THE DE TROIT JEWISH NEWS — Friday, December 29, 196 1
Purely Commentary
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Marks
25th Anntversary in Tel Aviv Concert
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
(Direct dile Teletype
to. The Jewish News) -
A Year of Tensions Passes—The Hopes for 1962
- Exit 1961 with all its tribulations—enter 1962 with prayers that
the hopes of mankind for contentment and tranquility may come
true!
Not since the end of World War H has the world experiended
so tense and trying a year as the one we now so gladly see passing
into the darkest pages of history.
Every continent was affected by the threats of war. by the
wrangling and the bickering that had engulfed all the nations of
the world.
Sadly enough, 1962 is not being welcomed with so much assur-
ance that the differences which divide the peoples of the world
have even approached adjustment. That is why we must speak in
terms of prayer for better days.
It was a difficult year for Jewry. The threats that have been
hurled at our people in many-Jands, the dangers that continue to
face Israel,• the unfortunate perpetuation of an anti-Semitism that
matches the animosity of the Black Hundreds of Czarist days in
Russia, the insecurity of Jews in Moslem countries—these and many
other clouds hang over our people.
Therefore prayer must be mingled with action. Therefore there
must be an uninterrupted continuation of efforts to assure relief
for the needy and the dispossessed and security for those who have
been blessed with the havens we have helped provide for them.
May the memories of the sad year 1961 guide us to wise action
for the common good of all mankind in the years to come, and may
our prayers for a Good and Peaceful 1962 come true!
The New Frontiers and the New Resolutions
There is renewed talk about "New Frontiers" and the need
to • settle down for the attainment of new goals that are so
urgent for the assurance of peace and for the improvement of
the world's deteriorating .conditions. The coming year- will be
a crucial one for mankind. While the cold war is an endless
battle between the two major contending forces in the world, our
statesmen- will have to be on guard against the generation of
heat that might force us into another world war. Caution is of.
the utmost urgency.
Perhaps there is cause for much hope, if the latest devel-
opments in the United Nations as they affect Israel can be
applicable to the East-West struggle. The fact that 34 nations,
under the leaderihip of African countries, could have voted for
a resolution that called for direct peace negotiations between
Israel and the Arab states is an indication of a sense of realism
among some of the UN member nations; If that was possible
o t aggr va ed issues in the UN—the Arab-
ast-West struggle?
/ only 34 nations
take another
e before a majority in the UN will re the need for
direct. Israel-Arab talks aimed at an end to the present conflict.
It may take even longer to attain peace. But- as long as we are
on the road even to the mere consideration of .a •possibility
for peace, we have a chance to acquire it.
The defeat of anti-Israel amendments to the adopted UN
refugee resolution also is a good indication that it is not so easy
to force an unfair proposal down the UN's throat. These amend-
ments, it is true, received majority votes, but their failure to
win the necessary two-thirds of the balloting is heartening.
The frontiers are still laden with danger, but we hope for
New Frontiers, and the striving for them is the major goal
in 1962.
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'The Gimmicks' in Communal Programming
Commencement of a new year on the civic calendar revives
consideration of the :.problems of programming by our communal
organizations.
While the Jewish organizational programs usually are
planned after Rosh Hashanah, when Jewish grOups begin to
arrange their meetings and to plan the "attractions" for public
events, the civic New Year provides an additional occasion fOr
reconsideration of programming, based on experiences since
Rosh Hashanah.
There have been noticeable improvements in the selection
of speakers and entertainers, but there remains the resort to
"gimmicks" which are emphasized on a par with the causes to
be helped. In fact, only too often the "gimmick"—a comedian
whose stories are far from dignified, entertainers who do not
• belong on Jewish platforms, etc.—gets more serious consideration
thari.'•the cause itself.
'Having improved upon our programmatic:;Oproaches, it is
to
-hoped.: that well also witness: a.r041,"
mphasis upon
thefgnifidance-aVernseitVeime
A*,
:coated methods
of attracting interest in the inoveinentg
• helped.
There comes a time when a "gimmick" is in order. We
recall one significant one, which helped attract notice to a serious
situation in Jewish life.
In the years that preceded the calamities that struck Euro-
pean Jewry during World War I, the contributions to relief
overseas were minimal. They were mostly secured by landsman-
shaften — by organizations of kinsmen in communities in Russia
and Poland. Under the leadership of the late Dr. Jacob Billikopf,
the first ten million dollar American Jewish Joint Distribution
Campaign was successfully conducted, during the early years
of the first world conflict. Several years later ; this sum was
doubled under the national direction of the dynamic Detroit
campaigner, the late David A.. Brown.
