74,0 4111111111111111.111.1111.11111111111.11PRIMMONNIF ,
THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Merhber American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit, Mich. 48235,
VE 8-9364. Subscription $7 a year. Fo!eign $8.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit, Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
.4
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the second day of Av, 5728, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Num. 30:2-36:13. Prophetical portion, Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4.
Candle lighting, Friday, July 26, 8:39 p.m.
VOL. LIII. No. 19
Page Four
July 26, 1968
Polish Guilt Can Not Be Whitewashed
It is difficult to understand how Polish
patriots can possibly fail to detect the anti-
Semitic tendencies which have led to the
new campaign of horrors against Jews in
Poland.
In a letter to the New York Times,
Stefan Korbonski, who was a .member of the
Polish Sejm in 1947 as a representative of
the anti-Communist Polish Peasant Party,
sought to make strictly a Communist case out
of what had happened and continues to be
enacted in his native land by stating:
The well-justified protest of 1,000 professors
against the present anti-Semitic purge in Poland
(advertisement July 2) does not pay sufficient
attention to the fact that the Polish people are
not taking any part in this purge which is oc-
curring inside the Communist Party, since the
prevailing majority of the purged people are
its prominent members.
The Polish people, who do not have any say
either in this matter or in the others, consider
it purely a family affair of the present "owners
of Poland." And, if nobody sheds tears at the
dismissal of such dominant figures of the Stalin-
ist period as Roman Zambrowski, Stefan Zol-
kiewski, Juliusz Katz-Suchy, Stefan Staszewski
and Prof. Adam Schaff, it is not because they
are Jews, but because they are Communists re-
jected by the Polish people in the same way as
are Gomulka and his clique, or General Moczar
and his secret police.
But two days later the New York Times
editorially debunked such a view by pointing
to the admissions now being made by the
party in power in Poland, asserting:
Judging.- by some key speeches at the recent
Central Committee meeting of the Polish Com-
munist party, world public opinion has had
some effect on Warsaw's leadership. Last spring
the Polish press responded with indignant de-
nials to accusations that the "anti-Zionist" pog-
rom was really an expression of covert anti-
Semitism. At the recent meeting, Polish Com-
munist ideologist Zenon Kliszko called for a
halt to the "anti-Zionist" campaign and ad-
mitted that "the Jew and the Zionist are being
made identical." Another speaker, Boleslaw
Ruminski, said openly that the campaign "has
given rise .to clear phenomena of nationalism
and even anti-Semitism."
Even the pressure of outside public opinion
might have been ineffectual had it not been for
the deep political division among Polish Com-
munist leaders. The anti-Semitic campaign was
originally a weapon used by General Moczar's
faction against Wladyslaw Gomulka, and the re-
cent admissions are in part a counterattack by
the Gomulka forces against the general. The
fact that hundreds of Jews lost their jobs and
were subjected to public humiliation was merely
incidental to the larger struggle—a matter of
indifference to General Moczar's partisans.
The Central Committee meeting did not de-
cide this power struggle. General Moczar, whose
base hitherto has been the Interior Ministry
and ancillary organizations, moved upward by
Winning election both as a party secretary and
as an alternate member of the Politburo. But
his opponents still hold many high posts.
The issue must now be decided by the next
party congress, and the battle for control in
that forum will be harsh. The experience of the
past several months suggests that more inno-
cent victims are likely to be injured before the
power struggle is decided.
The occurrences in Poland already have,
been given in such detail that repetition
becomes annoying. The fact remains that
there are hardly any Jews left in Poland;
that the handful is Communist-oriented and
has no Jewish affiliations, except for the
very old, yet when they were chosen for
expurgation it was their Jewish background
that was emphasized and the term "Zionism"
was used because it is so suitable today
among Israel-hating Communists in need of
scapegoats.
But this is not the total story. The facts
are that anti-Semitism was always rampant
in Poland. that Poles collaborated with the
Nazis in the persecution of Jews during the
Hilter era, that this attitude was carried
over into the so-called democratic era after
World War II and is in evidence today even
though just a handful of Jews have survived
the Holocaust.
A Polish defender of the honor of
Poland who is himself an escapee from Com-
munist indignities surely can be credited
with sincerity. But the facts do not uphold
the contentions of those who maintain that
the current Polish actions are based on
sheer party interests. The Poles in power
have gone far, using Nazi tactics to trace the
Jewish backgrounds of their victims two or
more generations back. The overwhelming
number of those who have been purged are
either Jews, or former Jews who had con-'
verted to Catholicism, or descendants of
Jews who converted. This is not a mere ac-
cident: it is a design which should not be
absolved out of a desire to whitewash the
Polish people.
Israel Pressured While Arabs Threaten
New developments involving the United
States,• apparently out of a desire • to assure
an American-Soviet understanding on the
Middle East issues, seem to indicate that
there are serious pressures to induce Israel
to make concessions in efforts to assure some
sort of peace.
Unless there are face-to-face confronta-
tions, it is impossible to imagine anything
other than a prolonged truce and a peace
on a temporary basis. Yet the direct negotia-
tions are so remote that there is great
skepticism over possible agreements to re-
solve the territorial and other problems.
