'To Brooklyn With Love'—Green's Masterful Novel
Nostalgically Recalling Brownsville Depression Era
Gerald Green, already famed his difficulties with the other
for "The Last Angry Man" which) boys, his father's miserable prat-
depicts the idealism of a dedicated I tice, the status of a Jewish gen-
physician in the slum area of New , eration that commences to inter-
York, provides us with another ! mingle, eventually to transfer
major sociological study involving ; residence.
a struggling physician, as a mas-
ter of invective, the embittered
sufferer from the poverty of the
age and the area, is a remark-
able character. He is expertly
delineated by Green who does
not overlook the Jewish influ-
ences of the neighborhood, the
relationships of Jews with the
politicians, the religious urge
and the family attachments. Dr.
Brownsville of the time of the ! In a sense "To Brooklyn With
depression, the youth of a pre- ,' Love" brings to mind Dr. Chaim
vious generation, the changing , Potok's best seller, "The Chosen,"
neighborhood. in a splendid new which
also commences with a base-
1
narrative, "To Brooklyn With ! ball game. Green's has Jewish
Abrams himself is attracted nos-
Love," published by Trident Press,' characters but is not necessarily a
talgically to the synagogue and
a division of Simon and Schuster.' Jewish story — because Potok's
the Tora procession, even though
It is a story of a doctor and his sketches the Jewish ideological de-
he is a pork-eater.
son — as much of one as of the, bates between his two major char-
This is where Yussel Melnick,
other — and the craving for play- I acters whereas in Green's it is
time, as well as the urge for study, I strictly the sociological and neigh- one of his patients, steps in. Yussel
and the search for friendships and borhood experiences of boys who is in his nineties. But when the
intermingled with the experiences ' happen to be Jewish and whose Tora procession commences he is
of a struggling physician whose; associates are Polish and Italian right there and he drags the doctor
patients, because of the poverty ; and some with whom they battle into it.
Then came the tragedy: the
extant, contribute to difficluties ' are Negroes.
synagogue fire. Melnick is there,
to attain a livelihood as well as
Green's story doesn't have Po -
to achieve the satisfaction from a . tok's theological discussion but passes out — suffocates! And when
the doctor arrives he finds that
creative professional life.
! it carries the sociological message Yussel the mystic had spent his
Primarily this is the story of , much farther.
time carving — recreating the city
Albert Abrams and the boys, Jews ,
1 From the point of view of f the of Jerusalem as a dream, as a life's
and non-Jews and the incoming Ne- ,
I game. Green's story is superior to
groes, who play ball on the avail-
__: Potok's because it is more exten- ambition.
At this point there is inspiration
the street
able playground
g
i sive. It goes into
itoreater
detailsfor the doctor, and the son, Albert,
they werei
and who form gangs
and involves more serious conflicts also is in a more elated mood be-
more like cliques — to compete an
than Potok's limited antagonism cause he had just triumphed in a
in games.
between two Jewish boys. Green's fist fight.
Albert, aged 12 in the story,
ne th
contest the Negro
i into
The story ends, and Albert,
nearsighted, unable to meet the draws
boys who
h molest Albert, who steal readying to take the children back
challenges of fighting gangs who ball
and turn the game to their home after showing them
finally gains courage and enga- ba and b glove
into a a a ttle for the tools of the his residential origin, thinks about
after many it
ges is a fist fight
and for eventual triumph for his old friends, wonders what had ,
humiliations suffered at t h e game
whites, , then in a majority on happened to them, sees a name
hands of the boys on the street the
the block.
