Goldmann Tells ZOA Zionist Movement Is Far
From Goal; Torezyner Denies Dem Jewish Vote
NEW YORK (JTA)—Dr. Nahum often the reason for the impact
Goldmann said here that the Zion- made by Arab propaganda."
ist movement, far from having ful-
Warning that "efforts" are
filled its mission, "has at best being made to show that the Jew-
reached half-way to its goal, and ish vote went overwhelmingly to
maybe less."
the Democratic Party, Torczyner
declared that "leading Jews par-
He defined that goal as mobiliza-
tion of the support of world Jewry ticipated in the election activities
for Israel and furthering of large- of both political parties."
scale immigration by Jews from
He charged that "the propa-
the free nations who would go to ganda" that Jews voted overwhelm-
Israel not because of necessity or ingly for Democratic standard
persecution but for idealistic rea- bearer Vice President Hubert H.
sons.
Humphrey was being "spread" by
Dr. Goldmann, president of the periodicals and people who protest-
World Jewish Congress and former ed President-elect Richard M.
president of the World Zionist Or- Nixon's statement that Israel must
ganization, was principal speaker have military superiority in the
at the annual dinner of the Zionist Middle East.
Organization of America attended
"The truth is," asserted the ZOA
by about 1,000. He was presented president, "that while the Jewish
with the ZOA's Theodor Herzl vote went overwhelmingly to the
Award, highest honor bestowed by candidate of the Democratic Party
that organization.
in New York and Massachusetts,
He received a message of the Democratic vote of Jews in
greetings from President Lyndon many of the major states, like Illi-
B. Johnson, who offered congrat- nois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida
ulations and called the award "a
and California, was far below the
fitting symbol of a career of figures of 1964 and even 1960,
magnificent achievement in the meaning that a much larger pro-
cause of Jewish freedom."
portion of the Jewish vote went to
He said that "even if one does the Republican Party than previ-
not negate the Diaspora as a form ously."
of life in Jewish history . . . the
Torczyner also asserted that it is
actual situation wherein only a "important for Jews to be in both
minority lives in its own country political parties because no poli-
endangers the future of the sur- tical party should believe that it
vival of the -state." According to has the Jewish vote in its vest
Dr. Goldmann, "the greatest res- pocket."
ervoirs of those who needed to
* *
come to Israel to start a new life
have been more or less exhausted.
Future aliya has to come from the
free countries as a voluntary im-
migration."
Dr. Goldmann said that for the
solution of the two central prob-
Wire
(Direct JTA Tel
lems of Israel's future —security
to The Jewish News)
and immigration—"a strong Zionist
NEW YORK—Israelis are gener-
movement dedicated primarily to
the mobilization of the Jewish Di- ally pleased by the election of
aspora around Israel, to its uncon- Richard M. Nixon and believe his
ditional solidarity with Israel, is "traditional" anti-communism will
bolster their security against Soviet
absolutely essential."
expansionist aims in the Middle
Earlier, Jacques Torczyner, ZOA East.
president, told the organization's
But most Jews in other countries
national executive committee that
the Zionist movement must devel- have adopted a "wait and see"
op an educational program on attitude toward the President-elect.
American campuses to help Jewish These findings were the result of a
youth combat growing Arab propa- survey of Jewish opinion overseas
recently completed by the Ameri-
ganda activities."
can Jewish Committee and re-
He said there were about 400,000 leased here Tuesday.
Jewish students on American col-
According to the survey, ana-
lege and university campuses, but
lysts in Israel see the Mediter-
"unfortunately, a large number .
ranean area as having been
are not prepared to counteract this
converted into "a genuine and
propaganda, and their ignorance
and lack of interest in Israel is too legitimate area of cold war con-
Nixon's Anti-Red
Stand Good for
M.E., Israelis Feel
Mourn Death of Cardinal Bea
cern," but believe "that the
USSR will be disinclined to test
Mr. Nixon in the Middle East as
Khrushchev once did with Ken-
nedy in Cuba."
Flowing from this widely held
premise, the report said, "is Is-
rael's acceptance of Mr. Nixon as
being a logical and forceful indi-
vidual who will not hesitate to
stand up to the Soviet Union and
thereby insure Israel's survival."
