Purely Commentary

Russia Again Leads the Hate-Mongers
Russia's anti-Semitic background has never been shrouded in
secrecy. An inheritance from Czarist Russia has passed on to the
Communists.
In some quarters hope never was abandoned that even the most
brutal in the USSR regime might see the light of day and could be
swerved from policies aimed at Israel's destruction. But the greedy
aspirations for control of the oil wealth of the Middle East is more
important to them. Else, they might not have poured in billions of
dollars worth of munitions into the hands of those who aimed at
Israel's destruction.
The roles of the Russians at the United Nations—first at the
Security Council where the vilest hatreds were expressed for Israel
and this week at the General Assembly where the poison emitted
could be credited only to medievalism—offer proof that there is little
hope of even the minutest leaning from USSR quarters towards justice.
Abba Eban's brilliant address fully evaluated Israel's position
and provided data regarding the events of the past month in minutest
detail.
Is it conceivable tIpt states other than the Arabic and those tied
by party loyalties to Communist domination will act against Israel?
There is no doubt that the nations of the world are being put
to the test in Israel's present struggle for fair play. This is the time
for a showdown. Perhaps Israel's courage will guide the world's powers
towards new approach—one of refusal to yield to Soviet Russian
domination.

*

•

All of Jewry Also Put to the Test
Once again, the entire Jewish people is being put to the test.
During the first two weeks of serious threats to Israel, there was a
generous response from Jews to the Israel Emergency Fund and the
appeal for investments through Israel Bond purchases. Non-Jews
have been aligned with Jews in this supreme effort.
There is always the danger of a cooling-off period. Now, with a
revival of threats to Israel from one of the world's mightiest nations,
the challenge is renewed and the question arises anew whether Jews,
seriously put to the test, will again become complacent.
The time for complacency is over! The time has come for unity
unprecedented in our history! Now the hordes who have not yet been
enrolled in the campaign to protect Israel's position must come forth
with their assertions of solidarity. Let the reply come voluntarily—
as a message to Israel that the embattled state will not be abandoned,
as an assurance to themselves that their sense of self-respect will
not be sacrificed on an altar of indifference.
•
...
•

The Revival of the Vilest Lies

The vilest lies that have ever been uttered against the Jewish
people are being incorporated in speeches by Soviet and Arab spokes-
men at the United Nations and wherever they can find a platform.
Most amazing is a revelation that comes from Rabat, Morocco.
A report from the Moroccan capital to the New York Times reveals
that anti-Jewish articles in Arabic and French newspapers—Ai Alam
and L'Opinion—which also carried anti-American propaganda, re-
vived an old canard. The Times correspondent stated in his
story that the two newspapers were seized by the Moroccan govern-
ment, thus reflecting the Moroccan attitude of friendship for the
Jewish people, his report stating: "The regime of King Hassan II
has always been careful to avoid equating anti-Zionism with anti-
Semitism." The correspondent from Rabat stated in his report:
"The seized issues of both papers published the text of an
anti-Jewish declaration attributed to Benjamin Franklin, which
first appeared in Europe in the 1930s and is alleged to have
been inspired by Nazi propagandists."
It's amazing! A libel of the 1930s finds an echo now in Morocco!
It's exactly the type of propaganda that is being revived now by the
Russians and Arabs at the UN!
In the interest of historical accuracy, let us reproduce here a
news release that was dated July 7, 1938. That release from the
Anti-Nazi League that was headed by the late Samuel Untermyer
stated.
The anti-Semitism attributed to Benjamin Franklin by Ameri-
can Nazis was revealed as a deliberate lie by the Non-Sectarian
Anti-Nazi League of 20 W. 47th St., New York City, following
communications with Alfred Rigling, librarian of the Franklin
Institute of Philadelphia, Pa.
"Dr. Franklin never uttered the sentiments which are at-
tributed to him in the supposed journal or diary of Charles
Pinckney," Mr. Rigling told the league. "In fact, no such diary
has ever been found. There is moreover positive evidence that
Franklin held Jews in high esteem."
The Non-Sectarian League contacted Mr. Rigling immediately
after the appearance of an anti-Semitic handbill in New York City
on June 11 which quoted Benjamin Franklin as having said "Jews
are a menace to this country if permitted entrance and should
be excluded." The handbill bore the name, and insignia, of the
German-American Vocational League, Inc., of 21 E. 75th St.,
New York City, which immediately denied connection with the
publication and asked for an investigation by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
Approximately 5,000 copies of the handbill were distributed
in New York City and vicinity, the Non-Sectarian League be-
lieves. "Certain grammatical errors made in the handbill are
synonymous with errors consistently used by writers for an or-
ganization close to the German-American Volksbund," directors
of the league said. "It is natural that these individuals would
use the name of another organization to cover up their lies. The
Bund used another subsidiary to publicize its Ford-for-President
campaign of which Henry Ford had no knowledge. The Non-
Sectarian League spiked that move and is lending all its efforts
to nip other American Nazi tricks in the bud."
The full statement of the Franklin Institute follows:
"Within the past month Franklin's mythical speech full of
animadversions against the Jews, which he is supposed to have
delivered before the Constitutional Convention, has reappeared in
the daily press. According to the published account, this speech
warned the people of the United States against the 'vampire'
race, and concluded: 'I warn you, gentlemen, if you do not ex-
clude the Jews forever your children and your children's children
will curse you in their graves.'
"The provenance of these statements has been traced to the
February 3, 1934, issue of Liberation, the publication of a Fascist
organization which appeared in Asheville, N.C., in 1933. 'Frank-

