iJudaism and Israel Pavilions at Expo '67
Depict Historic Aspects of Jewish History z
Detroit and South. Oakland County
Hadassah Merge Into One Chapter
5
Detailed Story. Page 22
Must Eliminate
Jewish
I II iteracy
HE JEWISH NEWS
Anniversaries
in Coming Year
Irresponsible
Bigots
Editorials
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Detailed Story. Page .10
1=7)
-T"I=2 01 —1—
A Weekly Review
I I
C
1 ■ ./11 C I-11 GA ■
Jewish
Attitudes of
Soviet Writer
Eh renburg
Commentary
- Page 2
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper — Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
VOLUME LI—NO. 26
de
17100 W. 7 Mile Rd., Detroit—VE 8-9364—September 15, 1967
27
$6.00 Per Year; This Issue 20c
D UN Envoy's Jerusalem Report
Affirms nstitution ,of Normal
Rule by Israel Administration
Old City Restores
Hebrew Street Signs
JERUSALEM (JTA) — H e b r e w
street-signs are up again in the Old
City, now East Jerusalem.
municipal officials in the re-united
city h a v e restored the tri-lingual
street-signs — in Hebrew, Arabic and
English — which were used in Jeru-
salem prior to 1948, when the city
and all of Palestine were under the
British Mandate.
After the War of Independence in
1948, when Jerusalem was divided be-
tween Israel and Jordan, the Jordan-
ians tore down the Hebrew name-
plates in their portion of the city.
These have now been restored.
An order vesting ownership of the
Old City's Jewish quarter in the State
of Israel is due to appear in the gov-
ernment's official gazette and to be
signed by Finance Minister Pinhas
Sapir. The acquisition will facilitate
a planning survey of the quarter. so
that it can be reconstructed as a
major national site of religious and
Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News
NATIONS, N.Y. — Secretary-General U Thant reported here Tuesday that his personal representa-
tive who gathered factual information regarding Israel's unifigation of Jerusalem has found the outward conditions
fairly normal in. East Jerusalem, the section known as the Old'.City before Israel captured that area from Jordan
,
during the Six-Day War.
Thant made his report to the emergency special session of the General Assembly, which recessed in July and
is scheduled to reconvene Monday for its final meeting. The
special body, comprised of all members of the United Nations,
is expected to pass on the report, after Monday's debate, to the
Refugees' Return to Resume
regular assembly to open the following day.
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News)
UNITED
JERUSALEM — Some 7,000 West Bank Arab refugees.
whose return from Jordan was approved by Israel but who
missed the Aug. 31 deadline, will start returning to their
homes Sunday.
The Israel Ministry of the Interior announced Tuesday
that the refugees will be able to make their return without
any time limit. Crossing of the Jordan River will be per -
mitred three times weekly, over the Allenby Bridge.
The ministry is expected to announce details next
week regarding resumption of a family reunion plan.
Israel is also due shortly to announce its reply to a
note by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, in which he re -
iterated the United States position supporting the return
of all West Bank refugees to their former homes. The
Israel reply is expected to reformulate the basic position
that, on the return of refugees as well as on other matters.
direct talks must be initiated between Isiltel and the Arab
nations involved.
It has been learned that two friendly West European
'
states have informed Israel that their position on refugees
at the UN General Assembly, opening Monday, will be
formulated in accordance with that of Israel.
historical interest.
Thant's report—a lengthy '781-page document—was based
entirely, except for a formal introduction, on a report filed with
him by his personal representative for Jerusalem fact-finding,
Ambassador Ernest 0. Thalmann, a Swiss diplomat, who spent
two weeks in Jerusalem.
While observing that the outward appearance of Jerusalem
was calm and appeared normal, Thalmann reported that many
Arab personalities had given him petitions, memoranda and
statements indicating serious opposition to Israel's civil rule
over East Jerusalem. He also reported there was wide accept-
ance of Israel's principles, granting free access to all holy
places in Jerusalem to all religious persons. However, he found
Moslem religious leaders totally dissatisfied, and he reported
that, on the whole, the Catholic Church. as embodied in the
Vatican, still insists that Jerusalem must constitute a "corpus
Thalmann
Th a lmann reported that most of the Arabs who presented
him with grievances were either former members of the Jor-
danian administration or former leaders in the Palestine Liber-
ation Organization, the Anti-Israeli fighting arm of the Arabs.
(Related Story, Page 'I)
(Continued on Page 14)
How USSR Affected Jewish Life in Georgia and Uzbekistan
Editor' Note: This is the fifth install-
meet of the selections from Ben Arm's
revealing expose of conditions in Russia.
appearing in his book "Between Hammer
and Sickle." published by the Jewish Pub-
ligation Society of America. Next week's
installment will indicate how Bukhara??
and the youth are affected by USSR
Jews and
anti-Semitism.
