JNF Building Reservoir in Development Region

Laura Z. Hobson's New Novel, 'First Paper,'
Deals With Era of Triangle Fire and 'WW

Laura Z. Hobson will be re-
membered for her sensational book
"Gentleman's Agreement" which
exposed the anti-Semites of the
1930s. It was then among the most
discussed books of the year and
it proved an excellent topic for a
movie.
Will her newest novel, "First
Papers," just issued by Random
House, evoke as much discussion?
While the characters in the book
are Jewish—their Jewishness will
be questioned by knowledgeable
readers—it is a story about the
second decade of this century, the '
struggle for fair conditions by the '
workers, the events that marked
witich-hunts during the First,
World War.
The hero—there are several who
emerge as courageous fighters for
tree expression and as opponents ,
of depressing conditions that exist- .
ed at the time in the garment
shops of New York—is Stefan Iva-
rin. He is the editor of an English-

Jewish weekly which the author
has named Jewish News. Actually.
Ivarin had graduated from the
Yiddish press to the English lang-
uage role. In this sense, the author
evinces a lack of knowledge about
the newspaper situation of her
time. She took a novelist's libert-
ies. by giving the impression that
there was, in the early part of this
century. this type of newspaper in
New York—and a daily at that.
There was no such thing.

Nevertheless, the manner in
which she describes her hero's
efforts to establish high princi-
ples in his paper, his refusal to
yield to sensationalism, his resi-
gnation when a Man whose int-
egrity* he questioned was placed
in control, results in the port-
rayal of a courageous and highly
principaled man.
The story begins in the year of ,
the infamous Triangle Fire in New '
York. Avarin, who has the fullest ,
cooperation of his wife, drapes his
home in black as a protest. as an!
expression of sorrow. His child- j

ren, failing to understand the signi- imal here, at one point Ivarin gets

ficance of such an expression of
anger over a great tragedy, re-
sent it. The neighbors don't
understand . it.
That is One of the first disap-
pointments experienced by Ivarin.
It is followed by the sad events
on his paper, by the emergence
of the world conflict, the hounding
of pacifists, the sad events that
accompanied the Espionage Act.
It was an era of low standards,
and the workers were battling
under difficult conditions to sup-
port their families. It was the
time when the IWW was ana-
thema, when hysteria clowded
many issues. It is a novel about
one of the younger men in the
Ivarin circle—Ivarin's younger
daughter fell in love with him
—who is charged with espionage
and given a five-year sentence,
although his only crime is that
he was a conscientious objector.
Because the late John Haynes
Holmes was among those who in-
spired the pacifists, he, too, is
brought into the picture.
There is a passing reference to
the enmities that existed then be-
tween' Russian and German Jews,
but there is nothing of a generally
informative nature about Jewish
conditions during an era that was
so vital in the first two decades •
of the century in the development
of the American Jewish commun-
ity.
Life on the East Side of New
York is interestingly described. It
is evident. from the tasks that are
undertaken by Mrs. Ivarin during
her husband's illness—when she
has to step in to supplement in-
come for the family sustenance—
that many of the immigrants de-
sire teachers in English. that Mrs.
Ivarin is able to organize a group
that is craving for her lectures.
Name-changing — Ivarin's son
becomes Eaves—and intermarri-
iage emerges as natural here.
The author accepts assimiliation
as a natural idea.
While the Jewish issues are min-

into an argument with an associ-
ate, Landau, who tells him, "You
are no Jew at all. Agnostics are all
madmen."
Whereupon Ivarin asserts him-
self: "As long as there's one po-
grom in Russia, I remain a Jew,
agnostic but a Jew."
Laura Hobson's story ends with
the period of struggle between the
Mensheviks and Bolsheviks in Rus-
sia, the impending rise of Lenin
and Trotsky after the brief rule
of Kerensky. Ivarin is heartbroken:
"My poor Russia," is his exclama-
nation with which the book closes.
As an evaluation of the events
in the Jewish community during
the important historical era, start-
ing with the Triangle Fire and
concluding with the beginning of
Communist rule in Russia, "First
Papers" assumes an interesting I
role among the current new nov-;
els.

It was pOinted out by Prof.
Paul Matussek of the German
Institute for Psychiatric Research
that there are great differences
in Jews who immigrated to
Israel after liberation and those
who remained or returned to
Germany.
Whereas those who remained in
Germany tend to isolate them-
selves and show greater propensity
toward psychiatric disorders result-
ing from the internment, Jews who
immigrated to Israel seem to have
successfully overcome their camp
experiences, he said.
"We believe," said Dr. Matussek,
"the reaffirmation of a purpose
in life, which they experienced in
Israel by helping to build and de-
fend a new country, is probably
the most significant factor."

RA

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If you're not satisfied,
you get your money back!

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EDISON

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This offer Is

23, 1964

We Are Distributors to Gift Shops
Sister-Hoods and Stores

Aboard luxury liner TSS Olympia—
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Stops. at Curacao, Barbados, Giada.
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finest accommodations and cuisine.
Rabbinical supervision. 4th year this
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For reservations, information
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ATLAS VACATION SERVICE
101 W. 47th St., New York 36. N.Y.
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Sails January 4, 1965

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and SECURITIES

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CHANUKAH

11 DAY

British Firm invests
$9.5 Million in Israel

TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Wolf-
son-Clore Mayer Corp., the British
firm which finances large-scale
construction projects in Israel, has
thus far invested a total of 28,500,-
000 Israel pounds ($9,500,000) in
various enterprises in Israel, main-
ly in housing, it was reported by
M. Mayer. director general of the
corporation.
The firm is constructing a new
building to house the Tel Aviv
Municipality and has submitted a
proposal for the construction of a
similar facility for Jerusalem.

Judea.
The new storage dam, which will
hold 250,000 cubic meters, is the
second in the region, after the
one built by the JNF near kibbutz
Lahav, which has already come
into use last winter.

CARIBBEAN

Psychiatric Disorders Are Studied
Among German Nazi Camp Victims

The "concentration camp synd-
rome." physical and mental ail-
ments that crop up in former Nazi
camp inmates, is described in a
recent article in the Medical Trib-
une.
German physicians and psychi-
atrists are deeply concerned with
the, problem of treating and evalu-1
ating the effects in relation to com-
pensation claims on their govern-
ment.
It was noted that in many inst-
ances the ailments do not appear
until more than 15 years after the
war. Besides the physical defects.
such psychic disorders as fear
dreams, headaches, neuroses and
tendencies to amnesia are common •
among "syndrome" patients. 1
"Mental wrecks" is what one
public health officer called them.

BEERSHEBA—A new reservoir
designed to collect rain water and
store it for irrigation is being
constructed by the Jewish Nation-
al Fund in the bed of Nahal Ado-
rayim, in the development region
of the same name in southwestern

good at participating appliance

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:1