Therefore the most visible signs of activ-
ity are the pressures upon Israel, and these
continue in spite of the unending threats from
all Arab capitals that there is only one aim
among them: Israel's destruction.
American aims must not be belittled.
There is a seriousness in the White House
that must be respected. President Johnson's
designation of top officials to explore peace
possibilities is based on a hope that peace can
and must be attained. But a road to peace is
not a one-way avenue. It can not be forced
upon Israel as a road out of areas which
provide protection for her people while con-
doning highways of destruction mined by Is-
rael's enemies.
Anything that might lead to a pre-June
5, 1967, status is inconceivable. No one
with a sense of reality can possibly ask Israel
to open doors into Israel for Nasser, to make
it possible again for Syria to attack Jewish
settlements from the Golan Heights, to permit
Jordan to conduct guerrilla warfare while
preaching sanctimonious beliefs in amity.
There is appeasement of Arabs in demands
that Israel should abandon security, but it
is doubtful whether those who preach such
inanities really believe their own sermonizing
of workable statesmanship.
While the big negotiations, whatever
their form, are proceeding, it is becoming
more evident that there is a great deal of
double-talk, that Nasser and his cohorts will
speak mildly when they confront either the
UN or the U. S. representatives but continue
to advocate Israel's destruction from public
platforms and over the radio. The Nasser
speeches in Moscow and in Cairo were far
from temperate, yet there is a measure of
hope that he may yield on peace proposals.
But all such proposals are linked with de-
mands . upon Israel to "withdraw"—and with-
drawal inevitably means a return to condi-
tions that make Israel destructible. Such a
condition can not be tolerated.
'Irving and Me' Provides Much
Delight for Teen-Age Readers
Books for young Jewish readers with plots about Jews or with Jews
in major roles are too few to account for an extensive children's book
shelf. Many volumes are coming off the press dealing with theological
subjects, with the Middle East and with the Israeli-Arab conflict. But
the juvenile texts either are limited or entirely unavailable.
Therefore the appearance of a delightful story like "Irving and Me"
by Syd Hoff, published by Harper and Row, is especially welcome.
It is necessary to know something about the author. He is the crea-
tor of the syndicated daily cartoon "Laugh It Off" which is appearing
in newspapers in this country and overseas. His sense of humor was
applied to "Irving and i\le" which' provides many lau2ths, holds the
reader's attention and results from a plot that is wholesome, replete
with entertainment and provides extra good humor in relation to former
New Yorkers who now live in Florida. Hoff, his wife and young
daughter live in Miami Beach. But Hoff was born and lived until re-
cently in New York. Therefore he is aware of the effects of change
from New York to Florida upon a young boy—and that's how the story
begins in introducing Artie Granick.
Hoff's reputation has been established for his work as a cartoon-
ist. He has created cartoons for New Yorker, Esquire and other
magazines before proceeding with his delightful "Laugh It- - Off." But
he also has written and illustrated books for young readers, and the
newest work is not an exception. Harper and Row have published
several other of his children's books, but "Irving and Me" is his first
full-length novel for youngsters.
"Irving and Me" is the story not only of Artie Granick and Irving
Winkleman, but of the new environment in Florida, the teen-agers'
social functions, the intrusion of a tough who is feared but who turns
out to be a valuable asset in Jewish center activities.
It all begins with fear for a change in environment. In Brooklyn
Artie once is beaten badly by a hoodlum youngster. In Miami it could
well be Charlie Wolper. But Artie's good judgement and fearlessness
lead the boys into friendly relations.
The Jewish lads and the girls have a wholesome time, there is a
fraternization that brings a good spirit into the life of Artie who might
have been discouraged by temporary failures in fulfilling duties at the
center but who learns to overcome fears. His first-made friend in his
new home, Irving, becomes an asset. Even Artie's lesson to Irving not to
smoke brings good results.
"Irving and Me" is a delightful story and is highly recommended
for young readers. We had Herman Wouk's "City Boy" that introduced
an interesting theme about a Bronx chap. Then came Chaim Potok's
"The Chosen" and its success as a story about two interesting boys. The
most recent tale about youth on the streets of Brooklyn that earned
big commendations was Gerald Green's "To Brooklyn With Love."
Now we have for the younger readers the Syd Hoff story. It's a welcome
treat, containing much fun.
Bernstein's 'What the Jews
Believe' Issued as Paperback
"What the Jews Believe," the widely acclaimed work by Rabbi
Philip S. Bernstein that first appeared in 1950, has been re-issued in a
paperback by Funk and Wagnalls (380 Madison,
NY17).
With impressive illustrations by Fritz Eichen-
berg, Rabbi Bernstein's definitive work explains
Jewish ethical beliefs, touches upon historical
developments, presents descriptive accounts or
the major Jewish festivals and concludes with a
chapter "Am Yisrael Hai"—the people . Israel
lives—in which is incorporated his charge to his
son on his Bar Mitzva amid the ruins of Frank-
furt, Germany, Jan. 25, 1947.
The emphasis in the latter is that oppressors
live only temporarily. The theme of the final
chapter is: "There is good reason to believe that
strong Jewish communities in America and Israel
will develop simultaneously and will fructify-
ea
each other:"
Rabbi Bernstein