THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mlle Road, Detroit, Mich. 48235.
VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign S7.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the sixth of Av, 5727, the following scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Deut. 1:1-3:22. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 1:1-27.
Candle lighting, Friday, August 11, 8:20 p.m.
VOL. LI. No. 21
Page Four
August
11, 1967
Worst Prospect: Fear of Fear Itself
Franklin D. Roosevelt's warning to this
How is this to be attained?
nation that the most serious threat to our
All
must be with an aim at
people's state of mind is fear of fear itself unified approaches
efforts to attain a common under-
is applicable to the present crisis.
standing. They must be tackled without
There is no doubt about its being a crisis. rancor. We know that those who resorted
We are experiencing what is tantamount to violence represented a minority of the
to a civil war. The nation needs unity of Negro population. Therefore the majority—
purpose more than ever before, yet at no and we are assured that the extremists who
other time since the Civil War have we been continue to advocate violence remain in the
confronted with as much evidence that we minority ranks—must act firmly and realis-
are divided very sharply.
tically. We look to Negro leadership for
We are divided on the question of the rational aims, for realism based on peace-
race issue which has assumed such tragic ful designs, for adherence to the basic
trends that the word fear has become part American principle of fair play to be ap-
of our national vocabulary in the largest plicable to all. We must exercise fair play
cities.
in our dealings with the Negroes, and we
There is division in the matter of our insist on similar fair play from their ranks.
role in the Far East, and the embittered ele- Such mutuality compels the elimination of
ments have linked Vietnam with race issues, the influences of the extremists who insist
and out of it has emerged a threat—uttered on advocating destructive programing.
by an extremist in Havana—that the non-
In the coming months and years there
whites in Vietnam are not fighting a battle
for the United States but are training for must be a lessening of tensions, an aban-
war to be conducted against the whites in donment of fears, a more tempered adher-
ence to community functions. That can be
this country.
Such utterances spell danger to America attained if there is a determination to face
issues
in the truest American fashions—on
and to our institutions, and if we do not
study the conditions and probe methods of the basis of action towards good will instead
lip service. Let us strive to attain the
averting a crisis all of us may suffer the of
that will end fears and restore sanity
consequences, and we will not be passing goal
to
the
American way of life.
on a very wholesome heritage to our chil-
*
*
*
dren and grandchildren.
The chief concern is for the children.
Many are the methods proposed to deal
with a situation that often appears as if it We must make certain that future genera-
has run out of control. Community com- tions of our youth live together in harmony,
mittees are being organized to try to insti- and the major aim must be to eliminate fears
tute good will, to encourage inter-racial co- from the hearts of the youth among whites
operation, to remove injustices. This is all and blacks.
well and good, and the plan should be pur-
We feel deeply with the overwhelming
sued without hesitation or delay. But much Negro majority that feels a sense of shame
more is needed. What is required is force- for what extremists have done, and we are
ful presentation of facts to the conflicting equally outraged by racial violence insti-
elements, to indicate to all concerned that gated by white hoodlums.
anything leading to divisiveness in our midst
There is evidence now of Negroes who
is harmful to all. Perhaps legislation will
help, but we doubt whether new laws, like have come to the aid of merchants whose
business
establishments have been ruined.
force itself, will do the trick.
sense of responsibility in assisting in
What is needed is genuine convincing Their
and effective self-assurance that working to- restoring order, as has been evidenced in
gether for the common national good de- numerous cases of Negroes volunteering in
up debris and in restoring order,
mands the elimination of violence and ad- cleaning
herence to law-observance. To attain this vindicates the majority.
it is necessary that all factions should work It is the basic sense of fair play that
together, that all citizens should assume re- emerges in the long run as an ideal for mem-
sponsibility for their actions and should feel bers of all racial groups comprising the
completely obligated to honor the duties American society. This must remain the guid-
of citizenship. ing principle in American life.
Menacing Situations Confronting Israel
While Israel was negotiating for a return
of refugees to the West Bank of the Jordan,
for cooperative efforts through the Inter-
national Red Cross to solve the problems
created by the brief June war and to assure
complete religious freedom for all faiths,
underground activities have been in progress
to undermine the Israeli regime, and there
are churchmen who still fail to recognize
how an impartial Jewish administration is
able to enforce free access to all religious
sites, contravening previous practices by the
Jordanians.
The peace aspired to by Israel is much
harder to attain than was the victory on the
battlefronts. The latter was a matter of life
or death. It was not a quest for imitation
of Maccabaeism. A people's army does not
operate that way. It was a family's determina-
tion to prevent annihilation.