. A dinner was arranged by Brown and his associates for
national Jewish leaders to inaugurate a crucial JDC campaign,
and when the several hundred guests, many of them dressed
in formal attire, entered the New York hall, they found it
darkened, black candles facing each plate; and when the waiters •
entered they served only one dish: black soup. Then Brown
explained: even this meager dish is unavailable for the hundreds
of thousands of hungry people who were suffering from pogrom,
in the vise that isolated them among the contending armies.
It was
"gimmick," and it substituted for many speeches:
it described the plight and it brought results.
When "gimmicks" are undignified," they do not help the
TEL AVIV — A brilliant per-
formance of Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony — with the choral
portions sung in English instead
of the standard German —
mark Tuesday night the 25th
anniversary of the founding of
the Israel Philharmonic Or-
chestra. .
President Kennedy cabled his
congratulations.
The Jubilee (1 )ncert was held
under the auspices and in the
presence of President Ben Zvi.
Cabinet ministers, the entire
diplomatic corps and many
guests from the United States
and Britain attended the con-
cert.
Mayor Mordechai Namir of
Tel Aviv greeted the orches-
tra on behalf of the munici-
pality, and Education Minis-
ter Abba Eban brought the
greetings of the government
and the nation.
In the years since the `-or-
American and British singers
were signed and gave a beauti-
ful performance, according to
the critics. The orchestra and
the soloists received a standing
ovation at the end of the con-
cert and ear-shattering applause.
The concert mark( 1 the 25th
anniversary of the first per-
formance of the orchestra—as-
sembled from refugee musicians'
from all parts of the world—
when the late Arturo Toscanini
raised his baton and the melo-
dies of Schubert's Unfinished
Symphony opened a new era of
classical music in Jewish P -ales-
tine.
1.1■41.11Mi NIMM,•”0 .11 .0■41 •11 •11,1■• 1•11IMINI.1110.0 ■ 4.111•••• ■•■ •11 ■ 0•SM.11
■0■ 11.i0
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
... and Me'
(Copyright, 2961,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
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Eichmann Echoes
With the Eichmann trial over, the American public is now
realizing that Israel has given Eichmann a fair trial and that Israel
was the proper plaCe for the trial . . ...This has been established
by a study of the American Jewish Committee . . . Last May, a
month after the trial started, 71 per cent of Americans queried in
a Gallup Poll thought that Eichmann was getting a fair trial and
21. per cent had no opinion . . . The percentage of those who
chestra was founded by the late believe he received a fair trial is greater now and includes even
Bronislaw, it has become one of Americans who were originally opposed to the trial being held in
Israel's best ambassadors .in Jerusalem . . . The AJC report indicates, that better educated
tours to all parts of the world. Americdns were less in favor of Israel's undertaking the trial
The Tel Aviv municipality an- than were the less educated . . . The educated non-Jews had
court
nounced that the square facing preferred trial by an international
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the Mann-Auditorium, the home
of the orchestra, will be named Washington Scene
President Kennedy, busy as he is with the Berlin situation
Orchestra Square.
The performance of the Ninth and with many other urgent problems of foreign policy, is not neg-
Symphony w a s preceded by lecting to watch also the Arab-Israel situation . He is mindful
some confusion as to what lan- of the pledges he gave during the election campaign to help solve
guage would be used in the the Arab refugee problem and to seek means to bring about Arab-
choral portions of the last move- Israel rapprochement . . . In the State Department high officials
ment. The orchestra's public were presented with the problem of Arab discrimination against
board asked conductor Josef American Jewish citizens and firms . . . This issue is giving the
Krips not to perform in the State Department a real headache, although some of the pro-Arab
original German, noting the re- officials there are maintaining that it is in the interests of the
cent trial of Nazi Colonel Adolf United States to appease the Arabs even on this issue . . . No longer
can these officials explain the non - admission of Jews in the
Eichinann.
