Purely Commentary
'Palestinian State' Myth and Reality
Lots of talk about a "Palestinian state" tends to mislead and to
confuse. The United Nations set up two states in 1947: one Jewish, one
Arab. The Arabs launched a war aimed at Israel's destruction and
what should have been amity ended in a continuing conflict. Those
who fled from Israel, against the advice and appeals of Jewish leaders,
settled mostly in Jordan. That's where a Palestinian state actually
exists.
The enemies of Israel now come forth with a new idea: they'll
establish a state in which Moslems, Christians and Jews will live
together and Jews who lived in Palestine prior to 1917 will be granted
citizenship.
Arab fantasy did not explain that in 1917 there were about 400,000
people in Palestine of whom about 45 per cent were Christians and
Jews, and that today there are more than 3,000,000 citizens of Israel,
of whom about 150,000 are Christians and 350,000 Arabs. They all
enjoy the freedoms of a democratic state in which there are no religious
discriminations.
If the visionary Arab plot were to take root, 2,450,000 Jews would
be expelled. That's the Arafat plan. What it does not concede is that
hundreds of thousands of Jews were as much Palestinians as the
Arabs. The best answer to the Arab threat of another Genocide,
another mass extermination of Jews—how else explain a plan to expel
2,450,000 Jews from their homeland, was given by Israel's Prime
Minister Golda Meir, who told an audience in London:
"If the Arabs wish to call their state Palestine, that's fine as
far as we are concerned. There is only one thing to which we don't
agree: that Israel should become Palestine.
"Arafat says, in the goodness of his heart, that Jews who were in
Palestine before 1917 may be allowed to remain. I have a personal
interest in that because I was not there in 1917."
That's the reply of one Palestinian—Golda Meir—in behalf of the
hundreds of thousands of other Jewish Palestinians who are now Israelis
and the other Jews who have settled in the Holy Land as of right and
not on sufferance.
•
Russian Desire to Display Jewish Friendship
Is Russia all bad? What about the USSR's emphasis on its readi-
ness to encourage cultural and religious freedom, its emphasis on the
functions of existing synagogues, its frequent boast that it prints the
works of Sholem Aleichem?
It will take many apologetics to refute the charges of prejudice
against the Kremlin. The synagogues that remain in the USSR are few.
There are no theological schools, the theater is dead and newspapers
have been crushed. There is that propaganda organ in Birobidjan and
there are Jewish singers in , Russia. But these are not an outgrowth of
Jewish devotion to learning, to faith, to the cultural treasures of our
people. The legacies of Israel are being denied to Russian Jewry.
Those who wish to settle in Israel are prevented by restrictions.
Yet, Russia wishes to pose as endorsing Jewish cultural activities,
and the emphasis is most always on Sholem Aleichem. Writing for the
official Soviet Novosti Press Agency, Semen Rabinovich described the
six-volume Sholem Aleichem anthology and speaks of these works as
being very popular in the USSR. He claims that the Jewish humorist's
works were reprinted 500 times in the USSR in 20 languages in the last
10 years and that on the centenary of Sholem Aleichem his works were
published in Yiddish in Russia. In the same year, Rabinovich claims, a
225,000 - volume Russian edition was published and the new six-volume
set will be in 250,000 copies. He describes the plans for the edition as
follows:
"On the editorial board of the new edition are the Ukrainian poet
and scholar Mikola Bazhan, the Russian author Boris Polevoi, the
Jewish writers losif Rabin, Gersh Remenik, Rivekka Rubina and
Assistant Professor Moisei Belenki. In the foreword Mikola Bazhan
analyzes Sholem Aleichem's work as the creation of a g•eat writer,
democrat and humanitarian. He has unusually warm and heartfelt
words for the Jewish author, emphasizing that his kinship with the
people was of general human, let alone national, import and that he
has borrowed extensively from the vast treasures of folk wisdom and
brilliant humor which the great Gorky has called sad yet of the heart.
"The present edition is larger than the previous one. Many novels
and stories that are unfamiliar to the Russian reading public will be
included, in addition to the works presented in the 1959 edition. Among
these will be the short novel 'Moshkele the Thief' the 'Dying Types'
stories, as well as the stories 'The Election,' Taibele' and 'Berditchev
Street Pictures.' For the first time there will be translations in Russian
of Aleichem's poety.