Much is made in Israel of
Nixon's campaign statement that
the balance of military power in
the Middle East should be tipped
in Israel's favor as a deterrent to
Arab aggression. The Israelis are
also pleased by Nixon's "luke-
warm" attitude toward the nuclear
nonproliferation treaty which
Prime Minister Levi Eshkol has
said Israel should not "rush" into
the AJCommittee report
d.
noted.
The Israelis fear the treaty
would require them to dismantle
their experimental reactors and
pilot plants under Soviet-Arab
supervision, while the Arabs
would have nothing to dismantle
or submit to inspection.
In Europe, the report indicated,
the main Jewish reaction was
"wait and see," but some believe
that "because of Mr. Nixon's more
pronounced anti-Communist line,
he might be more active in seeking
to check Soviet expansionist efforts
in Eastern Europe and elsewhere,
and this may also have direct
bearing on Soviet use of anti-
Semitism as a weapon of its for-
eign policy."
According to the survey, Jews in
Latin America appeared less con-
cerned over what Nixon might do
than with the fact that 13 per cent
of American voters cast ballots for
George Wallace, which they regard
as "a dangerous symptom of cer-
tain political trends . . . and a
menace for democracy."
*
Nixon and Agnew
Briefed by LBJ
on Middle East
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Presi-
dent-elect Richard M. Nixon and
Vice President-elect Spiro T. Ag-
new have been briefed by Presi-
dent Johnson on current United
States policies in the Middle East
and State Department moves in
the Arab-Israel conflict, it was
learned here.
The State Department is known
to be seeking a more flexible Israel
response in peace moves in line
with U.S. efforts to avoid a Middle
East confrontation with the Soviet
Union. State Department officials
have also made it clear that they
are determined to avoid an iden-
tification of American policy with
Israel to such an extent that U.S.
influence may not be regained in
Egypt and other Arab states.
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
... and Me'
(Copyright 1968, JTA Inc.)
JDC CONFERENCE: Geneva is the city where the Joint Distribu-
tion Committee keeps an eye on Jewish communities overseas in need
of American Jewish aid. There the needs of these communities are
examined and analyzed for presentation to the JDC leadership in New
York. There a finger is kept on the pulse of Jewish life in Europe,
North Africa and wherever else Jewish relief is required.
Once a year, JDC directors gather in Geneva from countries
where they are stationed and report on their activities and on the
needs of their respective Jewish communities. The gathering is at-
tended by the top JDC leadership from New York. At the parley, the
basis for JDC aid programs for the coming year is laid. It is at this
conference that experiences are exchanged by the experts from each
country and one gets a real picture of what is going on in Jewish life.
POLISH ECHOES: In the forefront of Jewish tragedies in Europe
today stands the tragedy of Polish Jewry. No doubt was felt at the
conference about this, after participants listened to a stirring report
on the present situation of Jews in Poland. The Warsaw government is
determined to get rid of what is left of Polish Jewry after the mass-
annihilation of more than 3,000,000 Jews in the country by Hitler's
occupation army. There are hardly more than 15,000 Jews left in
Poland today and even this pitifully small number now is an "un-
wanted element."
Embarking on a policy of making Poland "Judenrein," the Polish
government this year ousted the JDC and ORT which operates in
Poland for a number of years, bringing aid to Jews. Since the Six-
Day War, the regime has missed no opportunity to assert—in the
press and over the radio—that the Jews are "enemies" of the country
because their sympathies were on the side of Israel, with whom Poland
broke off diplomatic relations. Jewish institutions are being "liqui-
dated" one after the other and every day the situation of the Jews
becomes more and more hopeless. Emigration is their only salvation
and they leave Poland now in waves, after paying unprecedented
high fees for exit permits.
They flock to Vienna—their first stop from Poland—and they over-
flow offices there of the Jewish Agency, JDC and United Hias, seeking
immediate relief and transportation. The great majority proceed to
Israel with the aid of the Jewish Agency; but others—especially those
who have relatives in the United States and Canada—remain in Vienna
in the hope that they will get American or Canadian visas. They
become the responsibility of the JDC which has so far spent on them
—and on Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia—more than $200,000
over and above the normal budget.
As time goes on, the influx of Jewish refugees from Poland will
continue and probably will grow.
*
TUNISIA AND MOROCCO: The situation of Jews in Tunisia and
Morocco is far from normal. Special attention must now be paid by
the JDC to needs of Jews in Romania where the government permits
JDC aid to be rendered through the Federation of Jewish Communities
in Romania, headed by Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen.
