THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951 Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35, Mich., VE 8-9364. Subscription $5 a year. Foreign $6. Entered as second class matter Aug. 6. 1942 at Post ()file._ Detroit, Mich. under act of Congress of March 187:. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher SIDNEY SHMARAK CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Advertising Manager Circulation Manager FRANK SIMONS City Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, Rosh Hodesh Shevat, these Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portions, Vaera, Ex. 6:2-9:35, .1\I um. 28:9-15. Prophetical portion, Is. 66:1-24. Licht Benshen, Friday, Jan. 9, 5:01 p.m. VOL. XXXIV. No. 19 Page Four January 9, 1959 Wooing a Dictator: Western Blunder The West appears to have embarked on a new series of political blunders. After two years of struggles against . Communism in the Middle East, and nu- merous attempts to overcome the intru- sion of Nasserism into the affairs of Arab nations that have, nominally at least, co- operated with the democracies, the West- ern powers are once again wooing Egypt's President Nasser. Indicating the new trend is the open- ing paragraph of a special item from Washington, by-lined by Marguerite Hig- gins, in the New York Herald Tribune, on the day on which the New York news- papers reappeared after a 19-day strike. That item stated: "The crackdown or- dered by President Gamal Abdel Nasser on Communism in the United Arab Re- public is not just talk but the real thing, involving among other things the arrest or exile in the last few days of Moscow- trained Khaled Bakhdash, the Arab Com- munist leader." The Herald Tribune correspondent took for granted a single incident as in- dicating that the Egyptian dictator has suddenly adopted democratic principles. To those who have watched events in the Middle East and have witnessed the series of assassinations and the appeals to hatred against the United States and. our allies, this is sheer nonsense, and the new pro- Nasser move must be viewed as one of the major blunders of our time. The Washington Post, and a number of other newspapers, as well as some ob- servers who are watching current events in the troubled Middle Eastern areas, view the situation differently. The Wash- ington Post has warned editorially: "A word of caution is in order in welcoming Adding to Our Duties Le Monde, the Paris daily newspaper, reports that Romania has issued more than 3,000 visas to Jews emigrating to Israel in November, that this figure was exceeded in December and that any one of the 240,000 remaining Romanian Jews wishing to go to Israel will be permitted to leave. The Le Monde wrote that the Romanian government's decision to permit the exit of Jews "is not a gesture of humanitarian- ism" but rather a decision by Romanian authorities to "rid themselves" of a min- ority that can not be assimilated. There is a motive in the latter insult in the revelation that a major reason for "ridding themselves" of Jews is that Ro- manian government leaders see the open- ing of a number of desirable jobs and the freeing of certain economic sectors for other citizens of the country. Le Monde believes that Romanian Communists favor the departure of Jews so that Communists and their hangers-on can take over some good jobs now held by Jews. This is in itself another way of misleading the Ro- manian people regarding the existing truths, since most Jews already have been purged from their economic positions in Romania. But the more interesting point made by Le Monde is that Premier Khrushchev would be willing to see Jews leave Russia but fears to do so lest he offend his Arab friends by aiding the enlargement of Israel's population. These are revealing facts and they have one important admonition for us: to prepare the ground for large scale im- migration to Israel. This means that our support of the Allied Jewish Campaign must be greatly increased this year. the resumption of American wheat sales to Egypt. More normal relations with the UAR are certainly desirable . . . Nas- serism is no more attractive merely be- cause Col. Nasser is making anti-Com- munist noises . . . Nasser has been playing the West and East alternatively, so his motives must remain suspect." There is genuine cause for distress over the new approaches to Nasser. As- sistant Secretary of State William M. Rountree's sad experiences in Baghdad, the anti-Israel broadcasts from Cairo, the vile attacks on this country, combine to serve as added warnings to the West to be on guard against new dangers to the democracies fomented by Nasser. There were similar warnings not so long ago against a house painter named Hitler. Are we forgetting the myopic views of misled statesmen who, in the middle 1930s, made concesssions which led to a tragic world war? The present situation is akin to that which permitted the rise of Nazism. We pray that the statesmen of the world, in the interests of world peace, will be more cautious now. Bar-Ilan University When speaking of the miracles that were wrought in and by Israel in the past 10 years, too little is said about the young nation's cultural attainments. Israel is the third largest book-buying nation in the world per capita. The young country has several institutions of higher learning. Its newspapers exert a great influence. There are several exceptionally fine children's periodicals. Israel's chief handicap, however, is that too few of its youth are acquiring a secondary education. This is cause for serious concern. On the university level, Israel has made great gains. The