Purely Commentary
Anti Semites in Our Midst Must Not Be
Molly-Coddled, Especially if They Are
Operating From Universities or Libraries
-
By Philip
Slomovitz
The Mark of Cain and Nazism on Michigan's Record
Four Powers . . . The Nixon Policy . . the Neutrals (Sic)
Seldom has such a mark of disgrace, the brand of Cain, the disgraceful replica of
President Nixon's statement on the Middle East was a fair declara-
tion, an approach that could hardly be subjected to criticism even if he Nazism, been placed on the record of the people of Michigan by way of our universities.
did not emphasize face-to-face talks between Israel and her neighbors.
There is a battle in progress for life, and terrorists are attempting to destroy an en-
It is true, as Israel's Ambassador Itzhak Rabin said that it is difficult
tire people. Israel's reality is challenged and misinformed Christians have been led into
to be happy over a U.S. decision
a trap by propagandists who have invaded our universities, who have begun a war against
to accept a call for negotiations
Israel that is becoming a battle against Israel's Jewish kinsmen.
from French President Charles
I Ask Is That The Other Two Judges
Be Completely Neutral"
de Gaulle. But we must live in
The library of an important university—our university—Wayne State — has placed
hope that the unspoken desire of
on exhibition Arab propaganda with El Fatah stamps, and the effect can well be damag-
the spokesmen for the U.S. to
ing.
assure a direct confrontation be-
And at Wayne State University a scandal sheet that calls itself a newspaper has been
tween Israel and her enemy
permitted
all too long to carry on a campaign that is so vicious, so anti-Semitic, that it spells
states will somehow materialize.
After all, nothing is to be ex-
menacing omens for our community!
pected from a policy that would
WSU's President William R. Keast has finally spoken, and he wrote to the editor
submit Israel to proxies to
of the WSU paper:
speak for her. This just won't
"The editorial columns are filled day after day with mean and spiteful propaganda attacks upon
work!
persons and groups and with doctrinaire endorsements of the paper's pet views and prejudices, largely
And it is necessary to under-
unsupported with serious argument. Recently the South End has lent itself to treatment of the Arab-
stand that a Four Power in-
Israeli conflict—one of the most volatile issues of our time, upon which the peace of the world may quite
volvement means inclusion of
literally depend—in a highly irresponsible and inflammatory manner, and it has printed attacks upon
France (under de Gaulle) and
Jews, Poles, and other ethnic groups that are disturbingly reminiscent of Hitler Germany.
Russia (with Kremlin bias)
being two of the quartet. It is
"This is all very sad. The South End has alienated a large portion of the student body and faculty,
questionable whether a third
including many who are ardent advocates of generous social reform. It is costing the university dearly
party, Great Britain, is to be
in the good opinion of the community, not of those few who are quick to attack the university in any case,
trusted—if we are to judge by
but of many of its strongest and most devoted supporters, black and white. It has provoked proposals
historic experiences.
for repressive measures that would damage student journalism and would inhibit constructive student
Therefore we present here the Herblock Cartoon, about two neutrals
involvement in the future.
in a four-power pact sought in an effort to impose upon Israel what
But President Keast's letter concluded with this innocuous assertion:
could well turn out to be a most damaging situation. Two neutrals? Or
are we limited to the one—our government? And are we to be placed
"I urge you to reconsider immediately the position of the paper and your responsibilities as its
in a role of constantly battling for the truth—that Israel has never
editor. I urge you to work with your staff and with Mr. Putnam to correct the deficiencies that are de-
asked nor does it now ask for American participation with a military
stroying the paper's value and effectiveness. I urge you to meet with the Publications Committee of the
force in the Middle East—an aspect in the entire debate that has been
Student-Faculty Council, which has basic responsibilities to review the' conduct of the paper. And I think
it urgent that you and I resume our weekly meetings: I want to help in any way I can to salvage the
distorted? Hasn't it been established that all Israel asks is the right to
live! But that's a basic principle that has been denied by anti-Semites,
South End. Obviously, the immediate responsibility for change is yours."
and now, under the false cry of assistance to refugees it is being denied
Is this the way to deal with illiterate banditry? Is this all it is—merely "very sad?"
by Arabs and their associates who have been misled!
Last Friday, when the WSU paper's editors already had the Keast letter for at
Our universities have become partners in a new form of genocide!
least two days, one of the vilest anti-Semitic editorials contained charges that Jews
What a shameful chapter is being written in American history!
