Purely Commentary
Have Faith in Your Children
Parents have a natural concern when their children's scholastic
ratings are involved. For those who get a bit worried when progress
is slow, Dr. Lloyd J. Thompson of Chapel
Hills, N.C., had encouraging words. He
listed a number of "men of eminence" who
were "slow," in an address at the Inter-
national Congress on Mental Health.
Prof. Thompson called attention to Dr.
Albert Einstein having failed in his first
college entrance examination.
He also mentioned the following "near
failures" in his list of the eminent who
may have given their parents cause for
concern:
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was 11 years
old before he learned to read.
Gen. George Patton couldn't read until
he was 12 and supposedly never read well
*:k
Dr. Einstein
all his life.
Thomas A. Edison was believed by his primary school teachers
to have been mentally ill, and his grammar was appalling until his
manhood.
The eminent Harvard brain surgeon, Dr. Harvey Cushing, al-
ways spelled atrociously.
In our Jewish experiences, it has been said that the successes
of Jews in many fields were responsible for jealousies and some time
ago we had occasion to pose the question, in response to those who may
have said that Jews captured too many scholastic honors, whether
any of us would dare say that we are prepared to "make fools of
our children." The contrary is, of course, the answer: if our youth
will not excel, they may have a tough time making the mark that
is so vital for success and progress in life.
It all sums up to the advice to parents not to worry too soon
about their children, and to live up to the inherited tradition to
advance the cultural standards in our ranks. On the occasion of the
reopening of the school year, this is an especially vital need: to
advance learning and to make certain that in the course of ac-
quiring knowledge the Jewish heritage should neither be forgotten
nor ignored.
Dr. Cushing
Gen. Patton
Pres. Wilson
*
*
*
Thomas Edison
Teachers and Schools—Mounting Problems
In a spirit of optimism, we must hold on tightly to the- hope
that the emerging school problems will lead to the hoped-for improve-
ments in our schools and the assurance that our children will receive
the education so vitally needed in the struggle for survival. After all,
all of life is a striving for survival, and the best fitted for life by
training make it possible for the less fortunate also to benefit from
a good life.
That is why it is so imperative that we take a serious view of
what is happening to our schools.
A series of articles on educational problems has begun in Look
magazine with the current one on "Our Angry Teachers" in which
we are warned that this nation is faced with a possibility of between
300 and 400 strikes in 1968-69 by teachers in the public schools who
"are angry and getting angrier by the minute." The article challenges
the American people not to be complacent and to take note of teach-
ers' demands, of the reality of a situation which now presents the
public school teachers as a unionized force.
What about the standard of American education and the dedica-
tion to their calling on the part of the teachers? One leader in the
ranks of American teachers maintained, as quoted in the first Look
article, that the teacher who walks out on current practices "shows
more dedication to his profession than does the teacher who stays
on the job, perpetuating mediocrity." The contention . of this teacher,
(Mrs. Ruth Trigg, former head of the Classroom Teachers Associa-
tion) is that "if the teacher's militancy leads to improved conditions
of learning, the child's opportunities are enhanced for a lifetime!'
In the Jewish community we now also have a similar situation
— of unionization, teachers demands for elevation of their standards
and the recognition of their positions in a setting of dignity and re-
sponsibility; and like their counterparts on the secular scene, their
contention is that unless the teacher is granted a position of self-
reliance, replete with respect, the existing system can collapse; the
claim is made in the interest of advancing the standards of Jewish
community, as citizens on the American scene.
That is why we hope the approaches to the problem will not
be directed by ostriches. If we will emerge blind to realities, we will
condemn the next generation to total ignorance.
*
Sheik Abdulla About Israel Rule: 'We Are Satisfied'
Four sheiks and 800 of their picked folloWers, representing 10,000
Bedouin from 16 tribes who are scattered over the Southern Sinai,
met a few days ago at Wadi Firan, in the Sinai Peninsula, with a
group of Israelis who brought with them soft drinks and electric
lighting and introduced the Bedouin to the first movie they had ever
seen—"The Sword of Ali Baba."
It was a festive occasion and the head of the 3,500-member
EI-Mizeneh tribe, Sheik Abu Abdulla, as spokesman for the gathered
Bedouin, speaking from a platform bedecked with Israeli flags, made
this proclamation:
"The Sheik Abdullah,in the name of all the tribes, and in all
honesty and mutual respect, declares that after one year of Israeli
2—Friday, August 30, 1968
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Faith in Youth ... Teacher's
Problems ... Satisfied Shiek
Pilots and Israel
In Israel
By Philip
Slomovitz
rule we are satisfied. We take pride in , the young state of Israel
which strives for peace.
