Purely Commentary

Humanitarianism of
Saul R. Levin . . .
Fulbright 'Puzzle'

By Philip Supreme Court
Slomovitz Slates Review

of 'Sunday Laws' -

we sit in mourning over the loss of so good a
friend.
WASHINGTON, (JTA)—The
Dr. Theodor Herzl was born a hundred years ago today.
"Sar v'gadol nofal .... "—indeed, "a great and a noble man constitutionality of a variety of
This day, therefore, is one of the most historic on our calendar. has fallen . . . " Blessed be his memory!
state Sunday closing laws . in
He was a dreamer. He saw visions. But he also was a
the United States, under which
prophet. He foresaw the emergence of the Jewish State, in
all' Group in Zionism
Jewish merchants have been re-
behalf of which he organized the World Zionist Movement, as An 'Over
Zionism will live as long as there is an appreciation of
becoming a reality almost to the day of the Fulfillment. His Israel's needs for the closest kinship with Diaspora Jewry. Yet, peatedly penalized, will be re-
viewed by the United States
augury was that of a great statesman,
there are divisions in Zionist ranks that are most deplorable. Supreme Court.
even more than that of the great
As an example, the creation of the American Jewish League
The court ordered oral argu-
dreamer.
for Israel was the result of a rift that should have been avoided ments in blue law cases from
Herzl was equally as important to
in the Zionist Organization of America. The League has begun Massachusetts, Maryland and
world Jewry as Dreamer as he was a
to make progress. It has enlisted a number of able leaders. Will Pennsylvania. The cases will
Statesman. It was the Dream he fash-
it muster a sufficiently large membership to make the movement be decided at the October term
ioned for his people that enabled them
effective? That remains to be seen.
of the Supreme Court.
to live on in defiance of such horrible
Whatever successes the League may be making, it still is to
Jews are directly involved in
persecutions that even the prejudices
be hoped that it will reunite with the ZOA. At the convention of the Massachusetts case in which
of Apartheid and the South of our own
the League in New York last week, Ezra Shapiro, the retiring the Crown Kosher Supermarket
land do not match them.
president, made what appears to be a reasonable approach. He of Springfield, Mass., sued to
Herzl was only 44 when he died on
suggested the creation of a "unitary Zionist group" in this bar enforcement. The suit con-
July 3, 1904. Yet his name is indelibly
country. He proposed such a group "to supplant the current tended the Massachusetts Lord's
engraved in the foundation stones of the
plethora of organizations" as a means of increasing the effec- Day Act, which stems from a
Jewish State. Out of his dreams devel-
tiveness of Zionist operations in the United States.
1653 Colonial law and which
oped realities, his prophecies have
It is sincerely to be hoped that this can be accomplished. has been amended more than
come true, The Zionism of his making
It is unwise to pull in different directions. Israel needs a strong 70 times, discriminated against
was the messianic movement of our
friendship here. There are too frequent manifestations of animos- owners of the supermarket who
time.
ity in certain ranks, and to counteract them it is urgent that were required by their faith as
His name will be blessed, and what
the traditional Zionist activities should not be denuded of Orthodox Jews to remain closed
he said and wrote will have a place next
Dr. Herzl
significance. Perhaps a "unitary" group will solve many hitherto on Saturdays.
to the Prophets. And the chapter in
disturbing complications in the most virile movement in Jew-
Chief Judge Calvert Magru-
Jewish history called Zionism will remain one of the most
ish ranks.
der of the First Circuit Court
*
*
*
blessed in our annals.
of Appeals ruled that the
Lord's Day act discriminated
Dr. Felix Kersten, Savior of Nazi Victims
Sen. Fulbright's Puzzling Position
Your Commentator had the privilege, during the sessions of against the Crown Kosher Su-
What makes a man like U. S. Senator J. W. Fulbright con- the World Jewish Congress in Stockholm, of meeting the remark- permarket by favoring one re-
done a double standard of morality in international relations? able physio-therapist, Dr. Felix Kersten, who died in Hamm, ligion over another and that
the exemptions were so numer-
That's the puzzle of the day.
Germany, last month.
On two occasions, this column extensively discussed the role ous as to be irrational. He
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
certainly is not an anti-Semite. He may be no more pro-Arab of this distinguished man as the rescuer of many Jews and non- ruled the law unconstitutional.
The three-judge district court
Jews. His activities in rescuing Jews were acknowledged by the
than he is anti-Israel. He may be just plainly misled.
Therein lies the puzzle: that a man who certainly is aware World Jewish Congress and by the Netherlands, whose govern- in Philadelphia last- December
