Friday, December 13, 1963—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS-3Q

`Street of Steps' by Yudit Handel, Powerful
New Novel with Israeli Socioligical Theme

"Street of Steps" by Yudit
Handel, published jointly by
Herzl Press and Thomas Yose-
loff, unquestionably is one of
the best novels to come to us
from Israel.
In a fine translation by
Rachel Katz and David Segal,
this is much more than a love
story—and as such it stands
firmly on its own merits.
There are many merits to
this exceptionally well written
novel by the young Israeli. It
is her first novel, it was pub-
lished in Hebrew in 1956 and
was given the judges' unani-
mous decision for the Asher
Barash Literary Prize.

"Street of Steps" is in the
slums of Haifa, below Mount
Carmel, and "it just came to
be called that." It is crowded,
the doorsteps are cracked,
the rain penetrates the
houses. "The people who live
on it have their private
dreams. They also have many
children. They murmur pray-
ers. And the prayers are swal-
lowed up within the walls of
poverty, or in the dust of the
hot winds."

-

That's the section the hero
Avram Bakhar comes from and
into which Erella Dagan whom
he loves comes in search for
him. Avram is a Sephardi, Erel-
la is Ashkenzai. That's where
the conflict enters—a difficulty
that affects many Israelis as
the race question does Amer-
icans.
The struggles of the people in
the "Street of Steps" for their
livelihood is intermingled in
this story with the account of
Israel's struggles, of the pains
that go along with settlement
in Palestine before the war.
Avram and his brother Nis-
sim stem from a very poor
family. They are very close to
one another. They are differ-
ent, but they are linked by a
loyalty and love.
Avram joins the army in the
last war, goes to many lands
with the British forces, meets
with many experiences. The let-
ters he writes, and destroys
without mailing them, as re-
corded by novelist Yudit Han-
del, take the reader into the
maelstrom of suffering during
the Nazi domination and as
Avram finds the victims in the
period of their liberation. It is
an effective piece of writing
that reveals an understanding
authorship.

Then comes the period of
Israel's battle for freedom.
Both brothers are in the war
of liberation. Nissim loses a
leg. Avram meets and falls

DA ► EIN

in love with Erella, who also
served in the Israel army.

thing, and was there any differ-
ence between them when they
risked their lives?
But the vast difference per-
sists. The prejudice remains.
Avram is moody, he begins to
dream again of turning to the
sea he loves and again, as in
another period, to join the
naval force.

Erella's father is bitter. He
would not have a Sephardi or
a son-in-law. In contrast, Erella's
grandfather rebukes that prej-
udice. He sees in the fusion of
Ashkenazim and Sephardim a
wholesome condition for Israel.
And the old man further tells
There enters the tragedy on
his son, Erella's father:
"The Gentiles used to talk the other side of the emblem.
that 'your way about the Jews. Avram's childhood playmate
A new type of anti-Semitism and neighbor's child Rivka is
is abroad in the land, and this in love with him. She had
at a time when people talk hoped to marry him when she
and get killed for that matter grew up. Rivka's mother, dur-
of the different communities ing Erella's visit on the Street
. . . " And the elder Dagan of Steps in her search for
further advises his son: "Erel- her lover, made a scene and
la loves Avram, and the chil- shouted at her, "she is a
dren will be Jews of two com- Shiknazi," meaning that Erel-
munities, which is good, and la is Ashkenazi.
That's how the prejudices
how it should be. Didn't they
both, your daughter and Bek- were perpetuated on both sides.
har's son, fight to achieve some-
Avram vanished—apparently
he answered the call of the sea,
apparently, also, in his despair
Gordon Staples Will
over the difficulties in the path
of a love affair that was marred
Solo With Center
by sectional differences.
Symphony Orchestra
What the novel does is de-
Gordon Staples, assistant con- scribe the Ashkenazi-Sephardi
certmaster of the Detroit Sym- conflict, point to the dangers
phony Orchestra, will play the it poses, warn against it.
Brahms Violin Concerto in the
"Street of Steps" is a good
next Center Symphony Orches- novel, well written, ably trans-
tra concert, under the direction lated. Additionally, it has the
of Julius Cha- powerful sociological theme
jes, 8:30 p.m. about modern Israel. That gives
Tuesday at the it very high status and recom-
Community mends it as a very great work
Arts Audito- for our time.
rium of Wayne
State Univer- Israel Wants Human
sity.
Staples has Rights Declaration to
established his Become Binding Code
reputation by
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.,
often appear- (JTA) —Israel pledged itself
ing as soloist anew to continue to fight for hu-
with the De- man rights for all peoples every-
troit Sym- where, but noted that its govern-
Staples
phony Orches- ment and people are aware of
tra as well as other community the fact that, 15 years after
orchestras. He is also known for the United Nations adopted the
his many chamber music re- Universal Declaration of Hu-
citals. Other compositions listed man Rights, "the magnificent
on the program are Bach's principles" of that document
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 have not yet been "converted
and Beethoven's Symphony No. into a binding code of national
8. Tickets are available at the. and international behavior."
Center's Cashier.
The statement was made in
a letter from Ambassador Mi-
chael S. Comay, Israel's dele-
Reuther Confers
gation chairman here, to the
president of the General As-
With Ben-Gurion
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Walter sembly, Dr. Carlos Sosa-Rodri-
Reuther, president of the guez. Comay put his statement
United States, visited former in writing while a special ses-
Prime Minister David Ben- sion of the Assembly heard
Gurion at the latter's residence speeches celebrating the 15th
at Sde Boker in the Negev. anniversary of the adoption of
Reuther arrived in Israel for the Human Rights Declaration,
a four-day visit as the guest of passed in 1948. Since Israel was
the Histadrut, the Israel labor not on the speakers' list — con-
fined only to officers of the
federation.
Assembly and leaders of var-
ious regional groups — Comay
requested of Dr. Sosa that Is-
rael's remarks be made part of
BY HENRY LEONARD '
the Assembly's official records.

