Friday, July. 19, — THE DETROIT JEWISH Purely Commentary Lenin's Caustic Remark: 'They Say We Are Yids' When Trotsky said he was afraid to accept the chairmanship of the Council of People's Commissars because he was a Jew, Lenin laughingly said (as reported in the Litvinov memoirs): "They say in any case that we are all Yids . ." (See Editorial in this issue.) Yet, there is constant talk about Jews in government positions in Russia and about Jewish influence. Arab propagandists resorted to old tricks of dragging such red herrings during their Cairo broadcasts last week. Apparently there is no end to fantasy, especially when it arises as an Arabian tale! But the new propaganda line is particularly amusing— we would consider it funny indeed if it were not so tragic— in view of the brutal functions of Soviet anti-Semitism. In spite of it, there may still be some people who believe that Jews have a semblance of influence in the Kremlin. For their benefit, we wish to quote from "The Jews in the Soviet Union," by Dr. Solomon M. Schwartz, who, in 1917, was chief of the department of social insurance in the Ministry of Labor of the democratic Provisional Government of Russia. This book was published in 1951 by the University of Syracuse Press. Since then, anti-Semitism has increased. Dr. Schwartz wrote that "since the middle of 1949 anti-Semitism in the USSR has shunned making any open display. But the stealthy variety of anti-Semitism, which has been gaining ground since the late 1930's, continues to exert its undeniable influence on Soviet society." He presented the following facts to prove the "stealthy advance of discrimination"• "As time goes by, Jews are eliminated from more and more fields. The latest Supreme Soviet elections are a case in point. As noted 'before, the proportion of Jewish repre- sentatives in both chambers of the Supreme Soviet had already been substantially reduced in the first postwar election in 1946. The process has advanced still farther, and the elections held on March 12, 1950 resulted in the almost complete elimination of Jews from membership in the Supreme Soviet. "Of the 678 new members of the Soviet of the Union, only one—Lazar M. Kaganovich, from one of the Tashkent con- stituencies (Central Asia)—is known to be a Jew, and another—Mark S. Spivak, from Stalino—is presumably Jewish. At best 2 out of 678, or less than one-third of one percent (as against 5.6 percent in 1937) ! In the Soviet of Nationalities, which has 638 members, there are two known Jewish members and one who is presumably Jewish, or less than one•half of one percent (as against 2.6 percent in 1937). The Jewish representatives elected were Ilya Ehrenburg the writer, from Riga (Latvia), and Dr. Rozaliya Goldenberg, from the city of Birobidzhan, the only Jewish meniber elected from the Jewish Autonomous Province, which has five seats in the Soviet Nationalities; the member presumed to be Jewish was Anna E. Kaluger from Bessarabia. "In the Supreme Soviet as a whole, the proportion of Jews is less than .4 percent (as against 4.1 percent in 1937). Prominent Jewish members of the elite whose high position in the government hierarchy seemed fairly well established — such as Solomon A. Lozovskii and Maksim M. Litvinov in foreign affairs, the Minister of State Controls, Lev Z. Mekhlis, and the Minister of Industrial Construction, Semen Z. Ginzburg—all of whom still held office in the Supreme Soviet in 1946, are no longer members, A. Bakhmutskii, the secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party for the Jewish Autonomous Province, who represented Birobidzhan in the Soviet of Nationalities in 1946, was not re-elected, and his name has not been mentioned in the central Soviet press for quite some time." These are the facts, already repeated ad nauseam, so that Jews should not be misled by falsified propaganda. We doubt whether we shall ever be able to convince anti-Semites of the truth of the existing situation. Even when Jews are in great danger, as we believe • them to be in Russia, the prejudiced refuse to be convinced of the true state of affairs. But since history knows how to deal with the Hamans, Torquemadas, Pobedonostzevs and Khrushchevs, we shall patiently await the day of reckoning, The Late 'Chia' Weizmann The elders in the Weizmann family are all but gone. A sister and two brothers of the late Dr. Chaim Weizmarm died in Israel within three weeks of each other's passing. The last to die, Dr. Yehiel Weizmann, was only 65. Only one other brother of the Weizmanns may still be alive in Russia. Every member of the Weizmann family was noted for some special achievement. They were all college-bred, all specialists in their fields. Dr. Yehiel Weizmann was known affectionately, among all Israelis, as "Chilik." He was a friendly man, like his brothers a rood story-teller, and greatly devoted to Israel. Only about two years ago, he visited Detroit in behalf of the new Israel pecan project he was promoting, in the hope of having pecan groves dot all of the Negev. He won the hearts of the Detroiters he had met and he made new friends here for Israel. Sholem Asch--Controversial Figure The columns of obituary announcements of very dis- tinguished people is growing—all too rapidly. A very