Purely Commentary
The Tragedy of Jack Ruby
There should be a general feeling of sympathy for the survivors of
Jack Ruby because even in his death they are anguished by the unceas-
ing publicity generated by their brother's insane act.
He was a simple fellow who could not have been rational too
often. Else he would not have been involved in so many escapades in
Chicago and in Dallas; else he would not have been a gun-carrier; else
he would not have caused so much confusion by an act that could have
been committed only by a person temporarily maddened.
Jack Ruby's murderous act added fuel to an already confused
situation revolving around the assassination of President Kennedy. All
kinds of disturbing fantasies are going the rounds, involving President
Johnson, placing blame for the Kennedy assassination on many people,
causing suspicions and arousing hatreds. Among the horrifying sensa-
tional incidents revolving around the case was the placing on sale for
$950 of a letter allegedly written by Ruby and smuggled out of his jail
cell in which President Johnson is being dragged in as a conspirator in
the assassination and in which there is charge of a "conspiracy to
liquidate the Jews." From all indications it was a falsified letter, yet
such literature is circulated and rumors are repeated,
There are many similar sensations, including the one involving a
stage play about the Kennedys, Johnson, the assassination, fantasies
about conspiratorial motives, etc. That Play, "MacBird," (Johnson), will
open in an off-Broadway theater next month, and the rumor mills will
again grind out fantastic stories.
Jack Ruby became deeply involved in this tragedy. A feature
article in the New York Times was entitled: "Ruby, Who Wanted
Esteem, Won a Place in History." Yet the splendid editorial in the same
issue was entitled "Death of a Nobody." This is the case of "a nobody"
who acquired such notoriety that his own and his family's tragic ex-
periences became interlinked with an occurrence that has shocked the
entire world and has created disputes of a lasting nature.
The avenger of Kennedy's assassination caused trouble not only for
himself but for all who have been anxious for a rational solution of
the murder of a President. He can not be forgiven for such an act, buf
who ever sought forgiveness for insanity?
*
*
Julien Bryan's Return to Lecture Platform Here
George Pierrot and the World Adventure Series have earned the
community's gratitude for bringing back to the lecture platform here
so eminent a world traveler as Julien Bryan.
Absent for a few years, Bryan will renew associations with many
friends here who had learned to admire and respect him for his
courageous stand against bigotry, for his expose of prejudices in
Russia and Poland, for his condemnation of Nazism. ,
In his lecture here, Jan. 15, at the Art Institute, under Pierrot's
management, he will discuss "Israel Today" and those who are ac-
quainted with him and his skill of evaluating conditions expect an
important account of events in the entire Middle East, of the variety
of developing conditions in Israel, of the conflicts in and hopes for
peace in that area.
It is a pleasure to welcome ,back to Detroit a good and tried
friend and we hope to see a capacity audience at his 'lecture here
on Jan. 15.
*
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The French Anti Semitic Trends
-
France has been the land of contrasts in human relations. It was
in France that an innocent Jew (Alfred Dreyfus) was accused of
treason by a military junta. And the French have been among the
most liberal in other matters, especially in relation to Israel.
Yet France even now, in this advanced age, shows signs of bigotry,
as was indicated in a most recent poll which showed such shocking
details of spreading anti-Jewish feelings that the admirers of the
people of that country must have read the figures in utter amazement.
The basic facts of that poll were told in an extensive report sent
to London Times by its Paris correspondent who revealed the fol-
lowing:
Prejudices die hard in a country like France which, in spite
of the continual upheavals of the past 170 years, has largely
succeeded in preserving the substance of its social structure, while
Britain has more successfully clung to the forms.
The contrast between the two Frances—that of the Revolution,
of the republicans, anti-clericals, Freemasons, and Jews and that
of the monarchy, the bien-pensants, nationalists, anti-Semites, and
sentimental conservatives—has survived to this day.
The Vichy regime, and the liberation, sharpened it, even
though latter-day Gaullism has to some extent blurred traditional
outlines.
A French magazine, Adam, has just published the results of
a public opinion survey designed to discover the present stand
of that most hardy of all social prejudices, anti-Semitism, in
France after the Nazi persecutions, the creation of the state of
Israel, and the revolution in the attitude of official Roman Ca-
tholicism towards the Jews.
