THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS—Friday, February 6, 1959-30
R H O O D
ply weimigo
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1
Snow Storm, Gale Lash U.S. Church Leader Reports
Israel; Fear Crops Lost on Israel's Aid to Africa
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel,
so recently the victim of the
worst drought in the memory
of its oldest inhabitants, was
the scene this week of violent
wind, rain and snow storms.
Snow fell Sunday night in
the Safad area and in central
and upper Galilee. Hail and
heavy rains lashed other parts
of the country. Fifty-knot-an-
hour wind storms endangered
shippings off the Mediterranean
coast. Ships found it impossible
to anchor in the open harbors
of Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Even in
Haifa's sheltered port, work
was slowed considerably by the
near gale.
There is little likelihood that
the precipitation now railing
Israel will affect the crop
situation. After the last rains
it was found that most of the
crops had been burned so
thoroughly that even a good
soaking failed to revive them.
Dr. Schwartz Leaves for
Em.opean Bond Confab
NEW YORK, (JTA)—Dr. Jo-
seph J. Schwart, vice president
of the Israel Bond Organization,
left for ten days of confer-
ences and discussions of plans
for the 1959 Israel bond cam-
paign in various countries of
Western Europe.
During his visit abroad, Dr.
Schwartz will confer with Jew-
ish leaders of Belgium, Holland
and other countries with regard
to the inauguration of the Israel
bond drive for this year. He
will also meet in Paris with
Baron Edmond de Rothschild,
who has assumed very active
leadership in the program for
stimulating investments in Is-
rael.
Turkey Rejects Reports
of Plotting with Israel
ISTANBUL (JTA) — Turkey
denied that Ankara was mak-
ing a "secret anti-Arab deal"
with Israel. Reports of so-
called deal were launched in
the Arab States. The semi-offi-
cial Anatolian News Agency
carried the following state-
ment:
"It is learned that some un-
founded,- ridiculous reports are
circulating in brotherly Arab
countries that Turkey, with
the United States and Britain,
has concluded a secret agree-
ment with Israel against the
Arab countries. This is un-
founded propaganda which is
a new manifestation of the in-
ternational Communist provo-
cation and it's designed to
undermine relations between
Turkey and the West with the
Arab countries."
NEW YORK, (JTA)—Israel's
new technical aid program for
the countries of West Africa
has received the "enthusiastic
praise" of African leaders, Dr.
James H. Robinson, Minister of
the Church of the Master, de-
clared at a luncheon meeting of
the American Christian Pales-
tine Committee.
Dr. Robinson, a widely known
Presbyterian church leader, di-
rected a group of students in a
tour of West Africa, including
Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria.
They also visited the Middle
East. He said that while Israel's
program in Africa was not
large, "it made up for lack of
size in penetration and depth
of African approval."
Nazi-Style Organizer
Gets 5-Year Sentence
NEW YORK (JTA)—George
P. Leggett, 21-year-old founder
of a Nazi-style organization, the
United Nordic Confederation,
began an indeterminate sen-
tence of up to five years' im-
prisonment on burglary charges.
Judge Archibald Wemple
passed sentence in Queens
County Court on Leggett, who
was convicted Dec. 3 of con-
spiracy to commit a crime,
three counts of burglary and
three counts of petty larceny.
He was found guilty after an
11-day jury trial.
Leggett was arrested with
ten other youths on Jan. 17,
1958, after police received a
tip that that gang planned to
rob a bank to finance an "up-
state camp." When arrests were
made, police found a collection
of rifles, bayonets, knives and
some stolen jewelry. Leggett
told police he organized his
confederation to "unite and
purify all the Nordic peoples
of the world."
JWV Commander Calls
Ike to Discuss Bias
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Pres-
ident Eisenhower received a
personal request from the new
national commander of the Jew-
ish War Veterans to investigate
reports that the United Arab
Republic is providing funds for
the distribution in the United
States of "hate literature" de-
faming Jews.
The request was made by
JWV Commander John Shaike-
witz, who called on Eisenhower
at the White House. After talk-
ing with the President, Shaike-
witz said he received the im-
pression that Eisenhower would
refere the request to the FBI
f o r investigation. Shaikewitz
said distribution of anti-Semitic
propaganda had increased
sharply in recent months.