*
*
*
"abused us at the corner grocery store, abused our mothers who cleaned homes in
Need for Central Authority for Action
Northwest Detroit and Oak Park, and that "Jews as merchants, money lenders, teach-
Our community witnessed an inner revolt that remained invisible
ers, were the most visible agents of capitalist exploitation." Will this abusive attempt
but which must nevertheless be considered in all seriousness. After the
to introduce bigotry in our midst go unchallenged while Keast deals with the nice boys
acknowledged organized forces in our midst, the Zionist and Jewish
he permitted to abandon the name Collegian for the school paper and to use the uni-
Community Councils, had arranged a protest meeting at the Jewish
versity
sheet' as a hate-inciting organ?
Center, a new committee was formed, by a small group of individuals,
For two days after the editor received this rebuke and a demand for a change the
to arrange for an additional vigil—a demonstration held last Sunday—
which proved quite effective. The new group of individuals wanted columns of the scandal sheet continued to be filled with such outrageous statements that
something bigger: it attained its goal. But now we return to the basics the entire state of Michigan ought to take note of what is happening in our universities Our
and the fundamental roots of a community need: the necessity to assure tax dollars are financing propagandists who are introducing on the free soil of America a
for an organized community a central voice that will speak with spirit of hate based on lies and support for genocidal tendencies among the most re-
authority, excluding attempts to splinter the organized body, no matter actionary elements in our midst.
how serious the aim may be.
The time has come for action. WSU's president and librarian have earned the
When there is seriousness, and we certainly do not question the
serious nature of ad hoc committees, there should also be consultation, severest criticisms for failure to guide the student body properly and for procrastinating
proper discussion, amity. And it is more than amity: it is a question in preventing the spread of hatred. There must be no fuel* eiondonm
. g of the outrages
of practical approach to issues that have become so vital that unless on the campuses of a free society!
they are faced by a responsible, well-coordinated community we'll
emerge helpless.
Lion as at a red rag. Comparing Israel to the Nazi pest, he sug-
Central authority must never be destroyed! There is always room
gested that the nations of the world should join the Arabs in the of the moment, and the Jew ha
for differences of opinion. In time of grave danger—and this is the time
sacred mission of destroying the Jewish state. That was in the rangues the Gentile thus: "What
we live in!—you don't split forces or divide a community.
morning. With this call to jihad, to holy war, still ringing in our I did at Deir Yassin was atrocious,
ears, we failed to respond—and for this we now beat our breast, unforgivable. But it was a one-
Once Again: Those Who Hide Behind the Deir Yassin Rebuke
mea culpa—when in the afternoon he sang a stirring song of praise time reversal of our traditional,
Ignoring all the advantages Arabs gain from Israel's administration
to Israel. Then in the evening, when he mentioned his fear of centuries-old roles. It is you who
of affairs not only for non-Jews residing in Israel but also those who
waking up one night to find an Israeli standing over his bed with a have always inflicted on the count-
have now come under Israeli rule in occupied areas along the Jordan-
knife to slit his throat, we inwardly dismissed Mr. Hazem Khaldi's less Deir Yassins and worse.
ian and Egyptian borders, propagandists against Israel continue to
contribution to the parley as too frantic to be of any consequence. Where were you only recently when
resort to accusations of persecutions that can not be proven; and their
How thoroughly mistaken we were, we discovered on careful peru- I, unarmed, was being hacked
chief argument in condemnation of Israel is the tragic Deir Yassin
sal of the transcript, which by the way is here printed without to pieces by the Mufti's followers
incident.
omissions, additions or changes other than a general tightening-up in Old Jerusalem, Hebron, Jaffa?
Time and time again, that occurrence was condemned and deplored
of the rather wobbly English in which the talks were held through- When my people were being gassed
by us and by Israel. But whenever and wherever Arabs gather, they
out. In reality, on the Arab side, Mr. Hazem Khaldi's declarations and incinerated in Auschwitz,
resort to the Deir Yassin case in an attempt to prove that Israel is
were basic, quite essential. Which is not to detract from the im- what did you do? You intercept-
merely an expansionist and oppressive state. The argument was used
portance of the more subtle views expressed by Mr. Anwar
Nus- ed Jewish fugitives, my father,
on a placard at Arab picketing of the Rabin meeting here. It was used
seiba and the peace proposals, at once practical and visionary,
mother, brothers, sisters, children,
in Jerusalem during a most significant Arab-Israel parley during which
presented by Mr. Aziz Shehadeh, or the interesting remarks of Dr. and sent them back to the crem-
noted Arabs and Israelis discussed grievances and the possibility of
atoria.