akin to the Negro, Lee Roy, who
— is now the adult whose desire
And Green's also emerges as molested him. and wonders whe- ,
to see the old neighborhood
more
interesting
from
the
point
of
ther the man listed as subway I
causes him to bring his two
children with him to the old view of the sports because the platform superintendent is really
Brownsville neighborhood. The narrator also tells about the punch- the same person. Now he forgives
area has changed — it is now ball game, dramatizing it to the him — and in that act of kindness
a Negro neighborhood. The tree fullest. And he relates about the is reflected the entire spirit of a
in front of the house is gone. Ringalevio game, in the midst of splendid novel aptly entitled, by
They are all new faces they en- which Albert once more is molest- the man who returned to his old
counter. Albert commences to ed by two Negroes. neighborhood to show it to his
This dramatic tale is not youngsters, as "To Brooklyn With
reminisce and the book is the
limited to Albert. His father, as Love."
recollection of his 12th year,
VAR Halts. Operations to Clear Suez Canal
of Stranded Ships After Shots Exchange
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
TEL AVIV — Cairo Radio an-
nounced Tuesday night that Egypt
has suspended all operations to
clear 15 merchant ships stranded
in the southern portion of the Suez
•
Canal and blamed Israel for the
Suspension.
A military spokesman said here
that there was no sign of activity
Wednesday along the Egyptian-
held west bank of the canal. The
quiet followed a two-hour ex-
change of fire between Egyptian
and Israeli units across the canal
Tuesday when the Egyptians, at-
tempted to send survey boats into
the canal's northern sector. Israeli
units fired warning shots at the
craft. The Egyptians responded by
shelling Israeli positions at Kan-
tara and Dar Sueir.
Israel held that Egypt was vio-
lating the cease-fire agreement of
last June when it sent boats into
the northern sector of the canal
without Israel's prior assent. The
agreement provided that neither
side navigate or use the canal in
any way without agreement by
the other. Israel had agreed last
week to Egyptian operations to
clear the southern end of the canal
to free the stranded merchant
ships. Israel contended that Egypt's
attempt to enter the northern end
of the canal Tuesday constituted a
violation of that agreement as well.
(Egypt's attempt to start clear-
ing operations in the northern sec-
tor was probably undertaken at
the urging of Russia, the Financial
Times reported Wednesday in a
dispatch from its correspondent in
Tel Aviv.
(The Russians want the entire
canal cleared for use and want to
blame Israel for preventing it, the
dispatch said. This would turn
world opinion against Israel and
would divert attention from Egypt's
refusal to meet Israel at the ne-
ed and one Israeli and two Egyp-
tion tanks were destroyed in the
exchange of fire that erupted noon
Tuesday along the Suez Canal.
The clash occurred when Israeli
forces fired warning shots at the
Egyptian launch attempting to en-
ter the northern sector of the canal
from Lake Timsah to carry out
what the Israelis said was an "il-
legal survey."
United Nations observers in the
Suez Canal area arranged a cease
fire to go into effect at 12:30 p.m.
local time, but Egyptian batteries
did not desist from firing until
1:15 p.m., a military spokesman
reported.
Apparently the Egyptians
were bent on testing Israel's res-
ponse to their announced intention
of starting clearing operations in
the northern portion of the canal.
Israel had earlier warned Egypt
in writing, through Lt. Gen. Odd
Bull, chief of the UN cease-fire
observers corps, that she would
not permit unilateral operations
in the northern sector.
Foreign ministry sources said
meanwhile that UN Ambassador
Gunnar Jarring's visit here Thurs-
day was previously scheduled and
did not arise from Tuesday's Suez
clash. His visit to Israel will be
his seventh since he began his
peace-seeking mission in the Mid-
dle East.
Jarring's mission has reached
an impasse at the end of its
first phase during which the
diplomat solved a number of
marginal problems, according to
Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper.
red. Jarring has conferred repeated-
! ly with Israeli and Arab officials,
except those of Syria, which re-
fuse to talk to him.
The Arab states were under-
stood to have rejected Israel's posi-
tion that direct talks must pre-
cede all other matters, and Israel,
in turn, has rejected the Arab de-
mand that Israeli forces must be
withdrawn from occupied areas be-
fore other matters can be con-
sidered.
The envoy was reported to have
agreed to Israel's stand that the
UN Security Council resolution
authorizing his mission did not
call for unconditional withdrawal
by Israel.
