Purely Commentary

Wiesel's Challenge to U.S.
Jewry . Harvest of Steel
in M. E.... Hanuka Message

By Philip

SiOMOVitZ

mention

Somerfin Reaches Pact
With Creditors ; Israel
Not Expected to Lose

success for the Soviet Union. It does not specifically
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Final
Ivied in the Yemen from agreement was reached here Mon-
'
Israel, and President Nasser, deeply invo
where he hopes to take over Aden once the British have left, day with all creditors of the debt-
It is an acknowledged and recognized lesson: that Hanuka pri-
ag ainst Israel, ridden
, h n Co.
dnt
itieor fi
has only aircraft to spare for an undeclared war of the Syrian regi iop; r n nemr Seeo m
t's result,
marily teaches us and all mankind that the right to differ is basic
and
no
food
and
no
money;
but
the
party
paper
Israeli
uel'
to human existence. It was the insistence upon that right that caused
government demanded a few clays after the signing of the treaty it was expected that A fs
the Isra
irn
a
the Maccabean rebellion. It was Israel's insistence that its faith is
Egypt should at once implement its military clauses.
will
is probably not
not to he tampered with by invaders that led to a revolt by a handful
Viet Cong suffer any loss.
The Syrian government has pledged itself to fight a
of rebels against a large invading Syrian army.
of
King
regime
The shipping line recently ran
war against Israel and also to overthrow the
the into
That right —to differ. to reject uniformity, to express one's views
trouble with various creditors
Hussein in Jordan. Yet Hussein has to seem pleased with
against
remains an inalienable right in a democracy and in the retention
and guarantors, which include d
Syrian-Egyptian treaty, as the beginning of a new line-up
of a people's as well as an individual's freedom.
Israel. The Palestine Liberation Front is setting up bases in not only the Israeli government
Hanuka retains its significance basically on this principle. It was
Jordan and defying his authority. figuring that a Viet Cong type but also a Swiss consortium and
bring about the the Anglo-Portuguese Bank. The
because the Maccabees were able to enforce that right that mankind
war against Israel attempted from Jordan will
end of Hussein whatever its success in Israel. Thus everyone is trouble was believed t o h a v e
has inherited the ideal of freedom and has been able through the
playing for high stakes. Soviet-Arab dominance of the Security stemmed from losses suffered its
by
centuries to adhere to religious liberties.
Council has reduced the UN role to the passive one of merely Somerfin in the operation
•
of
Hanuka has another lesson at this time. It is the
For JewrN .
registering what the parties are saying. Tel Katsir, my first passenger ships.
admonition that deviation from basic rights often leads to oppression.
observation post, means Harvest Hill. The harvest is becoming
ye's agreem
w
Monday's
a greem ent,
Linder
LTnd
e
Ilanuka also holds forth the rule that people have a right to defend
tine g. Aurora,
n tin u:nk
t opeer, a t h
.Ianu dia,
the l line's
themselves. The latter is applicable to the State of Israel. The right
one of steel and fire.
operating.
will
its
to free expression applies to the events that are taking place through-
It's a very great pity that selfish political motives stand in the
i'ihbors It is so vital to the . earnings
applied for
out the world today. There is need to speak regarding occurrences
her
Israc
in Germany. It is necessary that tragedies on many fronts—whether way of peace between
and Jews that they should work together i debt settlements over the next
they are in the Far East or the Middle East — should be treated in existence of both Arabs
a game 10 years. Israel will be free to
that there should be no sup- or
Russia
f fhe mutual benefit of all thei r peoles.
the But
USSR's
role plays
has not been , operate or sell four other Somer-
and
p
free discussion leading to peace and
related to the East-West struggle.
n untrammeled adherence to free minds. helpful to amity. Our own State Department fails, too often, to express fin ships on which she holds
pression of frank
be discussio.
open and
b
a view of firmness that could lead to a cessation of struggles. . The first mortgages. The agreement
by
t. et their
An Israel,
is expected to be approved
will we be able to speak o
Nations
is
subject
to
power
en
Th
United
T hen we may hope for peace.
The result is known. There
shortly by the subcommittee on
lights that are being kindled in our homes as signifying justice that dangers, must show strength on occasions.
economic affairs of Israel's
is a divisive situation that keeps leading us away from peace.
stems from open-mindedness.
cabinet.
*
*
(Last week, the cruise ship
: Elie Wiesel's Challenge to American Jewry
Nib, one of the Somerfin vessels,
A Harvest of Steel, Fire and Political Chicanery
In his stirring report on Russian Jewry, "The Jews of Silence" was ordered sold at auction by.
Hanuka's joys are a bit marred by the events in Israel and the '
(published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston), Elie Wiesel touches an American court in Miami to
threats to our kinsmen in the land of the Maccabees.
There is so much misunderstanding, there are so many mis- several sore spots. From his report it would appear
that herit
young
a ge satisfy a bankruptcy claim. The
Jewish
with
a n J ews are more clo se ly linked
i ng 500-passenger ship has been tied
know
avalanche
of
political
chicanery
that
Russi
not
their
spite
their
meri — in
of Aca
up in Miami since Nov. 18, when
conceptions, and there is an
than the you ng
the whys and wherefores of their background as Jews due to their the Israel government asked for
mars the hoped for peace.
having been deprived of a Jewish education.
- ' - • back of the whole business, and why did Israel
.
a legal attachment on a claim that
. • . •
IS a
heirwho w ill undr no circumstances let themselves Somerfin had failed to meet a
retaliate—with such tragic results at the UN Security Council? Writ-
, close to the area of serious be "There are Jews
on
esel adves
the mortgage payment.
is us. Reporting
pe ople ." Wiesel
tro
severed from
ing for the New Republic from
gathered to
(The Nili, which flies the Israeli
trouble in Israel. Leo Nluray explained:
. "night of dancing," where thousands of young Jews
synagogue
which
k , celebrate Simhat Tora in Moscow. at the city's
flag, was tied up for five days,
a, fierce sun is beating down on me from above the blea
•
alread , was overcrowded, Wiesel declares that "song triumphed over . stranded 500 passengers planning
treeless Syrian hills 500 yards away. Behind me s a .
made air raid shelter. Through my glasses silence, it was their triumph," that "it was through them only that to make a Bahamas cruise. The
trench and a roughly