The results show that among the French 10 per cent are
declared anti-Semites and 20 per cent, in the opinion of the poll-
sters, show serious anti-Semite characteristics. Less than a quarter
of Frenchmen of all ages, religions, and political persuasions be-
lieve that the Jews are men like everyone else. Those who are
conscious that Jews are different because of race, rather than
religion, are more numerous among professional classes and
business leaders, and least among Communists. Nineteen per cent
of those polled did not think Judaism is a religion like any other,
and 8 per cent still held the Jews responsible for the death of
Christ.
The survey reveals in passing what had long been suspected
by foreign observers in this country: that the average Frenchman
has no particular love for foreigners. More than half those polled
thought there were too many foreigners in France, and 60 per
cent of the communists were of this opinion. This prejudice is
especially strong among farmers and industrial workers.
The foreigners most strongly objected to were Arabs (62
per cent), with Africans next (18 per cent). Then came the Jews
(13 per cent) and Corsicans (4 per cent). Nineteen per cent of
those polled did not think Jews are Frenchmen like themselves;
only 12 per cent felt the same about Alsatians and 3 per cent
about Bretons.
There has, however, been some easing of prejudice since the
war, for in 1946 a similar poll showed that 43 per cent of French-
2—Friday, January 6, 1967
Rumor Factory at Work
in Ruby Case . . . French
Bigots . . . Bryan Visit
By Philip
Slomovitz
men refused to consider Jews fully fledged French citizens.
However, it is still remarkable to find that 1 per cent of the
people questioned thought that the extermination of the Jews by
the Nazis was a good thing and that 19 per cent felt it was just
part of the normal horrors of war.
A high percentage felt that Jews are extremely numerous
in trade, and 38 per cent considered this a bad thing. There are
stronger objections to Jews in politics, more than half condemning
it. The same goes for finance.
Perhaps these revelations should not be considered as being
very unusual. We have frequent evidences of anti-Semitism in this
enlightened land. After 200 years of injustice to Negroes in this
country, since the introduction of slavery by the importation of the
blacks from Africa, we still encounter difficulties in wiping out the
shame that accompanies race hatred. Age-old religious prejudices often
are repeated, and the human mind is a difficult organ to deal with
when it comes to righteousness.
Nevertheless, the battle against indecencies continues and there
are more people with a sense of fairness than there are bigots. Which
should give us courage to believe that the inhumanity of man to man
is limited to a minority. Else we would indeed fear the sight of
other men out of growing suspicions and we would have to isolate
ourselves from humanity. But we are getting closer to the light and
we must hope that the darkness that often confuses the human mind
will never prevail long enough to undermine the progress of our
civilization.
* - *
*
Jewish Agency
Holds Plenary
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Reports of
high percentages of emigration
from Israel were termed here as
"much exaggerated" by Moshe
Rivlin, director general of the
Jewish Agency.
Addressing a press conference,
he said that only 12 to 15 per
cent of immigrants to Israel left
the country. This, he stressed,
was considered "a normal per-
centage."
' _
Rivlin reported that the Jewish timi
Agency was seeking to organize
"group immigration" of profes-
sionals and that a first group of
American teachers was already in
a Beersheba Ulpan, a center for
accelerated teaching of Hebrew.
He said a group of Argentine phy-
sicians were expected to settle in
the Negev area.
Efforts also were being made,
Efforts also were being made,
he reported, to encourage North
African Jews who resettled in
Pope John XXIII and the Challenged Prayer
France, to make their ultimate
Two years after the death of Pope John XXIII, a prayer, credited home in IsraeL
to him, was published in a non-Catholic periodical, in this text:
He said particular attention
"We are all conscious today that many many centuries of
blindness have closed our eyes so that we can no longer see the was being paid to students among
such North African Jews and
beauty of thy chosen people nor recognize in their faces the feature
that many of them were already
of our privileged brethren.
attending Israeli universities. An
"We realize the mark of Cain stands upon our foreheads. Across
the centuries our brother Abel has lain in the blood we drew and organization of university stu-
shed tears we caused by forgetting thy love. Forgive us for the dents originating from North Af-
curse we falsely attached to the name of Jews. Forgive us for we rican countries was to hold its
founding conference here this
knew not what we did. Forgive us for crucifying thee a second time
week.
in their flesh for we knew not what we did."
This prayer did not appear in Oservatore Romano, the official
Vatican publication.