The Haaretz report was in ef-
fect confirmed by the semi-official
Egyptian newspaper, Al Abram, !
whose editor, Hasseinen Haikal, is
known to be close to President
Nasser. Haikal wrote that Jarring's
mission had reached a deadlock
and that the Arab states had re-
Does U.S. Want Out From MAE?
figures cited in recent press re-
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
WASHINGTON — The United
States government, preoccupied
with problems in Korea and Viet-
nam, is seeking to quietly disen-
gage from involvement in the
Arab-Israel issue and is looking
to the United Nations to resolve
matters like the most recent vio-
lence on the Suez Canal, highly
placed officials said Tuesday.
Authorities said the United
States fully supports the efforts
, of the United Nations team headed
! by Gen. Odd Bull and feels that
both sides should heed UN deci-
sions.
Officials here said that the
United States does not want to be
emboiled "at every twist and turn"
in Israel-Arab frictions and would
look increasingly to the United
Nations in that region because
policymakers regard developments
in Korea and Vietnam more vital
to U.S. security interests.
The State Department holds
the position that "despite press
reports to the contrary, we have
no evidence of any kind that the
USER has installed any such
(ground-to-ground) missiles in
Arab countries up to the present
time, or that such installation
is imminent." The denial was
made by Assistant Secretary of
State William B. Macomber Jr.
in a letter to Rep. J. Herbert
Burke, Fla. Rep.
Macomber conceded that "some
Arab countries have received cer-
tain other types of tactical mis-
siles." He said that "there has
been no evidence of a large new
influx of Soviet military personnel
into Syria, Egypt, Algeria or other
Arab countries." Government esti-
mates on the numbers of Soviet
personnel in these countries, he
said, were "classified" informa-
tion but "I am able to say that
they are substantially below the
* *
ports."
The State Department official
also minimized the danger of
Soviet airpower operating from
Egypt. He said that the Soviet
TU-16 bombers had been in Egypt
on a temporary mission but had
returned to the USSR. The Rus-
sians, he added, had not sent any
of their best long-range and med-
ium-range bombers to the Middle
East.
Although he minimized the ex-
tent of Soviet military personnel
placement in the Middle East,
Macomber revealed that "increas-
ed Soviet military activities in the
Mediterranean area" have been
discussed by the United States
"with our NATO allies." He said
that "instability and disputes in
the Middle East have provided a
basis for increasing Soviet pres-
sure and influence." He also noted
that "the Soviet resupply of losses
in military equipment suffered by
some of the radical Arab states in
the June 1967 war has given Mos-
cow a chance to make up for the
psychological loss it suffered in
the Arab military defeat."
Outlining the aims of American
policy in the Middle East as "to
promote our important political
and commercial interests," Ma-
comber said that "we believe it
essential to maintain a collabora-
tive relationship with the moder-
ate elements in the area with
which we have had long and
friendly ties. We hope that our
ties can be restored, in time, with
those states in the area which
broke diplomatic relations with us
last year during the Arab-Israeli
war; but we insist that relations
can be resumed only on the basis
of mutual respect and dignity, and
under conditions which will speci-
fically compensate us for damages
suffered."
State Department's and Rostow's
Roles in Appeasing the Egyptians
By MILTON FRIEDMAN
(Copyright 1968, JTA Inc.)
WASHINGTON — The adminis-
tration appears to be resuming
arms gifts to Jordan while per-
mitting Egypt to earn millions of
dollars by selling cotton in the
United States despite the serious
balance of payments problem.
Important members of Congress
are infuriated. Rep. Edward J.
Gurney, Florida Rep., said he
would oppose the shipment of even
a single bullet to Jordan as long
as the Jordanians refuse to talk
peace with Israel and maintain
ties with the Cairo Unified Arab
Command which is so strongly in-
fluenced by the Soviet Union.
