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 48235 Mich.,
VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign $7.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Business Manager
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE RYAMS
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 23rd day of Av, 5725, the following scriptural selections will be read in our
synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion: Deut. 7:12-11:25; prophetical portion: Isa. 49:14-51:3.
Licht benshen, Friday, Aug. 20, 7:08 p.m.
VOL. XLVII, No. 26
Page 4
Aug. 20, 1965
Echoes of the Tragic Era of Nazism
Reports from Israel indicate that the over-
whelming majority of Israelis approve of
their government's action of accepting the
West German appointments of envoys in the
new agreement for an interchange of diplo-
matic relations between the two countries.
Nevertheless, the recollections of the past,
the unhealed wounds sustained by the tens of
thousands of the survivors from Nazism who
are presently residing in Israel, have inspired
demonstrations that revive the saddest of
memories.
The chief appointees have been cleared.
Israel's officials assert that the men who now
represent the Bonn government are accepta-
ble to the Jewish State. But the survivors are
the chief objectors to the selections that have
been made, and their anguished voices are
understandable.
What has happened in Israel in the past
week merely emphasizes the inevitable senti-
ment that the Nazi horrors can not be forgot-
ten, that they certainly will not be forgiven.
The issue that has emerged with the open-
ing of the West German embassy and its occu-
pation by the Bonn representatives will
undoubtedly be resolved. The affected diplo-
matic - relations are accepted as established
and accepted facts in Israel's relationship
with the government that has replaced the
Nazi regime. Yet, for an unlimited time to
come, all negotiations between Israel and
Bonn will have to be. conducted with great
caution, with demands for assurances that any
semblance of the Nazi spirit must be erased,
that there must never be even a semblance of
the anti-Semitic approach in any dealings
with Bonn or its spokesmen.
The problem that arose with the appoint-
ment of Dr. Rolf Pauls as Germany's first am-
bassador to Israel has raised many questions,
and one of them has been answered by Dr.
Max Nussbaum, the chairman of the Ameri-
can Section of the World Jewish / Congress,
and immediate past president of the Zionist
Organization of America, who, two weeks
ago, was the first Jewish representative of a
world Jewish body to see the new appointee.
In an evaluation of the character of Dr. Pauls,
Dr. Nussbaum declared that he was "much
impressed by him," that "he is a charming,
cultured and sensitive man who, I predict,
will be an excellent ambassador to the Jewish
State. He is preparing himself thoroughly for
the new mission, reading all he can about
Israel, and commencing to study Hebrew. He
will have a very hard year in front of him,
but I am convinced that, after the initial
period, he will be among the most beloved
and popular figures of the diplomatic corps."
Nevertheless, Dr. Nussbaum supplements
his report with this statement:
"But all this has nothing to do with the moral
sensitivity which, in my opinion, Bonn should have
displayed in the same way as did the Adenauer
government 15 years ago when they sent three
men to Paris, London and Washington as their
first ambassadors—none of them from the Foreign
Office. Adenauer selected these three men be-
cause of their popularity in the respective coun-
tries to which they were assigned and because
Germany wanted to project a new image to the
Western world's three most important capitals.
Germany's relationship to Israel today is, from a
psychological viewpoint, the same as her rela-
tionship to the Western nations fifteen years ago.
As the first ambassador, a man should have been
selected from the two categories I have men-
tioned."
Himself a refugee from Nazi Germany
where he had served as a rabbi in pre-Hitler
years, Dr. Nussbaum advocates dialogues for
peace and for mutual accord and he asserts:
"I do not believe that the time has come either
for forgiving or for forgetting. No fair-minded
German even expects it of us, and I don't believe
the Jewish people will, for a long time, be ready
for either of these two steps. The time has come,
however, for the commencement of a dialogue,
especially with the young German generation. The
opening of this line of communication is important
for several reasons. First, morally, one cannot
go on and live eternally in hatred by punishing
the children for the sins of their fathers; secondly,
politically, Germany is of utmost importance for
Israel's future; thirdly, universally speaking, this
young generation is Germany's only hope for
peaceful integreation into Western society.
"The dialogue that we ought to begin now will
not necessarily always be friendly, and it may
have to include sharp language; but the time for
discussion has come. This is not the Nazi Germany
of yesterday. There are liberal forces struggling
bravely to reshape the soul of the German nation.
These forces are still small, but they must be
encouraged.
"Who is in a better position to fulfill this his-
toric function than we, the Jewish people? By
doing so, we may in due time open a new chapter
of German-Jewish relationship; help foster better
understanding between Bonn and Jerusalem; and
make a contribution to peace in our generation."
It is not so certain that Dr. Nussbaum's
view will be accepted very readily. The survi-
vors will always think in terms of kabdehu
v'hashdehu—respect, yet suspect—the post-
Nazi nation with whom all Jews through Is-
rael now are forming new partnerships. In-
deed, there will always be people who will
look for the source of merchandise before
purchasing anything from Germany, who will
think twice before boarding a German plane,
who will hesitate to visit Germany.
Yet, since there will be business relations
between the two peoples, individuals, while
remaining in defense of democracy and hu-
manitarian principles, the new Germans will
gain greater respect. There will be an increas-
ing measure of accord as time goes on, and
while there will be suspicions they will be
directed not only at the Germans but at sev-
eral other peoples whose governments collab-
orated with Nazi murderers, whose hands also
are stained with the blood of our kinsmen.
