Purely Commentary

Sty John's New
Superb Book

Credence to the Lie in Our
Philip
Golda By
Reputable Newspapers .
Siomovitz
Comments on 'The Palestinians '

he prac tical approaches to be considered seriously on the basis
By RABBI SAMUEL SILVER
(A Seven Arts Feature)
When and how should a newspaper draw the line in accepting for of realities. Mrs. Meir deals wtih realities and she emphasizes them in
this declaration. Let it be studied for a proper appreciation of the true
It's sheer joy to read the book,
publication letters that are filled witli lies?
"Jows, Justice and Judaism," by
*
Many untruths often are incorporated in letters to the editor, but conditions in a war-torn Middle 4 East.
that gifted author, Robert St.
the worst offense of any we have read up to now was the letter pub- The Late Isaiah Leo Sharfman
John.
lished in the N. Y. Times from an attache to the Jordanian embassy in
How the U.S. has been enriched
So many among us had studied under Dr. Isaiah Leo Sharfman at
Washington who charged Israel with destroying churches and mosques,
who accused Israel of being the one that destroyed synagogues in the the University of Michigan, he had inspired so many men who rose by the contribution of Jews has
s high in the government and academic fields, that whatever tributes are been delineated before.
Old City when it was taken by Jordan, who maintained that there wa
But St. John does it more scin-
a democratic vote for acquisition of Jerusalem by Jordan,• who reiter- Paid to-his-memory were not only well deserved but must be repeated tillatingly than ever. His fellow-
ated the falsehood about Israel having burned the AI Aksa Mosque. so that the memory of a good man should not be forgotten.
Christians will learn from this
Unlike the situation in Arab countries, any newspaperman, This commentator had a special relationship with Prof. Sharfman,
to enter all portions of having served under him as publicity director of the Liberty Loan volume that though Jewry consti-
clergyman, student of world affairs is free
tutes only 3 per cent of the U.S.
Israel, including the liberated areas, and there are no restrictions campaign on the University of Michigan campus when Dr. Sharfman population, it has given much in the
either on tourists or those seeking the facts. Amnesty International was the chairman of that drive. Then we had occasion to meet often, fields of commerce, science, politi-
has indicated that the charges against Israel are not true. Clergy. at his home, at campaign planning sessions. Prof. Sharman loved to
cal uplift and social welfare.
men have reported on the extent of religious freedom under the discuss his early interests in the Menorah Society which he helped
Exciting vignettes of important
Israel government. But newspapers seem ready to consider for create. He always referred reverntly to his father, who was a pioneer Jews from Asser Levy to Stephen
Zionist.
publication any statement, even if its untruth is immediately evident.
It was appropriate that Prof. William Haber, who later succeeded Wise are contained in the book.
How_ can we, under the circumstances, hope for amity and for
St. John tells the world in this
Prof. Sharfman as chairman of the economics department at the book not only how Jews have
emphasis on truth if such policies continue?
U. of M., should have delivered the memorial address at services for blessed the U.S. but also how
It is useless, of course, to debate with liars about their lies. The Prof. Sharman at Brandeis University. Dr. Haber reviewed the eminent
facts speak for themselves and it is an established fact that Jordan economist's academic and administrative background, described "his Judaism has blessed it.
This is the book which ought
destroyed all the Jerusalem synagogues, that tombstones were used for intensity, his integrity, his high standards,". the characteristics of the
commercial purposes and a major portion of the Scopus Cemetery man who was a perfectionist. He referred to his dignified role as a to be put into the hands of every
American
high schooler so he
was desecrated when the bot hotel was erected there.
Jew by stating:
should know what we Jews gave
But there is tragedy in this experience—that it is difficult to refute
"Leo, the Professor, the Scholar, the Chairman, the Economist, to America. It should be studied
lies after they were published and that a vast reading public is certain
the President of the American Economic Association, was also Leo, by church and synagogue study
ti
to be misled and can never be reached with the refutations.
a proud and committed JCW. M a time when most professors of groups. It would make a fine Con-
That outright lies should be given prominence in so great a news
Jewish faith in our own University of Michigan, and perhaps across firmation textbook. And it is an
piper—or in any newspaper—is deplorable. The answer to such out-
the nation, never referred to it nor permitted themselves to become ideal gift item for holidays and
raegous lies must come from Christian and Moslem religious leaders
publicly involved in matters of Jewish concern, Leo Sharfman milestones.
