Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Viscount Herbert Samuel
Viscount Herbert Samuel's name will go down in history on
many counts, but especially because of the role he played as
Great Britain'S first High Commissioner for . Palestine.
It was because he was one of the most eminent Jewish
leaders in England, that he was chosen for that post.
When he arrived in Palestine to assume that historic role,
in 1920, one of his first unofficial acts was to attend Sabbath
religious services in Jerusalem's leading synagogue. He was given
the honor of reciting the Maftir and there was great jubilation.
But it was very soon thereafter that mobs of trioting Arabs,
instigated by the Grand Mufti who had been elevated to that
position by none other than Sir Herbert Samuel,—which was the
First High Commissioner's status at the time—began to molest,
rob and kill Jews.
It has been said that, had it not been for Sir Herbert, the
•Mufti's gangs could have been stopped. He has been charged
-with appeasing the Moslem bigot who, later became a tool of the
Nazis and who is now in hiding, perhaps somewhere in Egypt,
still instigating Arabs to murder and to oppose international law.
The charge of appeasement is the one stigma on the record
of a great career of a very great man. Viscount Samuel was a
distinguished scholar, an essayist and author with a remarkably
fine style, a liberal in politics, a statesman worthy of the finest
traditions. in England.
Primarily,. he was eminent as a Jew. He was devout, learned,
dignified. In recent years he rose to great heights as a defender
of- Jewish rights.
Indeed, his memory will live in Jewish and British history,
and as the First High Commissioner in Palestine the story . of
the reborn Israel begins with his assumption of the role of First
-High Commissioner of Palestine.
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Milton Friedman—Cou.rageous Correspondent
On more than one occasion, Milton Friedman, our JTA Wash-
'ington correspondent, aroused the wrath of Government officials.
On occasions, members of the White House staff resented his
:reporting, the State Department has looked askance, at his inter-
pretations of happenings- in our nation's .capital, and members
of Congress were jittery many times over what he had written.
TheSe panicky 'ottblirSts were • due primarily to Friedman's
courageOus handling of national news. A skilled reporter, one
of the best informed men on the Washington scene, Friedman,
Taced with the responsibility of getting at the facts, has never
shirked responsibility. •
is no wonder, therefore, that those who have - something
to hide, the bigots who hate Negroes, the Arabophiles who have
initiated camp _ aigns not only against.. Israel but against all Jews,
fear what he might uncover. He has ekposed hate-mongers and
anti-Semites and they would love to get rid of him.
:
•=,-...1%Ipst shoeking about the action of the State Departmeni .
spokesinan who abused the riglits of a news gatherer was the
•implication that the Jewish Telegraphic Agency is a foreign
agent. This impelled U. S. Senator Scott of Pennsylvania to
say in his address in the U. S. Senate: "This is more than an
affront to an American. news correspondent. It is a reflection
upon all the newspapers which subscribe to the Jewish- Tel:-
egraphic Agency and should_ serve as a warning to the public
generally."
Indeed, it calls for severest condemnation by all liberty
-
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loving Americans who cherish the ideals of a free press.
A loyal American who fought for our country overseas and
who was wounded • in the last war, Friedman's devotion to the
ideals of this Republic are unquestioned.:
Now he faces a new problem: the condoning bf •press control
by our State Department and his having been ousted from a
briefing session on Middle: and Near Eastern affairs: - -
There has been, in the main, a good relationship between
JTA and the State Department, and the unfortunate incident-
could be interpreted as a temporary error. If the head of _the.
Near Eastern Division of the State Department acted in anger,-
it is especially regrettable.
There is no reason why there should be anything to hide,
and in matters involving security - JTA'S correspondent is_ as
trustworthy as anyone possibly could be. There have been abuses
in matters involving confidence, but at no time was JTA's Milton
Friedman involved in delicate situations that resulted- in abuses
of trust.
Senate Considering 2 Bills Seeking
to Liberalize U.S. Immigration Quotas
WASHINGTON, (JTA)—Two
separate but similar bills aimed
at liberalizing United States im-
migration quotas were intro-
duced in the Senate.
One measure, introduced by
Democratic Senator Philip Hart
of Michigan, with the bipartisan
support of 30 other Senate mem-
bers, would authorize the annual
issuance of 250,000 visas distri-
buted as follows: 50,000 for
refugees or escapees regardless
of quota restrictions; 120,000 to
be allocated among countries on
the basis of a proportion of im-
migration to the U.S. during the
last 15 years; and 80,000 to be
divided among countries in pro-
portion to the size of their popu-
lation. It would set a ceiling of
3,000 per country.
