Crime and Punishment
THE JEWISH NEWS
incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English—Jewisb Newspapers, Michigan Press Associations, National
Editorial Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35,
Mich., VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign $7.
Second Class Postage Paid At Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ SIDNEY SHMARAK
Editor and Publisher
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
Q
HARVEY ZUCKERBERG
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the thirteenth day of Av, 5723, the following Scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Deut. 3:23-7:11. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 40:1-26.
Licht Benshen, Friday, August 2, 7:32 p.m.
VOL. XLIII. No. 23
Page Four
August 2, 1963
Jews as 'Scapegoats' in USSR
in the Soviet Union, Judaism is singled out in
Because they had baked matzoth for
ways that add up to isolation and planned
Passover and sold them illegally, a group
attrition. Jews are forbidden to make urgently
of Jews was given jail sentences in the
needed religious and ritual articles; no Bible,
Soviet Union.
prayer book, or religious calendars may be
The trial by a "people's court," con-
printed or imported; and even the one rabbinic
school in the country has never been allowed
ducted in the course of the USSR's cam-
to function properly and its enrollment has
paign against "profiteering," involved an
been • whittled down only to three or four
82-year-old invalid Jew who was set free
students.
although he was branded as the group's
Let it be taken into account that the
ringleader, two women and another man,
charges contained in this statement were
all in their fifties.
made by an irresponsible person.
U. S. Senator Jacob Javits, speaking not
Senator
Javits' accusations have been sub-
in the U. S. Senate, branded the one-day stantiated
by newspaper reports from
trial as continuing "a Stalinist-type perse- Russia, by revealing
in the Soviet
cution of Jews in the Soviet Union." The press and by official accounts
USSR
reports
which
Senator's condemnation of USSR anti- proved that Jews accused of "profiteer-
Semitic policies included an admonition ing" were condemned as Jews.
that "the civilized world cannot remain
In its statement protesting the Soviet
silent in the face of this act of the Soviet court's
verdict, the Jewish Labor Commit-
,
government which is bound to stir up tee charged
that it is the Soviet govern-
religious prejudice and dangers of religi- ment that is guilty
the crime of which
ous persecution." The New York Senator the jailed Jews were in accused
because the
stated in part:
Russian government had prevented its
This trial is another flagrant example of
bakeries from matzoh baking in 1962 and
the Soviet government's policies which have
lent color to charges of anti-Semitism. Despite had extended the prohibition to syna-
gogue kitchens this year. The Labor Com-
denials by Soviet leaders, this is bitter evidence
mittee called attention to the offer that
that the Kremlin is continuing Stalinist policies
against Jews even while condemning those was made — and was ignored — for the
policies. The civilized world cannot remain shipment of matzos to Russian Jews at
silent in the face of this act of the Soviet
the expense of ten national Jewish organi-
government which is bound to stir up religious zations. The labor grcup, charging that
prejudice and dangers of religious persecution.
Jews in Russia are "often used as scape-
Protests should be made by leading citizens
goats," has asked the USSR to free the
and organizations in all countries where men three jailed Jews who have been impris-
prize freedom and the right to worship God
oned since March, to order the baking
without restriction or restraint. Anti-Semitism
of matzos again and to grant "Jewish citi-
is a crime against humanity, and in a country
zens the same religious, cultural and civic
where this prejudice has the historic roots
rights as all other Soviet citizens."
which it has in Russia, Soviet persecution can
Senator Javits believes that "the Soviet
lead to even more widespread oppression and
despotism.
Union has shown sensitivity to world opin-
The baking of matzoh, which is a ritual
ion." He said in his speech in the Senate:
unleavened bread eaten during the Passover
"Despite the Soviet Union's claim of
for hundreds of years before the Common Era, having outlawed anti-Semitism by law, it
was discontinued in 1962 by the Soviet state
stands before the bar of world opinion
bakeries after a widely publicized campaign
accused by its own policies and acts. Its
begun in 1957 in which synagogues were ac-
cused of profiteering and other economic of- rulers must not be permitted to believe
that the world will either forget or
fenses.
condone."
Jews are being made the scapegoats for the
Soviet Union's economic difficulties, and have
The current issue does not revolve
been the prime targets of Soviet persecution.
around the security of three jailed Jews
In two years ending April 1963, Soviet courts
but involves the over-all tragedy of a
have sentenced 141 persons to death for alleged
continuing anti-Semitism in a land that
economic offenses and nearly 60 percent of
still has nearly three million Jewish resi-
those executed by firing squads have been Jews.
The Jewishness of the defendants is empha- dents. Perhaps the USSR will, indeed,
"show sensitivity" and will enforce the
sized by the Soviet press and they are described
outlawing of anti-Semitism by placing an
in the crudest stereotypes generally utilized
end to using the Jew as "scapegoat" in
in anti-Semitic campaigns. Although all - re-
ligions are subject to hostility and restrictions
anti-profiteering campaigns.