By BEN AMI
earliest times, the Georgian nation absorbed tury, Georgian Jews began to settle in tumi, Sukhumi, Cori, Suram, Kulashi (a
little town mainly populated by Jews), and
its Jews without any trouble and regarded Palestine.
brought other cities and small to w ns. Contacts be-
The Soviet regime has naturally
them as a small, useful, and thoroughly
ds o f the Tbilisi Jewish corn-
about drastic changes in the economic situa- tween the hea
loyal minority.
Jewish
the local
and munity
of the Georgian Jews. The production
or
communities
Social and cultural contacts with other tion
Jewish communities were maintained main- and sale of wine was completely taken over are much closer than those between the
1y by their merchants who traveled to Jew- by the government and became a national Ashkenazi communities in Russia. The w ves
Republic. established Tbilisi community often gi
ish centers in neighboring lands. In the monopoly of the Georgian
Thousands of Georgian Jews managed to fin
reli-
maintain
Middle Ages, Georgian Jews were in touch
gious institutions.
regime.
during
the
early
years
of
the
Soviet
and this influenced their liturgy and reli-
The Georgian authorities. including the
gious ritual and provided them with bibli- Most remained behind and had to struggle
new Department of Religions. have a more
adapt themselves to the
cal and religious literature. From the eight- for years to
Their synagogues were closed, lenient and humane attitude toward the
eenth century onward, they began to estab- situation.
Jews than do the other national republics.
lish contact with Russian Jewry.. Since the their educational institutions paralyzed, their The reason is that most of the Georgian
conquest of Georgia and its annexation to main sources of livelihood taken from them. ruling bodies are directed by Georgians.
Despite everything, they managed some-
the Russian empire this contact has been
nation has managed to
how to develop effective means of preserv- This small. proud
steadily strengthened.
The Georgian Jews are proud of their
past. They claim to be the descendants of
the ten tribes which were exiled from the
kingdom of Israel some twenty-seven hun-
dred years ago by the Assyrian King Shal-
maneser 81, and which settled on the borders
The economic condition of the Georgian ing their identity. And they regained their withstand Russification more successfully
of the empire at "Halah, Khabur and the
River Gozan, and the cities of Media." Jew was good—better in fact than that former important position in the economic than other
the Soviet
There nationalities
are hardly any of Russians
in Union.
key gov-
Though there is no clear evidence in sup- of other Jews within the Russian Pale of life of Gdorgia, this time within the new
port of this tradition (as no serious study settlement—and this enabled them to bring national framework as state officials in wine ernment
positions
in
Tbilisi.
Georgia
is per-
an
haps the only republic which seems—to
of this subject has yet been made), it in rabbis, ritual slaughterers, and teachersproduction and trade.
With regard to their religious tradition, outsider at least—to govern itself with
seems probable that the Jewish descendants from the West. On the eve of the Bolshevik
of the Assyrian exiles wandered as far south revolution, many of the Georgian Jewish the proud Georgian Jews have not only suc- little The
interference
from
Moscow.
handling of
Jewish
affairs is also in
as southern Caucasia, Babylonia and Persia, communities had flourishing Hebrew schools ceeded in maintaining, as far as possible,
and settled there. We learn of Jewish set- and nascent Zionist groups. Jewish nation- the respected position of their synagogues, Georgian hands. Influenced by a tradition
tiers in Armenia from the Jerusalem Tal- alism developed quite naturally among the but are also trying to maintain, unofficially, of many generations, they treat Jews with
mud, which mentions "Rabbi Yaakov of Jews of Georgia, for it did not clash with something akin to an over-all communal or- a great
deal facts,
of toleration.
These
together with the importance
Armenia." Josephus relates that a con- their ancient communal and religious af- ganization.
today in Tbilisi, Ba- of the family unit, account for the great
Most of them live
siderable number of Jews lived in Armenia finities. By the end of the nineteenth cen-
solidarity of the Georgian Jews. They are
the best organized and the proudest Jews
during the days of King Tigranes (a descend-
ant of Herod, first century CE). They wan-
in the Soviet Union.
dered northward from Armenia and settled
But it must be remembered that in the
in Georgia. That Jews have lived in Georgia
final analysis even these Jews do not have
since the early Middle Ages is attested to
a single class in which Hebrew or Jewish
by written documents as well as ancient
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this week religion can be taught. They have no means
of training the next generation of leaders
gravestones.
ounced
an
allocation
of
$2,987,000
to
the
Young
Israel
Council
of
Metro-
announced
Georgian Jews were much in evidence in politan Detroit for the construction of a 19 - story high - rise apartment build - and are unable to give open expression
alm ost me ssianic exaltation regard-
the Turkish empire, Persia, and the Rus- ing for senior citizens in downtown Detroit. Construction will begin early to their Stat
Israel.
sian empire in connection with the wine
e
ing the of
Page
8.)
next
year.
(Story
trade and other forms of commerce. From
Young Israel Awarded S3 Million
Citizen Apartment
r
Senio
d
to Buil