The other bill, introduced by
Senator Claiborne Pell, Rhode
Island Democrat, who was also
one of the co-sponsors of the
Hart Bill, contains virtually the
same_ provisions with the excep-
tion that it would reduce to
40,000 the number of visas re-
served for refugees without re-
gard to national origin. The re-
maining 10,000 visas would be
granted to per-
sons with spe-
cial skills cri-
tically needed
b y the. United
States.
The Rhode
Island law-
maker said his
bill was de-
signed to cor-
rect what he
termed "n o x-
ious barriers"
to U.S. Immi-
gration. He
charged t h e
Hart present quota
system is based on "prejudice
rather than .arithmetic," In in-
trodUcing his jointly. sponsored
bill, Senator Hart told his col-
leagues that the measure would
make this country's "permanent
immigration policies more con-
sistent with the demands of our
present foreign policy require-
ments') and would erase "pre-
sent national and racial discrim-
inations from current U.S. immi-
gration practices." - •
T. h e Administration' is re-
portedly readying its own ver-
sion of a liberalized immigra-
tion quota system which is ex-
pected to be presented shortly
to Congress.
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NEW. YORK, JTA)—Hadassah
and the American Jewish Con-
g,ress each urged the liberaliza-
tion of the existing immigration
laws. In a resolution adopted at
U.S. Show in Russia -
to Include Photos of
Baltimore Synagogue
We have confidence that, as in all other. issues involving.
freedom of the press, justice will be restored. *In the process
of protecting the liberties of newsmen, Friedman will emerge as
BALTIMORE, (JTA) — Huge
one of the heroes on the Washington. scene.
photographic reproductions • of
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plaques forming part of the
An Important Youth. Conference
main entrance to the sanctuary
Convening preliminary to the planned World :Jewish Youth of Temple Beth El here will be
Conference to be held in Jerusalem Aug.: 4 9, the. Detroit Jewish part of a cultural exhibit by the
Youth Conference taking place_ this week-end at the Jewish Center- United States Government in
should be viewed with great interest, in - anticipation of -the' corn7 the Soviet Union, it was an-
munity's achievement of the desired increased involvement of nounced - here by Julius Offit,
president of Beth El Congre-
our youth in Jewish affairs.
The major concern of our people today is • -that the youth gation.
should become active participants in our people's activities. Such
The photos were selected by
an interest must -begin with an acquisition of knowledge. By be- the U.S. agency in "charge as a
coming informed about our people's needs, we can. hope for de- demonstration of the depth and
voted linking of youth with their elders in advancing Jewry's animation of the Jewish religion
in the United States, Offit said.
highest ideals.
The expectation that about 400 youth will take part in the The original plaques here, de-
conference here during the coming three days, and that a worthy signed by Raymond A. Katz, of
representative will be chosen as the delegate of -the . Detroit Jewish New York; represent the.three
youth to the world conference in Jerusalem- in . August, should ways in•which the Divine Power
inspire faith that our youth is prepared to carry' on the duties to enters the. life of man — Cre-
our people and cur faith, while; at the 'same time, maintaining a ation, - Revelation and Redemp-
tion. Biblical symbols illustrate
strong role as Americans.
Having set as the theme for the local as well as the forth- the Hebrew word "Emet"
•
coming world conference • the general topic of :".Responsibility . truth.
of Youth to the Jewish People," it is evident that a keen interest
The plaques .are framed by
in the major problems facing Jewry exists in the ranks of two colunins which represent
the pillars of King Solomon's
those who aim to enroll our youth in Jewish activities.
Our youth are to be commended for the interest they are temple, dedicated to the martyrs
evincing in the conference that is of , their own managing and of the past and to the builders
of the future. •
their own programming.
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the concluding session of its
four-day convention, held here,
the 200 delegates at the Hadas-
sah parley called upon Congress
to enact immigration legislation
that would include "permanent
provisions for the allocation of
quotas for refugees."
Under the McCarran - Walter
Act, the resolution declared, "the
needs of refugees are not met,
thereby necessitating special
legislation to meet each emer-
gency as it arises." The dele-
gates also urged Congress to
"eliminate the discriminatory
practices of the National Origins
Quota System" of the McCarron-
1
Walter Act, which "places dis-
criminatory limitations on immi-
gration from many countries."
In a letter to the White House,
Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of
the American Jewish Congress,
urged the administration to go
beyond immigration legislation
limited to the pooling or redi-
stribution of unused quota num-
bers. He said the proposal to
distribute unused quotas "fails
to go to the heart of the issue—
the racist and discriminatory na-
tional origins quota s y s t e m,
which has determined the issu-
ance of immigration visas since
1924."