the dream of freedom and community became reality," and he poses : ship's 1 o1
ca agent posted bond
I can see two big Soviet tanks dug in, and a sandbagged heavy .
that is a serious challenge to American and other Jewries with the district court which clear-
machine-gun position. On the crest of the hill is another of p barrels . question
eel the Nili to sail Nov . 22 . The
lands
f
In the glare of the sun I can just m ake out the shapes the middle in ree
soldiers are moving about. In th
"I am gill waiting," he declares, "to see tens of thousands ship was seized again before that
of heavy guns. Syrian
the barracks is a slim white building with the
of Jews singing and dancing in Times Square or the Place d Etoile date.
of it a ,amui
(Richard Ralph, a Miami at-
letters UN. Right in front of me is a plowed field the Israelis
as they danced here, in the heart of Moscow, on the night of
because
of
its
shape.
Car
headlamps
are
Simhat Tora. They danced until midnight without rest, to let torney representing the Israel
call -de Gaulle's nose"
to
light
up
"de
Gaulle's
nose"
so
government, said Israel will bid
strung along telegraph poles
the city know that they. are Jews."
as to make a night attack more difficult. I am at Tel Katsir, an
Must we wait for calamity to gain adherence to faith, to our on the Nili in the auction to pro-
of
the
Sea
of
Galilee
and
east
past? tect its interest in the mortgage
Israeli observation post southeast
historic heritage, to the treasures Jews inherit from an historic
.
,
,
0 about
of the River Jordan.
Wiesel's challenge is immense. It stems from lesson s acquired during ors
also have filed claims. Date
my
guide
went
in
o
the
but
of
the
leader
their
are
to
Jews
his Russian visits. It indicates how deeply devoted
When we arrived
out there in case past. There is this significant comment on Jewish affirmations in for the auction will be set soon.)
of the settlement. "just to tell them we are
was quiet Then I motored close
an
r
e"
But
the Syrians
sri.
Russia. •
to a position north of the lake, where Syrians and Israelis face
Ilya Ehrenburg wrote in his memoirs that he would call Jews in Florence Thank
each other across a meandering dirt track on a hillside of bare
himself a Jew as long as a single anti-Semite remained on earth. Communities for Aid
trees:
to
the
left
Tel
Aziziyat,
the
Syrian
red earth and a few
There is no doubt that this way of thinking is an important factor
settlements, Dan and Davne.
FLORENCE (JTA)—The Jews of
position, to the right two communal
in bringing young people together at the synagogue to rejoice Florence,
Here too the
struggling with tIn• disas-
On the surrounding hill are more Syrian positions.
because it is not easy to be a Jew in trous impact on their institutions
in
the
Tora.
Precisely
Syrians.
There
was
Israeli fields are right under the guns of the
Russia,
Jewish
consciousness
will
continue
to
grow.
"We
are
Jews
days
ago.
the
recent
devastating Italian
of
an exchange of fire a few
for spite," one student said to me. There is some accuracy in this. floods, have been greatly encour-
'That day I motored along the northern sector of the Jor•
anti-Semites
who
are
teachers,
it
is
the
For want of better
aged by help from other Italian
danian border and long stretches of the Syrian and Lebanese
making them Jews.
and .overseas Jewish communities,
borders. One stony hill looks like another, for miles there is
I said to . one of them, "You don't know Hebrew, you never Charles H. Jordan, executive vice
nobody in sight in the desolation brought about by centuries of
Distribution
learned Jewish history, you don't fulfill the commandments, and chairman of the Joint
'
neglect and deforestation. There is nothing easier than to infiltrate
you don 't believe in the God of Israel — in what way are y ou Corinm
e. ittee, was told during a visit
and it is being d one all the time.
a Jew?
here.
Parties of the two Palestinian Arab terrorist organizations,
The message was conveyed to
He answered, "Apparently you live in a country where.Jews
El Fatah and El Afisa, cross to blow up houses and installations
can afford the luxury of asking questions. Things are different . Jordan by A. Benadi• president of
territory
and
equipped
with
based
on
Syrian
They
are
and kill.
here. It's enough to fulfill one commandment or to celebrate one ' the Florentine Jewish community.
Soviet and Chinese weapons; they attack across Lebanese and
Jewish day a year. With us, being Jewish is not a matter of He told the JDC official that the
Jordanian territory in order to embarrass the governments of
words, but of simple endurance, not of definition but of existence. Jewish community was slowly
those two countries and make it harder for the Israelis to re-
If my son were to ask me one day what a Jew is, I would tell emerging from the mud left by the
taliate against Syria.
him that a Jew is one who knows when to ask questions and inundation of Nov. 3 and that the
The Israelis hate 285,000 Arabs living in Israel. These Arabs
total extent of the damage was
when to give answers . . . and when to do neither."
now becoming apparent.
are by no means committed to the survival of the state of Israel.
"Hurrah!" the voices thundered. "David, King of Israel, lives only
He also expressed thanks for im -
The Fshkol government has taken the enormous risk of abolishing
and endures. hurrah!"
military rule in the Arab districts. If the Israeli government does
mediate help in food and person -
How do we reach our youth? Are we to blame them for indiffer-
ageemalelnotcat\i‘o.enref ronneiedt the
fourrth
not show that it is able and willing to defend itself, many . more
Arabs than the handful working actively for the Palestinian or ence, or can we learn to be realistic and to admit that whatever JDC of $25,000, adding that help
lack of concern is in undoubted evidence stems from the failures of naenIdanedneo
ganizations will begin to stir.
generations—our own included?
F y ! n o; i r e g ( n )g ci c o' aa nl 1-
j e eenatu saer;ii apart
The sun-soaked settlement of Almagor is about the only spot earlier
beautiful
s
The
lesson
that
comes
to
us
from
Russia
should
stand
b
c
down
on
Syrian
positions
us
in
good
along the border where the Israelis look
were new.
instead of being commanded by them. Until now the general Arab stead. Perhaps it will awaken the youth. Surely it should stir the j of the damaged buildings
said he had come to
idea was to build up armies and to coordinate commands, strategy elders to action. Let there be a reawakening in order that a spiritual i Jordan, who
situation at first hand,
and tactics pending a regular wa r o f 80 million Arabs against recession should not lead to frustrations that will be psychologically see the
described it as "bad indeed."
or so Israelis. But the Syrians and the Palestine detrimental to the coming generations.