distinguished name was included in the list of the dead recorded last week—that of Sholem Asch. It would take a full column to list the names of his great novels. This becomes almost unnecessary in the instance of this • • Days of Reckoning in Russia By Philip Tributes to Weizmanns, Asch, Hoofien, Abbe and Klausner .)10/7101fitZ distinguished novelist. He had risen to the top of the literary ladder and had gained acclaim from non-Jews as well as Jews. But many Jews recently chided him for his christological approaches. A Yiddish writer published a full-length book condemning him for what he termed were "flirtations" with an alien faith. He was accused of having wandered too closely to Christianity. It is our belief that he may be vindicated in great measure by time and hiStory. • In any event, Asch had denied either embracing Christianity or even coming very close to an affectation with the faith. ' The truth is that 'Mr. and Mrs. Asch had made their home in Israel, that they found happiness there, that Asch had planned a new novel about Israel, that he became an ardent and staunch defender and supporter of the Jewish State. Much will be said about Asch, his attitudes on religion, his devotions and prejudices, in the months to come. Of special interest at this time, in view of the religious issue that has marked the controversies over his views, are the impressions he had of the so-called religious problem in Israel. Upon his arrival in London, where he died on July , 10, he said to a London Jewish Chronicle reporter that he did not believe there was a religious problem in Israel and added: "I wish that the Sabbath in the Diaspora had one-tenth of the warmth of the Sabbath in Israel." He ridiculed the pork issue in Israel and said: "Why any Jew should want to eat pork, especially in Israel, I do not understand. There is so much better and healthier food. But I do not think this is much of a problem." In his interview, Asch resented complaints against Europeans by Oriental newcomers in Israel. He charged clever Oriental politicians with storing up trouble unnecessarily for their own political ends. It is interesting to note that Asch believed that the Yiddish language and literature "has a future in Israel," but he was critical of the standards of Yiddish i theatrical groups visiting Israel. He said government and ' Histadrut leaders assured him that financial aid would be given for a visit "of a really first-rate Yiddish theater group." Asch's attitudes may be debated for a long time, and there will be many critics of him and his works. But he will never- theless be remembered as a very great novelist and one of the pillars among the Yiddish writers of this century. The Late Eliezer Siegfried Hoofien The passing of Eliezer Siegfried Hoofien, in Tel Aviv, deserves more than the ordinary obituary notice. He was an outstanding authority on banking and was an Israeli pioneer in every sense of the word. At the time of his death, Hoofien was head of the General Mortgage Bank of Palestine, Ltd., and chairman of the Agricultural Trust, Ltd.; as well as an economic coordinator for Israel and the honorary president of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Chamber of Commerce. Of special interest in his career, however, is the fact that he came to Palestine in 1912, when he became assistant general manager of the Anglo-Palestine Bank, Ltd., which was the forerunner of the National Bank Letnni, presently the major private commercial banking enterprise in Israel. He became general manager of the bank in 1924 and chairman in 1947. In this connection Hoofien recalled an interesting experience. During his early years in the banking business in Palestine, the Turkish Governor General of Palestine ordered his bank closed in 1915. He pleaded for an entire year to be permitted to liquidate the bank's assets to be able to repay his creditors. Then began the long liquidation process which Hoofien dragged out until the British entered Jerusalem in December of 1917. From that point on, he was back in the banking business without restrictions. Hoofien was entrusted with serious Israeli responsibilities. As early as February of 1948, he came' to New York and ordered the printing of $100,000,000 worth of currency, in anticipation of the establishment of the Jewish State. They were Anglo-Palestine Bank currency notes, since the name Israel was yet to be chosen. When Israel was created, May 14, 1948, this currency became available for immediate use. Hoofien was looked to for advice in economic matters. He was one of Israel's outstanding pioneers, and many of the established industries point to him as the guide who helped them get a start and encouragement in their enterprises, Maxwell Abbell and Gustav Klausner - This was not intended to be an obituary column. But we are losing so many distinguished leaders that it becomes necessary to take note of their passing. Two distinguished American Jews were taken from us in the last weeks. Dr. Maxwell Abbell, whose devotion to Israel and to American cultural movements have elevated him to a position of leadership, was a most interesting man. He was devoted to the objectives of Conservative Judaism, was a leader in Zionism and gave generously to the Jewish