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.