The Jewish community of Tunisia is dwindling. There are no more
than 15,000 Jews left but their needs are now greater than ever be-
cause those who remain are mostly aged, ill and handicapped. The
younger element is leaving and the original Jewish leadership has
emigrated; no longer can the JDC find the trained personnel needed
for institutional work, not even personnel with a modest professional
background. The gravity of the situation requires increased JDC
spending, but emergencies in other countries are forcing the JDC to
reduce its Tunisia programs and to merge services carefully built up
over the years.
The situation in Morocco is similar. King Hassan II of Morocco
is friendly toward the Jews but this is not the case with the general
Moslem population. Life has become dangerous for Jews in Morocco
since the Six-Day War and, while not permitted to emigrate to Israel,
the younger and stronger element among them are leaving. Many reach
[srfael but some remain in France. Of the Jews leaving Tunisia, even a
larger proportion remain in France.
*
*
The problem of increased funds for JDC operations probably
will come up in New York in the ranks of the United Jewish Appeal,
of which the JDC is one of the major partners. Without an increased
budget for 1969, the JDC will be forced to reduce its aid in certain
fields in order to meet the most urgent needs that will continue to
develop. American Jewry, always proud of the JDC record, will there-
fore be expected to increase its contributions so that the JDC will
receive from the UJA the funds it needs to alleviate the plight of
many thousands of Jews, a large number who never thought they would
be dependent on Jewish relief.
Celebrating Bar Mitzva in Israel to Become Tradition ?
Sorrow over the death, at 87, of Augustin Cardinal Bea
(seated), architect of the Vatican Council's declaration absolving
Jews of collective guilt for the death of Jesus, was expressed by
Arthur J. Goldberg, president of the American Jewish Committee.
This picture shows the cardinal at the American Jewish Committee's
headquarters in New York in 1963, where he met with Jewish
leaders, including (above) Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of the
Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum, AJC's
inter-religious affair director, chats in background with the cardi-
nal's secretary.
40—Friday, November 29, 1968
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
When Israel's "Bar Mitzva
Year" (5721-1960/1) was in the
offing, a suggestion was put for-
ward that it would be fitting for
Jewish boys the world over to cele-
brate their Bar Mitzva in IsraeL
Says Rabbi Shmuel Nathan, ad-
viser to the Israel Ministry of
tourism: "We immediately accept-
ed the idea, and recognized its dual
value: for the boys themselves,
celebrating in Israel would give
the most important day in their
lives added significance and at the
same time, a project of this kind
would contribute to the historical
and spiritual bond betWeen the
youth and IsraeL"
It was therefore decided to
make the special mitzva and
honors accorded to boys born in
Israel available to Jewish youth
all over the world. A call was
issued to all Jewish parents in
the world to make this great ex-
perience possible for their chl-
dren and to bring them to Israel
to become Bnai Mitzva.
The Israel ministry of tourism,
on collaboration with the prime
minister's office and the ministry
for religious affairs, set up a spe-
cial advisory service which helped
parents and tutora in preparing the
boys.
Rabbi Nathan, in charge of im-
plementing the project,. conducted
a correspondence with interested
parents, rabbis, community work-
ers and Jewish organizations who
wish to prepare children for the
important event along the same
lines that Israeli children are
taught.
Among the first to heed the call
were Jewish film stars from Holly-
wood and the Jewish community in
Argentina, soon followed by others.
Synagogues throughout Israel,
especially in Jerusalem, cooperated
willingly and admiringly, and often
went out of their way to let Israeli
Bnai Mitzva and those from over-
seas share the mitzva.
As courtesy of the Israel ministry
of tourism, all boys are presented
with a silk Talit. They receive a
certificate on behalf of the presi-
dent of Israel, which quotes the
48th (Jerusalem) Psalm, and they
plant a tree in a specially created
Bnai Mitzva Forest in the Jerusa-
lem Frills after reciting the plant-
er's prayer.
It has become a new tradition—
bestowing on one's son the deeper
meaning of an "Aliya L'Regel" in
the spirit of the biblical command
on the very day he commences to
perform mitzvot.
Persons interested in the cele-
bration of Bar Mitzva in Israel
should contact -the nearest Israel
Government 'Tourist Office.