American armed forces for service at the American air base in
The board recommended Saudi Arabia . . . Saudi Arabia has canceled its agreement with
Hebrew, t6 which the con- the United States regarding this base, and there is no longer any
ductor consented. The idea
basis for the. United States to consider the Saudi Arabian anti-
caused some' difficulties in Jewish feelings against American Jewish citizens . . . The same
getting soloists able to per, situation is true with regard to Jordan . . . The United States has
form the choral portion in no strategic interests in Jordan and is doing everything possible
English.
to support the present regime in Jordan . . . There is therefore
no valid reason why American Jewish citizens who wish to visit
the Wailing Wall, or other Jewish religious places in Jordan,
should not be admitted there as are non-Jewish American citizens.
Bar-Ilan Selects
Moshe Shapiro as
Head of Trustees
Bar-Ilan University has chosen
Moshe Shapiro, Israeli Minister
of Interior, to head the executive
board of trustees in Israel, it was
announced by Rabbi Joseph H.
Lookstein at a brunch in honor
of the Minister
at Rabbi Look-
stein's home in
New York.
Rabbi Look-
stein also an-
nounced that
the university
has applied for
a charter from
the Board of
Regents 'at' Al:
bany which
would make
Bar-Ilan offici-
ally the Ameri-
can university
in Israel.
He also an-
nounced that
M. Shapiro Bar - Ilan h a s
just been adopted by the town-
ship of Ramat-Gan, Israel, through
the efforts of .Shapiro. The mu-
nicipality has undertaken to do
the landscaping of the campus
for Bar-Ilan.
Bar-Ilan is a co-educational in-
stitution. Dr. Lookstein is presi-
dent of the board of governors
and Phillip, Stollman of Detroit
hairtinitn of the-, hoard (#.
trustees.
Jewish Art
A number of exhibitions of works by Jewish artists is now
taking place in New York • . . . I have visited some of them and
was especially impressed with the works of Irwin Touster, a mod-
ern American sculptor .. . Although most of his exhibited pieces
are on general themes, the- sculptor has a few pieces of specific
Jewish art which attract great interest . . . His Menorah, com-
missioned by Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn, N.Y., is a new and
forceful concept so different from the traditional form of the
menorah we know . . . The same can be said about Touster's "In
Memoriam" — a piece commissioned by Temple Emeth in West
Englewood, N J
His approach to other themes is similarly
refreshing and meaningful. .
. This can be seen from his
bronzes Adam and Eve,' Samson and the Lion, and non-Biblical
works.
Personality Profile
.
The heavy burden of raising $95,000,000 in 1962 for the United
Jewish Appeal has now fallen upon the shoulders of Joseph Meyer-
hoff of Baltitnore who was• re-elected general chairman at the
national UJA conference . . . Meyerhoff has been one of the pillars
of the UJA for many years . . . Ten years ago he joined the UJA
National Campaign Cabinet of which he later became chairman .. .
He knows the needs of the UJA as few do and he feels deeply
the importance of the present emergency for immigrant reception
and absorption in Israel . . . In fact, he is himself contributing
this year $50,000 more to the UJA because of this emergency .. .
A warmhearted person, he is responsive • to Jewish needs in this
country, in Israel and in his own community . . . He is the president
of the Associated Jewish Charities of Baltimore and also served as
president of the Jewish Welfare Fund there, in addition to being
active in various local Jewish institutions . . . He is chairman
of the Israel Bond drive in Baltimore, in addition to being a
member of the national executive committee of the Israel Bond
Organization for the last ten years . . . He is president of the
Palestine Economic Corporation.
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Generous Givers
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• The $95,000,000 which the UJA will have to raise under Mr.
Meyerhoff's leadership is a combination of $60,000,000 for the regu-
W4 yearly drive plus $35,000,000 as a Special Fund to deal with
the emergency situation created by the large emigration of Jews
to Israel, France and other countries from.various lands . . . Meyer-
ORT Opens First Israel
hoff feels that the extra $35,000,000 can be raised among the
TV Training Course
generous givers to the UJA as a one-time extra contribution to
Israel's first course for train- save as many Jewish lives as possible while the doors of certain
ing of TV technicians has just countries are open for Jewish emigration . . . All over the country,
been opened at the ORT Voca- the communities—large and small alike—realize that in 1962 the
causes in behalf of which they are introduced and they lower tional Center in Tel Aviv. The UJA cannot go on with its work on a "business as usual" basis .. .
our communal standards. Let there be an end to unnecessary first 37 students began their They see in 1962 the opportunity to save Jewish lives and they are
"tricks" when striving to aid movements intended to assist the classroom and laboratory studies determined to make Meyerhoff's heavy task easier by responding
to his appeal for securing larger individual contributions.
needy and provide relief for the dispossessed.
last week.
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