Hail Culture Exchange The Tragedy of Pasternak:
Between U.S., Israel Neglecting Our Vineyards
as Force for Peace
By DR. J. LITVIN
the radio that he could not
President Eisenhower and
Prime Minister Ben-Gurion of
Israel joined Monday night in
calling for cultural exchange
between the nations as an im-
portant force for world peace
in statements made at the an-
nual dinner concert of the
America-Israel Cultural Foun-
dation.
Speaking by film, specially
prepared last week in Washing-
ton and Jerusalem, they paid
tribute to both Leonard Bern-
stein and. the America-Israel
Cultural Foundation for devel-
oping cultural relations between
the U.S. and Israel.
Samuel Robin, president of
the Foundation, highlighting the
views of the President and
Prime Minister, described the
organization's program for cul-
tural exchange within the next
year. Sen. Jacob K. Javits of
New York presided.
The award to Bernstein was in
the form of a gold baton made
by an Israeli craftsman.
In his statement, President
Eisenhower said that he "al-
ways believed that by mutual
sharing of cultural wealth
among peoples, we can •draw
closer to the goal of mutual
understanding and peace. You
are effectively helping to es-
tablish mutual understanding
among all peoples through the
medium of the arts."
The Israel Prime Minister ex-
pressed his firm belief that "if
nations placed greater emphasis
on the export of their cultural
attainments rather than on
threats posed by destructive
might, the world would be a
happier and more peaceful place
for the human race."
(London)
Boris Pasternak's story is a
manifold tragedy indeed.
Pasternak, a man of un-
doubted genius, is being corn-
pelled to undergo extreme hu-
miliation and tribulation.
So large a country as Rus-
sia, now so highly developed,
and with fighting forces armed
with the most modern weap-
ons, is marred by tyranny. The
lesson of the Stalin dictator-
ship has not yet been learned.
Another outstanding son of
the Jewish people is being sub-
jected to the most terrible re-
straints and humiliations. The
Jews have suffered throughout
the ages from persecution and
slander. The flowers of Judaism
have been exposed to mental,
spiritual and physical torture
and it is understandable that
all its members, particularly
the gifted ones, should be
precious.
We feel with Pasternak in
his sorrow. We would all love
to see him a free man in Is-
rael, where he could develop
his great talents for the bene-
fit of mankind and the Jew-
ish people. He has our special
sympathy, for he is being vic-
timized not only because he
is a gifted writer and Russian
citizen, but also because he is
a Jew, a fact never to be for-
gotten by anyone interested
in the Affair Pasternak. His
paid "critics" who have sold
their souls to the devil for
silver, comfort and distinctions,
fulminate against him as a "cos-
mopolitan," which in its So-
viet Russian connotation means
nothing more nor less than
"Jew."
But having said all this it
to Israel
is necessary to turn our atten-
to Erect Reactor
tion to another, quite different
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel and purely Jewish aspect of
will receive a $350,000 loan the tragedy. Pasternak is the
from the United States Export- incarnation of the stubborn
Import Bank to finance the Jew; the Jew who throughout
erection of an atomic reactor the ages has never bent his
at the Weizmann Institute, it knee before the idols of the
was revealed here with the mighty nations, who, accord-
publication in the Official ing to Heine, has throughout
Gazette of authorization to history been a fighter for free-
Ambassador Abba Eban to sign dom of the human spirit and
for and receive the loan in human individuality. Pasternak
Washington. The reactor is is the carrier of the tradition
coming from the United States. of Mordecai, who, when the
The foreign currency budget proud aristocrats of ancient
Persia, the satraps and states-
of the Israel Government for
men, knelt before Haman, he,
the coming fiscal year will
the poor homeless. Jew, neither
total some $620,000,000, an in-
knelt nor moved.
crease of $33,000,000 over the
Alas, Pasternak doesn't
budget of this year, it was
understand this great truth.
learned here.
