By Philip Slomovitz
An Admonition and a Plea to New
Left Not to Be Blind to Realities
Purely. Commentary
(Coatipued from Page 2)
excludes the 150,ON to MAW Pollak Jews who survived in
the Soviet Union. Some 171,1100 were later repatriated to
Poland and subseiniently emigrated, primarily to Israel.
Statistics for 19611, albeit mainly from official sources,
must be regarded as only approximate."
Especially disturbing are the facts presented by Lend-
vai regarding the anti-Semitic novels that apparently have
the endorsement of the Kremlin. They have been distrib-
uted in the hundreds of thousands and among the atrocious
libels that are still being spread in- Russia is the ritual
murder accusation which has caused many honorable
Russians to look back with shame upon the Beiliss Case,
the Hungarians to recall with disgust the Hilsner Case
which was condemned by men like Thomas Masaryk.
• • •
Deplorable—shall we say shameful?—to the nth degree
is the attitude of Jewish
Communists who have
gone along with the anti-
Semitic trends and who
had failed to recognize
the betrayals of their
very ideals by their fel-
low Marxists. Lendvai,
recalls the assassination'
of Rosa Luxemburg and-n,
Karl Liebknecht and how
on the 50th anniversary-
of their murder Commu-
nists in Czechoslovakia
shouted "Down with re-
visionism and Zionism!"
and "Drive them out!"
Is memory of
KARL LIEBKNECUT 1871
It is worth quoting
ROSA LUXEMBURG 1870
Lendvai on the Rosa
German Revolutionists
Luxemburg and other oc-
Foandms of the Sputum!,
currences as a lesson to
Killed by Soldiers
the New Leftists who
Piety
have so much confidence
is Ardis Street Fighting 1919
in an international So-
cialist sense of justice:
"When more than fifty years ago a Jewish friend com-
plained to Rosa Luxemburg about the virulence of anti-
Semitism, the founder of the Polish Social Democratic
Party, who was by then a leader of the left-wing German
socialists, replied: 'Why do you care about special Jewish
pains? To me,-the poor victims of the rubber plantations
in Patumayo, the Negroes in Africa are as close:' she
had 'no special corner for the ghetto' In her heart: 'I feel
at borne in the whole world where there are clouds and
birds and human tears.'
"Rosa Luxemburg was born the same year (1870) as
Lenin, who once praised her as someone who 'for all her
errors was and remains an eagle.' Assassinated in Berlin
in January 1919, she was the single greatest woman figure
in the history of international socialism and one of its most
original and dynamic thinkers. Equally at home in Polish,
Russian, and German culture, and a leader in the labor
movements of these three countries, she 'sought to inject
into German socialism something of the Russian and
Polish revolutionary elan and idealism ... and occasionally
she tried to transplant the Western European democratic
spirit and tradition into the socialist underground move-
meets of - Eastern Europe.' Though she is a revolutionary
hero even in the Communist pantheon, her most prophetic
and timely works have been kept out of circulation by the
ruling Communist parties. Luxemburg's heritage is still a
time bomb menacingly ticking In the archives of the Agit-
Prop Departments from Moscow to East Berlin, none of
which has ever dared to face up to her devastating and
prophetically correct criticism of the single-party dictator-
ship Lenin founded.
"Alluding to the events in Poland, Franz Marek, the
ablest ideologist of the Austrian Communist Party, stated
sadly at the 1969 Party Congress:: 'Take for example
the fact . .. that Rosa Luxemburg, were she still alive,
probably could not occupy today any leading position in
the workers' movement because of her Jewish origin.'
She certainly could not. This thorough-going international-
ist was truly the epitome of the 'rootless cosmopolitan' (as
indeed was Marx himself) whom not only the Moczars but
also the Gomulkas want to eliminate from the Communist
Party-
"In his moving essay on The Non-Jewish Jew,' Isaac
Deutscher wrote about the 'great revolutionaries of modern
thought: Spinoza, Heine, Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Trotsky,
and Freud' who 'all went beyond the boundaries of Jewry
Each of them was in society and yet not in it, of it
and yet not of it. It was this that enabled them to rise
in thought above their societies, above their nationi, above
their times and generations, and to strike out mentally
into wide new horizons and far into the future . . . Like
Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and Trotsky strove, together with
their non-Jewish comrades, for the universal as against
the particularist, and for the internationalist, as against
the nationalist, solutions to the problems of their' times.
. . . All these great revolutionaries were extremely vul-
nerable. They were, as Jews, rootless, in a sense; but
they were so only in some respects, for they had the
deepest roots in intellectual tradition and in the noblest
aspirationi of their times. Yet Whenever religious intol-
erance or nationalist emotion was on the ascendant,
whenever dogmatic narrow-mindedness and fanaticism
triumphed, they were the first victims.' "
• • •
These are the deplorable lessons, the warnings to the
New Leftists that there is little hope from bigots who
are labeled Communists.