Hanuka's Permanent Message to Mankind: Right to Differ

three million
ration group s have decided to try out Viet Cong methods -
against Israel wi thout waiting for the big buildup. If the Israelis

----- ---
Psychiatric Parley Notes 'Painless' Adjustment of Nazi Victims in Israel

don't, retaliate. the Syrian government and guerrilla tactics have
GENEVA (JTA)—A Hebrew Uni- that fewer than 5 per cent of them istry, said that the immigrants
been proved right; if they do re ta liate, this is evidence of an
Anglo-American-Israeli plot to overthrow Syria's Baathist regime. versity psychiatristsaid
• here that were fret of psychosomatic em- Israel from Eastern Europe and
shown
meeting that North African nations had
The Chinese have 200 "instructors" in Syria, and Russia has Jewish survivors of the Nazi halo- plaints.
"remarkable progress - in integra-
the
Arabs
to
the
hilt
against
Israel
in
the
UN
caust who had emigrated to Israel
been backini;
Prof. Otto Klineberg of the
tion.
Security Council. The Russians have built a submarine base at have shown a "relatively painks, Sorbonne told the
by
The conference was organized the
Ras-el-Rani on the Syrian coast and a big radar tracking station
• the mental health of the Jewish
the
JDC,
in
cooperation
with
at El Ilessas eh in the northeast fo cover the big U.S.-NATO stn- : vocational and social adjustment. on Jewish
immigrants was largely depend-
Speaking at a conference on so
International Council
lion at Diyarbehir in Turkey. Practically all monitoring of Soviet cial psychiatry, organized by the cnt on the degree to which the
Social and Welfare Services and
4)zive shots in Central Asia is done from Diyarbekir.
Menta l 1
Joint Distribution Committee. Prot. %thole society - accepted the prin-
the World Federation for unusually
Russia's chief aim is to get a firm foothold in the eastern H. Z. Winnick of the Hebrew UM- civic 01 pluralism and the degree
Health, because of the
Medite r ranean through Syria and Egypt, naval bases on the Red v ersify Medical School. said such of prejudice and discrimination high incidence of emotion al disor-
Nazi Vic-
Sca and the Syrian coast, positions to leapfrog and outflank newcomers have managed to tune-
diaracte.ristie of that society.
ders among the Jewish
Turkey. The new defense treaty between' Egypt and Syria is a
f c,
d re ti
•
Nip:. Pm di s _ p. ,+ 1 tn.
- an anthro- 'tins
-, tion socially despite clinical eyi-
b ees . served by the
and
Mm- 1 JDC.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS dence, obtained after their arrival. pefo?:kt ir. the Israeli Health Min-
2 — Friday, December 9, 1966