National Fund. He was a friend of President Eisenhower and an ardent worker for his election and re-election in 1952 and 1956. Prof. Gustav Klausner, a noted mathematician and professor of accounting at St. Louis University, was one of the most devoted Jewish National Fund leaders in this country. At national JNF conferences, including those held in Detroit, he played inspiring roles. He was an effective advocate of the cause of Jewish national rebirth and his name will long be remembered for his notable contributions to Jewry and to Israel. May the memories of these righteous people be retained as blessings for generations to come. Between You & Me By BORIS SMOLAR (Copyright, 1957, JTA, Inc.) Washington Views A long look at Israel's sources of finance—particularly foreign currency—has just been com- pleted in Washington . . . The evaluation reached the conclu- sion that Israel will continue to need "for the foreseeable fu- ture" at least $200,000,000 a year to cover its foreign exchange deficit . . . This conclusion is based on the fact that Israel's major sources of foreign ex- change at present include the German reparations, the sale of Israel bonds, contributions from American Jewry, and U.S. gov- ernmental financial assistance . .. With regard to German re- parations, it is noted that Israel is receiving from Germany more than $80,000,000 a year and that at the present rate, the payment of the reparations will cease by 1962 . . . As to the sales of Israel bonds, Washington asserts that the net income from the bonds is already diminishing because of the necessity to pay interest and principal on earlier bond sales . . . Washington also takes the view that "in all probability" contributions from American Jewry for Israel cannot be ex- pected to increase, but on the contrary will most likely dimin- ish, especially if there should be any slackening of economic expansion and prosperity in this country . . . Thus Israel's annual economic deficit of about $250,- 000,000 a year is being met at present from sources either def- initely scheduled for early ter- mination or cannot be relied upon for an indefinite future period. Mission in Israel Under such circumstances, will U.S. governmental aid to Israel increase as the other sources of foreign exchange de- crease? ... The answer which Washington officials give to this question is that the U.S. Gov- ernment is trying its best to help Israel achieve economic inde- pendence through the U.S. Op- erations Mission in Israel . . . They reveal that the Mission had administered up to July 1 of this year a total of $364,800,- 000 in financial assistance to Israel; and that these funds have been used to improve Israel's economic viability . . . They are of the opinion that the economic destiny of Israel de- pends upon factors beyond its borders . . . These, they say, include an agreed solution of the Arab refugee problem; an agreed program for the - de- velopment and use of the Jordan waters; the relaxation of ten- sions in the Middle East to per- mit a reduction in defense ex- penditures . In their opinions these are the objectives, if Is- rael's place among the nations is to be secured permanently In the meantime, the United States is interested in helping reinforce the independence and sovereignty of any free nation . . . However, Washington offi- cials go out of their way to em- phasize that any country receiv- ing temporary economic aid from the United States must anticipate within a reasonable time to achieve its economic in- dependence from the U.S. . . They argue that economic aid, to be successful, must be so conducted as to render such aid unnecessary within a reasonable period of time. Sholem- Asch's Literary Pitfall He Accepted Christian Dogma BY NATHAN ZIPRIN (Copyright, 1951, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate) These columns have often spoken bitterly of Sholem Asch's Christological path, though never disparagingly of his art, for he was a literary master of incomparable stature, with an idiom of expression that was approached by few in his native tongue — Yiddish. We quarreled with Asch not because he wrote on Christian themes nor even because of tile inferior literary quality of his Christological writings, but because he accepted Christian dogma wtith discon- certing results. • Hundreds of thousands of Jews who read his works fell under the influence of his thesis, erron- eously believing that his synthesizing of the • two great faiths — Christianity and Judaism — . was basic to Jewish thinking. The test rests in the fact that the churches of America and the missionaries • of the world found his Christological novels most potent and effective weapons- in spreading their faith, .Sholem Asch consistently denied that his novels were Christian preachment, but - in his utter- , ances and published credos he made his position so crystal clear as to set off rumors of his conversion to Christianity. It was his glorification of Christianity and not the theme, as he often claimed, that created the chasm between the great writer and thinking Jews. Sholem Asch was a • unique artist. But his claim . to fame will not rest on his-Christological works but on the earlier creations, such as "Kiddush Ilashem" and "Salvation."