who know better, who can affirm that Israel has granted and continues
never hesitated. At Harvard he helped found the Itarvard Menorah
Robert St. John is a talented
to provide complete religious freedom for all. It is Israel that suffered
Society and later with Henry Hurwitz he helped found the Menorah Christian who has written many
many casualties while refraining from attacks/on religiouS structures,
Journal and the Menorah movement. I recall a visit to Ann Arbor fine books, including a number
while exercising all possible restraint to assure protection for humans
by the late Professor Morris R. Cohen, groping for a role which glorifying the feats of Jews. lie
and their shrines. But the liars will resort to any scheme —Hitlerian
could be played by Jewish intellectuals in counteracting Nazi prop- chronicled the life of Eliezer ben
and now in the Naser style—to mislead the public.
aganda in the late 1930s. Ile came to Leo Sharfman who assembled Yehudah, the man responsible for
How difficult the road—and how hard to fight the Nazi method to
the few of its on the faculty.
modern Hebrew in "Torigkre of the
resort to the lie!
"He never met a class on the High Holy Days. Whether he went Prophets." His bio of Ben-Gurion
*
*
*
to a Temple or a Synagogue was not significant. But it was im- is great, as is the profile of-Israeli
Golda Meir's Wews on "the Palestinians"
portant for him that Jewish students should know that he respected settlers in "They came from
This will be an exciting weekend for Golda Meir and for Israel.
the Holidays and those who kept them. He would not offend them Everywhere."
President Nixon will have welcomed the Israeli prime minister by the
I But in "Jews, Justice and Juda-
by disregarding them."
time this reaches our readers. There will be many interviews, lots of
In recent years. Dr. Sharfman had taken a very deep interest in ism" St. John has , reached new
comment, and on Monday Mrs. Meir will be greeted by a vast audience
Israel, in Jewish affairs in the Ann Arbor community, in the Jewish , heights of excellence. We. Jews are
of American Jewish leaders at a dinner in New York.
deeply indebted to him. Even
She has risen high in the field of diplomacy. The former public National Fund'. It was the continuity in his devotions, and those of us more, the cause of truth is in-
school teacher and emissary for the labor Zionist movement displayed who knew him will remember him as one of the warmest persons and debted to him.
could ins p ire because he was himself inspired.
her skill as Israel's ambassador to Soviet Russia, as spokesman for her one w ho con
people at the United Nations, in the domestic affairs of Israel.
Something she had to say recently about the Palestinian Arabs
deserves serious attention. There have been proposals for the creation
Literary anniversaries are the
Essays dealing with Jewish lit- ' erature in Romania," by Sol Lipt-
of a new Arab state for those who have left what was formerly Pales-
tine before the creation of Israel. She reviewed the position of the erature in Persia, Israel and Euro-lzin; "A Novel Source of Jewish theme of the following articles:
"Alexander Alan Steinbach — Poet
Arabs and had this to say at a youth rally in Tel Aviv regarding direct pean countries are :amongthe , History," by Judah J. Shapiro;
negotiations with West Bank Arabs: articles featured in Volume 27 of "Hebrew Miniature Books," by in Word and Deed: On the Occa-
sion
of His Seventy-fifth Birth-
to
the
Jewish
Book
Annual,
publish-
Solomon
Feffer;
"The
Jewish
Stu-
prepared
and
want
Who are the West Bank Arabs that are,
negotiate, and in whose name? This is rather a fiction that is spread ed by the Jewish Book Council of j dies Collection at UCLA," by day," by Robert Gordis; . "Aaron
Zeitlin
the Poet at SeveaV,7 by
outside of Israel—West Bank Arabs. Sure there are Arabs in the West the National Jewish Welfare Shimeon Brisman; "The Israel
Bank, but who says that they are one organized group, who says that Board 1PL-480 Program, 1964-1969: A Re- Moshe Starkman;
On
or
a
group
they agree with each other, who says that there is somebody
its 100th Anniversary," by G.
The 227-page yearbook of Jewish view," by Charles Berlin; "Max
that can speak in their name—if not for all, at least for the vast major-
Weinreich: 1894-1969," by Joshua Kressel; "Elijah Levita: On the
ity of the West Bank Arabs? I am not speaking now of if there would literary creativity also lists and
A. Fishman; "The Poetry of Leon 500th Anniversary of His birth."
be a group of that kind. Is it necessary to have a 15th Arab country? briefly describes 830 books of Jew-
There are 14, you know. Is that the problem of the tens of millions ish interest published in the United Feinberg: 1897-1969," by Sol Lipt- by Werner Weinberg; and "Jewish
Literary Anniversaries, 1970," by
of Arabs in the world—that they only have 14 countries?
States, Israel and Great Britain zin, and "Aleph Katz: In Memor-
There is an Israeli Arab, a member of Mapam, Zouabi, who made during the 12-month per idi
od en ng zin; and "Aleph Katz: In Memor- Theodore Wiener.
a statement some time ago that there is no such thing as Palestine
