Fragile Dialogue: Why Jews of U.S. Are Disillusioned i
Excerpts from an Article in
Christian Century, by Dr. David
e th m
E et Free
P o s,
h R a
abb' of
o B e
Synagogue. Evanston, III,
for the world, voices had cried out, out which God-talk is a mere
- Not again." . . .
game.
Second Jews will have to stop
, Our greatest pain is because of
instigating dialogue; they must ;
' those who choose to stand aside. ,
Had Israel gone down, then for They are to be found in the re- . wait for a true initiative to come
he second time in a generation the ligious community and in the from the other side. On the re-'
.‘orld would have witnessed exter- liberal community as well. I must 1 ligious level this means that the
urination of yet another major sec- stress that they cannot justify their i Christian world cannot be healed
:ion of the Jewish people. And the' stance by pleading the political of its ailments by outside agencies.
signs are that this second genocide equities of the Middle East situa- It must heal itself. But how? Can
w ould have evoked the same si- lion. Admittedly those equities do, it yet, before it is too late, sum-
lence that fell upon the world dur- , exist. But do the socioeconomic' mon up the courage to speak un-
ing the European holocaust. Yes, , realities of Negro existence ab-1 ambiguously to the world about
l' unconditional claim to life
outcries would have been heard. solve anyone from fighting to win
12—Friday, August 18, 1967
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Bucharest U. Presents Books to Tel Aviv U.
gift of 120 peace talks between the Arab
from Bucharest University states and Israel.
The foreign minister told a press
to Tel Aviv University was turned
over to Tel Aviv University offi- conference he talked with Prime
Minister
Ian Gheorge Maurer and
cials today in a ceremony attended
by Romanian Legation representa- Cornelia Manescu, the foreign min-
tives. Romania is the only Commu- ister, in Bucharest, and that the
nist country which rejected the Romanian leaders "showed an in-
lead of the Soviet Union in break- dependent view" of the Middle
ing off diplomatic relations with East situation," which he said was
"very interesting to hear."
Israel during the June war.
books
Romania is also the only East-
but only w hen it would have been equality for Negroes? Did the re- . —a claim whose justice is symbol- ern Bloc nation represented in the
ed soy-
unc hallenged
i ts
International Youth Chess Cham-
too late. In the weeks when Israel fugee problem excuse a Christian :
was being encircled she sounded ' or a liberal from crying "geno-j ereignty in Jerusalem, paradigm pionship Tourney now under way
the alarm over her danger, but cide" when he s a w it coming? , bf Jewish renewal, refutation of in Jerusalem. A Romanian chess
the alarm remained unanswered. Clergymen and theologians were the doctrine that we are a God player arrived during the week-
Hans Morgenthau put it best when begged to sign a statement of con- , expelled people? (Is this why those end and was immediately assigned
w ho tolerated an Arab Jerusalem to the competition.
he said that, had Israel suc- ' science in behalf of Israel, and in
cumbed. the President of the large numbers they refused. A ' now demand an internationalized
Willy Brandt, the West German
United States would have invited ranking Catholic prelate in Chicago Jerusalem?) Meanwhile, it must
leading rabbis to the White House insisted that he would write his', be noted that when credibility is foreign minister, reported on his
return
from a visit to Bucharest
to recite memorial prayers." own statement, but when later on shaken, so is dialogue.
Obviously, the Jewish communi- : he was asked for it he said, "I'm On the civil level, non-Jewish that Romanian leaders "opposed
ty feels this indifference, this cal-' too busy." As the Commission on i initiation of dialogue with Jews those who had no understanding
for Israel's right to exist." Ro-
lousness on the world's part, most Interfaith Activities of the Union 1 means that the liberal world will
J S
Jew as a part- mania has consistently urged
11 y. o of American Hebrew Congrega- I have to accept the
keenly — nay, most authent i ca
ner . No longer may it consider him
Jews have been so thoroughly tions states: Most c h urc h bodi es ner
n..
ip
RIDE THE
FORD
For 1967
Your Best Buy Is At
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10 Mile at Greenfield
r
trained, in adversity that they can either remained silent or directed , a willing instrument to be used to
rightfully claim to special sensi- their appeals to the then virtually put out every erupting fire, but
0
i abandoned to the flames kindled
tivity to gathering danger. And all' immobilized United Nations."
around him. If this latter is to be
the signs were there for us to see. ; An important peace organization ,
the Jew's relationship with the lib-
During the crisis preceding the openly implied, before June 5, that eral world, it is a false relation-
war, Jews in America were sur- , Israel was bent on extending her
rounded by silence. We felt isolat- , borders at the expense of the ship, one that proves defective the
cause to which the Jew is sum-
ed and abandoned. Some of us per- Arabs. A leading world govern- moned. A cause which regards the
haps felt what our fellow Jews meat representative told me, "If Jewish people as expendable be-
presents world renowned Cantor
Europe felt when doors and win- Israel should act unilaterally, this trays its own shallowness. In the
doves began to close against them. would be an unprincipled act which future many Jews will examine the
If there is an element of paranoia would win the condemnation of the credentials of liberalism more
in this feeling, remember that we world.'
carefully. They will not abandon
came by it honestly . . .
