32 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, September 9, 196 0 -- The Candidates. Their Records and Promises flot2f ilipz Continuation of Purely Commentary Column from Page 2 to peace in the appeasement of the Arabs and the oil interests and that the candidates, in their fair- mindedness, intend to bring the issue to a head and to strive for fah play for Israel. Republican Vice Presidential candidate Henry Cabot Lodge has, since his Catskill appearances and before touring Coney Island, the Rockways and Jones Beach, spoke "with emphasis" in support of -cree shipping for Israel in the Suez Canal, at a breakfast meeting with Jewish leaders in New York. Why not? President Eisenhower promised to do something about it in his speech, on Feb. 20, 1957, just prior to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula. But no one did anything about it—neither the UN, which is committed to freedom of the seas, nor the United States, nor President Eisenhower, nor Am- bassador Lodge. The record is clear, however. There is no doubt that Vice President Nixon is determined to strive for enforcement of free navigation. The question is: would Lodge be the right man to handle the issue? In view of the manner in which his hands were tied at the UN, it would be wiser if some one other than Lodge were considered for the job in the event of a Repub- lican victory. But in the meantime the candidates are in the promising stage. There will be lots of pledges. Keep track of them, if some effort is to be made to force their fulfillment. All of the candidates, without exception, will face some charges. The ghost of Joseph Kennedy, the father of the Democratic candidate, will be paraded as that of a defender of Hitlerism and of having been the chief financial supporter of Joseph McCarthy. The Helen Gahagan Douglas incident will be unearthed in condemnation of Nixon. The record of Lodge in the UN will not help the Republicans very much: Senator Lyndon Johnson may, in the long run, emerge as the least amenable to condemnation, in spite of the utterly foolish roles vis-a-vis the Texan that were played by Michigan leaders at the Democratic convention in Los Angeles. It's a sure bet, therefore ; that the prejudices that will be called into play in this year's Presidential election will be legion. One thing is certain, as the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith has indicated: both Kennedy and Nixon are "free of anti-Semitic bias." Lodge took orders from the White House and the State Department, and his actions at the UN were in conformity with the policies of the administraion he represented. But he, too, is certainly not an anti-Semite. Lyndon Johnson surely is immune to anti-Jewish bias. There is a Jewish vote, no matter how the position of American Jewry is viewed. It is a Jewish vote in the sense that Jews are concerned, as they should be, that international diplomatic practices should not be planned to the detriment of their kinsmen. The. Irish felt that way when the Irish freedom issue was, at its height. Other groups have been concerned in matters involving the security of their kin. It's a natural reaction. Yet, in the long run, Jews will be motivated in casting of their ballots much _the same way as non-, Jews. They will be moved by economic considerations. Those who are capitalistically inclined will vote for those they consider closest to their class preferences. The pro-labor elements will -vote for the party they consider best suited to help the working class. And so on, down the line. There is a Jewish vote—hut it is split. Will the Jews vote to swing New York State either to Nixon or to Kennedy? Only time will tell the result which must hinge on developments during the coming two months that may fan even greater prejudices than afflict us today. It'll be an interesting political campaign. The. fur already is flying. A wrong word, a foolish gesture, a bit of unnecessary anger—as in the instance of Lodge's comment to the radioman in the Catskills— and a state may be lost or won. Whatever the result, it is an interesting era to live in and it is good to have the freedom of an American to keep the candidates _guessing and on their toes in quest for our votes. At least once in four years, the voter is as important as the candidate. • • • pagn °Jesivesh Vote' Issue in Political Cam i (Continued from Page 1) . of his eight years' experience of being in close touch with the "Palestim question" in the United Nations, he has come to the following personal conclu- sions: "That the time has come to try to bring about an over- all settlement of the Pales- tine question in all its as- pects. I refer to the status of the Arab refugees, the de- velopment of the waters of the Jordan, and other rela- tionships between Israel and its neighbors. "The effort to reach such a settlement with justice and fair- ness to all should be under- taken at a high level. There will, of course, have to be con- sideration by each side of the problems of the other side. The United States should be willing to contribute generously toward bringing such a settlement about." Lodge stressed that "it will not be easy" to carry out this program. "No miracles should be expected," he said, "but a thoroughgoing attempt should be made." He termed the Middle East- ern area, "in which the Pales- tine question predominates," as one of the three "particularly dangerous areas in the world today, the other two being the Straits of Formosa and Berlin "which is constantly threatened by the Soviet Union." The Vice Presidential candi- date said that, although in the last two or three years disturb- ing occurrences on the Arab- Israel 'front have been much more infrequent than in the earlier years, "there is still much that is wrong." "One does not have to be an expert to know how stubborn the problems are, how great are the difficulties, and how much is at stake. Anyone who thinks the situation is simple and that it can be dealt with by slogans and catch-phrases is deluding himself," he stated. "Yet, I think it is possible to find constructive elements and it may surprise you to hear that I believe that such con- structive aspects can be found in what happened in the United Nations after the Suez incl- . dent." He then cited the fact that, after the "Suez incident," the United Nations succeeded in stationing its Emergency Force along the Gaza strip and at the entrance to the Gulf of Akaba, thus prevent- ing further possible clashes between Egypt and Israel. He emphasized the role he played in obtaining the necessary two-thirds vote in the Gem eral Assembly, which author- ized the stationing of the United Nations Emergency Force along the Egyptian frontier, and gave credit to Egypt for not objecting to the stationing of this force. Ambassador Lodge strongly praised Abba Eban, Israel's for- mer representative at the Unit- ed/Nations, and pointed out that there are "many developments in Israel which must arouse ad- miration wherever courage, in- telligence and democracy are prized." Lodge also hailed the contri- butions of American Jews to the United States. "Art and science in America would be quite dif- ferent and inferior things with- out the contributions of Ameri- cans of the Jewish faith," he said. "And the injunctions of that faith—to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God," and to love thy neighbor as thyself—are in the main- stream of American political and social thought. They are mirrored in the basic documents of the Republic: in the Consti- tution, which enjoins the peo- ple to establish justice, and in the Declaration of Independ- ence, which affirms that all men are created equal and are en- titled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In har- mony with these values is the interest which we all share re- garding Israel," he stated. Vice President Nixon and Senator Kennedy joined in strongly endorsing a state- ment by the American Jewish Committee which sharply de- nied the existence of a "Jew- ish bloc vote" in national elections. The statement assailed the "divisive myth of bloc voting" as jeopardizing "the American process of democratic elec- tions." It took sharp exception to the "current tendency to im- ply that a Jewish vote, as such exists in national elections." In endorsing the Committee's statement, Vice President Nixon said: "I completely share ae sentiments expressed in your statement, and deplore any at- tempts to divide Americans on a religious, racial or sectional basis. I think it is most con- structive that you are issuing this .statement as we begin this election campaign." • In his endorsement Senator Kennedy said: "The statement by Louis Marshall seems to be as true today as it was in 1927. The enrollment books of both political parties prove that Americans do not stratify along religious, racial or ethnic lines. Any attempt to classify Ameri- cans along these lines should be immediately repudiated and I welcome the statement by the American Jewish Committee on this matter." American Jews, the Ameri- can Jewish Committee state- ment stressed, are influenced by the "positions that parties and candidates take on the domestic and foreign issues which affect the welfare of all Americans." It asserted that "no individual or organi- zation can muster the alleged `Jewish vote'." The statement was issued by Herbert B. Ehr- mann, of Boston, president, and Col. Frederick F. Green- man, of New York, chairman of the AJ Committee's execu- tive board. Even in New York City where Jews constitute more than one- quarter of its population, there has never been a Jewish mayor, the statement pointed out. Fur- thermore, "Jewish candidates for the mayoralty of New York have often fared badly in dis- tricts heavily populated by Jews." The Committee also pointed out that in the New York senatorial election of 1956 the Catholic candidate received greater support from the Jews of New York than did his Jew- ish rival. These and other such exam- ples, the statement said, "pro- vide ample evidence that, like other citizens, Jews vote readily