He is betraying his ancient
It is anticipated that exports
people in "Dr. Zhivago."
will provide $267,000,000 in
Pasternak, who in the years
foreign currency income, Ger-
of the great purge in Russia,
man reparations will bring in
refused to add his signature
$58,000,000, personal restitu-
to the condemnation of the
tion payments $65,000,000 and
victims of the purge, who
grants of food surpluses, $58,-
now dares to have his own
000,000. The United Jewish
opinion about the state of
Appeal and other fund-raising
affairs in Russia — con-
sources are expected to pro-
demns the Jews for not ac-
vide $55,000,000 in foreign cur-
cepting Christianity.
rency, Israel bond sales an-
According to "Dr. Zhivago,"
other $50,000,000, private trans-
fers $34,000,000 and private the Jews themselves carry the
blame for their own sufferings
investments $30,000,000.
and persecution because they,
1958 Banner Year for U.S. the Jews, who are the best
Christians, stubbornly refuse to
Investors, Ampal Reports
recognize Jesus. Pasternak re-
NEW YORK (JTA) — Abra- fuses to accept the prevailing
ham Dickenstein, president of Russian communist creed, yet
Ampal-American Israel Cor-
he justifies the persecution of
poration, said that 1958 was a
the Jews because as a nation
banner year for the group.
they have behaved throughout
During the past fiscal year,
the ages exactly as Pasternak
he reported, Ampal sold in this
country securities for over himself has been behaving up to
$4,000,000 consisting of various now.
Of course, the Jews have the
Ampal debentures, the common
stock of Israel Development right to demand that Paster-
Corporation and the debenture- nak, the scion of a famous
stock of the Israel American Jewish family, the son of a
Development Bank, Ltd. For great Jewish painter so highly
the first time, an American praised by Bialik, should under-
group of affiliated financial stand the true values of Chris-
enterprises associated with tianity at least as well as that
Israel, has sent out to its stock- great non-Jewish writer and
holders dividend checks thinker Bertrand Russell, who
some time ago declared on
amounting to $715,000.
U.S. Loan
have any sympathy with Chris-
tianity mainly because it is
guilty of the greatest crime
in history—anti-Semitism.
Of course we could de-
mand from Pasternak that he
should treat the personal -
ity of the founder of Chris-
tianity at least as truthfully
as Bertrand Russell does.
But that may be too much
to expect. After all, Pas-
ternak was brought up in
Russia, and he does not
possess the broad outlook of
an English intellectual aris-
tocrat.
But what a pity it is that
Pasternak repeats parrot-like
the chief accusations of
thoughtless Christians that the
Jewish people has no raison
d'etre and appeals to the in-
tellectual leaders of Jewry to
give up the fight. How painful
it is for a Jew to read that
among the reasons given by the
Russians for refusing to publish
Pasternak's book "Dr. Zhivago"
is his glorification of Chris-
tianity and misunderstanding
of the Russian revolution.
Jews, who glorify Christian-
ity in the western world, can
sometimes be forgiven because
of the great pressure on them
of their surroundings, not only
non-Jewish but also Jewish
(how many Jews know that
Mr. Singer, the author of "The
Brothers Ashkenazi," was a
much greater writer than Sho-
lem Asch, but Singer _didn't
indulge in glorifying Chris-
tianity . . . )and also because
of the mistaken doctrine so
popular in the western world
about the role of Christianity
in the history and culture of
civilization.
That a Jewish author, who
has spent 40 years in Soviet
Russia, deemed it possible and
advisable in his masterpiece to
glorify Christianity, overlook-
ing all the horrors which that
doctrine caused to Jews and
to progressive movements, and
who for doing so can expect
no honors and no remunera-
tions, is indeed a sad and
tragic thing.
The lesson to be drawn from
the story of Boris Pasternak
is the same lesson as in the
cases of Henri Bergson, Si-
mone Well and other Jews who
engaged in the glorification of
that Church which has caused
so much suffering to the Jew-
ish people. It is the sad lesson
that we Jews frequently look
after many vineyards, but ne-
glect our own; that our gifted
men and women frequently
know well the history of
Greece and Rome, but don't
know the history of their own
people and its sufferings. The
great German philosopher Her-
mann Cohen stated: "Of all the
Christian doctrines about love,
we Jews know only the torture
chambers, the dungeons of the
Inquisition, the pogroms and
the blood baths."
Need Rabbis, Teachers
in Latin America
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
Jewish communities of Latin
America must have many more
Jewish teachers and rabbis if
they are to resist the advance
of assimilation and if they are
to help Jews from abroad who
settled in Central and South
America in recent years re-
build their cultural and
spiritual existence, Dr. Abra-
ham. Mibashan, president of
DATA, central representative
organization of Argentine Jews,
said here upon his arrival to
attend two parleys: that of the
board of the Conference on
Jewish Material Claims Against
Germany, and a meeting of
leaders of affiliates of the
World Jewish Congress.