Purely Commentary
Pro-Arab Propagandists and
Israel's Defenders . . . Eternal
Vigilance Remains Necessity
By Philip
Slomovitz
oft the
t f
k to lin sruersee t
these. peAorpali:s
peace. Yet
New Era ... Pro-Arab Propaganda ... and Israel's Defenders
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urd
" I:raoefl rilsigas
nityaban
A period of adoration may have ended and a new emergence ' of return of Germans, transferred to Germany after World War II, to Poland
and Czechoslovakia.
of jealousy and dislike for Israel and for Jewry may have commenced.
According to reports from Israel there is hope that Israel will start in the
Misunderstandings of the issues that revolve around the results of near future a serious project of resettlement of Arab refugees in the areas
friendly
present under Israeli control. It seems that much de ende on Wen
1y
the June war have created confusions, have caused bitterness on the at
and encouraging world opinion, if Israel is not - to
with
1
be ntere ere
score of Jerusalem's status, and many clergymen have refused to I great effort.
recognize that under Israel there has been a restoration of freedom
In this connection it is interesting to note that the Christian
of religious worship, whereas previously such liberties have been ' Science Monitor, dealing with the Arab refugee problem editorially,
•denied and suppressed.
made the following proposal:
But there are many Christian theologians who understand the
"In regard to the Arab refugees, we wish to repeat a sug-
issues and who have acted nobly in the present situation. Many aca-
gestion which we have made before. This is that both the oil-
demicians have challenged spreaders of false reports about Israel.
producing lands of the Middle East and the Western oil com-
For instance: Professor of Economics Franklin N. Fisher of the
panies which pump that oil be required to siphon off a per-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writing to the New York
centage of their stupendous earnings to finance a new life for
Times from Cambridge, Mass., in reply to an Arab propagandist,
the refugees. We are well aware of the refugees' resistance to
stated:
plans for their resettlement. But if such resistance is ever over-
The reasonableness of the June 29 letter by Taltseen Basheer (Senior Staff
come and resettlement become possible, we can think of few
member. Arab States Delegation Office) is only apparent.
better uses to which oil earnings could be put."
Mr. Basheer criticizes the American position on "territorial integrity" by i
observing that Israel includes an area - amounting to more than one-quarter I
It
is not often that practical ideas like this one are projected,
of the area allotted to the Jewish states in the Partition Plan of 1947." He re-
gards the incorporation of this area In Israel as an exercise merely of the
especially in relation to the oil interests and to the Arab potentates,
"right of conquest."
both of whose coffers have geen bulging with billions interchanged
What Mr. Basheer fails to mention is that the Jews accepted the partition
for the black gold. If a part of that vast fortune could be utilized,
plan and were attacked by the Arabs in what seemed overwhelming force. I
take it that if the Arabs had won. Mr. Basheer would not now be writing on the refugee problem could be solved overnight and the Arab states
this subject.' Having lost the 1947-411 war, the Arabs refused to negotiate a
would surely benefit from a plan that would put to work the hundreds
peace settlement, with the result that the territory in question remained in
Israel. One trusts they will learn from this past mistake.
of thousands who have been condemned to a status of pariahs by
Mr. Basheers attitude seems to be that it is quite all right for the Arabs
th e Arab masters. *
to attempt to destroy Israel, but unforgivable for Israel actually to win wars.
r
In this connection it seems appropriate to point
out
that victory is no proof
Dayan Wedged
`Peace' Note in
Wailing Wall
Shortly after the victorious Is-
raeli army occupied the old city
of Jerusalem, Gen. Moshe Dayan,
Israel's defense minister, embark-
ed on a special mission to wedge a
note among the ancient stones of
the Wailing Wall, off-limits to Jews
since the creation of Israel in 1948.
Writing in the current issue of
Look magazine, Yael Dayan, the
general's daughter, described the
moving scene:
"Friends who were with him
(Dayan) at the Wall said: He
walked proudly rather than victor-
iously; it was not a moment of vic-
tory but of fulfillment.
"The city wasn't safe yet, snipers
weren't cleared, but it would have
been unnatural for him not to
have been there.
"He approached the old stones
of the Wall in silence and stared,
then took out a notebook, scribbled
a few lines on paper and wedged
it among the stones.
"Later, asked what was on the
paper, he replied: 'It is an old
custom to insert pleas in the Wall.