A tragic era brings tragic memories. Hu-
manitarianism, when fully proven as genuine,
will re-establish amity but will make men
cautious in their concern that inhumanity of
man must never again be enacted.
End to National Shame
The present Congress gains in glory not
only for its actions in support of civil rights
and in behalf of medicare, but also in having
negated the horrors that were implied in dis-
criminating immigration rules.
The liberalization of the immigration act
accomplshes advocacy of fairness towards all
nations in the allocation of immigrant quotas
as advocated by Presidents Truman, Eisen-
hower, Kennedy and Johnson.
Some of the rules that were inherent in
the McCarran Walter Act were so cruel that
they held up our nation to ridcule. Now hon-
or is restored to America's name by the
removal of discriminations that disgraced us.
Terrorism in L. A.
A century of the white man's sins com-
mitted against the Negroes is primarily
responsible for the horrors that were per-
petrated in Los Angeles.
This must be remembered while an entire
nation condemns looting, murder, rioting
and resort to terrorism.
The injustices against the black man are
being corrected. There will be need to speed
up efforts to raise the standards of the op-
pressed, to educate them, to teach them
trades and professions. And while this is
being done there is a duty to repudiate any
and all who may condone the type of insur-
rection which has made this country the
butt of criticisms in unfriendly foreign coun-
tries. Negroes and whites must combine
forces to prevent a recurrence of the out-
rages and to let it be known that anything
akin to the horrors that have just been wit-
nessed will never again be tolerated.
Encyclopedic Literary Work
'The Jew and His World':
An Introduction to Judaism
Dr. Abraham Mayer Heller describes his "The Jew and His
World," published by Twayne (31 Union Sq. W., NY 3), as "a non-
partisan introduction to the Jew and Judaism." This is not an exag-
gerated claim. But it is much more than that: it is an encyclopedic
literary effort, and the contents of the book include such a vast
amount of definitive material on Jews and Judaism that Rabbi Heller
has earned English-reading Jewry's gratitude.
In an age when there suddenly emerged the repeatedly inquiry
"What is a Jew?" this series of hundreds of brief essays offers
answers that are conclusive, authoritative, factual.
Having drawn upon the advice of spokesmen from all branches of
American Judaism, Rabbi Heller may truly claim that what he has
compiled and written is, indeed, nonpartisan.
In the opening chapter, which provides the definition of
Judaism, Dr. Heller deals with Judaism as such, the God concept,
peoplehood, Mitzvot, Torah and Revelation and "Jewish constitu-
ency." In the latter he explains that "The. Ger Tzedek," the "sincere
convert," has a share in the Jewish spiritual heritage and historic
lineage.
An addendum to this valuable work, the concluding chaper, is
"A Profile of Today," describing American and world Jewries and
Israel in their present status.
Sandwiched in between these two chapters are 11 other chapters
dealing with ideologies and parties, Torah's source and authority, the
Quest for God, prayer and the synagogue, precepts and practices,
feasts and fasts and a chapter entitled "Aristocracy of Learning."
In each of these chapters are incorporated the basic facts to be
known about Judaism, our heritage, folk ways, traditions.
The "Aristocracy of Learning" offers special food for thought.
It is an encouragement to knowledge as a basis for survival. It calls
for "Above All, Torah." It devotes space to great books and the Bible.
It is an analysis of the Jewish literary treasures, including the Siddur
and even the Tzenah U-Renah, the book of prayer in Yiddish idiom.
This chapter admonition is, "in the world of the Midrash,
`Learning must be sought; it will not come of itself.' " Its con-
cluding words are: "As Maimonides expressed it, The advance-
ment of learning is the highest commandment . .. ' "
A lengthy and splendid glossary explains the employed Hebrew
words and concepts. There is an index of names identifying those
mentioned in the text.
Dr. Heller's new book is the result of genuine scholarship that
contributes towards the advancement of a major aim in Jewish life:
the re-establishment of an aristocracy of learning.
Valuable Facts and Figures
'Israel Year Book, 1965'
In cooperation with the economic department of the Jewish Age li
"The Israel Yearbook 1965" has just been issued in Tel Aviv.
The new volume incorporates the Palestine Yearbook and the
Israel Annual, formerly published by the Zionist OrganizatiOn • of
America, and the Anglo-Palestine Yearbook, formerly published in
Great Britain.
The new volume, under the editorship of Dr. L. Berger, A. Hirsh-
berg, R. Levin and S. Yedidyah, contains valuable economic data,
informative essays on many aspects of life in Israel, and information
about Israel's military status and its defensive strength.
There are articles on education in Israel, the country's legal
system, archaeology, the diamond industry, the theater, investment
opportunities, the museums, medical research with emphasis• on
cancer studies, Bible studies, imports and exports, the chemical
and building industries, the institutions of higher learning and
a full report on the role of the Jewish Agency.
Experts in various fields have contributed to this volume. Thus,
the military aspects are reviewed by Shimon Peres, former deputy
minister of defense. Judge Henry L. Baker of the Jerusalem District
Court authored the article on the legal system, David Horowitz,
governor of the Bank of Israel, described Israel's monetary policy
and Minister of Finance Pinhas Sapir evaluates Israel's industries.
Israel's social, health and labor agencies are listed and described
and there are other valuable guides and descriptive tables regarding
Israeli institutions.