18 An Irgunist's Testament Segal Compiles Conversations of Abraham Lincoln THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, November 10, 1961 — Meridor Tells Story of Battle Against British in Palestine For more than a decade, Charles M. Segal, who is well known in national Jewish pub- lic relations circles, devot- ed himself to research in Lincolniana. He has writ- ten scores of articles on Abraham Lin- coln's rela- tions with and attitudes tow- Segal and Jews, and he has become an expert on the life, writings and speeches of -the martyred President. In his newly-edited book, "Conversations with Lincoln," published by G. P. Putnam's Sons (200 Madison, N.Y. 16), Segal has compiled Lincoln's -conversations with personali- ties of his time as President- Elect and as President, during the years 1860-1865. In his preface, Segal asserts that while his compilation is not a complete story of Lin- Ya'acov Meridor is considered ence. There were martyrs in the the second in rank to Menachem Haganah ranks, many of whom Begin in the Herut ranks, and suffered arrest, and while Irgun was among the major command- may have been judged unfairly ers of the Irgun Zvai Leumi dur- it was not the only fighting force ing the battle against the British, in Israel, and when the com- in the years that preceded the plete story is told there undoubt- emergence of 'Israel as an autono- edly will be many faults ascribed also to Irgun. mous state. * * * His life was full of dangers. Meridor's story, in spite of the There were arrests and escapes, separation from his family, con- charges and the negative factors, stant conflict with the British and is valuable as part of the record of Israel's struggle for independ- difficulties with the Haganah. "Meridor tells his story in an ence. The Irgunist tells how he exciting book, "Long Is the Road, was tracked dawn, sent to Cairo, to Freedom," which has just been later to Kenya and other incar- published in an English transla- cerations; how he had made es- tion by a newly-formed company, capes, how he opposed and sty- Barak - Publications; --P. 0, Box 18, mied British efforts. The story takes the reader Tujunga, Calif. , Burton Arthur Ravins, presi- through the Sudan, Eritrea, Ad- - dent of the Bar* Co., in a pub- dis Ababa, then Kenya. lisher's note, pays tribute to Meridor never stopped chal- "this man of courage and his lenging the British. He had them tiny band of fighters for free- fooled many times, and he never dom." stopped, as the ILZ's second in * * * command,_ directing _ the Under- Stephen Longstreet, the well ground. known author, in an introduction, Hundreds of Jews were exiled gives a brief account of Meridor's with him, in Great Britain's ef- dedicated efforts. He states that forts to destroy the Underground. Meridor's book was a best seller Their - efforts failed because of in Hebrew and was accepted in the patriotic activities of the South Africa in its first English fighters for freedom. * * * - edition. Then, describing the ap- pearance of the present Ameri- Life in the desert and in the can edition, Longstreet states: prison, defiance and escapes, the "To appear in the United exiles' secret printing works in States it was necessary to form a Kenya, are described in detail. new publishing company for the Meridor tells about the visit to purpose. 'Somehow the American the Kenya camp of South African public has been bedazzled by an- Chief Rabbi Dr. L. I. Rabinowitz other version of the. Big Lie. who pledged to help the exiles They have been told that Ya'acov get back to Palestine. It was in Meridor and hiS.men and women March of 1948, and he failed to of the Irgun Zvai Leurni were attain his purpose upon interced- terrorists, not soldiers and patri- ing with Palestine High Commis- ots. Washington, Garibaldi and sioner Cunningham. The exiles' de Valera were also -called ter- anger grew. They dug an under- rorists. But the world knows oth- ground passage, planning an es- erwise because grateful peoples cape. - In spite of their being sus, turned to these men to lead them pected, they managed t6 get through the trying times follow- away, and they reached the Bel- ing their successful struggle. gian Congo. However, the new Jewish State They came to Brussels, before fell into the hands of those who home, and from there had previously been too fearful returning conducted the anti-British activi- even to dream of a free Jewish ties through contacts with their State. "Those to whom the Irgun Zvai associates, among- them Shmuel Leumi presented a nation built no Tamir, Zvi Hadassi, Eliahu Lan- monuments to the Irgun and kin and others. The account concludes with -a wrote no histories of its glorious deeds. Rather, they have brain- salute to Israel and to HOME— washed historians, blacked out the free and independent Jewish the records and attempted a foul State. It is a story of an heroic perversion of history. They shall Underground. It is too detailed, not succeed. Sealed in blood, hid- since Meridor describes every- den in agony, remembered in thing in minutest detail. But it pride and in pain, the record of - remains, nevertheless, part of the the Irgun stands proudly and story of the battle for a Free awaits history to come and claim Israel. it. Fairer men, truer historians will keep the truth and mark it Two Charming Books down. This book will help them." * * * for Younger Readers This series of charges reveals For 12-to-14-year-old readers, the attitude also of Meridor who "Young Deputy Smith," by Dale accuses the Haganah and charges White, published by Viking the ruling element in Palestine Press (625 Madison, N.