"The first volume, which has already gone to press, includes such
early works as 'Sender Blank and His Family,' Josele the Nightin-
gale,' Stempenyu' and poetry.
"The books will be illustrated by Soviet artists. Gershon Kravtsov
has done the illustrations for the first volume. Mendel Gorshman, Meer
Akselrod, Moisei Inger, Tankhum Kaplan and other artists will illustrate
the other volumes. Each volume will include footnotes, commentaries
and reference material."
It is in the illustrations that we may find some interesting revela-
tions of the effort to invite new interest in Sholem Aleichem. From
the several we have received from the USSR embassy in Washington
2—Friday, November 27, 1970
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Arab Fantasies Run Wild Into Aspirations
Russian Enigmas, Claims
for New Genocide .
to Friendships and Evidence of Persecutions
on behalf of Novosti are the two Gershon Kravtsov illustrations for
Sholem Aleichem's "Stempenyu" that are appended here.
Thus we have evidence of an effort to draw friendship for the
USSR policies. The characteristics portrayed are not quite Jewish.
That should not reduce interest in the Russian effort. But there are
other factors that negate the Russian claims and they relate to the
restrictions on Jewish activities generally, the hatred for Israel and
the refusal to permit Jews the right of exit from Russia.
•
.
•
Evidence of Resisters' Courage and of the Prejudices
are
showing
great
courage
in their resistance to
Russian Jews
oppressin and in their persistent demands of the right to go to Israel.
They are determined and in their firmness they expose the prejudiced.
They do not hide. They state their names. They give facts. They speak
up. Ten Leningrad Jews who awaited trial for alleged "anti - Soviet
activities" wrote a protesting letter to the USSR chief prosecutor,
R. A. Rudenko, and stated:
"We, Soviet citizens of Jewish nationality, find ourselves com-
pelled to turn to you with an important request. We turn to you with
great hope. Our husbands and close relatives were arrested on June
15 and August 5, 1970. The arrests were made on the basis of
charges that can only be the result of a monstrous error. The
hijacking of an airplane and anti-Soviet activity have been charged.
All those arrested were at home or at work at the time of the
arrests. All of our apartments were searched. Hebrew-language text-
books, dictionaries, textbooks on JewiSh history, tapes of Hebrew
poems and songs, letters and postcards from Israel, return receipts
of letters sent to Israel, as well as Jewish books, and all printed
materials containing the words 'Israel,' Jew' or 'Jewish,' were taken
away.
"Our husbands and close relatives, like ourselves, fervently de-
sired, and still desire, to live in our HISTORICAL HOMELAND and to
educate ourselves and our children in the spirit of our people. Conse-
quently, the whole of the 'anti-Soviet activity' consists of the fact that
our husbands and relatives sought to realize their cherished dream by
entirely lawful means.
"Many of our families submitted applications for permission to
go to the State of Israel; others were planning to submit applications
in the very near future. All who submitted their papers to OVIR
(Note: Department of Internal Affairs Ministry) were refused per-
mission to carry out their legitimate desire to live among their own
people, after which letters and complaints were sent to the Soviet
government and to Soviet representatives at the United Nations.
Nothing has yet been done about this crude violation of Soviet laws
by OVIR employes. On the other hand, the situation of our relatives
and ourselves is disastrous. The plans and dreams of our lives have
been destroyed. Many of us have been left with small children and,
in fact, with no means of subsistence. All who have been arrested
are in danger of very severe penalties if what has happened and
what is happening now is not cleared up in time.
"Those of us who have been interrogated have been told by the
interrogators that our husbands and close relatives have confessed
their guilt. All our requests for permission to see our relatives have
been categorically refused. We know that our husbands and close
relatives have not, and could not have, done anything unlawful;
and we cannot imagine what circumstances could have forced them
to engage in self-incrimination, if indeed this has actually taken place.
We do not know.
"WE BEG YOU: SAVE OUR HUSBANDS, SAVE OUR DEAR
ONES, SAVE OUR FAMILIES! We hope that justice will triumph
and that we will see our dear ones and that we will not be separated
from them for long and terrible years.