McCarran-Waker Horror Must End
President Kennedy follows in the foot-
steps of Presidents Truman and Eisen-
hower with his proposals for the revision
of the McCarran-Walter Act which has
brought much disgrace upon our country
and the provisions of which have been
responsible for many. hardships.
The numerous detailed recommenda-
tions for the liberalization of the measure
that was born of a lack of appreciation
of human values and -possibly of much
malice are less important than the serious
intention to put an end to legislation that
is so unfair that it distinguishes between
peoples of differing origins, that places
obstacles in the path of people who seek
havens of refuge from the most threaten-
ing persecutions, that makes it difficult
for people to defend their just rights
even in the freest countries because of
the stigmas it imposes on people under
suspicion.
Because of the injustices that are in-
herent in the McCarran-Walter Act, this
nation has been held in contempt in many
European countries. The medieval ideas
incorporated in this anti-immigrants law
militate more to the detriment of the
United States than anything else for which
we are blamed abroad.
• The McCarran-Walter Act made it
possible for bigots to raise the Communist
bogey against non-citizens whenever they
chose to institute a witch hunt. It created
fear and instigated terror among immi-
grants seeking admission to our shores
and in the ranks of non-citizens in this
country against whom all kinds of libels
could be instituted under the existing law.
Will President Kennedy succeed in
securing the cooperation of both houses
of Congress in his request for changes
in the McCarran-Walter law? His prede-
cessors failed because the anti-immigra-
tion forces embrace both parties and are
especially strong in the South. Let us
hope that previous skepticism regarding
the possibilities of assuring liberalization
of the immigration act will vanish as a
result of President Kennedy's emphatic
request for an abandonment of the dis-
criminations inherent in the existing law.
'The Landmarks of a People'
Instructive Tourists' Guide
to Jewish Sites in Europe
"The Landmarks of a People—A Guide to Jewish Sites in
Europe" is the result of a thorough search for material and the
accurate gathering of material by two able authors, Bernard Postal
and Samuel H. Abramson.
Now issued as a paperback by Hill and Wang (141 5th, NY10),
this volume, which contains a number of impressive photographs
and is excellently indexed, is the most
authoritative guide for those traveling
to European countries who wish to
visit Jewish places of interest.
In their explanatory preface, the
authors make the interesting point
that "the Diaspora . . . came into
being long before the first dispersion
from Palestine, when intrepid Jews
visited and settled in every corner
of the then known world. The dis-
persions from the Holy Land, before
and in the Christian era, sent thou-
sands of Jews traveling to the
domains of the Mesopotamian,
Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Moslem
empires. These wayfarers became
the nuclei for the far-flung Jewish
communities in North Africa, Asia
Minor, the Near East, the Balkans
and Western Europe."
Bernard Postal
They explain that Jewish travelers paved the way for Jewish
colonization in various areas of the world and they point out that
until recently Jewish travel literature was intended for reading
rather than practical use.
Postal and Abramson are largely responsible for the practical
change in such a status. With this guide book to Europe they
have provided a way for tourists not only to know what important
Jewish places of interest to visit but they are given basic data
about Jewish communities and their historical backgrounds.
Of value in "The Landmarks of a People" are the actual
locations and addresses not only of places of interest but also
of the leading Jewish central organizations that function in the
communities referred to and described in this book.
Previously issued Jewish guide books are mentioned in the
preface, and the authors make the justified claim that their book
is "the first to give on-the-spot, pinpointed information about
everything Jewish there is to see in Europe on either side of the
Iron Curtain."
Appended to every country accounted for in this guide is an
outline of the history of the Jewish communities involved.
Here are typical examples of the places listed and the Jewish
_
elements of interest in them: Under Great Britain, we find a
listing for the Gunnersbury Park public museum which contains
documents relating to the Rothschilds; in High Wycombe is the
Disraeli memorial and the Newlands synagogue; under Leeds the
tourist is referred to the Selig Brodetsky school, Bnai Brith Hillel
Foundation at the university, Great Synagogue, Jewish Institute,
the Representative Council, Zionist House and other places of
interest, with descriptions of the most noteworthy factors about
them, and their addresses.
The same procedure is followed in all the countries, the
museums, synagogues, libraries and the material to be found in
them.
Architectural factors, cemeteries, monuments and memo-
rials, reminders of the Jewish past in. the places described,
ancient Jewish buildings, press and entertainment information,
kosher restaurants and other categories enter into the descrip-
tions.
"The Landmarks of a People" can be read for enjoyment
and information as well as being utilized as a guide by tourists.
It is an instructive and valuable book.