the struggle
for power in the Middle East. •
Especially interesting is the campaign that was candUcted
the Secarid Earl of Shaftesbury for the restoration of Jews
to their ancient homeland. To Shaftesbury's activities may be
traced the British tradition for Zionism.
Forty years after he had written his first article in tbe
Quarterly Review, propagating the Jewish nationa•idea, Lord
Shaftesbury, in 1876, wrote: "To England ... naturally belongs
the role of favoring the settlement of the Jews in Palestine ...
The nationality of the Jews exists; the spirit is there and has
been for 3,000 years but the external form, the crowning bond
of union, is still wanting. A nation must have a country. The
old land, the old people. This is not an artificial experiment;
it iS nature, it •is history."
Of such Mettle were ilia& the - early' propagators of Ziorii•ssin—L-

•

, • •

•

...11

"

O.

',O..

:

.

• a

Simon, Raymond A. Werbe and
Jacob A. Citrin. Samuel S. Sim-
mer , and Dr. DavicH. Lynn
were elected for a two year
term, and Charles F. Rosen and
Harald B. Kukes for a one year
term.
Mis.' Benjamin •E. jaffe, 'pro-
gram committee chairman, re-
viewed the past year's activi-
ties, and noted that the Center

Enlightening DocuMent on
Role of 'Bible and-Sword' in
Israel's Development ..
'Affront to Americans' in
Arms -Sales to Arabs

By Philip
Slomovitz

Jewish nationhood. As indicated by Mrs. Tuchman, mariY•of these
evangelical believers in Biblical predictions did not themselves
realize that they would have a tangh time enlisting the support,
of Jews themselves, as Herzl did later on. Theodor Herzl realized,
as the Tuchman story relates, that he must stop depending upon
the wealthy, that he could place hope in the poor.
Among the early Christian Zionist advocates was Colonel
Charles - Henry Churchill, "a grandson of the Duke of Marlborough
(and thus an antecedent of Winston Churchill), "who believed
that the hour of the liberation of . Israelwas approaching." Another
early Christian Zionist was the Rev. Mr. T. Tully Crybbace.
Writing about Palestine's partition, Mrs.,. Tuchman states:
"To our simple ancestors Palestine was simply the land
covenanted to Israel; they gave no thought—happy men—to .
Abraham's other son, Ishmael. What Victorian thunders would
have rolled had the Rev. Mr. Crybbace or Lord Shaftesbury or
Col. Churchill been alive in 1922 to see all of Palestine east
of the Jordan lopped off for the benefit of the Arab sons of
Ishmael-! What explosions of eloquence would have, followed
upon the partition plan that left Israel without -Hebron where
the Patriarchs are buried, without Shiloh where the Ark of
the Covenant was housed, without Dothan where Joseph was
sold, without Bethel where Jacob dreamed, without Jericho
where Joshua triumphed, and without Bethlehem. What final
awful silence would have met that remarkable Jewish state
proposed by the best minds` of the United Nations—a Jewish
state without Jerusalem!" -
In view of the shockingly destructive tactics of a small
group of American Jews who, even in this day of Israel's reality,
seek to undermine Israel's existence, the story of opposition to
the Balfour Declaration by another handful of frightened Jews has
special interest in Mrs. Tuchman's book. She tells of the amaze-
ment of Christians at such opposition by Jews: "Non-Jews could
never understand this attitude. They ascribed it, in the word of
the _(London) Times, to an 'imaginative nervousness'."
Mrs. Tuchman points out that the leader among the Jewish
obstructionists, Edwin Montagu, then Secretary for India, "was
able, from his post in the War Cabinet, not to stop the (Balfour)
Declaration altogether, but at least so to blur its wording as to
leave unclear and forev-er controversial exactly what its drafters
had in mind."
The reviewer is tempted to go on and on and an—drawing
upon the many historical developments in the world powers'
interests in the Middle East, in Jewry's conflicting attitudes and
reactions, in the vision and wisdom of Israel's friends whose
determination has helped build a State. But we must leave the
rest to the readers. There should be very many of them to
benefit from a great work, a result of painstaking research that
emerges as a labor of love and devotion. We are grateful to
Barbara •W. Tuchman for her very excellent work.

*
* . *
`Unabashed AppeaSement' and an
`Affront to the American People'

-
Senator Herbert H. Lehman charges that the continued
shipment of arms to Saudi Arabia is "an affront to the American
people" and "unabashed appeasement."
The New York Post, thanks to whose two enterprising re-
porters, Irving Lieberman and William H. Rudy, who exposed the
continuatian of the mu _ kitions deal, stated editorially:
"Surely_ both Ike and his Secretary of State are now obliged
to tell the country how this shipment can be reconciled with
their high-level warnings against the Peril of arms sales to
either Israel Or the Arab nations. The whole policy of alleged
'neutralism'. is once again shown to be a s,anctimonious fraud.
This time, let us hope, there will be sufficient public outcry "to
force a real retreat an the Potomac."
Ins it possible that members of our State Department, and
those at the Sunny Point Army Terminal, who told the Post
reporters, when they inquired about the arms shipment to Saudi
Arabia, "it's none of your business — you have no right to
knoW," did not realize that the truth always sprouts forth at the
most unexpected time? We join with the Post in the hope that
there will be "a real retreat" 'in the actions on the Potomac,
Which as presently managed , can lead only to trouble for Israel
and a threat to the peade of the world.
Meanwhile another issue clouds the horizon: the removal of
tanks from the Israel ship, Zion. While the Arabs are getting an
over-abundance of arms, Israel continues to be penalized.
This MUST lead to public resentment. Americans will
never abandon adherence to the ideal of fair play, and the
unevenness of humanitarian concern, the showering of munitions
upon the Arabs, while the small state of Israel is. denied weapons
for self-defense, cries in protest to the High Heavens and
•
to the - sense of justice of the American people.
*
*
*
-
'Nasser Distorts Goldman•'s Speeches
Colonel Nasser resorted to a nasty trick in an address to
Egyptians at Gaza. He charged Dr. Nahum Goldmann with
having told the World Zionist Congress that Israel aims to
acquire territory from the Nile to the Euphrates.
Such distortions of truth tend to divide people, to infuriate
enemies. That, of course, was Nasser's intention. Goldmann
gave the lie to this horrible misrepresentation. It is not
enough. Whenever such inciteMents• to hatred are uttered, they
should be' eXPOseil. 'Only by making _the truth known May
th World.
t..1 • i . S,y
e c-
C.,.

