THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS—Friday, August 28, 1959-30
Jewish Revolts Against Nazi Terror Israel Eulogizes
in Poland in 'Tower from Enemy' Late Chief Rabbi
Albert Nirenstein has com-
piled the most soul-stirring col-
lection of documents relating to
the Jewish resistance in Poland
in his impressive book, "A
Tower from the Enemy," pub-
lished by Orion Press (30 5th,
N.Y. 11) and- Crown Publishers
(419 4th, N.Y. 16).
The able author introduces
his readers to the Jews of
Poland as having been "a people
in the f u 11 e s t sense of the
word." He tells how they had
developed into a great cultural
Probe Charges of
Mismanagement of
Forests in Israel
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Min-
ister of Agriculture Kadish Luz
sent urgent instructions to
Amihud Goor, head of the min-
istry's forestry division, to re-
turn to Israel- from a South
American tour to answer public
charges of mismanagement of
the state-owned forests.
The charges against Goor and
his department were made by
Joseph Weitz, head of the de-
velopment department of the
Jewish National Fund.
Weitz charged that of
12,500,000 trees planted by the
Ministry of Agriculture since
the establishment of Israel,
only about 3,000,000 trees sur-
vived. He claimed that in the
forests planted by the Jewish
National Fund 80 per cent of
the saplings survived. He at-
tributed the failure of the
state forests to "disorganiza-
tion," "negligence," and to the
system of employing jobless
persons on a per-diem basis in-
stead of by work norms as prac-
ticed by the JNF.
The Ministry of Agriculture
admitted that a lower percent-
age of state forest plantings
survived, but claimed that this
was due to the fact that the
forests were planted without
irrigation to keep costs to a
minimum. Since the new law
establishing unified manage-
ment for the state forests and
the JNF forests had been pass-
ed, there is animosity between
the Forestry Department of the
Ministry of Agriculture and the
Jewish National Fund. The ma-
jor issue is whether the head
of t h e unified management
should be a JNF man or an
official of the Ministry of Agri-
culture.
community that sponsored
schools and centers and ad-
vanced learning. Then came the
collapse.
This is one of the most com-
plete accounts of the resistance
in the ghetto. Warsaw's destruc-
tion and the threats to the Jew-
ish citizenry, the uprising and
the sufferings that accompanied
it, are graphically described.
The manifesto of the Jew-
ish C o m t ant Organization,
"Awake, People, and Fight,"
is a moving document. Many
similar calls to action are re-
produced to indicate the cour-
age of the rebels who refused
to be humiliated.
There are many revealing
elements in the story, such, for
example as the punishment of
traitors and the expose of sab-
otage.
The section of the book deal-
ing with the ghetto in flames
relates the horrible tragedy that
befell Polish Jewry, and enum-
erates the acts of bravery which
have placed Polish Jewry an
high rungs in the record of the
world's struggle for liberty.
Not only the German re-
volt, but the rebellions of
Jews in a number of other
Polish communities are de-
scribed in this interesting
book.
The problems of gathering
arms, the German attitudes, the
leaders of the revolt and their
communications are part of the
record.
"A Tower from the Enemy" is
an historic volume. It is one of
the great collections of human
documents about the struggles
for liberty in the tragic era of
Nazism.
The Greedy Man
A Talmudic tale is told of a
hungry man who once came to
a hospitable widow who gave
him a satisfying meal. He ate
it all up, without leaving any
to the servants, as was the cus-
tom. He came again on the fol-
lowing day, and forgot once
again to leave something for the
servants. On the third day, he
found that all the dishes were
over-seasoned, and he had to
leave them untouched. The
widow then said to the greedy
man: "I know why you left the
whole meal untouched. You
wish, no doubt, to compensate
the servants to whom you left
nothing yesterday and the day
before."
Only a Short Trip to Israel
Israel Govt. Tourist Office Photo
Breakfast in Rome, lunch in Jerusalem and now a visit to
the town of Acre, where they watch an aged Israeli at his
ancient method of weaving, is the schedule of this American
tourist couple. According to the Israel Government Tourist
Office, thousands of Americans are extending European trips
to include a visit to Israel. This year, Israel expects 100,000
tourists to help celebrate the Golden Jubilee of modern
Tel Aviv.
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
30th day following the death
of Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi
Herzog was marked at Heichal
Shlomo — the Chief Rabbinate
Center — here with President
Izhak Ben-Zvi attending the
memorial meeting.