Rep. Gurney said that "at the
very same time that the North
Korean Communists seized the
U.S.S. Pueblo, the Amman radio
broadcast attacks on the United
States and defense of the Com-
munists. In an obviously official
broadcast the Jordanian radio said
"the primary and only purpose of
the Soviet fleet's presence in Arab
waters is to assist the Arabs in
jected Israel's offer to discuss
new borders, freedom of shipping, confronting Israeli ambitions."
i con-
The State Department is
the refugee problem and cancella-
tion of Arab anti-Israel boycott. templating replacing the military
equipment lost by Jordan during
Haikal added that since the the Six-Day War. The explanation
envoy apparently had brought no given is that Washington wants to
other proposals for negotiation, a
retain influence with Amman by
settlement of the Arab-Israel keeping the Jordanians dependent
conflict by political means was on U.S. military supplies and spare
ruled out and that a new war parts. Officials dismiss the con-
was perhaps to be expected, a tention of some Israelis that this
theme the Egyptian editor has leads to an arms race in which
previously during America supplies Jordan while the
expounded
Jarring's visits to the Arab Russians supply Egypt and Syria.
capitals.
Abba Eban, Israel's foreign
minister, told the cabinet . Sunday
that the Swedish envoy was ex-
pected to come here for another
visit at the end of the week. The
foreign minister also reviewed the
talks with Jarring leading to the
Israeli agreement to allow Egypt
to proceed with clearing opera-
tions at the southern end of the
gotiating table-).
Five Israeli soldiers were wound- been no progress, Haaretz assert- Suez Canal.
Quoting "political sources," the
newspaper said that the UN envoy
had brought about an Israeli ag-
reement with Egypt on clearing
the blocked Suez Canal and the
agreement under which all prison-
ers of war were exchanged last
week between the two countries.
However, on the basic issue of
peace in the region, there has
1968 ISRAEL'S 20th
ANNIVERSARY YEAR
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
40—Friday, February 2, 1968
Following the severance of
American - Egyptian diplomatic
relations, the administration —
without informing Congress —
quietly authorized the import of
cotton from Egypt. India rep-
resented Egypt in such trans-
actions. The State Department
has extended authority to Egypt
to sell additional cotton here until
April 1.
Eugene V. Rostow, Undersec-
retary of State for Political Af-
fairs, has asked a Senate agri-
culture subcommittee to kill a bill
passed in the House by a vote of
274 to 64. The legislation would
ban the import of Egyptian cot-
ton. Rostow maintained that the
bill might delay restoration of
American relations with Egypt
and "widen the breach between
the United States and the Arab
w or 1 d." The administration
spokesman held that concessions
to the Nasser regime would con-
tribute toward regional peace.
Senator Joseph M. Montoya, New
Mexico Dem., is the sponsor of the
Senate version of the House bill.
He emphasized that Egypt was
earning dollars "at the expense of
honest Americans" unable to sell
American - grown c o t to n. He
charged that Nasser "has influence
here out of proportion to what he
deserves. He seems to have power-
ful friends in Washington who put
Egypt's benefit ahead of America's
national and domestic interest."
Since last June, the State De-
partment has allowed Egypt to
dump cotton here and take out
over $3,000,000 in cash.
State Department of ficials
charged members of Congress with
"protectionism" in that they would
ban Egyptian cotton. Sen. Montoya
replied that "there is a world of
difference between protectionism
and proper action against a sworn
and obvious enemy of our country.
There is no conceivable benefit to
our national interest by coddling
this man and his goVernment."
The senator said "I do not be-
lieve one American in 10,000 would
be unhappy if we remove Egypt's
quota and place it in the hands of
American cotton raisers who have
watched their market shrink year
after year."
Administration officials are work-
ing quietly on Capitol Hill to pre-
vent the Senate from voting final
approval for the House bill.