1

,

program had been maintained
despite closing of the Aaron
DeRoy building.
Certificates of Merit were
awarded- to the following for
voluntary service exceeding 25
hours during the past year:

Miss Marjorie Acciaioli, Mrs. Stan-
ley Akers, Mrs. A. J. Alper, Mrs.
Sarah Alpert, Mrs._ Babitch,.
Mrs. Theodore Bargan, Mrs. Reu-
Mrs. . Philip -Bern-
ven
stein, Mrs. Henry Berris, Mrs.•Harold
Black, Mrs. 'Sam Blechman, Mrs. Hy
Burnstein, Mrs. Harry Bussell, Mrs.
Daniel Carpenter, Larry Case, Mrs.
L. Cohen, Mrs. Selina Cohen, Mrs.
Morris Cole, Mrs. Abraham Cooper,
Miss Marjorie Diarriond, Mrs. Er-
win Ellmann, Mrs. A. Feiler, Sidney
Feldman, Albert. Finkelstein, Mrs.
Morris Finkelstein, Mrs. Morris
Friedman, Mrs. S. Friedman, 'Miss
Ellen Gordon, Mrs. Arthur Gould,
Mrs. Helen Greenberg, Miss Shirley
Grossman. Miss A. Herman, Mrs. R.
Herman, Mrs. Oscar Hertz, Michael
Hollander, Mrs. Miles Jaffe, Mrs.
Marian Jannett, Mrs. Eduard Kahn,
Mrs. Adele Kanfer, Mrs. N. C. Kan-
terman, Mrs. Lillian Krioppow, - Mar-
vin Kolb, Mrs, Emery Kovach, Ed-
mund Kugan, Richard Kux, A.
Louis Landau, David Lebow, Mrs.
Albert Levenson, Mrs. •S., Levin, Mrs.
Harry Lui, Mrs. Ralph Miller, Mrs.
Sol Millman, Mrs. Hyman Nathan,
Mrs. David Newman, Mrs, Harry
• erstein, Ray Paul, Mrs. Bernard
Plavnick, Mr, and Mrs. Abe Rapo-
port, Mrs. Bertha Rocklen, Hyman
Rocklen, Dr. Raymond Rose, Mrs.
Mildred Ross, Mrs. S. Rossner, Mrs.
Emil D. Rothman, Mrs: Isabelle
Sands, Mrs. Frieda Shawn, Mrs. Boaz
Siegel, Mrs. Albert J. Silber, Miss
Sue Simons, Philip Slomovitz, Mrs.
Irving Small, Sam Sniderman, Mrs.
Nathan- Spevakow, Jack Stein, Mrs.
Henry Stern, Milford Tachna, Alan
Warnick, Mrs. Jean Weiss Mr. and
Mrs. Raymond Werbe, - Mrs. Alice
Werber, Mrs. J Wolf, Mrs. Rose
Zuckerman, Mark ZuSsrnan.

In his report, Jacob L. Keidart,
president, emphasized that
while the Center program has
been limited during the past
year by lack of facilities, the
progress in fulfilling the master
plan far Center buildings has
been gratifying.
Speaking of the important
part played by the Jewish
Welfare Federation and the .
Metropolitan Detroit Building
Fund in making possible the
purchase of sites and con!.
struction of buildings, he an-
nounced that the Center's Ten
Mile Road branch would open
in September, 1956.
Samuel Frankel, chairman of
the building committee, re-
viewed his committee's inten-
sive work in laying the ground-
work for the new main build-
ing to be constructed at Curtis
and Meyers.
Paul Tilts, architeCt for the
new building, presented prelir47-
inary plans for the new strut;
ture. The ground floor is ex-
pected to include a large audi-
torium, seating 750; a little
theater, capacity 500; a large
meeting room, accommodating
300; an older adult lounge and
meeting room; an adult lounge;
a board room; a playschool for
80 children; a men's he alth
club for 1,000 members; a
women's health club for 700
members; and administrative *A-
■
flees. -
The lower' level. will contain
a large gymnasium, an auxiliary
gymnasium, a ,swimming :pool,
locker rooms, handball and
squash courts, a dance studio,
snack bar, lounges, game and
craft rooms.
The upper level is to house
libraries; an • arts : studio, must*
rooms, a domestic science room,
staff offices, can officeS' and

meeting rooms:. ,
Present plans also includti

a Wing for the Jewish -Social

Sertrite- Bureau office; and off-
floe space on the ground floor
for the JWF Women's Division-
and"National Council of Jew-:
ish Women, a playground area
of five acres, containing courts :
and skating rinks, as well at
'specialized areas for play- ,
school children, .older adults,
and day campers. •
As part of the program,
year old Marilyn Lucas, a pupil
of the Center Music School,--was
heard in Rachrnaninoff's "Pre-
lude" and Khachaturian's -"Too-
data.'" .
A--reception closed the meet-
ing; Miss. Samuel S. Aaron,was
chairmawAf ..the,recaPtion

