THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Associaton of Englab-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mlle, Sulk 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075.
Phone 356-8400
Subscription S7 a year. Foreign SA
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Sabbath Sriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the seventh day of Tamuz, 5730, the following scriptural selec-
tions will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion. Ni n a 19:1-22:1. Prophetical portion, Judges 11:1-33.
Candle lighting. Friday, July 10, 7d1
VOL. LVII. No. 17
Page Four
July 10, 1970
Protecting the Spiritual Heritage
Vacations may tend to dull the spirit, the
summer months inevitably create lethargy,
phlegmatism may set in, yet there must be a
realization for the Jewish community of.
America, singly for the individual cities and
en masse for the country at large, that unless
there is planning now for the year ahead that
will commence with Rosh Hashana we may
fall into a decay that will be harmful to us
and to the people among whom we live.
American Jewry's status is vastly differ-
ent from what it was a generation ago. The
overwhelming majority of Jews in this land
are native born, and very few retain the char-
acteristics of a bygone age, of Eastern or
Western Europe or the Moslem countries.
There are new attitudes, new mannerisms,
different views of life, an altered folk in an
environment of freedom.
But the hopes and aspirations are the
same. The heritage has been perpetuated.
The legacy is treated generally as sacredly
as it has been through the ages. If there are
deviations in the respect given to the cultural
and spiritual treasures that have become our
possessions, they are attributable to a lack of
understanding of their value or a lack of
knowledge about their background.
It is in the interest of protecting this
heritage that the plans for another year, soon
to commence, must be made at this time, less
than three months before another year sets
in on our calendar.
Our school system must be protected. We
fear for its status. There is cause for concern
over what is transpiring in the methods of
setting up curricula, in the manner in which
the teachers' force is diminishing. We envi-
sion a serious crisis in the training of our
children, and we frankly view it with ap-
prehension.
There is need for an expanded adult edu-
cation program, whether it is done in lecture
form by synagogues, or by the existing
schools, or by individual organizations. We
have had lots of lecture series, but too many
of them have had an aspiration for glamour
in a credit-seeking sort of way. We need more
positive approaches. They can be attained.
But the planning must not be delayed.
Traditional Negr o-Jewish Alliance
A strong statement by the most prominent
black leaders in support of Israel, with
emphasis on Israel's "right to exist for the
same reasons that we have struggled for
freedom and equality in America" has been
linked with other current experiences to give
credence to the belief expressed by Bayard
Rustin, executive director of the A. Philip
Randolph Institute—sponsor of the statement
urging assistance to Israel—that the tradi-
tional Negro-Jewish friendship prevails. Mr.
Rustin utilized the occasion of the pro-Israel
effort to point to the support that has been
given by Jews to the candidacy of Basil A.
Paterson. a Negro. for the lieutenant-gover-
norship of New York as the running mate of
the nominee for governor, Arthur Goldberg.
and he stated, both in regard to Paterson and
the pro-Israel advertisement:
"The overwhelming Jewish vote for Basil Pater-
son in the New York primary elections and the
signing of this advertisement by so many black
leaders indicate that the traditional Negro-Jewish
alliance for social justice still prevails despite
certain false notions to the contrary. There may
at times be differences between them, but ulti-
mately an alliance of Jews and Blacks is essential
to their mutual progress."
These are welcome developments, and it
is encouraging, in view of shocking New Left
antagonisms against Israel which have influ-
enced some black extremists against Israel,
that the actual conditions in the Middle East
were exposed in the advertisement which was
entitled "An Appeal by Black Americans for
United States Support to Israel." The adver-
tisement not only emphasized Israel's right
to live but also showed the Israeli role for the
elevation of democratic ideals and the assist-
ance Israel gives to underdeveloped coun-
tries, and the contrasting backwardness and
oppressions in Moslem countries. The ad-
vertisement stated:
"While we are aware that Israel, like any other
nation, has its shortcomings, it is by far the most
democratic country in the Middle East. What is
remarkable is that the high degree of political
freedom has not diminished despite the constant
need to maintain military preparedness. In con-
trast, countries like Iraq, Syria and Egypt are
dictatorial one-party states where the press and
the courts are rigorously controlled and non-
Moslem minorities are severely persecuted. More-
ca. er , Israel has made tremendous strides toward
achieving an equalitarian economic order. Its
sophisticated system of educational, health and
welfare series is more advanced even than in
our own country and has enhanced the quality of
life for Arab as well as Jewish Israelis. The inci-
dence of poverty in the Arab countries, on the
other hand, remains appalling. The income from
oil has been used to sustain wealthy sheikdoms—
and often terrorist organizations as well — but
rarely to alleviate the suffering of the poor.
"We are deeply concerned about the plight of
impoverished Arabs, particularly those who have
been made refugees as a result of the three Arab-
Israeli wars. But we do not feel that the continua-
tion of the conflict serves the real interests of
these people. Prolonged hostilities and inflamma-
tory calls for the destruction of Israel can only
divert precious attention, energy and resources
away from an attack on the pressing social and
economic problems of the Arab people.