of the damaging boycott conducted by the Arab states against ment awarded him the Grand Officer's Cross in recognition of his denied an injunction against
Israel should be so adamant in his efforts to stop a protesting efforts in preventing the deportation of millions of Dutch to Pennsylvania's blue law sought
by a highway discount house.
Nazi extermination camps.
movement against the Arab attempts to destroy Israel.
On May 17, 1957, in our review of "The Kersten Memoirs: One phase of the struggle is
Fulbright may say that he was licked by a Senate majority
1940-1945," published by Macmillan, we called attention to the between such firms, which do
due to Israeli pressure. We prefer to believe that he was licked
expose both" by Dr. Kersten and by H. R. Trevor-Roper of the a heavy business on Sunday,
on the strength of an American principle.
false claims that were made in behalf of Count Folke Bernadotte and urban department stores,
The most shocking part of his action is that he should have who received undue credit for rescuing Jews. The revelations which are closed on Sunday.
used the term "pressure" in relation to American Jewry, thereby of these two men indicated that Bernadotte's activities were
The dispute also has over-
placing himself on the side of bigots who would deny the right to harmful rather than helpful to rescue undertakings, and that tones of Christian-Jewish dif-
petition to free men. On that score, Fulbright's action remains it was primarily the influence of Dr. Kersten upon Heinrich ferences, since the laws have
Himmier, who called Dr. Kersten "the magic Buddha," that been strongly supported by
inexcusable.
American Jews would be less loyal to the traditions both of resulted in life-saving for 60,000 Jews.
various church groups. The
Judaism and of Americanism if they were to fail to register
Dr. Kersten impressed us_ as a modest man. He was an out- Massachusetts law was endorsed
their views on public issues. They would be abandoning their standing therapist, and the Jewish leaders in Stockholm through by the Lord's Day League of
humanitarianism if they were to fail to come to the aid of their whom we met this remarkable man had great respect for him New England and the Arch-
as a man of culture and as the possessor of a great sense of diocesan Council of Catholic
kinsmen.
Men.
But in the instance of the Congressional action protesting honor, justice and dignity. All honor to his memory.
against Nasser's failure to respect an international code relating
to the freedom of the seas, it was not Jewish pressure but the
emergence of the American ideal that motivated members of
both Houses of Congress to direct the President to withhold aid
of Jewish commitments" and the cultural genes available to the
from those who do not honor their obligations.
(Continued from Page 1)
to
Senator Fulbright's positions make him unfair. It results
"Will our children carry on manner in which Jews in this community—for transmission
from the lack of realism in his position. He becomes a party to
our traditions?" Dr. Haber country met all the important its youth of its tradition.
appeasement of a most destructive element on the world scene—
needs in defense of their fellow
As president of the Federa-
one that is now flouting international agreements when it af- asked. "In Detroit, unlike many Jews.
tion, Max Fisher congratulat-
other communities, you are do-
fects Israel and will do it against the United States when he
Although material aid to ed _the army of campaign
ing something for the morrow
these areas from American Jew- workers for their "personal
has the chance.
the
field
of
education.
There
in
Senator Fulbright's appeasement of Nasser is the big puzzle
to be essential, identification" with the great
is weakness in our Jewish edu- ry will continue
as it is in far greater measure causes included in the drive.
of the day.
cational
efforts,
and
an
almost
*
*
*
total absence of distinct Jewish to the State of Israel, Dr. Haber He took note of the 12th an-
Saul R. Levin--The Man Who Rose to Great Nobility
scholarship. What binds our declared that the greater neces- niversay of the State of Israeli
Very few really knew Saul R. Levin. Because all the good youth is less and less a common sity is for a "Spiritual Point and sent forth this commun-
that he did in his lifetime—and it was so widespread that it re- background. We, and our youth Four," a program of technical ity's greetings to Israel and
mained unaccountable—was performed noiselessly, merely for even more so, are severed from assistance to recreate and rein- its leaders.
force human and cultural val-
the purpose of attaining a good goal. He shunned publicity, and the past."
Fisher commended Cohn,
ues.
even when the Honduran government, or any other group, was
Zuckerman and their associates
"Our primary problem in
He urged that American Jew-
honoring him, he wanted the event "toned down."