Eulogies were delivered by
the Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitz-
hak Nissim, Minister of Fi-
nance Levi Eshkol on behalf
of the Prime Minister, who is
in France, Haifa's Chief Rabbi
Yehoshua Kaniel and the He-
brew writer S. Y. Agnon. The
meeting was chaired by Tel
Aviv's Chief Rabbi Issar Unter-
man.
The English-language daily
Jerusalem Post editorially paid
tribute to Rabbi Herzog's
scholarship, organizing ability
and deep sense of duty that
produced a long series of
"carefully reasoned rabbinical
judgments."
JWV National Shrine
Memorializes Halsey
The officers of the National
Shrine to the Jewish War Dead
in Washington, D.C., expressed
regrets on the death of Admiral
William F. "Bull" Halsey, one
of the three honorary chairmen
of the Shrine. The other hon-
orary chairmen are Gen. Omar
N. Bradley and Lieut. Gen.
James H. -Doolittle.-
Joseph F. Barr, treasurer of
the National 'Shrine to the
Jewish War Dead, speaking for
the board of trustees of the
Shrine, stated:
"The American people owe
an eternal debt of gratitude to
Admiral Halsey. The American
Jewish community will never
forget his efforts to memorial-
ize the contributions of Ameri-
cans of the Jewish faith who
died in the wars of their coun-
try. Partly through his efforts
their permanent memorializa-
tion in the National Shrine to
the Jewish War Dead has been
made possible."
'I Was a Teen-Age
Dwarf' Hilarious
Max Shulman Novel
Max Shulman, who has
gained fame for his "Rally
Round the Flag, Boys!", his
"Guided Tour of Campus Hu-
mor" and several other note-
worthy novels, will definitely be
in the limelight again with his
' newest work, "I Was a Teen-
-Age Dwarf," which has just
been published by Bernard
Geis Associates and is being
distributed by Random House.
His new story is hilarious. It
entertains the reader from first
page to the last.
It is the story of a boy who
began his love life with a com-
plex over his short stature. But
he falls in love with one girl
after another, from his early
high school days on, until he
marries and thereupon enters
upon a new life of complexes
and problems related to his
love life.
Dobie Gillis is the hero of
the story who narrates his tales
in the first person. Art Link-
letter, in his introduction to
the book, tells how his son
Robert was "hooked by Shul-
man" in his discovery of "the
delirious ecstasies of the lov-
able Dobie Gillis." He com-
mends the author by stating
that Shulman "builds a bridge
of laughs where there is often
a yawning chasm of exaspera-
tion, and leaves you feeling a
lot more warmth and optimism
for the generation just coming
of age."
The reader will concur with
this verdict upon reading "I
Was a Teen-Age Dwarf." It is
indeed a hilarious story, worthy
of the reputation established by
the able Max Shulman.
From Our Sketchbook
Buried as Christian
Reminiscing
About Epstein
Sculptor Epstein
Dies at Age 79
By PHINEAS J. BIRON
Few remember — but we
are one of them — that the
late Jacob Epstein was a mem-
ber of the Jewish Legion which
fought in Palestine . . . As a
matter of fact he was a pri-
vate in our company and prob-
ably one of the sloppiest
soldiers of the entire British
Expeditionary Force . . . He
had enlisted in New York, not
so much moved by a desire
to participate in the liberation
of Palestine from the Turks,
as to partake in a personal
adventure . . . He was not
interested in Zionism . . . The
Near East attracted him from
an artistic point of view . . .
Yet Jacob Epstein was much
more Jewish than he himself
suspected . .
In later years, when his
sculptures aroused heated con-
troversies among his Christian
sponsors who did not agree
with the Epstein interpreta-
tion of Jesus and other char-
acters from the new Testa-
ment, Epstein poured out his
heart to Jewish friends. . . .
"Prophets," he used to say,
"are not necessarily handsome.
Jesus had a compassionate face
but he did not look like a
chorus boy in a Broadway
musical."
"In any ease, no matter how
controversial and insulting the
attacks against his work, he
stood fast, refused to give in
and usually after years of
bickering, Epstein won . . . We
remember him as a self-
centered, rather ugly little
fellow who was out to conquer
the world and did not care too
much about his own people
. . . He was, however, a great
admirer of Weismann and Ein-
stein . . . But not so much of
their leadership as of their
faces . . He made busts of
both of them and they indeed
do not belong to Epstein's
bests . . . He simply did not
penetrate intellectually or in-
tuitively into the inner life of
these two great Jews . . . But
no matter what we may think
of Epstein the man, Epstein
the artist will retain his sta-
ture as the second greatest
sculptor of our last century
. . . The first was August
Rodin.
