Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

A Major Blunder in Film-Making

Jewish organizations have produced some splendid films
depicting Jewish historical facts, traditions and customs; and
pro-Israel movements are making available a number of excel-
lent movies. The Jewish National Fund and the United Jewish
Appeal have a number of very impressive films relating to Israel.
The recent movie made by the Weizmann Institute of
Science is an especially effective film. It presents a phase of
Israeli activities in practical fashion and is certain to get the
results desired: a keen interest in Israel's new status by non-
Jews as well as Jews.
It is especially because so many good films already have
been made in Israel — proving that Israel filming can be practi-
cal and realistic — that the newest film, "Israel," which had
its premiere at the Israel Bond Conference in Chicago last Satur-
day night, was such a great disappointment.
All that can be said on the positive side in favor of this
film is that it has a few good photographic shots. Aside from
that — and we have seen many amateurish movies brought back
by tourists from Israel that are equally as good — this new film
is so poor that we would suggest its being scrapped, in spite of
the great cost involved.
Edward G. Robinson, who acts a dull role in the film, is
ineffective. With all due respect to the genius of this great actor,
we are convinced that any Israeli sabra could have done equally
as well in the brief narrations done by Robinson.
But it is the part played by the author of "Exodus," Leon
Uris, that shocked us. The film was written and produced by
Uris, the man who has enthralled hundreds of thousands with
a novel about Israel but who has failed in preparing a script
that should have explained adequately Israel's position as a
nation that has emerged from a desert into a blooming State.
The Uris story, as told in the film "Israel,' ' is unconvincing,
boring, drab, and is certain to drive any one out of the theater
where it may be shown — if it will be shown — within a very
few minutes after the commencement of the show.
Your Commentator regrets that he doesn't have a single
good word to say for the Uris-Robinson film. He repeats: scrap
the film before it does more harm than the good intended by it.
We can do well in films; why retain a bad production?

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The Sabbath Cannot Be Negated or Shelved

We doubt very much whether, in a total showdown, more
than a handful of people would vote to . encourage a Jewish
public institution to function on the Sabbath.
The overwhelming number that would support Sabbath clos-
ing in public institutions does not itself observe the Sabbath.
But these very people know that the Sabbath is the very heart
of Jewish existence, that it is Jewry's greatest gift to humanity—
as a day of rest—and that the delight of the Sabbath ("call the
Sabbath a delight," said Isaiah, 58:13) cannot be abandoned.
It is unthinkable that an organized Jewish community
should legislate for the abandonment of one of the Ten Com-
mandments, and in the Decalogue we are commanded: "Re-
member the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:7).
Voluminous books and essays have been published to evalu-
ate -Me significance of the Sabbath and the ideals it represents.
Suffice it at the moment to quote a brief statment by the late
Dr. Cyrus Adler, who was respected by Orthodox, Conservative
and Reform Jews alike. As president of the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America and as president of the American Jewish
Committee, Dr. Adler had the esteem of all American Jews. On
the subject of the Sabbath, he wrote:
"If I were asked to single out one of the great historical
institutions more essential for our preservation than all others,
I would not hesitate to declare that it is the observance of
the Sabbath. Without this, the home and the Synagogue, the
festivals and the holy days, the language and the history of
our people, will gradually disappear. If the Sabbath will be
maintained by those who have observed it and will be re-
stored to those who have abandoned it, then the permanence
of Judaism is assured. Every Jew who has it within his power
should aid in the effort to restore the Sabbath to the man from
whom it has been taken away. No deeds of charity or philan-
thropy, no sacrifices of time or fortune made by any Jew,
equals in beneficent result the expenditure of time and money
looking towards the re-establishment of the Jewish Sabbath
among the Jewish people. No amount of prating about morals
will ever take the place of rooted habits ruthlessly plucked
out."

