Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Israelis' Good Humor—Proof of Wholesomeness

LYDDA AIRPORT, Israel.—Having "checked out," after a
fourth delightful and instructive visit in Israel, we are taking stock
of events here.
There is one definite conclusion:. we've heard more good stories
on this trip than on:all the combined previous visits in Israel. That
indicates that the Israelis, whose life still is a struggle, have a
sense of humor, that they know how and when to laugh at them-
selves, that they can throw puns at tourists and accept them for
themselves.
The 25th World Zionist Congress was the big attraction, and
representatives from all the democratic countries in the world were
in Jerusalem to confer on future Zionist activities. The Congress
had its sad and disappointing moments, but what else is to be
expected from so many divergencies in personalities, viewpoints,
aspirations?
The Congress was not devoid of humor. Dr. Nahum Goldmann,
the brilliant World Zionist Organization president, "kibetzed"
whenever he possibly could. He tells a story well.
He told one story about a Jew in Russia who was penniless and
was traveling a long way. To reach his destination, he hid under
the seat in a railroad car. Discovered by the conductor, he was
dragged out, given a good beating and thrown off at the next station.
He managed to get back into the car and get under the seat again,
going through the same process from station to station as he
traveled without a railroad ticket. A passenger on the train, wit-
nessing _the performances, asked him where he was going, and he
replied: "I am on my way to Odessa, but I have no way of knowing
where I'll finally land. It all depends on how the beatings will
hold out. (Es vended zich vie die klep vellen oishalten)."
Many of the stories current here are worth recording. There
is one about the tourist who failed to show enthusiasm over anything
that .had_ happened in Israel. When he was told . that a certain
industrial plant had developed in a period of two years, he said
it was nothing: in America it would be done in a year. When he was
introduced to a thriving settlement and was told that five years
ago- it was desert, he replied that-in -America it would have been
done in a year. The guide was patient. He said nothing. But the next
day they reached a magnificent structure, in a well developed little
city. He made' no comment. Whereupon the skeptical *list asked:
"And what'S this?" And- the gUide replied: "I don't know. It Wasn't
here last week:" The interesting thing about the guide's reply is that
he was not fibbing: that things happen just that fast in ISrael. Even
on a yearly visit the guest will be amazed at the rapid develop-
ments, numerous changes and vast additions to Israel's growth.
Some tourists are, regrettably, a bit uninformed. It is told about
one of them that he commented to a guide: "I have seen so many
kibbutzim, but why haven't I been shown the kibbutz galuyot?"
Kibbutz. galuyot means the ingathering of the exiles.

The Rehaviah section in Jerusalem is famous for the fact
that many professors, world famous scholars and authors live
there. Mrs. David (Tamar) DeSola Pool commented: "There are
no walls in Rehaviah: the section is all lined with books."

7.•

Scores of Detroiters at 'Washington
Inauguration; Benediction by Dr. Glueck

Noted national leaders, in-
cluding prominent Detroit Jew-
ish representativeS, are among
the thousands who are attend-
ing scores of functions that have
I been arranged coincidental with
the inauguration of President-
elect John F. Kenedy, to take
place this afternoon.
Local Jewish leaders were
guests at a formal dinner given
Wednesday by Congressman and
Mrs. John D. Dingell and at
functions, including numerous
receptions for guests, arranged
by Reps. Dingell, Griffiths,
Machrowicz, Rabaut and others
and by Senators Philip Hart and
Pat McNamara.
One of the prayers at the
inauguration this afternoon
will be by Dr. Nelson Glueck,
president of Hebrew Union
College — Jewish Institute of
Religion.
Dr. 'Glueck's prayer invokes
God's blessing for President
Kennedy and all associated with
him in government. Dr. Glueck's
benediction follows in full:
"We turn to Thee, 0 God,
in deepest gratitude on this
exalting day of reaffirmation
of our nation's ideals and
unity, and of personal avowal
of sacred obligation by our
President, in Thy name.
"Mayest Thou, 0 God, to
Whom alone belong the do-
minion and the power, be his
stay and support in the ful-
filment of his awesome trust,
to ensure the unfettered im-
plementation of the letter and
spirit of our Constitution for
all the inhabitants of our
land, to provide equal oppor-
tunities of learning and labor
and well-being for all our
citizens and glad. shelter to
those who seek refuge with us
from tyranny, to safeguard
the physical and moral integ-
rity of our beloved Common-
wealth, founded on faith in
Thee.