(Related story Page 7)
Special Israel Travel Section
Pages 23 to 27
JEWISH NEWS
Ludicrous
Hussein Role:
Obstacles to
Unhindered
CE — r c i —r
Freeways
Editorial
Page 4
Vol. LI I, No. 21
-
A Weekly Review
MICHIGAN
of Jewish Events
'The Sun Stood
Still'— Impressive
Volume on June
Six - Day War
Commentary
Page 2
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper — Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
cOES4D27
17100 W. 7 Mile Rd., Detroit — VE 8-9364—February 9, 1968
$6.00 Per Year, This Issue 20c
Religious Bias in Employment
Barred in Government Warning
'Unaligned' States Insist
Upon Israel Withdrawal
LONDON (JTA)—British diplomatic circles indicated here
Monday that they expected a new campaign by the so-called
unaligned states in the United Nations to revive a formula for
peace in the Middle East which was rejected in UN debate last
spring. The formula, in its baldest terms, would require Israel
to withdraw to its pre-June borders in exchange for an Arab
declaration of non-belligerency and a Big Power guarantee of
Israel's security.
President Josef Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, taking the initia-
tive in pressing this solution, raised it in recent weeks during
his extensive travels with the heads of regimes in India, Paki-
stan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Yemen and Ethiopia. In
talks with Emperor Haile Sellassie, Tito arrived at a formula
coupling Israeli withdrawal with a declaration of "the right to
independent existence of all countries in the region."
According to the Guardian, President Nasser of Egypt is
enthusiastically backing Tito's initiative, The paper said that
"Nasser clearly believes that the Suez Canal shootings of last
Tuesday have greatly strengthened his chances of obtaining a
settlement." It said that Egypt has been "lobbying intensively"
for international support on the canal issue and to make Israel
the scapegoat for the failure to release the 15 merchant ships
blocked in the canal.
The British government indicated it still entertains hopes
that the 15 merchant ships stranded in the Suez Canal since last
June will be freed. Goronwy Roberts, joint minister of state,
said this in a written reply to a question in the House of
Commons.
(Continued on Page 18)
Tourist Taxes Would
Affect Israel Travel
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The adminis-
tration asked Congress to tax American
tourists who spend more than $7 a day
on visits abroad to various lands, includ-
ing Israel. The tax is aimed mainly at
European and Mediterranean travel but
will be applied to all countries outside
the Western Hemisphere.
Treasury Secretary Henry Fowler told
the House Ways and Means Committee
that the tax should be approved by Con-
gress in time to inhibit travel this
spring. It was pointed out that students
would, in effect, be exempted because
student hostels and modest food cost less
than $7 daily. Persons spending from $7
to $15 a day would be taxed 15 per cent.
Rep. Seymour Halpern of New York,
a member of the House International
Finance Subcommittee, criticized the
administration's proposals for a tax on
tourism on the grounds that a travel
tax, "in effect, is a slap in the face to
Israel in view of that nation's arrange-
ments to honor her 20th anniversary of
independence with many tourist fea-
tures."
NEW YORK (JTA)—Agudath Israel
of America asked President Johnson
Wednesday to exclude from the adminis-
tration's proposed travel restrictions
those Americans who travel to the Holy
Land to visit religious shrines.
' WASHINGTON (JTA) — Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz served notice Monday on
United States government contractors that job discrimination on the basis of religion is equally
a violation of government policy as discrimination on grounds of race, color or ethnic origin. A
directive published in the Federal Register addressed to all federal agencies handling questions
of contract compliance reminded them that Executive Order 11246 prohibited religious discrimi-
nation in employment on federal jobs and made the Office of Federal Contract Compliance
responsible for enforcing the ban.
Secretary Wirtz's memorandum pointed out that "although government contractors have
made progress in affording employment opportunities without regard to religion, there remain
industries and companies in which some religious groups, notably Jews, and to some extent
Catholics, are still excluded from positions at certain levels of responsibility. Where this appears
to be the case, government contractors are expected to identify the problems and institute
appropriate affirmative actions to obtain results."
President Morris B. Abram of the American Jewish Committee expressed gratification
over the labor secretary's action and praised Wirtz, who he said, "has shown great sensitivity
to this issue, particularly as it relates to the increasing shortage of management manpower."