(Signed)
"I. Shur, KreIna Zalmonovna—sister of Shur, cue Zahnonovich.
Leningrad 13-14 Ul. Zhukovskogo D, 20, kv. 20-
"2. Yagman, Minya Khalm Lelbovna—wife of Yeoman Lev Nauzno-
vich, mother of two small children, six and three years old.
By Philip
Slomovitz
Leningrad K-21, UI, Karbyaheva D.
8, korp. 1, kv. 80.
"3. Butman, Yeva Shmulevna—wife
of Butman. Ilya, Izrallevich, mother
of a four.year-old daughter, Len-
ingrad 55-211, Vltebsky pr. D. 23,
korp. 4, kv. 33.
"4. hlogilever, YuHa Issevna—wire of
V l a dim ir Osherovich,
mother of a two-year-old son, Len-
ingrad, 111, Telmana D. 38, korp. 1,
kv. 209.
"5. Veinger, Berta Petrovna—wife of
Chernoglaz, David Iserovich, mother
of an eight-month-old infant, Len-
ingrad, Pr. !Mchin' D. 28, kv. 25.
"6. Kaminskaya„ Seraflna Meyerovns-
wife of Kaminsky, Lassal Semen°.
yieh D. 6, kv. 4, Leningrad.
"7. Shimanovich, Ltya Samsonovna-
mother of Goldfeld. Anatoly Moiseye-
sten. Leningrad, Pr. Shuznyan, D.
58, kv. 18.
"8. Korenbilt, Aeveka Moiseyevna-
wife of Korenblit, Lev Lelbovich, UL
Vereiskaya D. 12, kv. 10, Leningrad.
"The mother of Boguslaysky,
Viktor Noevich, could not sign
her name as she had a serious
heart attack during the inter-
rogation by secret police inter-
rogator Glushkov and is in the
hospital.
"The wife of Dreizner, Solo-
mon Girgievich, cannot sign her
name because she is in a mental
hospital; her five-month-old in-
fant is being cared for by her
aged parents.
"Leningrad, August 19, 1970."
With all their asservations of
earnestness in their attitudes
towards Jews the Russian hier-
archy stands exposed as biased.
The just-quoted letter is among
the proof that is mounting and
that must bring relief for Russian
Jewry in the course of time.
A Salute to Our
Courageous Youth
Who Won't Be Silent
Don't sell our youth short—and
don't write the majority of our
young people off as if they were
unconcerned about Jewish matters
and were rejecting their heritage.
A "Dissent" debate in Detroit's
afternoon newspaper's Sunday edi-
tions provided proof to the con-
trary.
An early piece in the Detroit
News' "Dissent" column intro-
duced a Jewish young lady whose
lack of knowledge and understand-
ing not only of Jewry but of neigh-
horhoods was so appalling that it
proved repulsive. Promptly, ano-
ther young lady, about the same
age as the deluded and lacking-in-
self-respect earlier writer, wrote a
reply that was so splendid that it
could well be termed a magnifi-
cent essay on dignity and courage.
Unfortunately, the reply by Maxine
Berman was cut considerably and
the Detroit News did not give it
the space a reply deserved. Never-
theless, Miss Berman's and the
words of other correspondents indi-
cated that a self-negating young-
ster can't get away with self-hate
—if it was that—or total ignorance,
while assuming the right to inter-
pret Jewish and American values.
Both the Jewish and American
positions stand out with greater
sincerity in the replies to the
"Dissent" that could well have
tended to create suspicion and
hatred had it not been for the
level-headed Maxine Berman and
others who responded with con-
tempt for the writer's resort to
social friction.
What this "Dissent" debate
proved is that there are young peo-
ple with ability who can be called
upon to speak out courageously
in defining their people's place of
honor in the American community.
is our contention that the left-
ists who align themselves with the
Kremlin and anti-American-anti-
Jewish-anti-Israel ideologies might
make the most noise but are negli-
gible numerically—just as the ig-
norant who confuse Americans on
neighborliness are few. But these
must be reckoned with, and it is
to be hoped that more Maxine
Bermans will lend their abilities
to causes for justice and decency
as protectors of the basic Amer-
ican ideals- and of the Jewish lega-
cies that defy the bigots, especially
when the negators are in our own
ranks.