`Diamond Jo,' Mrs. Rooke's Masterful
Novel of the S. African Diamond Fields
Fully to appreciate the impres-
sive and colorful novel, "Diamond
Jo," published by Reynal & Co.
and distributed by William Mor-
row & Co. (425 Park, S., NY16),
it is necessary to know the back-
ground of the novelist, Daphne
Rooke.
A native of the Transvaal in
South Africa, Mrs. Rooke learned
the language, customs and folklore
of the natives during her child-
hood in the Natal and Zululand
plantations. She now lives with
her husband and her daughter, a
zoologist, in Durban, still visits
the Zululand and the Transvaal,
and her interests continue in the
natives' customs and speech.
What she has learned is reflec-
ted in "Diamond Jo." Her novel
is like a guide to the South Afri-
can diamond fields. It reconstructs
the events of the 1880s and the
search that went on then for dia-
monds,
Mannie Bernstein is the hero
of the novel. He had insisted
that his father, a pious White-
chapel resident, should go to
Africa with him in search of a
fortune.
The hesitant father
yielded and the great experience
began.
It was more than an experience:
it was a great adventure. It was
part of the struggle to acquire the
shiny stones, to learn about them,
to deal in the diamond trade, to
buy and sell. It involved blood-
shed, floggings, murders, cheating,
the women who accompanied the
diggers.
The characters who form the
cast for this drama can and pos-
sibly will be transformed into
movie stars. "Diamond Jo" is fil-
led with so much adventure that
it can make a great film.
Mannie himself dug and fought;
acquired, lost, regained and often
dealt in illicit diamond trade. He
rose high, to be knighted by the
British sovereign. His main prob-
lem was the woman, Josephine
Carr—the Diamond Jo entertainer
in the story.
Mannie's father was associated
with Reb Gamzay and when the
latter died he adopted his
daughter Leah. Even while Man-
nie knew that he loved Jo he
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married Leah. His young and
very pretty wife suffered starva-
tion before Mannie finally be-
came very rich. She bore him a
son, Mordecai. They were pious
and observant. But Mannie still
loved Jo.
The able novelist explains Man-
nie's dilemma: "Leah and I lived in
a tent . . . There was a sickness in
me. . . I wanted Jo. Reason
would not help me. I could say
over and over to myself: she's your
ruination . . . But the afternoon
would find me watching for her
chaise .. ."
Leah was his wife, but he loved
Jo. He took pride in Mordecai,
there was Jewishness in their
home—Mrs. Rooke acquired a posi-
tive knowledge to be able to treat
the Jewish angle respectfully and
truthfully.
Then came the climaxe to the
story. Jo was sought for the mur-
der of one of the diggers who had
battled Mannie often, with whom
he competed for the lady's love.
She stabbed the man after he had
raped Leah. But what she wanted
and acquired were his diamonds.
And in the development Leah
would have to admit having been
raped against her will. But Jo's
flight saved them from the court
embarrassment and from having to
testify.
Thus we have a great drama
about the diamond diggings, the
African fields, the floggings Man-
nie suffered in the course of his
early experiences, the life of a Jew
among a d v e n t u r ers. Daphne
Rooke's "Diamond Jo" is a remark-
ably good novel.
Montreal Ground Broken
for Fair's Israel Pavilion
MONTREAL (JTA)—A unique
ground-breaking ceremony marked
the beginning of construction work
here on Israel's pavilion at Expo
'67, the Montreal Fair. During the
ceremony, earth from Mount Zion
in Jerusalem—brought from Israel
in a sealed bag and certified by
the Chief Rabbinate—was deposited
in the pavilion's foundations to-
gether with a commemorative He-
brew scroll.
Dignitaries on hand for the oc-
casion at the Notre Dame Island
site included a representative of
Mayor Jean Drapeau, a Citizen's
Committee headed by Allan Bronf-
man, a group of Expo officials un-
der Robert Shaw and the Consul
General of Israel in Montreal, Lt.
Colonel Dov Sinai.