"Some Americans, including a small minority
of Blacks, have expressed the feeling that the
Middle East crisis is fundamentally a racial con-
flict between nonwhite Arabs and white Israelis.
We think that this point of view is not only unin-
formed but dangerously misleading. It ignores the
fact that approximately half the Jewish Israeli
population consists of immigrants from Asia and
Africa. And it also implies that there is an inherent
solidarity of non-white people. This notion should
have been laid to rest not only by the tragic Ni-
gerian civil war, but also by the continuing brutal
persecution of black Africans by the Sudanese
government which, it must be emphasized, is
militarily allied with and assisted by the Egyptian
government. We should add in this regard that
Israel, with its impressive program of foreign
technical aid, has contributed far more than any
of its Arab enemies to the development of black
African nations.
"We, therefore, support Israel's right to exist
for the same reasons that we have struggled for
freedom and equality in America. And it is again
for these reasons that we believe that only peace
and economic development can bring real justice
to the Arab people. The present crisis in the Middle
East endangers both Israel's existence and a better
life for the Arabs. We believe that the United
States has a vital role to play in ending this crisis.
If it does not stand firm in the Middle East, the
Soviet Union will be encouraged to increase its
intervention, thereby escalating the conflict still
further."
The strong appeal from our black fellow
citizens for American help to assure Israel's
existence as a nation, and in support of the
request for the urgently needed Phantoms,
may bring desired results. Thus far, the ap-
peals that have been made to President Nixon
and the State Department seem to have fallen
on deaf ears. The time has come for a mass
movement to demand action from our govern-
ment. The Blacks have spoken, and so have
many others. Now we must give emphasis to
these demands for justice for Israel. It is
never too late to demand action to aid Israel's
defense.
Memorial Tribute to Felix A. Levy
in His Selected Papers, Sermons
A most impressive tribute to an eminent rabbi is contained in a
memorial volume to the late Dr. Felix A. Levy, edited by Sefton D.
Temkin. Entitled "His Own Torah," containing selected papers and
sermons by Rabbi Levy, this volume, published by Jonathan David,
contains the views of a man who had gained much popularity with
his research work, his scholarly addresses and essays, his published
works on theological and social problems.
In the biographical sketch of Dr. Levy,
Temkin applauds him as a man who re-
acted "against slogan religion." He de-
scribes his role as a fighter against bigotry
and in support of social causes and tells
how he came close to Zionism, propagat-
ing the idea of a redeemed Israel.
As president of the Central Confer-
ence of American Rabbis, at the conven-
tion in Columbus, Dr. Levy helped re-
pudiate the anti-Zionist Pittsburgh plat-
form.
In a tribute to Rabbi. Levy, Dr. Louis
Finkelstein, chancellor of the Jewish The-
ological Seminary, Conservative, stated:
"Felix Levy was one of the first American
Reform rabbis to recognize the impor-
tance of the Zionist movement, and he
lived to see his dream of a Jewish home-
Felix A. Levy
land realized in the state of Israel."
A great variety of issues is covered in the essays and addresses
of Rabbi Levy. Temkin's judgment in making the selections earns
high commendation. The events of half a century of American, world
and Jewish events are under consideration and the views of the
noted Chicago rabbi remain impressive to this day.
Dr. Levy (1884-1963) took a deep interest in the influence that was
being exerted by Unitarianism, Christian Science and Ethical Culture,
and his studies led him to discuss universalism in his sermon delivered
in 1920 on the subject "Can Judaism Become the Religion of the
World?" His appeal was for Judaism to hold fast to its ideals and not
to make compromises, and he asserted: "Men need not all be Jews—
but they can believe in one God, they can believe in humanity, they
can believe in the moral law. And we Jews can believe in the destiny
of Israel to spread this gospel .. . "
There are sermons on the Jewish holy days and festivals
and on matters relating to Halakha, Reform Judaism, love, mar-
riage, prayer, sin, etc.
The value of this work lives in its universal outlook and on the
multiplicity of subjects. The editor deserves commendation for having
chosen the right ones to justify the effort and properly to honor a
distinguished preacher. The brevity of some of the essays and selected
speeches lends to a work that can be read leisurely and from which
much is to be learned.
Marxist's View of Nasserism
As a leftist, and because of Nasser's repressions, Anouar Abdel-
Malek left Egypt. He has lived in France and his "Egypt: Military
Society," published by Random House, was translated . by Charles
Lam Markimann. The subtitle of the book defines it as dealing with
"The Army Regime, the Left and Social Change Under Nasser."
It is the repression that the author, a Marxist, deals with primarily.
He sees an evolution in crisis, and with advance going on. He
predicts:
"The basic exigencies of economic and social development will
compel a confrontation, meanwhile strengthening a little more every
day the function and possibilities of action of the positive elements:
proletariat, intelligentsia, technocrats—above all, the peasants. Here,
unremittingly, time is on the side of the resurgence of the social
dialetic."
For a full understanding of conditions under Nasser. this im-
portant volume by Abdel-Malek is eminently worth studying.