From the Vatican's Balcony
THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of *July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, 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
Editor and Publisher
L
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ SIDNEY SHMARAK HARVEY ZUCKERBERG
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the seventh clay of Kislezv, 5724, the following Scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Prophetical portion: Hosea 12:13-14:10.
Pentateuchal portion: Gen. 28:10-32:3.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Nov. 22. 4:48 p.m.
VOL. XLIV. No. 13
Page Four
November 22, 1963
Crisis of Affluence •.. and Lip Service'
One of the principal speakers at the from an ignorance these very "cultured"
general assembly of the Council of Jewish (sic) portrayers of our faith display in
Federations and Welfare Funds, in Holly- dealing with Jewish themes. They mis-
wood, Fla., spoke of "a new crisis" in lead, with their contemporary novels,
Jewish life. Irving W. Rabb of Boston Jews as well as non-Jews. They are part
called it "a crisis of affluence, a crisis of of a crisis in. Jewish life.
From the latter stems also "the crisis
indifference, a crisis of silence or only
lip service to the ideals of our heritage." of silence or only lip service to the ideals
our heritage." This, too, is the result
There have been diagnoses of the of
of
sheer
ignorance. The very ranks that
Jewish status in the modern world in were addressed
the man who deplored
which any one of these descriptions have these crises are by
responsible
for some of
been utilized, and we have ourselves the critical developments—because
applied one or more of them to our ence played a more important role afflu-
than
shortComings. But when all these are knowledge, and because there has been
11 '4
1 1.,,;
.
used together, one almost would imagine a weakening in the respect that had tra-
•igs
that we are truly on the verge of a col- ditionally been shown in Jewry for the
AErOdllet• 4•111
lapse, that there is a total lack of concern learned and for their learning.
over Jewish matters in Jewish ranks.
We are already witnessing an in-
Indeed, there is affluence, and there creased interest in the spread of Jewish 'Israel's Defense Army 1948-1958'
is the admonition in ethics of the Fathers, knowledge. It is the concern over the
"marbe nekhosim marbe deagah"—"with ignorance we have mentioned that has
an increase in wealth there is an increase inspired greater efforts in the field of
in worry"—may also be interpreted as adult education, that has resulted in an
meaning that with an increase in wealth expanded Day School program in order
there may also emerge increased sus- that a select group of those who get a
In an impressive bilingual illustrated book, "Israel Defense
picions, decreased devotion, greater con- more thorough Jewish education may be Army 1948-1958," issued by Taplinger Publishing Co. (119 W.
cern with one's business than with the expected to emerge in leadership with a 57th, NY19) for the Jewish Agency American Section, a pictorial
community. But it need not be that way. better Jewish training.
review is given impressively of the development of Israel's mili-
We need the large contributors to Jewish
There is good cause for concern over tary force.
causes. We are dependent upon philan- the future and to be alerted lest the "new
Edited by Lt. Col. Gershon Rivlin, this large volume contains
thopists who support our major causes type of crisis" should become a devas- hundreds of photographs of the Israeli defense forces.
Former Israel Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion wrote the
and our educational agencies.
tating one. In the area of fund-raising preface
to this volume, and it appears in both Hebrew and in
Yet, there is a crisis occasioned by we have witnessed a decline, and there
the two languages in which the status of the Israeli army
indifference. If all who are able to share is serious concern lest there should be English,
is evaluated.
in communal duties were to provide their further reductions in giving. The United
might towards our great needs; if those Jewish Appeal mission to Israel last
Ben-Gurion's essay is in itself an historical account of the
who are able to share in cultural advance- month was admonished on several occa-: military
organizations of the Jewish State. It takes into account
ment were to participate in our educa- sions, by Israel's most responsible lead- the pre-State
Haganah, Palmach and other defense forces, lead-
tional endeavors, we'd be so much the ers, that American ,giving must improve, ing up to the present status of the army.
richer spiritually. But many of our peo- if the full obligation to the tens of thou-
The "separatist tendencies" of the Irgun Zvai Leumi (IZL)
ple of culture have evidenced an antago- sands of new settlers in Israel is to be met and the Lohamei Herut Israel (LHI) are accounted for by Ben-
nism towards Jewish values. Jewish au- on a genuine American-Israeli partnership Gurion who describes the "serious difficulties" that arose as a
thors are negative in their interpretations basis. Such admonitions do not come out result of the existence of these forces. He tells of the IZL's com-
and portrayals of Jewish matters and of thin air. There are crises which, having pliance with the government demands to end separatism and
Jewish personalities. It is part of the been exposed to bright light, must be met declares: "The Israel Defense Forces overcame the enemy from
without in the War of Independence, and by their moral force
indifference — and it, in turn, develops head on.
