Two Jews Who Provide Comfort for Nasser:
Three Books With Extreme Anti-Israel Angles
When Israel is attacked by an-
tagonists, it can be viewed as an
understandable part of political
developments. But when Jews at-
tack Israel and utilize their hatred
also to attack Jewish leadership
and Jewish aspirations that are
based on prophecy, one begins to
wonder how far people can go in
giving comfort to Nasserism and
the attempts that are being made
to destroy Israel and with it the
Israelis.
Three books indicate the extent
to which some writers will go in
misinterpreting the Zionist idea
and in lending encouragement to
those who would undermine Is-
rael's existence.
One is by a non-Jewish writer.
"The Road to Beersheba," a novel
by Ethel Mannin, published by
Henry Regnery, Chicago, is filled
with venom and misrepresenta-
tions. At the outset, the novelist
states: "This is a story of a small
part of the exodus of a million
Palestinians during the Arab-
Israeli war of 1948 . . Even the
extremest of Israel's critics con-
ceded that only 600,000 Arabs left
Israel under pressure not from
Jews but from their leaders.
That the novel was motivated
by prejudice is indicated in the
frontispiece inscription: "To and
for the. Palestinian refugees who,
in all the Arab host-countries,
said to me, 'Why don't you write
our story—the story of the other
exodus—our exodus?' " Which is
perfectly legitimate, even if mis-
representative, except for the
venomous descriptions of cruelty
supposedly inflicted upon Arabs
by Jews—cruelty that cannot be
proven and that smacks, in the
Mannin novel, of shocking exag-
gerations. The novel clearly ap-
peals for the creation of a move-
ment to end Israel's existence. It
is a venomous and destructive
novel.
* * *
More shocking, however, are the
two books by Jews who are pour-
ing out so much hatred against Is-
rael, are so inflamed with dislike
for Jewish leaders, are definitely
propagating for Nasser and his co-
horts, that even in Cairo they must
marvel over such an occurrence
among Jews.
One of the haters is Moshe
Menuhin, father of the world fani-
ous violinist, Yehudi Menuhin,
whose "The Decadence of Judaism
in Our Time," is published by
Exposition Press.
The other is Alfred M. Lilien-
thal, one of the few Jews who has
visited and cohorted with Nasser
and other enemies of Israel, who
began his anti-Jewish career as a
member of the Council for Juda-
ism and who has for several years
conducted a one-man campaign
against Israel, Zionism and Jewish
aspirations based on historic
rights. His "The Other Side of the
Coin" has been published by the
Devin-Adair Co.
It is amazing how both authors
managed to delve into every avail-
able anti-Israel text, to resort to
invectives that have not been
heard even on Cairo Radio, to ab-
sorb every conceivable bit of
propaganda against the Zionist
idea and against Jews who support
Israel's upbuilding.
* * *
Menuhin, for example, begins
by berating Theodor Herzl who,
he charges, "like the Jesuits of
old, must have concluded that the
end justifies the means." He uti-
lizes every word uttered by Herzl,
and later by other leaders, to build
up a mirage based on the object
of his attack, " 'Jewish' political
nationalism." Even the jacket of
the book at once suggests an effort
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to create suspicion, to arouse sen-
timent against Israel and Zionism,
to portray Jewish leadership as
being un-American. He insists that
while it will outrage Jews and non-
Jews, this question is "valid and
pertinent": "Are Americans of the
Jewish faith truly Americans? Or
are they Americans by conven-
ience only, temporarily in exile
from the Israeli 'homeland'?" •
This is such an outrageous in-
troduction to a very evil book that
one wonders how a legitimate pub-
lishing house could have permit-
ted such a hate-inspiring thought
to serve as an introduction to one
of its publications. The audacity
of a man to charge Jews with dis-
loyalty--isn't this what the ques-
tion implies since it speaks of
Jewish Americans as being such
only "temporarily" and for "con-
venience"? — places him in the
ranks of the fomenters of bigotry.
Moshe Menuhin's book was writ-
ten against Israel and Zionism,
but it reacts against American
Jews as a whole.
* * *
Every "argument" uttered
against Israel and Zionism by
Arabs has been introduced in the
Menuhin book. There is a total
lack of respect for men like Chaim
Weizmann, whom he accuses of
using "the methods of bluff and
ostentation" and of resorting to
"horse-trading, haggling and
pledging . . ."
There is an entirely different
approach when he deals with the
anti-Israel and anti-Zionist Coun-
cil for -Judaism and he uses much
of the material that was spread in
the Judaism Council's campaign
by the late William Zuckerman
and his "Newsletter." He glories
in the investigations that were
conducted by Senator- Fulbright,
he attacks the JTA, makes accusa-
tions against the Jewish Agency
and his attack on the UJA is
based in large measure on Zuck-
erman's diatribes.
Criticisms of Israel's capture of
Adolf Eichmann are unearthed as
another means of attacking Israel.
Moshe Menuhin becomes the
self-styled defender of "the noble
heritage of universal Judaism,"
and he speaks of a conscience that
bothered him about a "gang"
which is indoctrinating and brain-
washing Jews. He goes so far as
to say that "the Jewish 'national-
ists' now want us, American and
English and other Western Jews
to became 'refugees,' manpower
in a greater 'Jewish homeland'."