In light of this most recent their liberal affirmations, but they
My chief concern is that the moral failure, t h e much - touted will look more closely at liberal
moral lessons of World War II Christian - Jewish dialogue is re-
apparently have not been learned. vealed as fragile and superficial. 1 structures and leadership.
This should not mean the end of
One of those lessons is that there If dialogue is effective only under I dialogue,
but re-examination of it.
is in this world an obsession, tran- serene conditions, rinds r critical i We must not sidestep the need to
Sabbath Services, September 16, 1967 at 9:00 A.M.
scending all political considera- circumstances it will prove not only : utter a challenge and to await a
tions, to eliminate Israel, the Peo- disappointing but even dangerous. :
' response.
Concert,
Sunday, September 17, 1967 at 7:30 P.M.
ple Israel. from history. It is this
So if there is to be dialogue, two
obsession which the world failed to major preen i ses must be granted .
M.
D. Fought Cholera
act against 25 years ago, and this First, theological conversation out-1
Cards of Admission $5.00
Daniel Critzman, a Romanian- El
obsession which it closed its eyes side the reality of a living Jewish
to during the uncertain days of people is meaningless. Dialogue born Jewish physician who lived
May 1967. The incapacity of men that does not assume the right to in Paris in the latter part of the
and nations to say something live of a Jewish community in 19th century, was a pioneer in the
in this context, to recognize the Israel and in the world is mis- fight against cholera in Western
11
1:111-
recrudescent signs of the old de-
hievous and subversive. The exis- Europe.
monic lust to finish what had only tence of the Jewish people as a ---
been half achieved in Europe — living entity is a cardinal factor.
this set a wave of apprehension For an authentic Jew there can be
running through the Jewish com- no theological conversation with-
out the recognition of these ele-
munity.
The second moral lesson t h e mental truths. Acknowledgment of •
world failed to learn was that evil Jewish peoplehood as a human
is real and must be believed. Hit- reality, not merely as a historical •
Icr's pledge to destroy Israel. the curiosity, is central to dialogue.
People, was dismissed as the mere Jewish survival is a wonder with-
ANNOUNCES
bravado of a political buffoon. The
world's refusal to believe was a
AJC Joins Negro Bank
signal to Hitler to escalate the
terror until there could he no turn-
ing back. In those days there were
wise men who, hearing the out-
cries of the endangered Jews, saw
Ten Mile at Kenosha, Oak Park
the, plight of German Jewry in
broader dimensions. But once
again now the world refused to
(Children ages 5-16 Kdg. through 10th)
give credence to the warnings of
Classes Are Held on Sunday Mornings
Israel's impending annihilation.
Once again it remained hard and
We Have Three Sessions Which Meet
indifferent to the possibilities of
From 9 A.M. to 1 :30 P.M.
Jewish doom.
This ignoring of the demonic de-
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termination to extirpate Israel and
of . the reality of evil is what dis-
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turbs Jews. We had begun to be-
lieve that the shock therapy of
Hitler's holocaust had at last
opened the world's eyes to the fact
of evil. And. to judge from the
many declarations issuing from
church councils, from the Vatican,
even from governments after
World War II we had reason to
believe that the road had turned.
But not so. When the pattern of a
second holocaust began to take
shape, we waited for the chastened
and morally regenerated world to
respond. No response was forth-
coming. The moment came and
went, and once more men had
failed to grasp the opportunity for
an authentic act (not a mere pro-
fession) of reconciliation. There is
a Jewish legend that if every Jew
were to keep only a single Sab-
bath, the Messiah would come. Al-
most a messianic moment could i
have broken into the world if, in
the full understanding of that mo-
ment's portent for the Jews andi
Classes Begin Sunday September 10
Theodore Ellenoff, president
of the American Jewish Com-
mittee-New York Chapter (left),
is greeted by William R. Hud-
gins, president of 'the Freedom
National Bank of New York, as
he opens an account for commit-
tee funds. "The Freedom Nation-
al Bank is an asset to the entire
New York community," Ellenoff
"Furthermore, as more
said.
money from outside of Harlem
is deposited, it will aid in the
economic rehabilitation of the
ghetto community." The Free-
dom National Bank is the only
Negro owned and controlled
bank in the history of New York
State.
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