I wrote: 'Would there be peace
upon the house of Israel.' "
Need for Vigilance Remains Vital
There is still a vital need for vigilance. From many academic
quarters there is a flow of letters denigrating Israel and often also
world Jewry. When a Princeton reverend writes to the NY Times to
In 1947, faced by having made contradictory promises to both the Arabs
assert that "the Hebrew have had no form of a national state or
and the Jews, Great Britain handed the Palestine question to the United Nations.
The United Nations solution was to cut the baby in two, giving part to the
political rights in that area for the last 2,523 years" he leaves us
Jews and part to the Palestinian Arabs, and giving to the world Jerusalem. its
in doubt as to the validity of his reverendship. Jews have never left
soul. The other Arab nations plus Egypt, unsatisfied by this, sought by armed
intervention to make the nation whole again and wipe out the Israelis.
what was Palestine and in their prayers and in world history, and in
As a result of this war of conquest. Jordan obtained the west bank and
religious sentiments they have never been separated from the Holy Land. '
the conflict was
the Old City, and Egypt obtained the Gaza Strip. Recently
re-ignited. and these conquered areas have been taken by the Israelis.
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (JTA)
But the prejudiced overlooked many things. They forget that a
It is one of the interesting paradoxes of our time to observe how the moral-
—Ambassador Mordechai Kidron's
ity of the world powers and, incidentally, The New Vork Times operates in these! handful of Jews survived the holocaust, that they were again threat-
or other these self•appointed upholders of world
two instances. sornehotv
name
was prominently mentioned
ened with another calamity—as they undoubtedly again will be so
mu raltty , these stone t h row r rs w i lhaut sin, have forgotten that the west bank
area was Jordan's only by right of conquest and by no other right.
threatened if the religious bigots and the hateful Arab cousins have as a possible replacement for
Poor little JOrdall and her little King cry in great big crocodile tears. The
Gideon
Rafael as permanent rep-
their way.
tourists' dollars to Jordan's shrines, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Jordan River
are now going to the Israelis. Jordan's rich lands are now to be tilled by
Vigilance, vigilance, vigilance! That's what's needed urgently. resentative of Israel to the United
the Palestine Arabs under the Israelis' eyes instead of the Ilashemite Bedouins.'
And those poor. innocent refugees that the Arabs and the UN have care-
There must he no interruption in the constant awareness of a danger Nations. Ambassador Rafael was
appointed director-general of the
fully kept penned up, tillable to travel freely. unable to find another home
that faces Israel. There is still such a thing as the eternal hatred for
et en if they wanted to. are now mostly in Israeli hands, hopefully to be bet-,
Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry.
ter cared for. Only the Algerians in France, the West Indians in England, the ; eternal people, and the people's undying spirit must retain the power
Ambassador Kidron, who served
Moslems in India, the Hindu in Pakistan, the Nigro and the Indian in the -
to withstand obstacles. In the Middle East the triumph for such
United States. the the in Nigeria. the Jew in the USSR—the list is endless—
as Israel's representative to the
hat e known better treatment by civilized nations.
resistance will redound to the benefit of the entire area—as already
European office of the United Na-
little Jordan, who simply through a foolish
Rot our hearts go out to I
is being proven by Israel's readiness to deal fairly with those who
act of war and the had fortune to be the loser now has no more riches than the
tions in Geneva, participated in
desert the British bequeathed Abdullah when the Ottoman Empire was cut
now are among the new Arab citizens-
the Security Council meeting on
up in a pure and moral war.
Fortunately for the world. the Israelis of 1967 are not those of 1957. They ;
the June war. He served as a mem-
say.
not
as
I
do.
have learned not to listen to those who tell them to do as I
ber
of the Israeli delegation under
A
Nasser
Trick
to
Avert
Poison
Gas
Guilt
They know the only Just solution to the Middle East problems will be through,
face-to-face negotiations between the parties concerned. They are a patient
Foreign Minister Abba Eban as
Adel
Gamal
Nasser
still
is
looked
upon
as
a
very
shrewd
"ruler."
people. Was it not less than 2,000 years ago that Pope Paul's forebears con-
Eban's
deputy for several years.
quered this land and proclaimed, in a victory arch still standing in Rome, that Israel Minister of Labor Yigal Alon calls him "a clever man." Because
Another name mentioned to suc-
the Jews are no more?
