Purely Commentary

Puzzle - Creating Probers of Jewish Identity

There is more confusion over the question what or who is a a Jew
than over most any other matter in our time. It isn't even a problem:
it is, simply, something that has been turned into a puzzle by the non-
too-imaginative.
Yet, the question keeps popping up again and again. Thus, in
Look magazine we find these two letters to the editor, one by the
popular author:
I am of the Jewish faith, and I am happy that we can be so
interesting and give you so much material to write about in your
magazine (Who Is a Jew?, Look, June 56). Is there anything else
you can write about?
ADELE ROTI1
Minneapolis, Minn.
If all the Jews in the South joined the Ku Klux Klan, the segrega-
tionists would still say. "Them Jews are s-m-a-r-t, they have joined
the Klan so they could mongrelize the South." My answer to this is
gurnisht helffen, nothing helps. The Gentiles believe that all Jews
meet in a cellar once a week, and whether they sing Yigdal in the
Orthodox shule or never go to the synagogue at all, is entirely irre-
levant. Hitler did not give any religious tests before putting Jews into
the gas chambers. Jean-Paul Sartre said it best of all, "A Jew is a
man whom other men call a Jew."
HARRY GOLDEN
Charlotte, N.C.
Much of the confusion relates to the religious factors. There are
elements who refuse to accept the basic spiritual heritage of the Jew,
and they therefore are groping in the dark when confronted with the
legacy relating to Faith. Perhaps there is a partial answer to such
dilemmas in the interpretation of religion and the attitudes of the Jew-
ish peoples provided by the eminent Jewish scholar, Prof. Yehezkel
Kaufman. who wrote in his essay "The National Will to Live":
". . . When I say 'religion', I do not mean the so-called 'Com-

mandments of Ezra', the whole complex of laws which we are used
to call by that name, but a national-monotheistic faith. Practical reli-
gion with its mass of observances never existed in its own right, but
was the natural result of the condition of the Jewish people in the
Diaspora as a domestic-national Church . . . Religion cannot be
assigned the function usually attributed to it, namely that of a preser-
vative ... Religion is not a means which the nation uses in its search
for a device by which it can continue to exist and protect itself
against the dangers that threaten it. Religion was the only source of
the people's national will. There are of course secondary factors
which have joined this primary force and set their imprint on Jewish
life in different periods. But if it had not been for the operation of
this primary force, the secondary factors could in any case not have
operated; for if there had not been some internal element within the
Jewish people that prevented complete assimilation, no eternal fac-
tor could have prevented it."

Vigilance
and Muscular Judaism... Probers of
Jewish Identity ... Sad Yiddish Role

Afro-Asians and Israel .. .

By Philip

.•••
W M/WY/ft

solution may force the concern not only of Jewish communities but of
our neighbors and fellow citizens of all faiths and all racial and na-
tionality backgrounds.

Israel Tourism
Shows Increase

Afro - Asians Know the Israel Score

Not all Muslims, not all Blacks, surely not all Afro-Asians, nourish
prejudices against Israel.
Israel's role in underdeveloped countries is so creative that it does
not go on unappreciated.
Ben Isandalwana of Chicago wrote to the Chicago Tribune in com-
ment on a discussion that was conducted in that newspaper's columns
on the question of the UN vote creating Israel. He was responding to
a claim that Afro-Asians had not voted on the subject in Israel's
favor, and he set the record straight while commending Israel on her
role among his people, stating:
It should have been mentioned that many of the Afro - Asian states
partition vote
in existence today did not exist at the time of the UN
voted in Israel's
on Palestine in 1947 and, therefore, could not have
favor. Since Israel has diplomatic relations with almost all of the
newly created Afro-Asian states and, in many cases, has its own
"Peace Corps" there, I feel that "Third World" support for Israel
is not lacking.
It should also be remembered that such African nationalists as
Jomo Kenyatta, Dr. Hastings Banda and Dr. Tubman are avid sup-
porters of Israel. Israel comes to Afro-Asia as a friend and teacher,
without politics, and represents that aspect of Western civilization

that is appreciated.
It is doubtful if United States abandonment of Israel to Russian-

backed dictators will impress any African or Asian.

It is stated in Psalm 85:12 that "emet m'eretz titzmakh"—the truth
sprouts forth from the earth. It certainly does not lie dormant and at
Israel's
least one Afro-Asian—Ben Isandalwana—spoke up firmly in
how their

defense. He is not alone: last week the Cambodians told

agricultural skills were improved thanks to Israel's guidance, and other
peoples have similarly commended Israel's assistance. The entire world
can't be ungrateful, in spite of the double standards of the UN where
truth is hidden only temporarily.

Judging the Judged ... Youth on the Rampage .