—Jordan is Palestine. And he is right. When was there Palestine? 1969. It makes its appearance as
the Book Council is concluding
Before the First World War it was called Southern Syria.
When Britain got the mandate over Palestine, Palestine was then arrangements for the national
on both sides of the Jordan, the western bank and the eastern bank. observance of Jewish Book Month
And then Churchill divided it in 1922-1 hope he will forgive me under its sponsorship, Oct. 31-Nov.
—because Abdullah was the only emir walking around the Middle 30.
East who didn't have something to rule. This is historical. So that this
"Year after year the appearance
Palestine was divided into Palestine west of the Jordan and Trans-
of the Jewish Book Annual pro-
jordan. And in 1947, Palestine was again divided.
claims
that there are sophisticated
Where are Palestinians? There are more Palestinians in Jordan
than Jordanians. It's the same language, it's the some religion, it's Jewish writers who are not blind-
life.
Jordan
cannot
exist
with-
ed by the allurements and the
the same people, it's the same way of
out that population. So why should we be interested in creating a 15th blandishments of Mammon and
state? If it should be created only on the western bank, what is its Eros," Dr. A. Alan Steinbach,
viability? How would it exist unless it immediately carried with it honorary president of the Jewish
association?
Book Council and editor of the
The United Nations resolution of 1947 spoke of the partitioning
of Palestine into two States—Jewish and Arab. Had the Arabs gone annual, states in his introduction
about the business of setting up a state, they would have had it. But to the new volume.
The 830 new Jewish books are
they didn't.
But if you set up another Arab state, is there no fear that they listed in seven bibliographies:
will remind themselves—and the Arabs always want the borders that American Jewish non-fiction (302),
they lost-and say "Good, the western bank, the, Palestinians, the American Jewish fiction (41),
Palestinian people." And then, when they must have place to live, American Jewish books for chil-
to grow, to develop: "Ah, in 1947 there was some kind of resolution dren (65), American Hebrew books
which gave what was supposed to be the Arab State borders." Nasser
and Hussein are already speaking about the borders of 1947. They say (58), Yiddish books (137), Jewish
first we should step back to the borders of 1967, and once the Israel books published in Great Britain
army withdraws to the borders of 1967, that will be the right time to (129), and selected books of Israel
(98). The bibliographies were pre-
begin talking about the borders of 1947.
When Jarring a few months ago handed out a questionnaire to all pared by I. Edward Kiev, Harold
the countries with all kinds of questions, and one of them was what U. Ribalow, Ruth C. Kanner, Theo-
were the ideas of the states about borders, both Nasser and Hussein dore Wiener, Dina Abramowicz,
said "Well, the borders of Israel were decided upon in 1947."
Elizabeth E. Eppler and Ahi
So, everybody who speaks about the western bank and Pales-
tinians, please, it isn't ancient history. This is very modern history. Sefer.
Articles in English, Yiddish and
Look into it a little bit, and you'll , find out first that all this about
- --
Palestinians is something that was blown up, and has no roots anywhere. Hebrew published in the Jewish
Two villagers at Kfar Batya, Mizrachi Women's Children's Vil-
And thk second thing, why should there be another state? What Book Annual are "The Literary
will happen to it? What will happen to Israel when there will be an- Heritage of the Persian Speaking lage in Raanana, Israel, chat with the Baroness Alix de Rothschild,
other state sitting right on its back, 12 miles from Netanya? What Jews," by Walter J. Fischel;
world patroness of the Youth Aliy movement which has rescued
will we do with it, what will they do with us? What will happen between "Recent Responsa Literature on
and educated more than 135,000 J6wish children since 1934. The
them and Jordan and between us and Jordan? There are a million Modern Problems," by Solomon baroness visited the village this summer, in anticipation of her ap-
and one questions giving no answer to anything that is really vital for B. Freehof; "Suffering and Fervor pearance before the 44th annual national convention of the Mizrachl
the Arabs themselves.
Chicago's
There is so much need for dissemination of facts about Israel and in Wiesel's 'The Gates of the For- Women's Organization of America, which takes place in
is est,' " by Irving Halperin; "Bash- Sherman House Oct. 12-15. She will accept the organization's silver
the Middle East that this statement and the information it offers
,
eyis Mngg; in.Yiddish,Literature," medallion award at the dosing public event of the convention, a
, ..
T HE ' DETROIT JEWISH NEWS by Joseph Leftwich; "Yiddish Lit- dinner honoring her; Oct. 14.
.2 Friday,'Septembor 26; 196 '

gissemination of Lies by Newspapers

I

JWB Book Annual Lists Anniversaries, Bibliogra'phies

Mizrachi Women Honor Baroness

—

-

-

-