•-•y.'"`

•

• •
"Morris, remind me to make some
gefilte fish for next Shabbas."

.

Copt. 1963, Dayanu Productions

Build $4 Million
Research Center at
New York Hospital
NEW YORK, (JTA) — The
construction has been started
on a 12-story medical research
center at Montefiore Hospital
here. The $3,900,000 building,
to be known as the Henry L.
Moses Research Institute, will
be devoted to fundamental re-
search in a variety of medical,
psychiatric a n d biochemical
fields.
The structure will have seven
floors of laboratories with other
floors providing a library, lec-
ture hall, seminar rooms and
dining rooms. An electronic
computer center will be housed
in below-ground level areas.
Montefiore Hospital is a mem-
ber agency of the Federation of
Jewish Philanthropies of New
York.

Fasting with bread in the bas-
ket is not like fasting without
bread in the basket.—Kethuboth
, 63.

Leonard Cohen's Novel Annoys the
Jewish Reviewer; Negativism Irks.

In his novel "The Favorite
G a m e," published by Viking
Press (625 Madison, N.Y. 22),
Leonard Cohen makes use of
his Jewish knowledge, of his
Jewish background, and fre-
quently refers to his Jewish
"heritage," if such it was.
His novel is definitely over-
sexed, but it is useless to crit-
icize novels today for their ex-
cessive sex elements: isn't that
why novels sell?
But since Cohen does refer
numerous times to Jews—a fac-
tor hardly relevant to his story,
except that he wishes to make
it so—we are compelled to won-
der: why does he drag us in?
and why does he drag us in so
negatively?
At the very beginning of his
story he tells us, in relation to
the hero of his tale, the Mon-
trealean Lawrence Breavman,
that the joke in Montreal is
that "the Jews are the con-
science of the world and that
the Breavmans are the con-
science of the Jews," and 'he
quotes a Code of Breavman
which reads in part—"We are
Victorian gentlemen of Hebraic
persuasion. We cannot be posi-
tive, but we are fairly certain
that any other Jews with money
got it on the black market
Is this necessary? Is it true—
since the average reader may
immediately link all Jews with
black marketeering?
Oh, yes, the reviewer will be
called super-sensitive: but he
does ask of the novelists like
Leonard Cohen why they don't
leave us alone, why they don't
write about the Eskideluvians
instead of branding us as often
as they do. -
The hero in the Cohen story
has his quarrels with his moth-
er. That happens. But when the
terms "bastardess, witch" are
used, one must wonder whether
a novelist must go as far as
this one does.
Cohen writes about his He-
brew school days. He could well

have left these recollection out
to please the oversensitive who
happen to object to over-
branding.
He compares the passions of
Jewish girls with the Gentiles.
He passes judgment on Jews in
other ways. In the process of
narrating his story, he takes
Breavman on many escapades,
every one involving a sex ex-
perience.
Cohen writes well. There is
no doubt that he possesses poe-
tic skill. But the excess of sex
incidents, his unnecessary drag-
ging in of Jews into the es-
capades of his story annoy_ us:
would that he had left us out.

—

P.

S.

Borman Food Stores
Announces Dividend
The directors of Borman
Food .Stores, Inc., at its regular
quarterly meeting, declared a
cash dividend of 12 1/2 cents per
share, to be paid on Jan. 10 to
stockholders of record of the
company at the close of busi-
ness on Dec. 20.

Four loves needs the poor
cobbler and four loaves needs
the rich cobbler.—Baba Bathra 5.

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