life in the ry take inventory of its com- for "giving leadership to a great
When he was reappointed a member of the Michigan Cor- American Jewish
Allied Jewish Campaign."
rections Commission by Governor Williams, it could have been next decade is to anchor Jew- munal inheritance factors—the
Cohn expressed pride in the
ish
education
on
the
one
side
an occasion for review of great contributions he had made in to an attachment in depth and
campaign's leader ship and
recent years towards the improvement of our penal system. He
Scholars Doubt
thanked them "in behalf of a
feeling, and on the other to cre-
had become an authority on penology, yet no one knew about it.
grateful community. He men-
ativity
of
the
thought
that
il-
Biblical
'Findings'
What concerned him was that those in charge of corrections and
tioned especially the devoted ef-
lumines the mind," he said.
NEW YORK, (JTA)—Sci- forts of Leonard Simons, the
of enforcing penal codes should be appraised of the humanistic
"Jewish education must increas-
entists and biblical scholars Stollman Brothers, the Borman
attitutes that motivated his activities.
ingly
be
reinforced
by
Jewish
expressed opinions ranging Brothers and others for their
His great gift was his understanding of the problem of youth,
scholarship if it is to grip the
"from the cautious to the devoted work.
and it is on this score that Your Commentator wishes to pay a
imagination of our youth and
skeptical," about r e p or t s
personal tribute to his dear departed friend. In more than one
Miss Hadar, the beautiful
sustain them in their allegiance.
from Jordan declaring that
sense, Saul Levin was the counterpart of the late Fred M. Butzel,
"Miss Israel of 1959," thrilled
The philanthropic giving of our
the sites of Sodom and her audience with her account
who helped many students and interested himself in youth prob-
sons and their sons will only be
Gomorrah have been dis-
lems. Levin went deeper into the problem of youth—when there
of the Sinai Campaign. She told
as free and as wide as the depth
covered at the bottom of the
was such a problem among the young people he helped to rise
many humorous stories and in a
of their Jewish commitment."
Dead Sea, according to the serious mood spoke of the value
above penury into a life of dignity. Saul Levin was convinced
Speaking of the activities in
New York Times.
that there were no bad boys—that there merely were misguided
of the Israeli greeting of "Shal-
behalf
of
the
United
Jewish
The discoveries were an-
young people whose backgrounds were unfortunate, who needed
om" as an offering of peace and
nounced at Amman, Jordan,
to be directed to proper educational spheres, who must be en- Appeal, the major beneficiary
friendship to Israel's neighbors.
of the Allied Jewish Cam-
by
Dr.
Ralph
E.
Baney,
of
couraged.
She told of the new type of Jew
paign, Dr. Haber said: "His-
Kansas City, a Baptist mis- who was created in Israel.
And what encouragement this warm-hearted man gave the
tory will record that we rose
sionary in charge of an ar-
young people!
Sobeloff, in his concluding ad-
chaeological team that has
He was among the first leaders we had drawn into the Young to our opportunity. A fan-
admonished the leaders
dress,
been probing the Dead Sea
Judaea movement here, when that youth movement was in all tastic job was done by Amer-
and workers that "in one sense,
ican
Jewry."
for
the
remnants
of
the
an-
its glory and at its great heights. Saul Levin was a leader in the
the moment we leave here this
He evaluated the accom-
cient civilization mentioned evening we already are open-
real sense of the term: he attended meetings of the club he was to
plishments
of
the
last
15
years
in the Bible. According to Dr.
lead as a volunteer, he took a deep interest in the boys, he at-
ing the 1961 campaign—we are
Baney, one of the two lost
tended leaders' conferences—here and on a national scale—and —the liquidation of the dis-
continuing in a great job."
cities was located by divers
there are today many prominent young professional men who placed persons camps, the build-
Dr. Richard C. Hertz gave the
ing
of
communities
where
there
at
the
bottom
of
the
Dead
owe their devotion to their duties to the inspiration they re-
opening prayer at the campaign
was destruction during and at
Sea
in
the
Lisan
Peninsula
ceived from Saul Levin.
dinner. Mrs. Rose Cooper, ac-
Bay, in Jordan, about 20
Everything he did was modestly performed. He was a true the end of the last war and the
companied by Mrs. Sidney Al-
million
a
settlement
of
nearly
miles northeagt of modern
leader, yet he was always in the ranks of the constituents. He
len, led in the singing of the
Sodom, Israel.
guided, yet he left the impression that he was merely consulting. and a half Jews in Israel—and
national anthems.
He was that sort of a genius, and it is to such genius that we pay he paid tribute to the "depth

Centenary of Theodor Herzl's Birth

-

Campaign Ends on Hopeful Note