Let us not belabor the Israelis with more free advice. Let us allow the of his cleverness he is seeking an end to the Yemen war — in order to
one democratic state in a sea of dictatorships and punnet kings to work out a
avert even more serious blame for having resorted to poison gas in that ceed Rafael was Joseph Tekoah,
solution with its neighbors just as every other nation has attempted to do
war and possibly also for having planned usage of poison gas against deputy director-general o' the Is-
throughout history.
raeli Foreign Ministry and a for-
In the debate that was started• with a measure of venom, byj Israel.
mer Ambassador to the Soviet
But not all Yemenis are falling for that trick. Yemen's Foreign Union.
Dr. Henry Van Dusen, and was continued in his vein by another
reverend gentleman, there was an interesting letter to the NYTimes Minister Adbel Aziz Sallal charges that Egypt's request for a plebiscite
by James G. Soece, minister, Second Presbyterian Church. New York, in his country is "interference."
Canadian Jewry Passes
Yemeni opponents of Nasser have secretly asked Jewish aid to
formerly Minister of the Scots Churches in Tiberias and Nazareth,
counteract Nasser's propaganda. But why do they unite with him pub- $25,000,000 Israel Goal;
who wrote:
Many Christian people must have felt acutely embarrassed by the recent
licly when Israel is being plotted against at "summit" conferences? $28,000,000 New Target
letters of Dr. Henry Van Dusen and the Rev. Harold A. Bosley, with their
Perhaps it's because hate against Israel has no bounds.
MONTREAL (JTA) — Canadian
readiness to condemn Israel for its actions and policies. their generous offer
*
*
Jewry has already passed its $25,-
of advice as to what Israel should and should not do, yet their very naive
approach to the situation as a whole.
000,000 goal for the Israel Emer-
If war had to come—and most agree that Israel had little choice—One
News Analysts' Shortcomings
gency Fund and has now raised
wonders whether a prolonged war of attrition In the style of Vietnam would
A lot of speculating over the Middle East situation has led the fund target to $28,000,000, it
have been considered preferable to the sharp but mercifully brief conflict that
ensued.
many editors to go stray.
was announced here this week.
But there were reasons why the war had to be ruthless. The war machines
of the surrounding countries had to be destroyed as completely as possible
Here is an instance: Detroit's afternoon newspaper's comments The original goal plus $250,000 has
if only to drive home the Biblical injunction that "those who take the sword
already been sent to Israel and
on "Something Must Give in Mideast" included this bit of wisdom:
shall perish by the sword." At least Russia has learned that neither now nor
in the forseeahle future can she use Arab soldiers to attain her ends in the
"It is true . . . solved nothing except to prove the superiority indications are that another $2,500,-
Middle East.
of Israel's military planners and the courage and discipline of its 000 in pledges is already in the
On the opposite side, however, the present situation holds great hope for
process of being redeemed.
fighting men."
the future. At least Jerusalem it seems, will be spared the divided existence
Most of the money still to be
that is the fate of Berlin, Korea and Vietnam.
Is this all it was? Has the editorial writer read the dispatches
If world opinion can only compel the Arab leaders to recognize Israel, there
turned in is from Montreal. The
Is no problem that is beyond solution. Israel will bend every effort to help from his newspaper's own correspondent who indicated what had
city's Combined Jewish Appeal has
if only because It is in her own interest to do inspired Israel's people's army, the cause for the emergence of such
solve the refugee problem
so. Great desalination plants are now feasible and can be readily built to sup-
an army as a family group that was mobilized to protect the lives of turned over $7,700,000 to the Emer-
ply water in generous quantities to all the people. and Arab businessmen will
gency Fund and another $2,000,000
be able to do business with Israelis to their mutual advantage.
a community threatened with annihilation?
The Arab people deserve better leaden than they have had for many a
in pledges and donations is now
day. but fortunately there are many, young Arabs who are ready for a new
And there is the historic aspiration that unified a people in its being processed. Toronto has col-
approach to old problems. Surely, Christian people ought to encourage such
defense — as well as the determinaticn of the survivors from the lected $10,000,000 for the fund. The
a positive approach rather than merely repeat the sterile arguments of the past.