There is a redeeming feature in
Menuhin's book: he writes in his
preface: "Please remember this:
my son Yehudi Menuhin is in no
way responsible for any opinion
expressed here on Jewish life. In
fact, he knows nothing about this
spiritual adventure of mine. He
has not read my manuscript. At
this stage of our lives we are two
wholly independent persons, fully
emancipated from each other, in-
tellectually and spiritually. Neither
of us in answerable for the other.
If the 'father has eaten sour
grapes .. . the son shall not bear
the sin of the father . . "
* * *
Like Menuhin, Alfred M. Lilien-
thal resorts to Council for Juda-
ism and William Zuckerman prop-
aganda motivated by misunder-
standings and by building up a
case against American Jews who
are engaged in pro-Israel affairs.
He is plagued by a fear for "al-
leged nationality unity between
Israel and non-Israeli Jews" and
some statements by Zionist lead-
ers, taken out of context actually
sound as if there was a conspiracy
among Zionists to build up a Jew-
ish nationality here in contraven-
tion to basic American Jewish
loyalties.
Thus, in essence, this work is an
accusation against American Jews,
questioning their loyalties. There-
in lies the gravest injustice per-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
10—Friday, April 30, 1965
petrated against Jewry. Chronicl-
ing the many events that have
transpired in the last decade and
more—listing the anti-Nazi • plays
and commentaries, the Eichmann
trial, the staging of "The Deputy"
—Lilienthal's comment is: "The
press and television never stepped
the process of pricking the Chris-
tian conscience." The implied fin-
ger of guilt pointed at Jewry is
obvious.
There are accusations against
the New York Times as being a
party to building up false claims
for UJA, Zionism, Israel, the mi-
grations to Israel. Every available
bit of anti-Israeli propaganda is
utilized in the attack. Nasserism
is defended. The entire American
press is accused of collaborating
with the Jewish conspirators: "Na-
tional magazines and periodicals
have also played a major role in
bringing but one side of the story
to the public." And the author of
"The Other Side of the Coin" goes
to great length to charge that the
Arab refugee issue is clouded by
Jewish propaganda.
* * *
It is truly amazing to what ex-
tent the haters of Israel and Zion-
ism can go. Toynbee's anti-Jewish
sentiments are utilized, the Anti-
Defamation League as well as
other Jewish movements are con-
demned.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
is portrayed as having tried "to
safeguard the national interest and
to avoid the total support de-
manded for Jewish national aspira-
tions." And President Truman is
accused of having thrown away
"caution with precipitate recogni-
tion of Israel as he reached for
what he believed to be vital
votes."
The humanitarian factor never
counts! Justice to the Jew does
not exist! Fault-finding is the
major objective of this book which
seeks to besmirch a movement, to
attack personalities, to accuse the
author's own kinsmen of being
motivated by a double allegiance
that does not exist.
Lilienthal makes sure to point
to the "staggering" sums received
Congressmen Want End
to Arab Appeasement,
Say Zionist-RevisionistS
by Israel from philanthropic funds,
from U.S. loans and investments,
from German reparations. What.a
contrast would become evident if
he were to provide the parallelism
of Arab incomes from large U.S.
allocations, from oil incomes and
other available funds! But he de-
terminedly attacks Zionism, warns
of growing Arab power, raises the
issue of "Zionist expansionism,"
maintains that if that were re-
m o v e d, "Arab eliminationism
would disappear." What proof is
there that Zionists seek expansion-
ism, and doesn't everything point
to Nasser's one aim: to destroy
Israel and to make no concessions?
* * *
Lilienthal s solution is that there
be a "de-Zionization" of Israel—
an emigration of 850,000 Israelis,
a return of Moslem Jews to the
countries they came from, the re-
turn of 850,000 Arabs to Israel. He
speaks of a bi-national, non-sec-
tarian state.
It is interesting to note that
Norman Thomas, who has always
attacked Zionism and could not be
counted as a friend of Israel; Prof.
Arnold Toynbee, whose antagon-
isms to Jewry are well known; Dr.
John H. David, former -director
general of the UN Relief Works
Agency, whose reports have not
been friendly to Israel, and Sen-
ator Ralph Flanders have com-
mended Lilienthal's book.
What a pity that a note of com-
passion could not creep into an
otherwise able man's views on Is-
rael, Zionism and Jewry.
NEW YORK (JTA) — A large
number of United States Senators
and Representatives are dissatis-
fied with the Middle East policies
of the administration, Beinesh Ep-
stein, executive vice-chairman of
the United Zionists-Revisionists of
America, reported to the organiza-
tion's national council.
He noted that, in communica-
tions received from more than 80
members of both houses, the over-
whelming majority expressed a
desire to see an end to Arab ap-
peasement and a halt to the aid
given to Nasser.
Among the legislators who were
outspoken in their views urging a
firmer U.S. policy toward Nasser
were Sens. William Proxmire, ,of
Wisconsin, Harrison A. Williams,
Jr., of New Jersey, Paul Do
of Illinois, Paul J. Fanin of
ona, Joseph S. Clark of Penn
vania, Herman E. Talmadge of
Georgia, and Thomas H. Kuchel of
California.
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