Meanwhile, the difficulties on many fronts
remain and the international complications
are far from resolved. Yugoslavia's Tito is
not friendly. The Russians, in face-saving
schemes after having suffered defeats at the
United Nations, are menacing their own Jew-
ish citizens as well as continually providing
ammunition to Arabs aimed at what both
Russians and Arabs hope will be Israel's
eventual destruction.
The available scapegoat, Zionism, still is
the most suitable target for Russian hatred,
as was evidenced last week in the combined
attack on the Zionist movement by the Rus-
sian press. The notorious Protocols of the
Elders of Zion which originated in the in-
famous Nilus papers in Russia are again the
basis for venom and hatred and Zionism is
accused of being an international plot. While
the Protocols have been exposed as the most
atrocious and at the same time most ridicu-
lous accusations against Jewry, first the Rus-
sians, then Hitler, with cohorts in many
lands, and now Russia again are utilizing
a fabrication to attack Israel and through
Israel the entire Jewish people.
Jews in Communist countries have been
pressured to join in anti-Israel propaganda
campaigns. It worked in some countries. Is-
rael faces many menacing situations, and to
overcome them a great deal of caution as well
as vigilance will be required.
trak
'France and Dreyfus Affair'
Throws Light on Famous Case
Interest in the Dreyfus Affair is never-ending. Recurring French
government and military experiences bring back memories of conflicts
that occurred at the end of the last century, and the personalities who
played historic roles again emerge to revive interest in a famous case.
That is why "France and the Dreyfus Affair" by Douglas Johnson,
published by Walker & Co. (720 5th, NY19), assumes significance
even now and retains the fascination in the debates that dominated
over world embassies and in the newspapers in all lands over the
army and Catholic attitudes and the anti-Semitic waves that arose
when Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish captain, was charged with treason.
The manner in which the truth finally emerged, the inner
struggles within army circles, the difficulties that were en-
countered by those who realized that Dreyfus was wrongly
condemned, the great figures of the time who were split among .
Dreyfussards and anti-Dreyfussards—many are the aspects of
a case that is handled in new fashion by the author of this
volume who is professor of modem history at the University of
Birmingham and a visiting professor in French universities.
In his thorough research, Prof. Johnson points out that there
were at times indications that Dreyfus might have been guilty. Many
fair-minded people were misled or were skeptical.
There were suspicions of many of the activists, at times in their
own ranks, and the Dreyfus supporters were not thoroughly united at
all times. Often Dreyfus' brother Mathieu was suspected. Emile Zola
was not always on safe ground.
Many were the evidences of anti-Semitism. Even in the case
of Col. Georges Picquart, who made great sacrifices to save an
innocent man when he became convinced of Dreyfus' guiltlessness,
there was a mark of anti-Semitism. Prof. Johnson comments about
him: "Picquart . was an Alsatian Catholic. He spoke German,
and several other languages; he was cultivated, intelligent and
ambitious. . . . He had attended Dreyfus' court-martial and it is
not known that he had anything particular to say about it. He
had also attended the degradation parade, and the only thing
that is known about that arises from the remark of a colleague,
who commented that Dreyfus watched his buttons and braid
being torn off with particularly close attention. Picquart replied
that Dreyfus was probably calculating the weight and the price.
This unthinking type of anti-Semitism might well have been
typical of many Alsations."
Such and other evidences of anti-Semitism are reviewed to indi-
cate the sentiments of the time, the elements who played a part in
building up a case against the Jewish captain, the manner in which
France was split on the affair.
There is an interesting concluding paragraph to Johnson's book
that serves as an impressive commentary on his work. It states: "The
Dreyfus affair had been a great moment. The issues appeared clear,
the causes seemed just, the excitements of great controversy were
appealing in themselves. It was exhilarating to think that a great
examination of the conscience of the country was under way. Like
Lamartine in 1848, people had the feeling that they were living the
most sublime poetry. When Paul Dupuy, the former secretary-general
of the Ecole Normale Superieure, died in 1948, he asked that on his
tombstone should be inscribed the words, 'Here lies an old Dreyfus-
sard.' One can see why he did this and one admires him for it"
Theodor Here's presence at the trial and his formation of the
modern Zionist movement as a result of his experiences, the feelings
of people who made up the warring camps, the establishment of Drey-
fus' innocence but the refusal of anti-Semites to believe it—these
and many other factors make Johnson's "France and the Dreyfus
Affair" a most important book.
Bermant's 'Diary of an Old Man'
Chaim Bermant, already highly acclaimed for a number of his
novels, produced another interest-demanding work about an old-age
pensioner who delights in taunting others and in spreading mischief.
The new book by, the Polish-born writer who now lives in Scot-
land, "Diary of an Old Man," published by Holt, Rinehart and Win-
ston (383 Madison, NY17), is entertaining and perhaps will even
provide guidance for students of old age problems.
Chaim Bermant already is working on his fifth novel.