The Sabbath: A Day for Study

There is one other point that needs to be made in elaboration
of .our editorial reference last week to the need for Sabbath
cultural activities for youth.
In the Old World, one of the communicants on the subject
in response to our editorial points out correctly, synagogues
became bate midrashim—houses of study—on the Sabbath. The
hoUses of worship became houses of learning on Saturday after-
noons, and young and old participated in Talmudic discussions.
It is obvious that we• can not transform an American com-
munity into a shtetel. But the point is well made that the Sabbath
could be a time for cultural efforts. But, how? We suggested,
and we knew of its revolutionary, nature, that the synagogues
become the locales for such activities. If a community center
is to serve a purpose, it- would have to be limited to cultural
activities that would be supervised in strict adherence to the
Sabbath. That would call for the cessation of all functions in the
physical departments. .
Is this what the Jewish Community Center board desires—
to adhere to cultural efforts without physical strains—even if
it is the strain of lighting a cigarette or using pen and brush on
the Sabbath? If it is, then•the board would need the cooperation
of the rabbinate • and the synagogue leaders for a Sabbath pro-
gram of learning and study. If it is, then the Center has already
nullified its intentions by undertaking a program to start at 1 p.m.
The 1 p.m. starting time must have been intended for the
massage room and swimming pool.
No matter how you try to figure out the decision of the
Jewish Center's board of directors, it remains unwise and lacking
in respect for a large portion of our community whose members
will not tolorate the desecration of the Sabbath. No matter how
you view it, the Center's decision must be repealed.

Israel Poll Picks
Mapai to Gain
in Knesset Vote

JERUSALEM — Pre-election
nation-wide sampling of voter
opinion indicated Tuesday that
the dominant Mapai party was
likely to increase its strength
in the Nov. 3 election for the
new Knesset, while the right
wing Herut , may gain less than
anticipated.
Both projections conflicted
with widely held opinions to
the contrary.
The poll, which also indi-
cated a possible loss of votes
by the left-wing patties, was
conducted by the independent
daily Haaretz which queried a
sample of 1,500' prospective
voters.
Another disclosure that sur-
prised political pundits was
the difference between the
number of people who said they
would vote for Mapai while
simultaneously indicating they
expected the party to lose
votes. Similarly, many voters
reported the belief that Herut
would sharply increase its
strength, but few of them told
the poll-takers •they had
switched to the right wing
party.
The newspaper listed the
percentages of the parties in
the outgoing Knesset with the
poll results as follows: Mapai,
32.6; Herut, 12.6 and 15.5;
General Zionists, 10.2 and
14.8; Achdut Avodah 8.2 and
5.4; Religious Party, 9.1 and
8.2; Orthodox 4.'7 and 1; Ma-
pam, 7.3 and 3.8; Communists,
4.5 and 2.2; Progressives, 4.4
and 7.6.
Political observers consid-
ered -the figures on Mapai, He-
rut, General Zionists, Progres-
sives and Communists—whose
voters are distributed uniform-
ly throughout Israel—as more
reliable than the findings for
Mapam, Achdut, Avorah and
the religious parties whose con-
centrations in collectives and
orthodox sections might cause
slanting in the poll results.

Ann Landers' Story
on Visit in Moscow
With Religious Jew

In the first of a series of
articles from Moscow, appear-
ing in the Detroit Free Press,
Ann Landers, popular column-
ist, reported this "bit of
irony":
"My father hocked his gold
watch to get OUT of Russia,
and I worked 16 hours a day
for weeks (getting ahead with
the Landers columns) so I
could make the trip!"
She wrote in the course of
her first report:
."I visited the only synagog
in Moscow, a city of 600,000
Jews. I made the mistake of
inviting my interpreter. We
stood next to a wrinkled old
man with a flowing beard. He
wore the traditional yarmelka
(skull cap) and tollis (prayer
shawl).
"I asked him in Yiddish
how things are under the pres-
ent regime. He looked at me
with the most frightened eyes
I ever saw and whispered,
`Please don't ask me these
questions with that girl stand-
ing there. If you want to talk
about such things come back
tomorrow—alone.' "

58 Detroiters
Arrive in Israel

Direct JTA Teletype Wire
To The Jewish News

JERUSALEM—The group of
58 Detroit Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration leaders arrived here
Tuesday for a 9-day study visit,
as guests of the Jewish Agency.
The visitors will tour the coun-
try and meet with government
and Jewish Agency leaders.

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Boris Smolar's

1

'BeNieen You
...and Me'

(Copyright, 1959
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Khrtishchev Echoes:

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, long known for its import-
ant service to the Jewish people throughout the world, has now
performed, an important service for Soviet Jewry . . It pre-
pared for presentation to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev a
number of questions on the present status of the Jews in the
Soviet Union which were submitted to him, in a summaried form,
during his appearance at the National Press Club in Washing-
ton . . . The net result was Premier Khrushchev's statement
that "among the persons who took a foremost part in the launch-
ing of the rocket to the moon, representatives of the Jewish
people hold a place of honor" . • . One need not underestimate
the effect which this historic statement will have upon the
Soviet population which is still under the anti-Semitic influence
of the Stalin period . . . The average Soviet citizen is proud of
the fact that his country was the first to launch a rocket to the
moon, and Khrushchev's revelation - that this was done with the
help of Jewish scientists will contribute to the respect for Jews
in the Soviet Union . . . It will definitely help to dispel the
prejudice against Jews among many of the Soviet officials who
are still fallowing the formal Soviet line of the Stalin days with
regard to Jews, in the absence of any other official line . . .
The JTA questions for Khrushchev were presented through the
chief of its Washington Bureau, Milton Friedman, and their
contents were indicated publicly to Khrushchev by William H.
Lawrence, president of the National Press Club .. The rever-
berations in Moscow of Khrushchev's answer will give Soviet
Jewry not only the feeling of pride that they are being recog-
nized as leading participants in the launching of the rocket to
the moon, but also the certainty that their fate is close to the
heart of American Jewry .. .

Soviet Evasion:

The JTA had prepared at least 12 questions which aimed
at clarifying the meaning and purpose of the present Soviet
policy toward its Jewish citizens . . . The fact that only one
question was publicly raised by the president of the National,
Press Club does not mean that Premier Khrushchev, or the
people close to him, will not learn the contents of the other
questions . . .-It is obvious that Soviet officialdom will be inter-
ested to learn the contents of all the various questions which
had been put on paper but, because of the shortage of time,
were not presented publicly to Khrushchev at the National Press
Club luncheon ... They will find among them also the rest of
the questions concerning the present situation of Jews in the
Soviet Union ... From them they will learn in detail the extent
to which American Jewry is worried over the discrimination
against Jews in the Soviet Union . . . They will get a picture of
how Jews in the United States are following the ban on Jews in
Soviet military and diplomatic schools, the elimination of Jews
from positions in government, the continued ban on Jewish
culture and the general inequality practiced towards Jews as
compared with other national minorities

Khrushchev at Press Club

By MILTON FRIEDMAN

(Copyright, 1959, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

WASHINGTON—When President William H. Lawrence of
the National Press Club told Soviet Premier Khrushchev that
there was "great interest here . . . as regards the Jewish minor-
ity within the Soviet Union" it was the most important event to
ameliorate the plight of Russian Jewry since Stalin's death.
Khrushchev replied, of course, that some his best scientists
were Jews. Indeed, Jews "hold a place of honor," having taken
a "foremost part" in the launching of the Soviet moon rocket.
These patronizing remarks obscured the systematic discrim-
ination against Jewish citizens of the Soviet Union. Such dis-
crimination, though mitigated since the Stalin regime, continues.
Details were provided in recent eye-witness accounts.
The important development was not the answer elicited
from Khrushchev. It was his personal confrontation and ob-
vious realization that Soviet Jewish status was of general Amer-
ican concern.
The question was one of the relatively few selected by the
Press Club president from the hundreds submitted on a multi-
tude of topics. Khrushchev himself observed that it would take
at least half a year to answer all the written questions passed
up to the dais.
The Voice of America, free at last from jamming, broad-
cast Khrushchev's every word to the Soviet Union. It must
have been a bitter pill for anti-Semites there to hear Mr.
Khrushchev laud Jewish scientists for the moon rocket tri-
umph, whatever his motivation. The broadcast could only have
been a reassurance to Soviet Jewry. Not only did it reveal
outside concern over their status; Khrushchev actually credited
Jews as a group for aiding Soviet science.
Soviet encyclopedias were edited to minimize Jewish con-
tributions to the state. Soviet newspapers sought to depict Jews
as black-marketeers and cosmopolitan parasites. But Khrushchev
goes to Washington and tells the Americans it was really the
Jews behind Russia's grandest achievement!
Russians are used to taking a cue from their boss. The new
cue is clear. In Khrushchev's own words, the latest party line on
the Jews is out: "The representatives of the Jewish people hold
a place of honor."
The Khrushchev statement came after his underlings in
Washington had ridiculed requests of Jewish groups to meet
with Khrushchev. One Soviet source went so far as to cite a
Russian proverb—"the best way to handle the Jews is to let
Jews fight Jews." His reference was to attempts by rival Jewish
organizations to secure an audience with Khrushchev.
Has Khrushchev's basic attitude toward Jews changed? Not
at all. He still saw no point in discussing a problem which, in
his view did not exist. He continued to reject the premise that a
Jewish problem is present in the cultural and religious sup-
pression of the Jews.