"0 T h o it, Who art the
Source of all life, quicken his
heart always with the aware-
ness of Thy presence, and
especially in the lonely
moments of fateful decisions
which may be his to make for
us and our world.
"Guard and guide him in
Thy loving kindnes s, that
through his leadership hunger
may be stilled, hurts healed,
hope sustained, the weak and
the worn assisted, human
dignity and decency upheld,
the blight of war and the
spectre of annihilation ban-
ished, and peace in freedom
prevail among all Thy chil-
dren everywhere, with none
to make them afraid.

"In profound humility, 0
God, we pray that Thy bless-
ing may rest upon our Presi-
dent and all associated with
him in our goVernment, which
we the people have set in
authority, upon everyone and
everything dear ant. precious
to him and us, as we repeat
the ever new words of the
ancient prayer in Sacred
Writ:
"May the Lord bless thee
and keep thee,
"May the. Lord cause His
countenance to shine upon
thee and be gracious unto
thee,
"May the Lord lift up His
countenance unto thee and
grant thee peace."

.

Boris Smolar's

'Between You
... and Me'

(Copyright 1961,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Jewish Moods

The American Jewish Congress is proud of the fact that
the two Jewish members of the Kennedy Cabinet—Abraham
,
Ribicoff and Arthur Goldberg—are AJCongress members
Gov. Ribicoff, the new Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare, has been a member of the American Jewish Congress
since 1950 . . . His wife has been a member of the Hartford
chapter since 1943 .. . Goldberg, the new Secretary of Labor,
joined the Washington chapter of the American Jewish Con-
gress in 1954 . . . He is a member of the National Advisory
Board of the AJC's Commission on Law and Social Action .. .
The American Jewish Committee, too, has something to be
proud of in connection with high appointments in Washington
. . . Newton Minow, the young Chicago lawyer and associate
of Adlai Stevenson, whom President Kennedy named as chair-
man of the Federal Communications Commission, is an executive
member of the Committee in Chicago . . . He is active in Jewish
Center work and is a member of a Jewish temple •. . . Thus
the young American-born generation of Jews is far from being
assimilated, and they consider that one can be both a good
Jew and a good American . . . This fact is best seen from a
study conducted by the American Jewish Committee of the
Jewish population in Memphis—where 80 percent of the Jews
are American-born . . . The highlights of this study show that
90 percent of the Jewish families actually are affiliated with
a temple or synagogue . . . Memphis Jews belong to many
organizations, but a large proportion belongs to Jewish organi-
zations . . . About 85 percent of the Memphis Jews reported
that neither they nor their families have experienced any anti-
Semitic behavior . . . Seventy-seven percent had visited non-
Jews for a social evening during the year, and 69 percent had
non-Jews visiting their homes during the same period . . . A
large majority of the Memphis Jews have a warm feeling toward
the Jewish state and approve of help given to Israel by American
Jewry . . . However, they overwhelmingly disapprove of the
idea of American Jews becoming citizens of Israel or having
their children do so.