2—Friday, June 23, 1967

The Lies at the UN . . . Sad
Role of U Thant . . Revival
of Libels . . . USSR Bigotry

By
•

Phi'

SiOMOVitI

lin's Prophecy,' so-called, was immediately reprinted by papers
in Germany and Switzerland and from thence, recrossing the At-
lantic, it turned up in the United States in September 25, 1934,
in a pamphlet circulated from New York by Robert Edward Ed-
mondson.
"The 'Prophecy,' characterized by Professor Charles A.
Beard, in the Jewish Frontier for March 1935, as a 'barefaced
forgery,' was supposed to be found in a diary kept by Charles
Pinckney of South Carolina. No such diary is known to exist nor
can anything resembling it be found among any of the extant
Pinckney papers. Furthermore, neither Professor Beard's examina-
tion of Franklin's writings nor careful searches in the available
records 'including the vast collections of Franklinana in Phila-
delphia' have produced anything that 'gives the slightest justifi-
cation for believing that the 'Prophecy' is . . . more than a bare-
faced forgery. Not a word,' wrote Professor Beard, 'have I dis-
covered in Franklin's letters and papers expressing such senti-
ments against the Jews as are ascribed to him by the Nazis-
American and German.' There is, moreover, positive evidence
that Franklin held Jews in high esteem, and when the Hebrew
Society of Philadelphia was trying to raise money for a 'religious
house' Franklin not only signed the petition appealing for con-
tributions to 'Citizens of every religious denomination,' but he
also contributed 5 pounds to the fund. Finally, it should be re-
marked that the language of the 'Prophecy' is neither of the
eighteenth century nor in the usual vein of Franklin.
"The history of this document, falsely ascribed to one whose
liberal opinions are so well known as to be almost axiomatic, is
typical of the course of similar pieces of propagandist literature.
Originating in some obscure corner, the story travels and gains
credence as it goes. Exposure follows in due time, but often not
until a wrong impression, difficult to eradicate, has been created.
In this case, it is to be hoped that Professor Beard's statement
will be more than sufficient to prevent any further misunder-
standing of Franklin's attitude towards the Jews."
More of the anti-Semitic propaganda will be heard time and
again now, the anti-Semites working hand-in-hand with Israel's ene-
mies. And the Arabs, claiming immunity as Semites, even go so far
as to call Jews the descendants of the Khazars, whose role is referred
to in the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia as follows: "Khazars, a
medieval people, probably related to the Volga Bulgars, whose ruling
class adopted Judaism during the eighth century . . ." So: we are
descendants of Russians and not Semites, and the Arabs are the true
Semites and WE are the hated Zionists!
The UN is on trial for many reasons, but it will be even worse
off in the future if it will permit history to be distorted, as it was at
the Security Council sessions. But the Moroccan ruler knew better:
he confiscated the papers that carried the Benjamin Franklin libel.
•
•
•
The World Is Better Than the Bigots Imagine
The world is far better than the Russians and the Arab bigots
would lead the misled to believe. The many good wishes from non-
Jews, their gifts to our emergency fund, their purchase of Israel
Bonds—but more especially their verbal assertions of friendship give
us courage and strengthen our faith in humanity.
Many gifts have been sent through our office and many calls
come from good friends.
Ed Bryant, a classmate (U.M.-1920), gave this commentator a
good day when, after a lapse in our contacts of some 20 years, he
called to express his good wishes to us personally and to Israel.
These are the hasidei umot ha-olam—the saintly people among the
nations of the world. They are the glory of humanity.

•

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The Role of U Thant
When U Thant ordered the summary withdrawal of the UNEF
from the Egyptian border, Israelis were horrified and the general
feeling in Israel was that he was an anti-Semite. Abba Eban condemned
his action in his June 19 speech. On June 20 U Thant defended him-
self. He was defended also by U. S. Delegate Arthur Goldberg in his
address that followed the statement by the UN secretary general.
U Thant had been criticized also in comparisons of his actions with
the attitude of the late Dag Hammarskjold.
Is it possible that Eban was a bit too vehement in his criticism
of the UN secretary general, since he can get the floor at the UN at
any time and has an upper hand in that body? One thing is clear: in
his reply, U Thant went quite a distance not only to defend himself
but also to rake up all the dirt he could to make Israel's case more
difficult. Israelis undoubtedly are asking again: Is U Thant an anti-
Semite? His friends deny it, and Jewish correspondents who know
him claim he is a nice person. But the fact is: he did utilize a serious
moment to place obstacles in Israel's path. And his role in the UN on
the widest scope has not been too productive.
*
•
•