for candidates who are mem- bers of other faiths, and that appeals based solely on their narrow so-called 'Jewish inter- est' have not succeeded." Republican and Democratic national chairmen signed a fair campaign practices code, pledging avoidance of offen- sive anti-religious propaganda, and received a report that various religious issues were emerging "all over the coun- try." Charles P. Taft, chairman of the Fair Campaign Practices Committee, revealed the injec- tion of religious bias. He said the committee had brought to- gether a group of Jewish, Cath- olic, and Protestant leaders for a frank discussion. Subsequent- ly, said Taft, the group re- ceived mounting evidence that offensive religious propaganda was being injected into various campaigns. Senators Thruston B. Morton, Republican of Kentucky, and Henry M. Jackson, Democrat of Washington State, affixed their signatures to the committee's code for 1960. • Some 1,200 candidates for of- fice will be asked to sign the anti-bias pledge.' Senator Jack- son said • issues should not be clouded by "campaigning that comes from the sewers." Around the Tr6rld... A Digest of World Jewish Happenings, from Dispatches of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Other News-Gathering Media. United States NEW YORK—Six Arabian newspapermen are among 14 Mos- lem newspaper executives from the Middle East and Africa who began a two-month visit to the United States yesterday with a seminar at the American Press Institute of Columbia University .. . A net income of $1,476,636 from operations of American Israeli Paper Mills Ltd. for the fiscal year ended March 31 exceeded the previous year's total of $1,470,968 despite a three-month shutdown for the expansion of its paper making facilities, Joseph M. Mazer, chairman of the board, reported to American shareholders. STARLIGHT, Pa.—The Hillel Foundation's policy of "hos- pitality to all points of view" in regard to Jewish affairs has re- moved from the American college campuses "the competitions and organizational ambitions that, elsewhere, afflict Jewish community life," Dr. William Haber, national Hillel chairman, said in his address to the annual summer conference of Hillel rabbis at Camp Bnai Brith here. Europe LONDON—The Israeli Air Force is expected to take delivery of 26 French-built Mirage-3 jet interceptor planes and already has taken an option on 14 more, making a total of 40 ; at a price reported at $2,500,000 per aircraft, according to "Flying Review," the Royal Air Force publication. BONN—Long-pending negotiations for a restitution treaty have been completed between Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany which will see West Germany paying to Belgium 80,000,000 deutschemarks ($20,000,000) in compensation to victims of the Nazi occupation. HAMBURG—The 1,400-member Jewish community here cele- brated this week the opening of the first synagogue built since Hitler destroyed the synagogues in 1938 (Hamburg's Jewish popula- tion in 1933 was 27,000). GENEVA—Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jew- ish Congress, has expressed regret over the decision of the Central Board of Hungarian Jews to disaffiliate from the World Jewish Congress, stating that WJC had not defamed the Soviet Union, as charged, but . . . "all we did was to ask the Soviet Union to give the Jewish community the same facilities to live as Jews as other national and religious groups have in the USSR and as the Jewish community in Hungary enjoys." Israel JERUSALEM—The Ministerial Committee on Economics is considering a recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that the State Bank ease its credits for working capital needed by Israeli industry, due to the Bank's "restrictive policy" which has forced industrialists to resort to private loans at "usurious" rates . . . A total of $2,000,000 was brought into Israel by 700 Americans who settled in the country last year, it was reported here by. the Jewish Agency . . . The Jewish Agency executive has reaffirmed its decision to convene the 25th World Zionist Congress here on Dec. 27, despite a World Mizrachi Center proposal that the Congress be postponed . . . Senator John J. Sparkman, Alabama Democrat visiting here, says he feels certain that the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee will back any measure to help bring peace to the Middle East. TEL AVIV—The operation of Israel's new 264-mile, 16-inch oil pipeline was formally handed over this week to a group of interna- tional financiers headed by Baron Edmond de Rothschild of Paris with hopes that eventually the trans-Israel line will serve as an alternative route to the Suez Canal for transit of crude _oil in Europe . . . A ten-week course in cooperative living sponsored by the Israel Foreign Ministry and the Histadrut, Israel's General Federation of Labor, as part of a program of assistance for newly emancipated countries in Africa and Asia, opened here this week with farmers from ten former French and Belgian colonies in Africa as the students,