Impressive Pictorial Review of
Jewish State's Military Progress
The Vatican's New Credo and Its Textbooks
tween Christianity and Judaism.
Responsible Jewish leaders have spoken
4. Insidious use of language, including such
with so much enthusiasm about the de-
phrases as "camel Jews" and "blood-thirsty
cree on Catholic attitudes toward Jews
Jews."
and Judaism introduced at Vatican Coun-
5. Omission of facts that would serve to
cil II by Augustin Cardinal Bea that our
mitigate generalized judgments. For example,
gratitude is a matter of record.
the Jews of the Middle Ages were described
There are a number of aspects in the
as moneylenders, without the corrective infor-
new developments in Rome which are of
mation that they had few other ways of sup-
porting themselves, being barred from the
vital concern to us.
craft guilds and forbidden to own land.
How far will the Catholic Church go
in its efforts to remove the prejudices
While welcoming the new Vatican dec-
that had seeped into nearly seventy gen- larations with an appreciation for the
erations of Christians whose anti-Semitism newly liberalized attitude of the church,
was motivated by the unjust crucifixion it is our hope that the injustices of the
accounts in church literature in parochial past will be fully obviated, that the cate-
school textbooks? chisms that teach hatred will not be
The American Jewish Committee, in merely modified but will be abandoned.
a memorandum containing background
We have suffered much from falsifi-
material on Vatican Council II actions on cations. There still are many anti-Semites
the Jewish question, called attention to who resort to falsified descriptions of the
the statement, "The Image of the Jews Talmud, the teachings in which contains
in Catholic Teaching," submitted June 22, the highest moral principles. What will
1961, analyzing how Jews are represented Christianity do to obviate this sin?
in textbooks used in parochial schools
If there were Jewish textbooks con-
throughout the United States and which taming statements derogatory to Chirsti-
contain these derogatory aspects:
anity or Mohammedanism, we would
1. The notion that the Jews are a cursed
demand their immediate revision. There
people, exclusively and collectively respon-
are always grounds for differences of
sible for the death of the Son of God.
opinion on basic issues, but prejudices
2. Partiality in the use of the term "the
are
never justified. That is why we hope
Jews." In many instances, this term was ap-
that
the first step in the new Catholic
plied to the enemies of Jesus, but not to his
action will be to change catechisms in
friends and followers, though they also were
parochial schools, to revise the biases
Jews. Often, the collective term, "the Jews,"
textbooks, and thus truly to make a great
was used in describing situations that actually
contribution towards the best Christian-
involved only a few Jewish individuals.
3. Unjust and inaccurate comparisons be-
Jewish relations.
put an end to the dangers of division and separatism."
In his evaluative essay, Ben-Gurion commends the under-
standing of the country's needs by the military leaders and the
Defense Ministry and declares:
"The Israel Defense Forces are not only the fortress of
Israel's security, but also the finest school for Israel's youth,
in which the young people from all the communities, from the
East and West, meet without any comunal or ideological bar-
riers. The Sinai Campaign at the end of October and the be-
ginning of November 1956 showed the world the skill and the
wonderful heroism of the Israel Defense Forces. There are
much more powerful armies in the world, larger armies
equipped with arms which the Israel Defense Forces do not
possess now and perhaps never will, but it is doubtful whether
anywhere in the world there is an army superior to the Israel
Defense Forces in its spirit, in its personal qualities, in its
pioneering training, in its capacity for action and battle, in its
devotion to its mission. But only if the Israel Defense Army
are not content with their achievements, in the future as in
the past, and strive continually for progress and improvement,
in training, in equipment, and pioneering spirit, will they con-
tinue to be true to their brief but glorious traditions which
have once again demonstrated the central truth of Jewish
history: the supremacy of the spirit and the superiority of
quality to quantity."
*
*
*
The pages of this interesting book are unnumbered, but
there are hundreds of them, and the photographs are in the
several hundreds, depicting graphically the Israel defense activi-
ties under many subtitles—War of Independence, First Day of a
Recruit, Training and Infantry, Paratroopers, Air Force, The
Navy, Artillery and Armor, Support and Services, Women's Army
Corps, Nahal, Local and Area Defense, Retaliation-Raids, Minis-
try of Defense Activities, Reservists and Maneuvers, Multifaced
Army Life, the Sinai Campaign.
The explanatory notes in Hebrew and English provide not
only a history of the Israel armed forces but also serve as an
historical review of the State itself. The country's statesmen and
military leaders are depicted and there are references to the
State's arms production.
This is truly a record of the new nation's rise to freedom,
and as such it is a valuable addition to Israel's reconstituted
history.