Pressures on Russian and Czech Jewries

Communist anti-Semites—and it's such a pity that both terms are
forced into equation—are combining to make life miserable for the
Jews who live in their areas. Especially in Soviet Russia and in
Czechoslovakia, Jews are pressured without knowledge of facts to
join in condemning Israel. Demonstrations were organized in Poland
against Israel when Israel's Ambassador Dov Sattath left Warsaw.
Emigration of Jews from Russia to Israel was summarily ended when
Russia broke relations with Israel. Russia's satellites followed the
master in breaking relations with Israel.
Insofar as can now be judged, only Romania refuses to listen to
Russia's dictations.
These are the sort of situations Israel must contend with. The
road to peace and justice and to amicable international relations is
filled with obstacles. Would that there truly were a strong UN to end
the hatreds!

Jews With College

Theodor Herzl
and Jerusalem

By JOSEF FRAENKEL
'When we come here, Jerusa-
lem will again become one of the
most beautiful cities of the
world."—Heral
It is timely to recall the views
of Theodor Herzl, the father of
modern Zionism and the State of
Israel, on Old Jerusalem.
In "The Jewish State" (1896)
Herzl wrote: The sanctuaries of
Christendom would be safeguarded
by assigning to them an extra-
territorial status, such as is well
known to the law of nations. We
should form a guard of honor
about these sanctuaries, answer-
ing for the fulfillment of this duty
with our existence. The guard of
honor would be the great symbol
of the solution of the Jewish Ques-
tion after eighteen centuries of
Jewish suffering.
On Oct. 31, 1898, Herzl visited
Old Jerusalem and he noted in his
Diaries: "If we ever get Jerusalem
and if I am still able to do any-
thing actively at that time, I would
begin by cleaning it up. I would
clear out everything that is not
something sacred, set up workers'
homes outside the city, empty the
nests of filth and tear them down,
burn the secular ruines, and trans-
fer the bazaars elsewhere. I would
build around the Holy Places a
comfortable, airy city with proper
sanitation."
Two days later, on Nov. 2, he
added: "I would isolate the old
city with its relics and pull out
all the regular traffic; only houses
of worship and philanthropic in-
stitutions would be allowed to re-
main inside the old walls. And the
wide ring of hillsides all around,
which would turn green under our
hands, would be the location of a
glorious New Jerusalem . . . Ten-
der care can turn Jerusalem into
a jewel. Include everything sacred
within the old walls, spread every-
thing new round about it."
In his Zionist novel "Altneu-
land" (1902) Herzl described Old
Jerusalem in Jewish hands: "It was
different now. The streets and
lanes were newly-paved, as smooth
and clean as a well-kept room.
There were no more private dwell-
ings in the Old City. All the build-
ings were either charitable offices
or houses of worship for the dif-
ferent creeds. There were, of
course, pilgrim's hostels, hospitals,
and other institutions of similar
kind. One large square was entire-
ly occupied by the grandiose build-
ing of the Peace Palace, where in-
ternational congresses of the
friends of peace, and also of sci-
entists and scholars, were held. So
the Old City had become an inter-
national center which all nations
might regard as their home, for
this was the home of the common
lot of all mankind—suffering."
Theodor Herzl often repeated
the holy sentence: "If I should for-
get thee, Jerusalem, may my right
hand wither." When he died (July
3 1904) so speeches were made,
except that the above sentence was
recited by his successor David
Wolffsohn.

Italian Senate OKs
Constitution Change
to Cover Genocide

(Direct ZTA Teletype Wire
Jewish
e% ish ` News)
to e

ROME — Italy's Senate ap-
proved Wednesday a law changing
the constitution so that persons
accused of genocide would be sub-
jected to extradition.

Degrees Are Highest

Among Canadians

of Anglo-Celtic origin (54.5 per-
cent) and those of Scandinavian
backgrounds (50 percent).
The analysis was made on the
basis of special tabulations made
by the federal census bureau in
Ottawa for the Canadian Jewish
Congress, with cross-classifications
of census data specially applicable

doctoral and master's theses by
Jewish graduates accepted by Ca-
nadian universities during 1964-05.
The list included theses on Jewish
subjects by non-Jews. The listing
indicated that "very few" of the
20 theses by Jewish graduates deal
with any subjects of specific in-
terest.

MONTREAL (JTA)—Jews have est percentage-48.3—with a high to Canadian Jews. The CJC also
the highest percentage of all Cana- school education, exceeded by those disclosed compilation of a list of

dians with a college degree, 8.9
percent, according to an analysis
published by the Canadian Jewish
Congress. Canadian Jews also have
the highest percentage with a uni-
versity education below graduation
and the smallest percentage, 36.3,
with only an elementary education.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Canadian Jews have the third high-