Dr. Samuel Cohon, Reform
Leader, Dies at Age of 71
LOS ANGELES, (JTA)—Dr.
Samuel Solomon Cohon, lead-
ing Reform rabbi and author
of several books on theology
and Jewish philosophy, died
here Aug. 22 at the age of 71.
He was an editor of the Uni-
versal Jewish Encyclopedia.
Born in Russia, Rabbi Cohon
came to this country in 1904.
He was ordained at Hebrew
Union College, Cincinnati, in
1912 and served as rabbi in
Springfield, 0., and Zion Con-
gregation in. Chicago. In 1919
he founded and became the
first rabbi of Temple Mizpah,
Chicago, and served in that
post until his appointment as
professor of Jewish theology
at Hebrew Union College in
1923.
First Strip Tease
Artist Not Much of
Hit in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
first strip tease dance per-
formed in Jerusalem since Sa-
lome did her dance of the
seven veils in Biblical times
was given in the night club of
a Jerusalem hotel this week by
a young, new immigrant strip-
per. Although she received a
fair amount - applause, the
hit of the she was a fully clad
South African Negro singer.
LONDON, (JTA) — Sir
Jacob Epstein, one of the
greatest sculptors of contem-
porary times, considered Bri-
tish sculpture's Grand Old
Man, died Aug. 19. He was 78.
Jacob Epstein was the son
of Polish-Jewish immigrant
parents who had come to
America. He was born on New
York's lower East Side in
1880. His first methodical
studies were at the art school
of the Educational Alliance on
the East Side. When his fam-
ily had prospered and had
moved away from the East
Side, young Jacob Epstein
hired a room on Hester street
so as to be near the Jewish
immigrant environment and
people who meant most to him
at the time. A painter and
illustrator as well as a sculp-
tor, he made many drawings
of Jewish celebrities, from
Jacob Adler, Maurice Mosco-
witch and Morris Rosenfeld to
Albert Einstein, Stephen S.
Wise and Chaim Weizmann.
Epstein went to Paris to
continue his studies in 1902,
moved to London in 1905, re-
ceived in 1907 a coveted com-
mission, to execute 18 over-
life-size figures for the then
new British Medical Associa-
tion Building. He became a
British citizen in 1910, was
knighted in 1954. Many of the
controversies surrounding his
work centered about religious
themes which he executed in
a manner displeasing to some -
Christian clergymen. Among
these disputed sculptures was
his statue of Christ, entitled
"Ecce Homo" (Behold the
Man). Among the many illus-
trations that he had done in
his life was a series, consid-
ered by art critics as very_
powerful, illustrating the Old
Testament."
* * *
Sir Jacob Epstein was buried
by the Anglican Dean of Can-
terbury on Monday. The son
of an East Side New York
orthodox Jewish family was
interred in Putney Vale Ceme-
tery, Thames-Side, _London.
Lady Epstein explained that
her husband had left to her
the choice of a cemetery and
she chose Putney Vale because
of its trees. She added:
"I did not want to affront
Jewish people, so I asked a
rabbi if he would bury my -
husband in Christian ground,
but according to the Jewish
faith. He said he would not
bury him in ground that was
not consecrated Jewish. So we
had what we called a non-
denominational service.
"Dr. Hewlett Johnson, the
Dean of Canterbury and a
great friend of Sir Jacob, had
offered to conduct a service,
so we accepted. But it was
not a full Christian burial.
There was a blessing, a Com-
mittal prayer reading from
Ecclesiasticus — the passage -
that runs 'Now let us praise
famous men.' "
Germany to Pay Heirs
of Romanian Victims
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
West German Government has
agreed to pay compensation to
the families of persons killed
by the Naz4 during a pogrom
in Jassy, Romania, in June,
1941, Ministry of Finance
sources disclosed.
An agreement also covered
payment of compensation to
the heirs of the Jews killed on
death trains from Jassy to the
camps. Bonn authorities, how-
ever, it was stated, still refused
to accept responsibility for all
instances of Jewish persecution
during the Nazi occupation of
Romania.
4