The problem of the Arab refugees was dealt with by Yehuda Nazi holocaust never again to permit another Auschwitz or Birkenau per capita contribution averages
Knohler of Brooklyn. a senior lecturer at the Hebrew University in to endanger Jewish lives.
over 5100 for every one of the
The war of June 1967 had its lessons, but not all the news country's 250,000 Jews.
Jerusalem, who wrote to the NYTimes:
A United Nations delegation has been sent to investigate the situation of analysts apparently have learned them.
Noteworthy among those who have defended Israel's position
and have repudiated Jordanian claims is Dr. Andrew J. Graham of
Orange, Conn., who wrote to the NYTimes:
See Kidron as UN
Envoy. from Israel
*
displaced Arabs in and from areas tinder Israeli control. Alen of good will from
all sides would gladly accept the responsibility for the fate of such groups of
people, were it not fur the suspicion that these refugees still again be used
for political parpOseS• in order to interfere with solutions for peace and co-!
existence in the Middle East.
It is surprising that I he UN did not take up the question of the two I
million refuge., who just recently fled from Northern Nigeria to Biafra and
suffered untold losses of life and property. Getting back to the Middle East.
we should question why the UN did not send a delegation to the Arab coun•
tries. from where there are reports of jailing. persecution. murder and pty•
groms. It is due to a strange procedural balance—thirteen raised hands serv-
ing one Noire of uneompromised hatred—that the suffering of the Jewish
refugee is considered to be of lesser importance than that of the Arab refugee?
Was it not the duty of that international organization to see to it that the Jews i
of the Arab countries be recognized as refugees with the same status as that I
of the Arab refugees. deserving the same pity and concern? •
As a matter of fact. Israel's future is tied up with the singular right to
constitute the state of repatriated refugees. Indeed. Israel grew out of the I
Multitudes of Jewish ref-
hundred-year struggle for the right of repatriation.
ugees who struggled in the nineteenth and twentienth centuries for a national
territorial solution followed the multitudes in earlier centuries who strove to-
ward this goal out of national mystical feeling.
Half of the Israeli population consists of Jewish refugees who arrived from
Arab countries. They constitute an integral part of the Israeli scene. In what
way are the Jews in the Arab countries different from their brothers who already
settled in Israe l?
How great a need there is for international concern for the fundamental
rights of the refugee nation can be judged by each objective individual who
listened to the speeches of Mr. Fedorenko, and who is prepared to think about
the situation of Jews In the Soviet Union. In a world of freedom and justice,
it is essential to respect the right of the refugee nation to its territorial, na-
tional and independent base in its homeland, freed from fear of harassment
and destruction.
The transfer of camps of displaced persons from the area of Jericho to
the area of Amman does not in itself constitute a tragedy. However to allow
these camps to exist without a constructive solution invites tragedy and danger.
There Ix enough territory and potential in Transjordan and in certain areas
2—Friday, August 11, 1967
*
•
•
*
Ethics and Business .. . and the Store Burning Pattern as Part of Rioting
A serious problem involving ethics in business emerges from the tragedies involved in the racial
issues which have developed into looting, arson and a number of murders.
In his series of articles in the Detroit News, Louis E. Lomax, who chooses to refer to some of
the instigators of protests as "organized revolutionaries," quotes this arson incident:
"A Negro woman on relief,-fit fire to a furniture store because she felt she would never be able
to pay the bill she owed there. Due in the interest rate she was being forced to pay $910A2 to satisfy
an original debt of $285.
"'Yes,' she said. 'I burned that damned Jew store down. That's one bill I will never have to
pay. I made sure the office and all the records went up in flames first!' "
While this incident reveals anew that the riots were not without some semblance of anti-
Semitism, the fact remains that in general the looting and the arson and the rioting and the murders
were not necessarily anti-Jewish. They were anti-white. They were anti - community.
What matters much more, however, is the reason given by the Negro woman for having burned
down a furniture store. It's nonsensical, of course, to single out Jews in an attack for lack of ethics in
business. The chances are that consumers benefit the most from the small storekeepers and that the Jewish
merchants treated them well. But if the guilt exists then it must be atoned for. If the law is at fault—and in
such instances as cited in the Negro woman's story it is a matter of lawful control of interest charging on
business accounts—then the law must be amended.
And if Jews are guilty of such transactions then they are transgressing basic Jewish laws, they
are abusing the ethical teachings of our sages and the traditions that are the very foundation of Jewish
existence.
Such practices are intolerable in Jewish life.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS