Friday, Nov. 15, 1963 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — 2 Purely Commentary The 'Zionist Issue' in Vatican Communique When the question of a Vatican communique on the Jews first was broached in public announcements, and it became known that it had been temporarily shelved, it was explained that a delay in action was due to Arab accusations that\ the Ecumenical proposal by Cardinal Bea was pro-Israel. It is no wonder, therefore, that the communique on the Jews contains a reference to its being . neither pro-Zionist nor anti- Zionist. It is an unfortunate approach in that it gives credence to an issue that should not exist in deliberations involving social and human justice. There had been Papal audiences with Zionist leaders, notably the late Nahum Sokolow, on the question of the Jewish National Home; and recently there have been indications of a friendlier Vatican attitude towards Israel. Many Catholic laymen have been among the supporters of the Zionist cause, which, with all its in- evitably political aspects, remains the great revolutionary occur- rence in defense of the right of the Jew to survive as a people. Anything that leads to the belittling of this movement or to creating doubts about its justified position is deplorable. Once again, the anti-Zionist Council for Judaism stepped into the picture to capitalize on the issue, contending that it had asked the Vatican to introduce the resolution against anti-Semitism "without fear of antagonizing the Arabs." Meanwhile the anti- Israel Council that has rendered so much harm to the cause of good will among Jews also launched an attack on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Such are the tactics of the obstructionists, at a time when all other Jewish organizations were positive in their reactions to the Vatican declaration. There is no doubt that. the Vatican communique on the Jews is historic in that it abandons an old and a most damaging injustice which was responsible for so many tragedies imposed upon our people in many eras and many climes. As long, however, as the slur relating to the crucifixion as applied to the Jews remains indelibly in the New Testament, it will be necessary continually to educate Catholics and others on adherence to the new declara- tion. Will a slur that has persisted through the ages be wiped out by a mere communique? We will be able to judge the effects of the new and most welcome communique only after we learn what the Church and its leaders do to impress its validity upon the adherents to their faith, and especially upon the Christian youth. The essence of the Vatican statement is; however, wholesome, and should nrove most effective. It is a positive statement on hu- man relations and by advocating the promotion of "mutual under- standing and esteem" it makes a great contribution to social justice. * * - * * Our Jewish Writers and Their Jewishness There is a sense of justice inherent in our heritage that causes us to provide a platform for every viewpoint, that leads, us to support the view that we may oppose certain ideas, yet we will fight for the right of men to express them. We do that because we ask for the right to speak our own minds on all issues, and we do not approve of censorships that can become destructive of the democratic and the human principles. Yet, hi matters involving Jewish authors who have rendered so much harm to positive Judaism, there is another aspect for which we must make an urgent appeal. It is our sincere conviction that the American Jewish Congress has been harmful in its selection of authors who participated in the Jerusalem Dialogue recently. Some of them were men who were so negative in their approach to Jewish life that they had no place on a Jewish platform. They were men without a Jewish background and were not qualified to speak for us. By the same token, there are many Jewish writers who recall a few Yiddish words, who distort the little they know of Hebrew, who are unacquainted with Jewish history, but who insist on writing about Jews and whose novels, oversexed as many of them are, give a distorted picture of us and our position in the world. The reported "dialogue" with Marie Syrkin at the Jewish Book Fair gave an indication of an arrogance on the part of those who argue for liberalism and claim to be speaking for democratic idealism in defense of the writers' right to describe life and people as they see them. But when Jews insist on writing about Jews they must also know the Jews, their aspirations, their past and their present. It is not enough that they themselves were forced to be Bar Mitzvah: what is required is an understanding of the true values,of Jewish observances. So many of the novels about Jews portray us as a tottering people whose home life is repulsive, where there is infidelity and conflict and where anything approaching Jewish loyalty and observance is shallow and insincere. These writers are not qualified to write about us. If they do anything at all, they paint an ugly picture of us for the non- Jew and if they influence Jews they contribute towards the break-up of the Jewish home life • which was marked by so much sanctity through the ages. Why don't these Jewish writers forget about us and write about others—if their stories must be negative and packed full of sex orgies? There is so much of the positive to be viewed in Jewish life! We shall have examples of them when Irma Lindheim appears at the Book Fair, when Walter Field speaks the mind of a dedicated lover of Jewish history. Marie Syrkin tried it, and on her appear- ance here she continued the work of a lifetime in defense of highest Jewish values. Why can't all of us strive towards the elevation of Jewish standards? It can and should be done within the framework of free expression—based on knowledge, not on distortion of facts. * * The Infamous Crystal Night An anniversary of historic significance was observed on Nov. 9. It was the 25th year since the infamous Crystal Night. The assassination by Hershal Grynszpan of Ernst vom Rath, a Nazi official in the German embassy in Paris, was used as an excuse for the unleashing of the terror during which window panes in Jewish businesses in Germany to the value of six million marks were smashed and many synagogues were burned. It is from the glass orgy that the Crystal Night term developed. Hermann Goering was informed by Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the Nazi Secret Police, two days later, that 815 Jewish businesses were wrecked, 29 department stores were destroyed and put on fire and 171 apartment houses were burned. But in an analysis of the terror Dr. Nehemiah Robinson, By P hilip Negativism of Our Authors . . . Vatican's Historic Communique atomovitz director of the Institute of Jewish Affairs of the World Jewish Congress. shows that 7,500 Jewish businesses were demolished and 191 synagogues set on fire, 76 of the latter having been totally destroyed. Germany can never live down guilt for the act of terror that turned Crystal Night, in which many Germans participated, into one of the cruel examples of terror and unhumanity. Goering was said to have deplored the occurrences—but for only one reason: the loss of so much value in destroyed glass to his country ! Officially, the claim was made after that night of terror that the action was a spontaneous German reaction to Grynszpan's shooting of the young Nazi official. But the mass of pogroms that took place throughout Germany on that display of brutality and horror was proof of an organized Nazi campaign to destroy Jewish possessions, to confiscate their properties, to burn synagogues. Heydrish had written to police authorities admonishing them that attacks on Jews were expected and that there should be proper caution not to burn synagogues or Jewish properties that are next to German-owned businesses. It was a warning to protect the property of Germans. At the same time, Heinrich Mueller, Gestapo Chief, told the police to arrest 20,000 or more Jews, especially the . wealthy. There was a "humanitarian" note in these official orders: synagogue archives were to be safeguarded ! In his letter to police officials, Heydrich wrote: "On the basis of the attack against Embassy Secretary vom Rath in Paris, demonstrations against the Jews are expected throughout Germany on the night of Nov. 9-10. The chiefs of State Police offices are to contact at once the competent polit- ical leadership (Gau or county leadership) to reach agreement on a discussion concerning the implementation of the demon- strations." What other proof could one ask for that the brutalities were well organized in advance? In his analysis of the Crystal Night "dress rehearsal of Jewish annihilation," Dr. Robinson stated: "That the demonstrations were organized from the top also became evident in the proceedings of a Party court against several party members for rape, murder and theft. "The pogroms of Nov. 9 (which went on for at least another day) were, however, only part of the Nazi action under the guise of revenge for the death of vom Rath. In an inter- ministerial discussion of Nov. 12, 1938, Goering stated that he received an order from Hitler to bring the Jewish problem to a conclusion. In fact, the atonement levy, initially of one billion marks, was imposed on the Jews, and a veritable deluge of ordi- nances, increasingly stringent, descended on the Jews in all fields of their endeavor. Studies on forced labor and ghettoiza- tion were in process. "Most revealing was Goering's statement in. announcing the one billion mark atonement levy: . . I would once again state: I would not want to be a Jew in. Germany. If the German Reich were at any time in the near future involved in a foreign political conflict, it is self-evident that we, in Germany, too, will first of all think how to implement a large-scale settling of accounts with the Jews.' "Hardly any clearer words were needed to describe what the Nazis had in store for the Jews in Germany or any other region in their power. The bloody result of these words was the unprecedented Jewish catastrophe, which cost the Jewish people six million dead, indescribable suffering on the part of survivors, thousands upon thousands of widows and orphans, as many crippled, not to mention the billions of dollars of material damage. "Crystal Night stands out as a warning to the world that brutality, if not stopped in time, grows in intensity, and that tyranny does not halt at the borders of the state. Although the pogroms and the ensuing measures were clear to everyone who wanted to see and listen, the world remained mostly silent. Was it necessary to sacrifice one third of the Jewish people, so that humanity should learn the lesson? Or has it?" Indeed, has humanity learned the lesson? Have the Germans learned the extent of the brutality