The Wirtz directive was described as "the concluding step" in efforts launched two years ago
by the AJC when it filed a complaint with the secretary of labor of discrimination against Jews
and Catholics on management levels.
ADL
Protests Bias at New York Athletic Club
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith joined with two Negro
civil rights organizations to issue a "long overdue protest" against racial discrimination
allegedly practiced by the New York Athletic Club.
A joint statement issued by .Dore Schary, national chairman of the ADL; Roy Wilkins,
executive director of the NAACP; and Whitney Young, executive director of the Urban League,
hailed the public attention given to the fact that "what may be the largest private club in the
largest city in the world still uses race as a membership criterion." They also praised the decision
by Negro athletes not to participate in the upcoming NYAC track meet and the other college
teams and athletic associations that have withdrawn or allowed their team members to do so..
Continuing Israel Emergency Campaign
Met Here Again as 'Historic Necessity'
Pre-Campaign Contributions to Two Funds Mount to $4,730,000
Alerted to the newly-emerging crises in Israel and the growing threats of the possibility of a re-emerging war resulting
from Arab refusals to recognize Israel's sovereignty and to commence peace negotiations, the Allied Jewish Campaign and Israel
Emergency Fund swelled to new proportions with gifts made at the pre-campaign dinner held Wednesday at the Statler-Hilton.
Because of the continuing emergencies, the scheduled speaker, Gen. Aharon Ally, chief of the Israel intelligence staff, was
unable to leave Israel, and the analyses of existing situations were made by Rabbi Herbert Friedman of New York, executive vice
president of the United Jewish Appeal, who came to fill the gap as guest speaker.
Upon the conclusion of the solicitations, William Avrunin, executive vice president of the Jewish Welfare Federation, an-
nounced that the total subscribed as of that night was $4,730,000— $2,522,000 for the regular Allied Jewish Campaign funds which
provide for local and national needs, with the UJA as the major beneficiary, and $2,208,000 for the Israel Emergency Fund—
the largest amount ever recorded at a pre-campaign function.
Alfred L. Deutsch and Maxwell Jospey, co-chairman of this year's drive, alternated in presiding at the dinner. Contribu-
tions were polled during the card-calling period by Max Shaye, Samuel Frankel, Richard Sloan, Lewis Grossman, Meyer Fishman
and David Mondry. Paul Zuckerman, vice president of the Jewish Welfare Federation and a former Allied Jewish Campaign
chairman, who headed the 1967 Israel Emergency Fund campaign. introduced the guest speaker.
Rabbi Friendman warned of possible dangers on Israel's borders. He stated that the retired chief of the Israeli armed forces,
Gen. Itzhak Rabin, would advise those probing into history that "there was no comprehension about a confrontation which led to the
fighting in June because the withdrawal of the United Nations Expeditionary Force came suddenly, the Nasser announcement of
the closing of entrance to Israeli shipping at Sharm el Sheikh was not known in advance and neither was the sudden massing of
troops." On the other hand, he declared, the present chief of staff, Gen. Chaim Bar-Lev, and others now feel that on the basis
of developments, with not a single Arab state willing to sit down to talk peace with Israel, new hostilities may break out at any time.
It is now more than ever a question of protecting the lives of the people and to assure the safety of the country. Rabbi Fried-
man said. He said that 1,200 El Fatah terrorists already are under arrest in Israel for participation in guerripa warfare and that
the threats have not diminished, and that Israel's position remains grave.
Emphasizing that even during the most trying periods Israel's doors always remained open to those seeking sanctuary in the
Jewish state, Dr. Friedman said that no Jew ever is asked to contribute towards Israel's military defense needs, but that life
saving is the duty of the Jews of the world.
"The life saving job remains our responsibility," he declared. "We never did it fully. Both the defense needs and the settle-
ment of escapees from oppression were shouldered by Israel, and ours was a minimal share. In June ours became a major share
and in 1968 it'll be our responsibility again. We would not have come to you for an emergency, but it is required in enormous
dimensions. There is the historic necessity to make sacrifices again."