A national magazine carried a sensational story presenting the
views of "five passionate feminists" who went on a rampage about
marriage, sex, the liberation movement in the distaff ranks.
One 17-year-old Jewish girl wrote bitterly about those who "as a
group oppress women as a group." Then she had something to say about
Israel's men. Read her indictment:
"It was after I'd been to Paris that I came into Women's Lib. You
couldn't walk down a street alone without men trying to touch you.
The same in Israel; the soldiers all thought American girls were dying
to hop into their beds. But they don't like it if you reverse the role .. ."
But the most impressive interpretation was provided by Ahad Ha-
It's the reversing the roles that intrigued us. What an aspiration.
Am (Asher Ginzberg). who, in his essay "Three Steps," gave this And her entire theme reminded us of two stories.
answer to the question "Who Is a Je•?' :
One is about two beggars who came to Vilna's richest Jew for
"Why are we Jews? What a strange question, really. donations. The scholarly benefactor posed some questions about the
Ask the fire why it burns! Ask the sun why it shines, the background of the shnorrers. The first responded about his home town
tree why it grows. And then ask the Jew why he is a Jew of Aishishok that the people there were gamblers, cheats, excessive
and cannot be other than what he is. It is something in our- drinkers. He was given a very small coin.
The second mendicant, also from Aishishok, spoke kindly about
selves which we cannot help, a law that governs Our nature.
something as real and undeniable as a mother's love for her his fellow townsmen. He said they were scholars, charitable, devout,
cared
well for their families. hospitable. He received a handsome gift.
children, as a man's love for his homeland! It wells and rises
The two beggars met and exchanged experiences and the first
from the the depth of our soul, it is part of our heart. It returned to the philanthropist with a complaint: why wasn't he treated
cannot be overcome. vanquished or denied, even as it is im- as well as his fellow Aishishoker? And the Vilna rich man explained
possible to overcome, vanquish or deny the heart itself."
that the tales told him must have reflected the actions and experiences
This should end all debates, for all time. "It is part of our heart." of the men from Aishishok in their personal lives, and he compensated
And it defies confusion of the puzzle-makers.
them accordingly.
And there is another old story about an anti-Semite who fumed and
Vigilantism and the 'Muscular Judaism' Idea
ranted against Jews: "They are all cheats, liars, low-lives." He was
A leader of the Jewish Defense League has made it clear that his asked where he came from and how many Jews he knew in his com-
movement "was formed to change an image," and he declared that, munity who affected his thinking. His answer was that there were two
"frankly, we don't give a damn what you think of us."
Jewish families in his town and that "I know them all, those damned
This league, now the subject of serious dispute because it assumes Jews."
the role of vigilantes in Jewish life, is the subject of a thorough study
The 17-year-old American Lib feminist - must 'have met all the
in the current issue of Esquire. It is outlined in an article entitled Israeli soldiers!
"Superjew," one of a series about "Three Meanies" by Roy Bongartz.
In the course of his description of the "Superjew," Bongartz states: Yiddish Writers Pass, the Language Users Decline
For many years there was a Yiddish department in the Jewish
In their impatient disavowal of the old "patsy" mentality, as they
see the old European humbleness of Jews, Leaguers again quote from Telegraphic Agency office. For a long time it was directed by the
the scornful lines of the Jewish poet, Chaim Nachman Bialik, who late Aleph Katz and Abraham Tabachnick. For some years the latter
advised God to waste no pity on cowards who did not stand up against carried the burdens of presenting to the Yiddish newspaper transla-
tions into Yiddish of cables JTA gets from all parts of the globe.
their oppressors:
Mr. Tabachnick's death is another blow to the Yiddish press and
Their flesh is wholly sore.
to the Yiddish literary field. It has been said for some years that
For since they have ?net pain with resignation
every time a Yiddish writer or a Yiddish reader dies, there is no one
And have made peace with shame.
to replace either one. Now we see another blow to Yiddish in this
What shall avail Thy consolation?
They are too wretched to evoke Thy scorn.
country. It is an unfortunate situation. There are no new forces to be
They are too lost Thy pity to evoke,
gathered in strengthening Yiddish.
So let them go, then men to sorrow born,
There was another serious loss of the Yiddish press and language
Mournful and slinking. crushed beneath their yoke.
The vigilantes are not fooling by any means. Karate is taught, in the death last week of Harry Lang, who for many years was one
of the pillars on the staff of the Jewish Daily Forward. It is saddening
N.
Y.,
JDL members are trained for self-defense and in Woodbourne,
there is a training camp where "a complete course in self-defense is to record these facts. Yiddish as a stimulating force had been a major
cultural, social and political spheres. Now it has been
offered." An advertisement inviting enrollees in this camp, in a factor in
Montreal paper, indicates that the JDL appeal has been extended to reduced to a minimum. Its decline is tragic, and the regrettable
many cities, in this country and in Canada. An eight-week course in reduction in the use of the language and in its creative attainments
self-defense, according to the advertisement, costs $365. become evident especially when we lose the able writers who helped
JDL may emerge as a major Jewish problem, since it does not crown the language with glory.
The tragic decline of the importance of Yiddish is in evidence
have the approval of a single national Jewish organization. It is dis-
tinguished by a maverick-type recalcitrance and from all appearance also in the Yiddish theater. It is all but dad in this country, and in
England the Grand Palais in Whitechapel, the only remaining Yiddish
no force will be able to stir it from its present course of action.
40 years of uninter-
The fact is that JDL's approaches to the need for self-defense theater in England, rang down the curtain after
among Jews is not a new one. Dr. Max Nordau, more than 50 years rupted performances. The owner of the theater, Basil Greenby, having
decided to refrain from making further bookings, said: "The amount
ago, was a strong supporter of - Muscular Judaism — an idea advocated
community was such that it was no longer an
to teach young Jews to defend themselves when attacked. But in a of support from the

