TIIE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The
Detroit
Jewish
Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
mcutt, c , Aut•rlcan Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National
.
Editorial
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PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Ectoter and Publisher
CARM1 M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE HYAMS
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
Thi., Sabbath. the fifth day of Nisan. 5727, the following scriptural selections will
rend ill our synaaogues:
l'entatenchal portion. Ler. 14:115:33. Prophetical portion, 11 Kings 7:3-20.
Candle lighting, Friday, April 14. 6:54 p.m.
1 04. 1.1. No. 4
April 14, 1967
Page Four
Israel's Difficulties
Several years of prosperity, accounted for
in large measure by the continuing flow of
immigrants into the country, which created
great needs for housing and encouraged un-
pr•cedented merchandising, have halted sud-
denly. creating a crisis that adds to the bur-
dens of the very small state.
Now. with a renewal of hostilities on the
Syrian border, which have added to the tax-
payers' burdens, as well as numerous other
problems, Israel faces serious difficulties.
Once again the Israelis' kinsmen are called
upon to provide whatever aid may be avail-
able to reduce the pressures.
Israel must provide for the defense needs
out of tax dollars. But there are other re-
Jewry's Duties
sponsihilities which must be shared by Jews
everywhere. Duties involving the settlement
of escapees from lands oppression, the needs
related to Israel's industrial development
which is linked with the means of solving un-
employment problems and of assuring jobs
for new immigrants, and other tasks that
call for proper integration of incoming set-
tlers—these demand the participation of the
Jewries of the world. That's where our cur-
rent responsibility lies in our community
where we are now striving to secure the funds
that will assist in making Israel economically
secure. Our aid to the United Jewish Ap-
peal and to the Israel Bond efforts must go
on unabated if the Israel crisis is to be prop-
erly resolved.
Dr. Heller Defines Major Terms
Anti-Semitic Literature--Mail and Hand Delivered in 'Vocabulary of Jewish Life'
had learned from this forgery.
When. soon after the desecration of the
Trenton. Mich.. synagogue, people became
aware of the distribution of large quanti-
ties of anti-Semitic literature, they were
shocked. The surprise element was in the
unawareness of the existence of a vast num-
ber of groups that are engaged in spreading
hatred, in distributing the vilest type of
propaganda against .Jews and Negroes and
often also against Catholics.
In spite of the constant exposing of these
bigoted elements, people appear to be un-
informed about the tactics of the hate-
spreaders. Their hate sheets are being dis-
tributed not only by hand. as was the case
with the youngsters who were caught with
anti-Semitic leaflets in Trenton and elsewhere.
The mails are used constantly, and there is
little that can be done to stop such utilization
of the freedom to pamphleteer.
From Toledo, for example, during the
past week. there emerged another type of
circular letters, sent to all newspapers, ap-
pealing to Christians to act against unseen
enemies but at the same time branding Jews
as culprits. For example, the circular claims
that "in 1954 one James Warburg said on
the Senate floor 'We will have one world
government . . " True: it is an illiterate
appeal but if there are people who believe
that there ever was a Warburg who addressed
the t'.S. Senate. they can be misled into mis-
chief.
This type of biased literature carries the
name and address of the author of the hate
leaflet. and he is distributing it according to
law. That is why it is so vital that the truth
should be made known to offset the false-
hoods --- because falsehoods under the guise
of freedom of expression and freedom of
speech can not under existing law be barred
from the mails.
The spreading anti-Semitism is in evi-
dence also in the continued reprinting of the
spurious l'rotocols of the Elders of Zion which
had been exposed as falsifications by Philip
Graves. in the London Times, in 1921. for
which some American leaders had apologized
to the Jewish community but which neverthe-
less continue to have wide circulation. Adolf
Hitler used them for his propaganda purposes
against the Jews. Now they are being exposed
again in several publications in England. The
mere fact that it has become necessary again
to expose them is an indication that they
serve a vile purpose.
In History Today, published in London,
there appeared an article on the Protocols by
the eminent author, Christopher Sykes, which
pointed to the fact that Hitler was careful
not to refer to the Protocols after he came to
power but that the task of spreading the vile
literature widely was left to underlings who
made wide use of it. Sykes concludes his
article by stating:
Presumably Hitler and Goebbels knew the
truth, but could not face it. In his will Hitler
showed that right up to the end he was syellbond
by1Si ideas lha -the conCepli-on -onlit-oity
Ironically enough, it was during the years of
Hitler's power that the full story of the Protocols
of the Elders of Zion at last came out. The occa-
sion was a long trial held in 1934, 1935 and 1937
in Berne. Certain Jews of Switzerland brought an
action against a group of Swiss Nazis headed by a
man called Theodore Fischer. Their contention
was that by circulating the Protocols the Nazis
were guilty of an offense under the Berne law
against obscene literature. The interest of the trial
today lies in the evidence. Among the witnesses
were Philip Graves, Count du Chayla, Princess
Radzh ill and several Russian personalities of the
ohl regime. From their testimony and notably that
of a former Russian editor, Vladimir Burtsev, the
whole crazy and complicated story was finally
pieced together. One witness, Professor Svatkov,
gave the name of the forger. He was a man called
Golovinskii, whose immediate superior in General
Ratchovskirs Paris office was a certain Henri Bint.
The latter's main duty in this agreeable society
was to provoke exiles into action which made
them liable to extradition. Svatkov had heard from
Bint in person the whole story of how Golovinskii
had adopted Le Dialogue aux Enfers. Monsieur
Joly's book was not the only basis of the forgery.