JDC Parley in New York
NEW YORK — Jewish leaders
from Italy and Iran and
Joint Distribution Com-
mittee staff members from Geneva,
New York and Austria will par-
ticipate in a special panel on over-
seas needs at the 51st annual
meeting of the Joint Distribution
Committee at the New York Hilton
Hotel today.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, December 10, 1965-31
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Coolidge Hwy. at Capital (Between II and 9 Mile Rds.) 5444611
Danny Raskin's
Jewish Agency Allocates $666,000 for Waterworks
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An al- students were studying at the
location of 2,000,000 pounds ($666,- Hebrew University, 43 at the
000) was made Sunday by the Jew- Technion — Israel Institute of
ish Agency's agricultural settle- Technology in Haifa and 23 in
ment department to set up five other institutions.
new waterworks in various parts
of Israel. The slated areas include Gives $200,000 for Campus
Adulam and Lachish. The water
CINCINNATI (JTA) — Philip
will come from the National Water M. Meyers, president of the Jew-
Carrier project, which is being ish Hospital here, has contributed
gradually accelebrated.
$200,000 toward the University of
The Jewish Agency also an- Cincinnati development fund for
nounced that 176' students are cur- the construction of an thletic and
rently studying at various institu- recreation area, it was announced
tions in Israel under the sponsor- here by the university. The gift
ship of its Youth and Hechalutz brings the fund's total to within
Department. At the beginning of $50,000 of a $500,000 goal, the an-
BELLE AND HARRY Weingar- the academic year, 110 of the nouncement stated.
den, our sister and brother-in-law,
celebrated their 35th anniversary
of wonderful wedded bliss recent-
ly, with a family dinner at a local
eatery . . . and then back to the
home of our niece and nephew,
Lois and Milford Singer . . . The
years have been swell to Belle
• (Maurice & Irene Batchko)
and Harry.
*
WE WERE BORN IN a very
fortunate age ... The term
"juvenile delinquency" wasn't
thought of . We were just
known as pests.
LISTENING
att- ene,
* * *
HARRIET TURNER, teaching at
Cooley High, tells of the student
having trouble with Latin .. . At
home his mother, who took four
years of Latin at college, pesters
and tutors him, and he doesn't
like it much . . . At one frustrating
point he cried, "Don't forget, mo-
ther, Latin has changed a lot since
you studied it!"
* * •
USE FRIENDSHIP as a drawing
account if you wish, but don't
forget the deposits.
• *
A HOUSEWIFE IN A local su-
permarket bought two cartons of
cigarettes, three record albums,
a case of pop and two pairs of slip-
pers . . . When she looked at the
bill she exclaimed, "My, food prices
seem to be getting higher all the
time!"
*
* *
MARY AARON thoughtfully
bought wife Ida an electric
blanket, since she always complains
about cold sheets . . . She was a
little reluctant to sleep under all
that electric wiring, but Marty
assured her it was safe, and in min-
utes Ida was dozing off contentedly
. .. What he didn't know was that
she had put a beef stew in the
oven to bake all night at low
heat . . . when Marty awakened
in the night and smelled something
cooking, he reached over and shook
her . . . "Ida, Ida, honey!" he
cried, "are you all right?"
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IT IS WITH MUCH PLEASURE
THAT THE
Maltik
giuzczn.
diRautik Salm
introduces
LYNNN
(formerly of Birmingham)
To bring her distinct High Fashion Styling To Southfield
Scholars Honor Editor
of Encyclopedia Judaica
NEW YORK (JTA) — Declar-
ing that "the publication of a
wholly new Jewish Encyclopedia
in the U.S. is an expression of the
cultural fruition of American
Jewry." Dr. Nahum Goldmann,
world Jewish leader, introduced
Dr. Cecil Roth, noted historian, to
200 scholars and communal lead-
ers at a reception in his honor
last week at the Croydon Hotel as
chief editor of the new Encyclo-
pedia Judaica.
Dr. Goldmann, president of the
World Zionist Organization and
the World Jewish Congress, is the
honorary president of the Ency-
clopedia Judaica Research Foun-
dation—sponsors of the 15-vol-
ume, 9,000,000-word Encyclopedia
Judaica.
Dutch Fund for Tracing
Nazi Criminals Announced
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Simon
Wiesenthal, director of the Vienna
Documentation Center for Nazi
Crimes, announced the creation of
a fund in Amsterdam for tracing
Nazi criminals.
The Wie s enth a I Fund exec-
utive committee, made up
of representatives of all sec-
tions of the Dutch people, has
promised a substantial contribu-
tion to the fund, the Nazi hunter
said.
In order to look your smartest
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You Are Cordially Invited
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Southfield