Tax-Exempt Interest Rate
Thus much later, Pope John's secretary, Msgr. Louis Capovilla,
has repudiated the prayer as stemming from the late head of the Aids Well-Heeled Israelis
Catholic Church who had been revered as one of the most liberal
TEL AVIV (ZINS) — Israelis
leaders of his faith.
having fat cash accounts in the
In view of the ecumenical gestures, it is rather surprising that local banks can live comfortably
an attitude of rejection should have emerged. It is well established on their dividends alone.
that the liberal forces, while in an overwhelming majority in Catholi-
Haaretz reports that the annual
cism, still are faced with antagonism from a bigoted minority among
church dignitaries. It was to be expected, however, that a warm and tax-exempt interest rates now paid
heartening prayer like the above might have had a measure of en- by Israeli banks amount to 12 per
dorsement and commendation among Catholics. It all goes to prove cent on all deposits remaining in
that the quest for liberalism does not end with a single gesture or a the bank for six months each year.
group of good will asseverations. The aspiration for human kindness
This rate has been declared
is an unending aim that often involves struggle—with self as well as legal in accordance with the new
with groups who are divided in their humanitarian and liberal ap- ordinances published by the Cen-
proaches.
tral Government Bank.
Resettlement Service Will List
Families Seeking Reunion With
Relatives Still in Soviet Union
Families in the Detroit area
who are interested in bringing
their relatives from the Soviet
Union may register their names
with Resettlement Service, Mrs.
Samuel J. Caplan, president, re-
ported.
Jewish family agencies through-
out the country are cooperating
with United Hias Service of New
York, the international Jewish mi-
gration agency, which is preparing
a roster of Jewish families in the
Soviet Union who are interested
in being reunited with families in
the United States and other coun-
tries.
This program will implement
the statement made by Soviet Pre-
mier Alexei Kosygin at a press
conference in Paris.
He said at'the time that the
Soviet government would see to
it that Soviet Jews who wanted
to join members of their fami-
lies living in the West "can be
reunited with their families."
"We will make it easy, we will
open the road for those who want
to leave," Premier Kosygin said.
United Hias Service and Reset-
tlement Service are looking for-
ward to the implementation of this
promise. In the past there has been
a limited emigration from the
Soviet Union (including Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania and sub-Car-
pathian Ukraine and Moldavia) of
close relatives to the United States,
Canada, Australia and other coun-
tries.
For the most part, these cases
have been first-degree relatives
who filed petitions in the United
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS States. Occasionally in the past,
Hias has submitted to the State possibilities for family reunion.
Department, for transmission to
If a roster of relatives is avail-
the United States consul in Mos- able, it can be presented to the
cow, the names of relatives for State Department which can
whom petitions have been filed, then, at the proper time, submit
but this has been a very limited the list to the Soviet Union.
program.
Detroit area residents who may
Now, as a result of the Ko-
wish to register their interest
sygin announcement, Hias hopes should contact Mrs. Ellen Rackway
that there may be far greater at Resettlement Service, DI 1-5959.
Runes' Treasury of Thought'
Expresses Ideas of Many Year
As head of Philosophical Library,
Dr. Dagobert D. Runes has pub-
lished scores of books, many of
which had gone into several print -
ings. Among them were at least 30
of his own in which he had present-
ed his personal views on many sub-
jects, on Jews and Jewry, the Bible,
anti-Semitism.
His newest work, a collection of
his opinions, is a "personal docu-
ment." Under the title "Treasury
of Thought," he has collected his
ideas, expressed through the years,
on hundreds of themes, among
which are scores upon scores re-
lated to Bible, Hebrew, theology,
humanism, etc.
There are some on the Sabbath,
and in one of them he admonishes:
"God gave you six days, give Him
one!"
There are a number of com-
ments on Jews. In one of them he
states: "What blasphemy is the
theology of crucifixion—to paint
the Jew as destroyer of religion
when the Jew is really its ere!
tor." He excoriates Jew-haters
and philosophizes about the role
of Jews in the world, for ex-
ample: "Many attribute to the
Jews their own failing and then
hate them for it."
He often draws upon Jewish
folklore and his experiences are
notably rooted in Jewish learning.
About the Bible he wrote: "If the
Book is not worth living by, it is
not worth pretending by."
He denounces bigots, attacks
atheists, says of hate: "Tell me
what you hate and I will tell you
what you are."
He has an item about "View-
point" in which he states: "Some
critics have berated me for judg-
ing from the Jewish point of view.
Can the fish look upon the world
from the aloofness of the seagull?"
Runes' "Treasury of Thought"
was published by Philosophical
Library (15 E. 42nd, N. Y. 16).