Edouard Drumont had unknowingly supplied much
inspiration, and among other publications an anti-
Jewish German novel called Biarritz had been of
, help to the forgers. It was from this book that they
took the...idea of the Elders. In Biarritz, however,
the Elders are not addressed by their chief but by
the Devil in person in the course of a meeting
held in a graveyard. Svatkov's evidence was dis-
puted, but upheld by Burtsev on first-hand recol-
lections. It may contain inaccuracies, but it fits all
the ascertainable facts.
The case of the Jews against the Nazis was
allowed by the court, but dismissed by the Appeal
Court in 1937 on the grounds that the Protocols
did not conic within the legal definition of obscene
literature. Those credulous beings to whom I re-
ferred in my opening paragraph take great com-
fort from this fact and insist that the failure of
the case leaves the fogery unproved. In fact, the
judgment of the second court fully supported
the evidence given to the first.
So that should have been the end of the story.
Unfortunately not. Further editions of the non-
sense came out in Germany, Italy and Spain soon
after the trial and the Protocols may be said to
have enjoyed a second Spring. It is still widely
read in Arab countries today, where it is held to
provide the key to the riddle of IsraeL With
shame it must be admitted that the Protocols have
been republished in England since the end of the
Second World War.
One can see why the Protocols go on being
read. It is painful to have to admit the truth of
anything that Hitler said, but there can be no
doubt that when he declared in Mein Kampf that
the masses find vast untruths more credible than
small ones, and that in consequence those who use
a lie in propaganda work should always tell a big
lie, he showed an uncanny degree of shrewdness.
This is one of the biggest lies ever devised by a
liar, and for that reason there will for long be
fools to believe it.
It is clear that the venom has not sub-
sided, that the worst of the anti-Semitic litera-
There is a constant search for definition of Jewish terms, for
explanations of Jewish traditional practices, for informative data
about Jewish practices.
Hebrew Publishing Co. two years ago issued an important volume
by an eminent scholar. Dr. Philip Birnbaum, entitled "The Book of
Jewish Concepts," which contained an immense amount of information
based on definitions of Jewish terms.
A similarly valuable work, "The Vocabulary of Jewish Life," by
another eminent scholar, Rabbi Abraham Mayer Heller. has just been
published in a revised edition by Hebrew Publishing Co.
Like its predecessor, this book provides explanations for hun-
dreds of terms, for many Jewish practices, for ideas in Judaism
that are not generally understood. As a supplement to Dr. Birnbaum's
book this is a great contribution to Jewish scholarship. Its definitions
are briefer than those in Birnbaum's but they contain the meat
of the subjects. Also, there are many terms not included in
Birnbaum's.
Subject-wise, Dr. Heller's collection of terms is interestingly
divided. It appears in special section, devoted to the home, synagogue,
marriage and the family, extension of greetings, the Sabbath, the
Jewish calendar, fast days on the Jewish calendar, theology. mourning,
learning, human virtues, Israel, Jewish law, ethical principles, and
a number of other classifications.
Each division is preceded by an explanatory introduction which
throws light on the terms in that grouping. A thorough "Index to
English Transliterations" guides the reader in the search for terms
of a general nature.
The resort to "vocabulary" in the title of the book is quite
appropriate. The hundreds of words defined make this a vocabulary
as well as an encyclopedic collection explaining major Jewish
practices, evaluating words and terms, presenting the meaning of
holidays and traditional observances. .
Here, for example, is a typical item in the book. Commencing
the section "Ethical Principles and Practices" with the terms "Bain
Adam la-liabero," translated as "Between Man and His Fellow Man,"
Dr. Heller's definition is:
"Theology, philosophy, morality, ritual, ceremony—all are intrinsic
elements of Judaism, but ethics is its very heart. The Jewish sages
emphasized the importance of good relations between man and
his fellow man above all other duties, God readily forgives the
repentant for sins committed against him but the wrongs done to
another man must be righted by the repentant before pardon is
granted by God."
Rabbi Heller's definitions reveal the universality of Jewish
concepts. Thus, Tova, goodness, favor, is interpreted as: "To render
service to a fellow man is the religious duty of a good Jew."
The word Emet, truth, is thus evaluated:
"A legend relates that when God was about to create man,
some of the angels favored while others opposed his creation.
Among the arguments winning God's final approval was that man
is capable of truth, the basic foundation for the support of the
universe. Where there is no truth there can be no justice, no love
and no peace, the spiritual pillars of the world."
Thus all the words explained form a vast ethical, spiritual and
theological vocabulary, causing Dr. Heller's "The Vocabulary of
Jewish Life" to emerge as a very good and very useful book.
Medicine as Career Outlined
be
Medical practitioners and especially students of medicine will
guided towards interesting professional channels in "Your Career lo
Medicine," by Dr. Alam It. Bleich, published by Cornerstone Library
Publications distributed by Simon and Schuster.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Hebrew University
medical school are among the schools listed in an appendix.
In relation to Israel, the author tells about the four-year program
at the Jerusalem medical school where "the value of the close personal
relationship between doctor and patient is realized and practiced."
Lure still is widely distributed. Which HI&
Many medical aspects are reviewed in Bleich's book, including the
cates that the task of striving for a wider
grandfathers". in wbiell
knowledge of the truth remains a major task speciality of family practice, "babies and
doctor, etc., etc.
- TWAT
geriatrics is discussed, the government