Hebrew University ranks high among the great schools of learning in the entire world. The Tech- nion—the Israel Institute of Technology —is the leading engineering school in the Middle East. The Weizmann Institute of Technology renders great service in many fields of research. There is also a func- tioning university in Tel Aviv. The Israeli university, Bar-Ilan, spon- sored by Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, already has made tremendous progress and already prides itself on its first com- mencement, its first graduates having been awarded their degrees this year. Bar-Ilan combines science with religious learning. It makes a definite contribution to the spiritual life of Israel and to world Jewry, many of whose communities will no doubt be served by Bar-Ilan graduates. It is to be hoped that out of the prog- ress made by Israel's schools for higher learning also will emerge greater effort in the secondary education sphere, and that the teen-agers of Israel will be en- couraged to acquire a high school edu- cation. With the help of the Israel govern- ment and of Jewish communities that encourage cultural efforts in Israel, this should be an attainable goal. Meanwhile, Bar-Ilan University has earned commendations for its efforts. Detroit Jews have been in the front ranks of this university's supporters. They are justifiably rejoicing over the first com- mencement of the school, which is to be acclaimed at the annual dinner in the school's behalf. At the same time, the local community will also justifiably honor two men who have rendered valu- able services in behalf of Bar-Ilan Uni- versity—Max and Phillip Stollman. Excellent Young Readers' Hebrew-English Dictionary Ktav Publishing House, 65 Suffolk St., N.Y. 2, already has made a definite contribution to children's literature with its several quite interesting books for Jewish youngsters, for the holidays and other occasions. Perhaps its best product to date is "Milon Lakoreh Hatzair- The New Illustrated Hebrew-English Dictionary for Young Readers." This splendidly compiled dictionary, by Nathan Goldberg, of the department of modern languages of Brooklyn College, should prove most effective in Hebrew teaching and in encourag- ing children to acquire a knowledge of the language. Ezekiel Schloss supervised the art and design for this dictionary, which was illustrated by Arnold Lobel. There is special value in this book in the guidance it pro- vides for parents who may supervise their children's study of Hebrew words; in the explanation on how to use the diction- ary, making note of use of nouns, plurals, adjectives and verbs, and other guiding notes. The most important and most commonly used Hebrew words are included in the dictionary, and the illustrations will assist the youngsters in understanding the meaning of the terms and in gaining knowledge of Hebrew. We highly recommend this dictionary for young readers, and it is certain that adults who guide them in their Hebrew word studies will similarly benefit from it and will acquire a better knowledge of the language. 3 UAHC Children's Books The Union of America Hebrew Congregations, to whose credit there already are on record a number of fine books for children, has issued several new titles. They enrich the children's library and serve valuable purposes. Most impressive, especially since it is so suitable for the very young as well as children of 5 to 7, is "The God Around Us, A Child's Garden of Prayer," by Mira Brichto. Well illustrated by Clare Romano Ross and John Ross, it is a picture book of poems and prayers. Accompanied by the Hebrew texts of prayers as well as the English translations, the glories of nature and God's creations enhance every page in the book. Lightning and tender blossoms introduce the youngsters to the world around them. The making of bread introduces the reality of life. The immensity of mountains, the beauties of nature, actual experiences in life, spice these pages. The verses and the prayers will inspire the young reader. Then there is the second volume of "Bible Stories for Little Children" by Betty R. Hollander. William Steinel illustrated it. The stories begin with Joshua, relate many Biblical incidents, including the story • of Samson, the leadership of Samuel, the selection of a king for Israel, the triumphs of David, the rule of Solomon and the wisdom of the man who built Solomon's - Temple. These books contribute towards the best in literature for our children. Another UAHC children's book is "G'dee" by Helen Fine, with scores of appropriate illustrations by Hal Just. The stories in this book, about the Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays and other appropriate events in a Jewish home, is built around a goat — g'dee is Hebrew for goat. The kid is everywhere. When the goat arrives, the children are gleeful. Then begins a series of adventures. The g'dee is mischievous and gets tangled up. But he also plays his role in the numerous events described in his book. He watches the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, has to be controlled from getting into accidents on public streets, is forgiven for misdeeds on Yom Kippur. G'dee has a share in the Sukkah, eats cinnamon grass for Simhat Torah, is at the Hanukah party, getting in on the de- licious food, and so on down the line. Meanwhile, in this fine 160-page book (including a glossary), the young readers learn about all the festivals, are treated to narratives and poems and learn a great deal about Jewish customs and traditions. Thus, in three fine children's books, a veritable literary feast is offered for Jewish children.