- Y. 22) with having acted unjustly, un- is highly recommended. wisely and dangerously in deal- There are heroes and adven- ing with the competing Irgun tures, a youth's way in life forces. Meridor states outright that eventually leads him back that the entire story has not yet to united family relationships been told about the Altalena, the and the joy of normal activities. ship that was commandeered by It is a good description of as- the Irgdn and was destroyed by piration for the life of a cowboy Haganah at the shores of Tel arid the _good lessons learned Aviv. He promises that the full from wholesome adventure. Another entertaining Viking story will soon be told—imjlying that it will be to the detriment book is "The Tigers of Corm of the ruling Mapai and the for- Zoo," story and illustrations by Edythe 'Records Warner, for mer Haganah leaders. It all sounds interesting, and younger readers of 8-to-10. Meridor's story is filled with Those who are interested in drama and excitement. But there animal life will be especially is an evident element of injus- delighted by this book. The tice in Longstreet's charge of author, who has done some the brainwashing of historians hunting, is well qualified t.) re- and distortion of facts, and of late an animal story, and her his claim that only the Irgunists current work will enchant the were the heroes in Israel's emerg- younger readers. coin or the Civil War, his aim has been "to present a com- posite portrait of Lincoln — in a mosaic of moods and atti- 0::;4tudes — as he ' was conceived through h i s conversations as politician, President, statesman, hu- morist, mili- tary strategist, peace negoti- ator, husband, father and Lincoln friend." H e explains that the conversations were "based on memory," were not recorded by stenographers, many of them "were committed to paper within a few hours of their occurrence; others were put down in writing at various points ranging from a few days to many years later." An introduction by David Donald, of Princeton Univer- sity, Pulitzer Prize Winner, states that the more than 100 interviews included in this Hassidic Community Incorporates as N.Y. Village Honoring Skvirer Rebbe NEW SQUARE, N.Y., (JTA) — After a prolonged court battle, the Hassidic community here, honoring the Skvirer Rebbe, became officially an in- corporated village this week, known formally as the Village of New Square. The incorporation papers were processed by the secretary of state at Albany. The village was founded in 1954 by 530 followers of Rabbi Jacob Joseph Twersky who was bron in Skvir, a town near Kiev in the Ukraine. The name New Square is a variation of the name of that Ukrainian town. The orthodox residents, who built 69 one-family homes on the 130-acre tract near Spring Valley, - New York, voted unan- imously last August to incorpo- rate. They filed incorporation papers- with Ramapo Township, of which the area - is a -part. When the Ramapo. Township Board of Supervisors failed to send the incorporation papers on to the State capital at Al- bany, the f ollo we r-s of the Skvirer Rebbe petitioned the State Supreme Court, request- book present "a composite por- trait of th -Civil War execu- tive" and declares: "Mr. Segal's scholarlarly ,and skillfully edit- ed anthology will be a treas- ured source for historians. As a revelation of the intimate, , human side of Abraham Lin-, coin, it will provide the Civil War era." Commencing with the noti- fication of his nomination for the Presidency by the Republi- can Convention in May, 1860, and the comments to the dele- gation, the conversations carry the readers through Lincoln's exciting career, during the Civil War, as President, in his assertions of friendship for the South, his difficulties with his Cabinets, his direction of the war, and the intrigues of that crucial period in American his- tory. Lincoln's comments on slav- ery and emancipation, on dom- estic and foreign affairs, on the issues of his day — to his as- sociates and to citizens — add to an understanding of the Great Emancipator and his time. And the great figures of that era pass in review in this important compilation. ing that Ramapo be forced to act on the incorporation. , Last July, Supreme Court Justice John P. Donohue ruled in favor of the Skvirer. New Square plans to enact an ordinance closing streets to all but emergency traffic every Sabbath, from sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday. Other ultra-Orthodox practices will be- come local law in New Square. At present, television is for- bidden—although nearly every home has a radio. Women may not wear slacks in public. ry about Who ca this c MINSK, ago 14 yea RUSSIA, and wh e 2 brothers - and sister probably-live, at pres- ent, in Los Angeles or there- abouts. Brother ShoIem in Europe would like to contact him. Write: BOX 524, The Jew- ish News, 17100 W. 7 Mile Rd., Detroit 35, Michigan or call UN 1-0808 after NOV. 7th. you pick it we'l Israeli Minister Visits Tanganyika; Seeks Cooperation DAR - ES - SALAAM, Tangan- yika, (JTA)--Pinhas• Sapir, Is- raeli Mihister of Commerce and Industry, arrived here as head of a four-man mission to ex- plore the possibilities of Israel- Tanganyika cooperation in vari- ous fields. The four Israeli officials were greeted at the airport by Nsilo Swai, Tanganyikan Min- ister of Commerce and Indus- try and other officials. Thirty farmers and six "trade union leaders also left Tangan- yika last week for a three week study tour of Israel sponsored by the Israeli Government. Israel Good Will Pilgrims Salute Curacao Leadership WILLEMSTAD, Curacao — Three hundred American-Jewish good will visitors to Israel will padse -here the afternoon' of Nov. 23 to pay homage to the cradle of Jewish faith and culture in the 'western hemisphere. They will worship with "Mikve Israel", the New World's pioneer Jewish congregation in the older West- ern Hemisphere synagogue still in active use. When that brand-new model in your dealer's show- room steals your heart, let us put you behind the wheel with a quick, convenient auto loan. You get our low bank rates . . . and our experience can save -you both time and effort. Tell your dealer you want to go with Detroit Bank G. Trust or see us yourself. the Most Experienced Bank in town DETROIT BANK & TRUST MEMBER FDIC IS CONVENIENT OF COPYRIGHT 3961 THE DETROIT BANK a TRUST COMPANY Send Your Delegates to: Annual Histadrut City Conference Thursda 16th, 1961 LABOR ZIONIST IN T1 UTE 8:30 p.m.