'We are grateful that our internal autonomous rule and judici-
ary are being preserved. Thus do we prove we are faithful to the
Israeli authorities and can be treated as equals."
Supplementing this report are numerous interesting stories of
fraternization not only betwen Israelis with Bedouins but also with
Arabs in Israel who crave for amity and peaceful relations with the
Israelis. Last week, for instance, there was an exhibition of art work
by Israeli children at Bet Zafafa, a village that was divided before
the Six-Day War and is now united, with its former Jordanian residents
free to travel at will. Arab and Jewish children sat side by side as
they displayed their creative art works. That's what a common school
experience can and should attain, as Israelis hope it will.
But hatred has not been erased. Pro-Soviet attitudes predominate
among ruling Arab classes and while the entire world has condemned
the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia, there was support for the
Kremlin in many Arab areas. Perhaps the gestures for peace from
Bedouin and children also will open the eyes of those blinded by
anger and hatred to the values of peace and good will among peoples.
*
*
French Pilots ... Hijacking ... Apologies . . . World Disgrace
Why did the French Pilots' Union apologize to Algeria for what
it termed a "misunderstanding" when it announced it was joining the
boycott of Algeria for retaining the 12 Israelis, including the pilots,
and the El Al Israel jetliner?
If the International Federation of Airline Pilots Association
had rejected the French pilots' stand and differed with the French
on this issue, why hasn't the boycott been enforced?
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports from Paris that a spokes-
man for the French Pilots' Union said his group had been mistaken
when Algeria was accused of stalling on the release of the plane. In
that case, why haven't the plane and the detained passengers been
released?
And if the Air France technicians are reportedly servicing the
hijacked plane so that it should be in a flying condition to leave
Algeria, why the delay?
Another JTA report from Paris states that Foreign Minister
Bouteflika of Algeria received messages from the governments of
Libya, Guinea, Turkey, Lebanon and East Germany supporting Algeria's
insistence on detaining plane and crew and Israeli passengers. Does
this mean that the French have completely submitted to the hijackers?
When the boycott first was announced, The Jewish News re-
ceived a telegraph, dated Aug. 14, 1968, over a signature that read
"Clyde Carter, Press Relations, Air France," which stated:
MR FRANCE PILOTS ASSIGNED TO FLIGHTS BETWEEN
VARIOUS CITIES IN FRANCE AND DESTINATION IN AL-
GERIA WILL STRIKE EFFECTIVE MONDAY AUGUST 19 UN-
TIL THE CREW OF THE EL AL AIRCRAFT HIJACKED TO
ALGERIA IS RELEASED THE FRENCH AIRLINE ANNOUNC-
ED IN PARIS TODAY AUG. 14 THE INTERNATIONAL FED-
ERATION OF AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION TO WHICH
AIR FRANCE PILOTS BELONG YESTERDAY CALLED ON
THE PILOT MEMBERS OF AIR FRANCE ALITALIA AND
SWISSAIR TO CEASE ALL FLIGHTS TO ALGERIA IN THE
NEXT TWO OR THREE DAYS. ACCORDING TO THE PARIS
ANNOUNCEMENT NEITHER AIR FRANCE NOR THE FRENCH
GOVERNMENT WILL INTERFERE WITH THE STRIKE AIR
FRANCE OPERATES 32 WEEKLY FLIGHTS FROM VARIOUS
CITIES IN FRANCE TO ALGIERS AND ORAN CLYDE CARDER
PRESS RELATIONS AIR FRANCE.
If the original contention was that neither Air France nor the
French government would interfere in the then-planned boycott, how
will the French explain the present reconsideration of the natural
reaction by airline pilots to hijacking?
What crimes are being committed in the interest of self-interest!
And how interesting that Arabs, because of their venomous hatred
for Israel and the Jews, have chosen in large measure to support the
Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia—and the Arab states listed above
are approving of hijacking!
Is it any wonder that East Germany, in this unholy partnership,
joins the Arab states in upholding hijacking?
0 tempora! 0 mores!
Israel Will Get Phantoms
if He Has His Way, Says
Congressman Ogden Reid
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
TEL AVIV—Congressman Ogden
Reid, a New York Republican who
once served as United States am-
bassador to Israel, pledged here
Wednesday that he would do every-
thing possible to see that Israel
gets the F-4 Phantom supersonic
jet fighters she has requested to
the U.S. to maintain her defensive
strength against the re-armed
Arab states. Rep. Reid added "I
have, good reason to believe that
Israel will get the Phantoms."