And what you're now doing
Ibrahim
Khaldi
and
Mr.
Mahmud
Abu-Zuluf.
But
before
we
go
into
arriving at an accord.
a detailed analysis, perhaps we should describe the setting, the is entirely in character. So why
The entire text of that parley's deliberation was published in Israel
background.
am I fool enough to ask you for
Magazine, which sponsored the sessions. Nothing good came out of it
The venue was an elegant hotel, run by a former Jordanian succor. Just the reflex of a man
other than revealing the attitudes of the Arabs which were intracable,
who doesn't want to die, though
minister
of
economy
and
situated
at
the
foot
of
Mt.
Scopus,
on
the
while emphasizing the pleadings by Jews for amity, for a brotherhood
fringe of Jerusalem.
he knows he must. Forget it, old
of Israelis and Arabs. The Deir Yassin issue was raised, and the editor
On the peak above us were the newly-restored white buildings chap, and don't smirk at the mem-
of Israel Magazine, Maurice Carr, in his appended commentaries on the
ory of it when you're back in civ-
of
the
first
Hebrew
University
campus
and
Hadassah
hospital.
A
discussions during that parley, said:
couple of hundred yards down the road from where we sat, was the vies, playing golf, across the
The purpose of this exegesis is twofold; to draw political con-
spot where a convoy of Hadassah doctors and Hebrew University seas . .
clusions from the parley, and at the same time to convey something
teachers
were massacred to the last man and woman in an Arab
Perhaps this is a very mild re-
of the human atmosphere in which it was held.
ambush on April 13, 1948, a month and a day before the British buke to the Christian world (don't
The parley, in the words of one of the Arab participants, Dr.
withdrew from Palestine and Israel proclaimed its independence.
Ibrahim Khaldi, marked "a milestone towards better understand-
The Jews in the convoy, before succumbing, put up a desparate forget the cruel British Manda-
ing between Arabs and Israelis and towards the solution of our
seven-hour resistance, during which their appeals for help were re- tory Power) and to the Arabs for
problems."
jected by a British army unit that stood looking on. The British their accusations. Yet it serves a
It was a moving and enlightening experience to attend this
commanding officer refused to intervene because this Arab assault, partial purpose to indicate that
unprecedented encounter—the first, one hopes, of a series of meet-
he said, was "the answer to Deir Yassin." Four days earlier, Jew-
ings that will lead to peace—between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli
ish extremists had stormed Deir Yassin and, running amok, had Jews, Israelis, never condoned the
Jews. We concur with Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy that there's no
spared neither women nor children in that well-armed Arab village Deir Yassin, but condemned
substitute for physical contact. This said, we are thankful to be
which had long served as a stronghold for the Mufti's pogromists. that it was the one-time crime we
living in the electronic age and to have had a tape-recorder at work.
We suppose that not more than a scrap of conversation passed deplore. Neither Arabs nor the
For where would we be without the transcript?
between the Jews who perished on the way to Mt. Scopus and the world that was and often continues
Finally, we were much surprised when we came to read the
British officer who let them perish. But how eloquent their tacit dia-
proceedings a week or so after we had heard them. Not that we bad
logue must have been! What a subject for a play! Imagine, on the to be guilty of crimes against the
misheard or overhead anything. But the fact is that when you listen
stage, a Hebrew University professor personifying the Wandering Jews can hide behind Deir Yassin
to and look at a man, you may be more impressed with the way he
Jew who is home at last to build himself a spiritual abode on a and claim the right to attack us
speaks than with what he says. Or you may get stuck on one par-
mountaintop of Zion. The Mandatory officer incarnates the eternal mercilessly while seeking absolu-
ticular utterance, and not properly heed the rest.
Jew-hater who down the ages takes on different guises: a Pharaoh, tion for themselves!
A case in point was our on-the-spot appraisal of Mr. Hazem
a Philistine, a Roman emperor, a Crusader, an Inquisitor, a Czar,
Khaldi's various statements. He opened the debate as if he were at
a Hitler, a Stalin, a pseudo-democrat, a false preacher of Christian
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
a bull-fight, and he—the bull. He charged at the war-or-peace ques-
love. The wide-ranging disputation touches at length on the tragedy 2—Friday, February 14, 1969