into which they were dragged by the Nazis, in which they were collaborators and must, there- fore share the guilt? Let Crystal Night lesson be engraved in the minds of all who understand history ! Let it be a warning to mankind that such crimes are not easily forgotten ! The smashed glass, the burned synagogues, the humiliations that were imposed on in- nocent men, women and children continue to cry out to the heavens never to forget the crimes, to forgive only where there is genuine antonement, to remember the terror so that terrorism should never again be permitted the free reign that was given it by the German people under Nazi domination. UN to Circulate Shukairy Speech Despite Protest UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. (JTA)—After a brief but very hot exchange between Israel and a group of Arab represent- atives in the General Assem- bly's Special Political Commit- tee Nov. 7, the group's chair- man, Mihail Haseganu, of Ru- mania, ruled that a violently anti-Israel speech made by Ahmed Shukairy will be dis- tributed as a committee docu- ment. Shukairy, the most volatile of the Arab spokesmen here for 12 years, delivered an address last- ing more than two hours, saying he represented the "Palestine Arab Delegation," a group of 18 Arabs with no official delega- tion accreditation here. Dey Ould Sidi Baba, of Morocco, re- quested that the speech be cir- culated as a document as the view of "the chairman of the Palestine delegation." After a series of interventions by Michael S. Comay, Israel's permanent representative, who was being heckled by Salah El Dine Tarazi, of Syria, the Israeli withdrew his objections to a formal vote on the Moroccan proposal, and Haseganu ruled in favor of the Moroccan re- quest. Comay concluded the ex- change by reminding the com- mittee that Shukairy spoke as an individual, and that the cir- culation of his speech as an official document "in no way alters his capacity." The Syrian and Yemenit e delegates in the committee voiced the customary anti- Israeli attacks, insisting that the refugee question must be set- tled not between Israel and the Arab states but with the "Pales- tine people" whom Shukairy claims to represent. They voiced high praise of Dr. John H. Davis, UNRWA's outgoing chief, who, earlier, made -a long speech despairing of Arab-Israeli peace because, he said, the "Arab na- tions and Arab people want only the elimination of Israel as an entity in the Middle East." Israel told the United Na- tions that it wants regional disarmament, "particularly in areas of strong international tensions," and that it is ready to negotiate such an agree- ment as soon as it receives "a positive response" to its request. The request was voiced be- fore the General Assembly's Political and Security Commit- tee by Gideon Rafael, deputy director-general of Israel's For- eign Ministry, who represents his government in that 111- member body. He made his statement while debating a 46- power resolution calling for general and complete disarma- ment. On behalf of Israel, he pledged his delegation's en- dorsement of that draft. Rockwell's Nazis Viewed by ADL as 'Ragamuffins' George Lincoln Rockwell's American Nazi Party is essen- tially a "ragamuffin band" that is more nuisance than national menace, the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith reported today in a comprehensive study of Rockwell and his movement. The League study said that "shock techniques and out- rageous shenanigans" gave the party notoriety rather than any financial or numerical strength. The study was supervised by Arnold Forster, ADL general counsel. He said the League wanted to clear up "once and for all, exaggerated feats" re- lating to the Rockwell group. Calling Rockwell a "skilled performer" in achieving pub- licity, Forster said the self- styled fuehrer has failed to or- ganize anything that even re- sembles a movement in the more than eight years he has been associated with the party. The League study revealed that the annual gross income of the American Nazi Party is about $20,000 derived mostly from small contributors and the sale of publications. The hard core of the group was described as "two or three dozen with perhaps a few hundred sympa- thizers or supporters scattered around the country." A recent count showed 16 troopers in residence at party headquarters in Arlington, Virginia—"a rick- ety two-story house with a sec- ond house nearby as barrackS." According to the report, the headquarters is "a hangout for criminals and vagrants;" storm troopers and ex-troopers around the country "have committed dozens of crimes," have been charged with "statutory rape, possession of a machine gun, and possession of narcotics," and a major percentage "appear to have no visible means of sup- port." In a recent issue of the party's confidential newsletter, one ex-storm trooper was de- scribed as "a really great Nazi when he is sober . . ." Commenting on Rockwell's re- cent "courtship of Black Mus- lims," the League pointed out that despite his outrageous vil- lification of Negroes, Rockwell was one of the speakers before an audience of 5,000 at the Mus- lim's annual convention in Chi- cago last year. He contributed $20 at a Muslim rally in Wash- ington. He "courts" the Mus- lims because they believe in complete seperation of the races. Nevertheless, Rockwell was booed by members of the au- dience at both Muslim events.