He made his remarks at Lydda
Airport, where he and his family
left Wednesday after a visit to Is-
rael that included tours of all of
the Israel-occupied Arab territor-
ies. During his stay, the Congress-
man also met with Deputy Prime
Minister Yigal Allon, Foreign Min-
ister Abba Eban, Defense Minister
Moshe Dayan, former Prime Mini-
ster David Ben-Gurion and Mayor
Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem.
He said that America is interest-
ed in maintaining a balance of
armed strength in the Middle East
and is aware that weapons are be-
ing shipped into the area.
Eban May Discuss
Mirage Delivery
While in France
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli
Foreign Minister Abba Eban will
visit Paris for talks with French
cabinet members, a foreign minis-
try spokesman said Sunday. This
will be the first visit by an Israeli
cabinet member to France since
just before the 1967 June war,
when Eban reportedly sought to
enlist France's backing for a pos-
sible Israeli strike to reopen the
Tiran Straits which were blocked
by Egypt in May.
Relations between France and
Israel, which had been close in
preceding years, detriorated al.
most overnight when the 1967 war
erupted and President Charles de
Gaulle announced France was sus-
pending plans to deliver Mirage
jet planes which Israel had con-
tracted and later paid for, and
which remain undelivered.
The issue of the planes was ex-
pected to be one of the main items
in the Paris talks, sources said.
Diplomatic sources indicated that
Eban may see Prime Minister
Maurice Couve de Murville but
nothing was known about any
Eban meeting with G e n. de
Gaulle. Political observers here
have noted that French official
statements directed against Israel
have been less vehement in tone
than in previous months. The
Paris visit was arranged through
diplomatic channels and also was
based in part on Eban's conversa-
tions with other European foreign
ministers in recent months.
.
•
Red Cross „Visits Pilots
From Iraq Who Landed
-
in Israel by Mistake
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Representa-
dyes of the" • International Red
Cross visited the two Syrian Air
Force officers who landed their
MIG-17 interceptor jets in Israel
two weeks ago, apparently because
of a navigational error. The rep-
resentatives delivered letters from
the pilots' families and received
letters from the pilots addressed
to Syria.
Damascus radio said that Israel
cannot hold the pilots as prisoners
of war because "they did not par-
ticipate in the last war (of June
1967) . . . since they graduated
after the June war." Reports from
Beirut said that 185 Syrian Army
officers and 12 pilots flying MIG
fighters defected to Iraq Aug. 19
after failing to pull orf a coup in
Damascus. A military coup in
Baghdad last month overthrew the
Iraqi government.
Jarring May Return Peace Mission
to UN When General Assembly Opens
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Diplo-
matic sources said here Tuesday
that United Nations envoy Dr.
Gunnar V. Jarring once again may
shift the site of his peace-seeking
mission from the Middle East to
New York to take advantage of the
presence of the Israeli and Arab
foreign ministers at the fall ses-
sion of the General Assembly
which opens Sept. 24.
Dr. Jarring was scheduled to
visit Cairo on Thursday and Am-
man today. He recently returned
to his Nicosia, Cyprus, headquar-
ters after several weeks of media-
tion at the UN.
Diplomatic quarters believe,
however, that the Middle East
question may not be discussed at
the forthcoming General Assembly
sessions despite expected propos-
als that it be reopened there. They
pointed out that the Security Coun-
cil is still dealing with the subject.
Nevertheless, the Israel govern-
ment, is. preparing for the possi-
bility that the Middle East conflict
will come up since it was on the
agenda when the General Assem-
bly adjourned last spring. Israel's
chief UN representative, Ambassa-
or Yosef Tekoah, has been re-
c e lied for consultations and will
have two weeks of discussions with
the foreign minister, Abba Eban.
•
Arabs Shaky Over Rumor
That Israel to Retaliate
(Direct- JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
WASHINGTON — Fears rose in
the Arab world Wednesday, that
Israel may be planning large-scalp
military retaliation as a result o
Stepped-up Arab guerrilla activit4
reports received here from Bella*
Said.
Many Arab world newspapers
an front-page "reports" of alleged
Israeli plans to launch a satura-
tion attack against all known con*
mando bases on the east banit oif
the Jordan River. Some pap
speculated on a possible rata
across the Suez Canal.
Baghdad Radio said Israe
forces on the occupied east
of the canal had been placed on
alert following the killing Monday
of two Israeli soldiers and the kid-
naping of a third, apparently,
Arab irregulars.
I
The El-Fatah guerrilla organiza =
tion, in its "voice of Al Asifa"
radio urged Arab governments to
prepare for an Israeli attack "with-
in hours or days." The newspaper
reports come from Egypt's Middle
East news agency.