01•=0 ■ 111 ■ 01•111111.01M111.0
Boris Smolar's
Between You
and Me
(Copyright, 1963,
I Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Welcomed Visitor
Cardinal Augustine Bea, who was entrusted by Pope John
XXIII with organizing the convocation of the Ecumencial Council
which is to resume its session later this year, will visit the
United States next month. . . His visit will be brief—he is
coming for four days anly—primarily to lecture at Harvard
University. . . . Because of the extremely limited time of his
stay in this country, it is questionable whether any of the leaders
of the major American Jewish organizations will have a chance
to meet with him. . . . A pronounced friend of Jewish people,
Cardinal Bea has met with American Jewish personalities a
number of times at Vatican City prior and during the meeting
of the Ecumenical Council. . . . It was to him that the Jewish
organizations had submitted their memorandums expressing hope
that the Ecumenical Council—composed of 3,000 of the highest
of the Roman Catholic Church—will take some definite and
positive action to strike at the roots of anti-Semitism and to
erase forever the guilt attributed to the entire Jewish people 'for
crucifixion of Jesus. . . . Although no action on the Jewish sug-
gestions was taken during the first part of the Ecumenical
. Council, which opened last October and lasted for several weeks,
it is anticipated that some action may be taken during the
second part of the session this year. . . Leading Catholic circles
have taken note of the fact that the World Council of Churches,
at its last assembly in New Delhi, passed a resolution denouncing
anti-Semitism as "absolutely irreconcilable with profession and
practice of the Christian faith". . . . The resolution urged the
churches to do all in their power to resist every form of anti-
Semitism". . . . Many leaders of the Catholic Church feel that
such pronouncements should also be issued by the Ecumenical
Council. . . . some Jesuit publications—like the, German Catholic
magazine "Stimen der Zeit"—have gone on record in denying
that the Jewish people can bear the responsibility for the death
of Christ. ... Other church organs have similarly. warned against
presenting the account of the Passion to give the impression
that all the Jews or the Jews alone were burdened with the
stigma of putting Jesus to death.. . . The attitude of Pope John
XXIII in favor of eliminating anti-Jewish elements from litur-
gical texts is well known through his dropping from the Good
Friday liturgy the words "perfidis Judaeis" and from other
similar acts. . . . However, there is a strong "conservative" wing
among the members of the Ecumenical Council which is inclined
to ignore the pleas of the Jewish organizations.
Delicate Problem
Negro-Jewish relations in this country are beginning to
provoke a variety of questions in various circles. . . . The main
question is: What are Negro organizations which receive the
fullest possible support from Jewish leadership doing to check
anti-Jewish sentiments among Negroes? . . It is no secret
that antagonistic feelings against Jews are growing in Negro
sections. . . . A good part of this phenomenon is due to inciting
anti-Jewish propaganda on the part of the Black Muslims and
other extremists. . . . But one finds anti-Jewish feelings pre-
vailing also among Negro intellectuals, especially students. . .
A study conducted among Negro students at Morgan State Col-
lege in Maryland established that there is a good deal of anti-
Jewish prejudice among them. . . . The study was carried out
by personnel of the Psychiatric Institute at the University of
Maryland. . . . It found that among the emerging intellectual
Negro youth the opinion prevails that Jews must "try sincerely
to get rid of their harmful and irritating faults". . . . There was
much talk about the results of this study at the recent World
Congress on Sociology. . . . There was talk about Negro anti-
Semitism at the Conference on Race and Religion in Chicago,
although the issue—raised by a non-Jewish delegate—was de-
liberately not taken up for public discussion. . . . To indulge in
a wide discussion of how to combat anti-Jewish feelings among
Negroes would only have distracted the delegates from the
primary purpose of the Conference. . . . This does not mean,
however, that the issue does' not exist and that questions are
not being asked by many as to why central Negro organizations
do little or nothing to combat growing anti-Semitism in Negro
ranks. . . . Not only have all major Jewish organizations gone
strongly on record—in word and in deed—in demanding full
and equal rights for Negroes in this country, but they are reg-
ularly presenting legal briefs to courts whenever an important
case affecting Negro rights comes up for decision. . . . Only this
week, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation
League of Bnai Brith filed a joint Amici Curiae brief in the
U. S. Supreme Court to review the case of an American airline
discriminating against a Negro applicant for a position as a
pilot. . • • A similar brief was • filed separately by the American
Jewish Congress.