BY HAIM SHACHTER
JERUSALEM—In the first six
months of 1970 the volume of Is-
rael's tourist trade reached the
figure of 185,400, with another 9,300
visitors from ships calling at Is-
raeli ports while on a Mediterran-
ean cruise. Of these, 74,500, or
about 40 per cent, came from the
United States.
During the winter months, the
average monthly level of tourism
from the United States, with re-
gard to ordinary seasonal factors,
was much higher than usual. This
was probably due to a reduction
in the cost of flights. In the months
of April-May 1970, the monthly fig-
ure dropped, but picked up again
in June when there was a return
to the monthly average of 15,000.
The number of tourists from the
United States this year was about
20 per cent higher than the figure
for the corresponding period in
1969. The total volume of tourism
rose by 10 per cent.
Second place in the tourist trade
is taken by the United Kingdom
with 16,100 tourists, or 8.7 per cent
of the total, and third place is taken
by France with 15,900 tourists, or
8.6 per cent of the total. An addi-
tional 750 visitors from the United
Kingdom arrived during a Mediter-
ranean cruise.
France continues to maintain its
monthly average of 3,500-4,000 tour-
ists, but the United Kingdom reg-
istered a drop in the monthly ave-
rage of tourists until June, when a
considerable improvement set in.
During the first half of 1970.
9,400 tourists (5 per cent) arrived
from Germany, 8,950 (4.8 per cent)
from Canada, and 4,500 (4.3 per
cent) from South American coun-
tries. The number of tourists from
the South American continent
showed a considerable increase
over the figure for the correspond.
ing period last year.
In the period under review 4,300
tourists (2.3 per cent) arrived from
Switzerland and 4,200 (2.3 per cent)
from Holland. These two countries
registered a drop in the, number
of visitors as compared with the
corresponding period in 1969.
A total of 10,700 tourists (5.8
per cent arrived from Scandinavian
countries. Their number has re-
mained stable as compared with
the figure for the same period last
Year.
The number of tourists from all
other countries came up to 28,800
or 15.5 per cent of the total volume
of the tourist trade.

free society there remains the question whether vigilantism should be economic possibility to continue functioning."
The irony is that in Israel, where there was a battle of languages
tempting
encouraged. What is right for vigilantes in our ranks is equally that
would (between Hebrew and Yiddish) some 40 years ago, Yiddish has a
for antagonists and we could have a battle royal internally
better
chance to survive than anywhere else. This is due primarily
hardly serve the cause of self-defense, since. protection in a democratic
to the fact that the Yiddish university courses are assuring an interest
society must be provided by well organized and responsible police.
in dialects used by Jews. Furthermore, the Yiddish theater still is
JDL has stirred a serious debate in our ranks. The race issue in very
popular in Israel.
this country, especially in metropolitan areas, has added fuel to the
Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish, and Yiddish, the Judeo-Germanic, have
to
be
an
unprotected
life.
It
is
ignited
by
what
JDL
could
claim
fires
a
had
interesting
histories. Yiddish was used by more and retains great
threatening situations that
a disputable
subject
rooted in so many
merits
because
of the wealth of its literature. The history of all

2—Friday, August 7, 1970

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Jewish dialects Is a fascinating subject.

Youth Retention
in Orthodox Fold
Told by Rabbis

LONDON (JTA) — In the
United Stz.tes, three out of every
five younger Jews are retained in
"the Orthodox fold" when they
reach high school and college as
against one out of five in previous
generations, it was revealed by the
chief rabbi's office in a report on
last week's Anglo-American Rab-
binical Conference.
The report stressed the impor-
tance of working with "uncommit-
ted" sections of the community
and urged greater "personal con-
tact" with younger people on the
high school and university levels.
Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits
called for a statistical survey to in-
dicate the effects of intensive Jew-
ish education on social stability in
terms of rates of divorce, illegiti-
macy, delinquency and drug addic-
tion.
The American delegates stressed

the importance of fostering the es-
tablishment of international rab-
binic organizations so that under
rabbinical leadership the Jewish
people's destinies could be re-
stored. The delegates decided to

maintain contacts and hold further
conference. The Americans invited
their British counterparts to hold
the next conference in the U.S.