At the Zionist Congress, the story went the rounds, since there
. ,,
were so many speakers, that the seventh speaker in one debate corn-
President of Ghana
menced his long speech with the statement: "There were six
speakers before me. All repeated (ibergechazert) , what the others Assures Israel; Signed
said. T am now going to polish up and improve upon all of them.
Anti-Israel Pledge
(Ich veil zee farzalten un farbeseren)."
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Presi-
The latest Paula Ben-Gurion story. When Ben-Gurion met
dent Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
with DeGaulle, the latter introduced his wife and said: "Mafam."
assured Israel's Ambassador in
Whereupon Ben-Gurion pointed to his own wife and said: Ghana that the close ties between
his country and Israel will be
"Mapola."
Tourists, briefed by guides about the minuteness of Israel's maintained
the anti-Israel
part of the despite
Casablanca
Declara-
territory and the imminence of borders wherever they may go, are tion to which President Nkru- Communal Reports
Independent fund-raising appeals for Jewish overseas and
advised not to spit out of automobile windows: "If you do, you'll mah was a signatory.
national organizations are raising more than $50.000,000 annuall y,
strike enemy territory."
I
Mordechai, the good-humored Jewish National Fund guide, com- I The
was given at a the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds has
•
• assurance
established . . . Of this sum, $30,000,000 is raised by national
mented: "We used to have a lot of signs pointing to forests planted meeting in Accra
organizations and $20,000,000 by averseas agencies . . . The
in Israel. A few years ago, because of the many signs, we did not Ghanaian President
and
Israel
-Moshe Bitan. The Jewish Welfare Funds provide about $60,000,000 annually to
see the forests. Now, because of the many forests, we do not see Ambassador
latter had expressed Israel's "sur- overseas agencies, mainly to the United Jewish Appeal . .
the signs."
prise and dismay" at the signing They provide national agencies with about $5,000,000 annually
Ars. Efrem Ilani, the wife of one of Israel's ablest photog- of the declaration by Ghana.
. . . -New York City does not include within a welfare fund
raphers, tells us that her 11 1/2-year-old son came to her a few
Foreign Ministry circles here the major agencies normally include in funds of other communi-
indicated that some of the ex- ties . . . About one-third of the total of $50,000,000 raised
day ago and said: "Akshav ani tipesh-asara." She looked at him
planations given by President independently by the overseas and national agencies may be
amazement
and
then
-she
learned
that
the
Israeli
children
in
Nkrumah for signing the declara- derived from New York City, the *CJFWF believes . . . The
adopted the words tipesh-asara for teen-ager. She told her son
tion were "partly acceptable" but -tuberculosis agencies and City of Hope occupy the first place
-
that teen-agers are youngsters from the age of - 13, but he 'replied that discussions on the subject in independent fund-raising . . • They raise approximately
I were continuing.
a year in their independent drives . . . They are
,
. A more specific $8,000,000
that he could not wait: tinshe-asara are becoming popular. .
of
It is told about -a very distinguished German scientist and reply to Israel's protest is ex- excluded by all large cities and by three-fourths or more
scholar that shortly after he came to Israel he met one of his stu- petted to be given at a second , all Welfare Funds . . . Next is Hadassah, which is included
dents. The former pupil began to bow down to him, to call him meeting to take place soon be- I by half and excluded by half of the Welfare Funds, and raises
"oberprofessor," great man, great scientist, noble scholar, etc., etc.dtween Ambassador Bita and Presi- 1 approximately $7,500,000 annually independently . . . Brandeis
etc. Whereupon the eminent scholar told him that such titles are dent Nkrumah.: -. ' .- _ , University, which made no appeal to welfare funds, follows
no longer necessary, that things are much simpler in Israel, that:1 Protests were made by Israel with
the that
raising
in cash,
while its
of pledges
Yeshiva
campaign
exceed
sum of
. . about
. The $6,400,000
Medical School
"Hier ist es einfach: hier bin ich nur adonay." In Hebrew, a male to the government of Mali and University raises about $4,500,000 a- year through independent
I Guinea which were among the campaigning . . . The capital fund campaign of the Hebrew Uni-
person is addressed as Adoni—mister. Adonai means God.
signatories of the Casablanca Dec-
a
It is-told that a youngster, in an Israeli school, in the year laration adopted at the African versity and Technion raise independently about $3,800,000
year . . . The Joint Defense Appeal agencies—the American
2,000, was asked if he knew who Khrushchev was. He replied that "summit conference" which took Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League - of Bnai
place in Casablanca, Morocco, Brith—get about $1,600,000 a year from welfare funds, but raise
he was a man who tried to govern Russia but failed, that he was
with Nasser's participation.
about $3,300,000 a year independently . . . The bulk of their
held in ill-repute in many lands. Asked whether he knew the
Since Israel has only a charge independent income comes from direct campaigns in New York
years of Khrushchev's activities, he replied: “He lived in the
d'affaires accredited to Mali, City and Chicago . . . The Combined Reform Synagogue Cam-
time of Ben-Gurion the Great."
Maurice Fisher, deputy director paign, which receives no allocations from 40 percent of wel-
The Sabbath is a great delight in Israel. Shortly after noon on general of the Israel Foreign fare funds raises about $2,700,000 independently . . . The
Friday, the smell of tasty foods emanates from apartments, stores Ministry, has been dispatched `to Combined Conservative Synagogue Campaign raises $2,100,000
and offices begin to close, there is in evidence a cessation of active- Bambako for a meeting with a year in independent soliciting . . . The Jewish National Fund,
ties. People are carrying flowers to their homes. A holiday spirit is President Keith. Israel's Am- which makes no appeal to welfare funds, raises $2,600,000 a
in the air. It has been said, because of the feverish Friday afternoon bassador to Guinea, Shlomo Hillel, year independently, mainly through "traditional collections"
activities, that "the Israelis observe erev shabbos more than the, will cut short his home leave . . . Organizations and agencies raising between $1,000,000 and
shabbos." I and return to Conakry this week $2,000,000 independently include the Histadrut Campaign, $1,600,-
year, Pioneer Women's Organization, $1,200,000 a year, and
It's a joy to be able to hear good stories in Israel: it proves for a meeting with President 000 a
America-Israel Cultural Foundation, $1,000,000 a year.
the normality of the people and the wholesomeness of their life. , Sekou Toure.