We have had condemnations of anti-Semitism in Com-
munist countries by officials in the Communist parties in
France, Italy and other countries, and. we are not gene-
ralizing. But out of the Kremlin, and its influence upon
Poland and Czechoslovakia, the euphemism of anti-Zionism
is not hidden: it is the new form of anti-Semitism.
And it has had its echoes in this country, in the ranks
of the New Left.
There are many instances of poor judgment in the areas
of communications. One of them was in evidence two weeks
ago when Focus-Oakland, the student paper at Oakland
University, utilized an old canard and republished it 50
years after it had been discredited. The editors have apolo-
gized. They claim that it was a study in prejudice. Per-
haps they have learned by now that this is not a valid
study historically and perspectively, since the editors of
that paper had gone to a disreputable Source. If, as they
say, it could have been written in 1971 (it couldn't, since
the hoary lie in the 1920 almanac was already an untruth
then), why didn't they go to the source and expose factu-
ally the G. L. K. Smith garbage and similar anti-Semitic
propaganda sheets—including El Fatah'0 and the Kiemlin's
—as a study for our time? .
If Jewish editors were responsible for the nonsense
written in Rochester, Mich., we hope they have added an
Al Het to their Yom Kippur ritual and will henceforth be
cautious in the choice of their "examples of covert racism
in action," as Focus editors explain.
• • *
We can't believe the assumptions that many students—
and too many Jewish students—have turned- so far - to the
left that they condone draft card burning, flag _desecra-
tion, acceptance of Ho Chi Minh philosophies.
Note the result of a Gallup Poll survey among students.
Both the right and the left were shunned, and the results
that have been made public show:
John Birch Society
Students
General public
Students
General Oublie
-
Highly
MOW_
2
so
Favorable Unfavorable
%
%
2
48-
--
38
4
3
SIPS -
Flighty
Flighty
Favorable Unfavorable
%
%
Students
------
6 :
37
42
' 7
General public _
-.Black Panthers
Students
General puhlk.
2
42
75
teeithernien
47
-
8
Students
Many inconsistencies emerge from other portions of
the survey such as the figures to show that some students
who said they were -on the "far left"' nevertheless rated '
favorably both the Birch Society and the Ku Klux Klan.
But in portraying the total scene it becomes apparent
that the "New Left" threat is less menacing than it-ap-
pears from the howling and the vandalism- committed.
. Therefore we are heartened by actual conditionm Dist
we deem it necessary to appeal to the minority nark,
fall prey to nonsense and:to destructive philotophies..
' We present these facti in the hope that the- misguided
may learn a lesson from history.
That is why we bring back to public attention the les-
sons both of the Holocaust and of the Russian-inspired
anti-Semitism that is being cloaked under an anti-rionist
terminology.
We plead for knowledge of the facts in order that the
shame of anti-Semitism, its crime; may not be condoned
by our own flesh and blood: In' the interest of truth—and
justice—we appeal again for Imowledgeability and we hope
the New Left, the idealists' among our youth who are
motivated by desires to render equality to the oppressed
and justice to the maligned may ant remain parties to
indecency against their fellow Jews- and to aims for an-
other Holocaust!
Record-Breaking Start for Allied J.esvisit Campaign
(Continued from Page 1)
"Getrlah"—salvation, redemp-
tion is what they exclaimed in
Georgia when Jews there met
with Tekoah.
Tekoah told of the hope that
persists of a large-scale migra-
tion of Jews from Russian.
"We must keep the doors open
for the Jews of Eastern Europe,"
Tekoah stated in his analysis of
the increasing flow of settlers who
are coming to Israel. He told of
the Israelis' determination to make
their state a source of pride for
all Jews, "to make Israel a society
that will be an example to others."
"Israel is struggling for equality
among the nations, to breathe the
air in peace," he said. "Our strug-
gle is for progress and while the
stuggle continues we keep creat-
ing .. ."
He emphasized that Israel is try-
ing to avoid a confrontation with
Russia and he declared that "we
shall do our best" for a continua-
tion of peace efforts after March 7.
"We are not interested in annex-
ations," he added. He pointed out
that it costs Israel $3,000,000 a
day now to retain a military bal-
ance and to assure security and
that the cost will rise astronomi-
cally in the event of a renewal of
warfare. He expressed hope that
new fighting can be avoided and
he declared that his people are
determined to elevate Israel's
standards as a source of pride
for all Jewry.
44--Frkkry,
Mowery 12, 1171
"We seek and pray for your
help and together we will suc-
ceed," he declared.
Shaye presided at the opening
function, and chairmanship of the
important dinner meeting was
shared with Samuel Frankel, who
introduced the guest speaker.
Rabbi Irwin Groner gave the in-
vocation. Dividing the roles of
announcing contributions were
Lewis Grossman. J, Milton Miller
and David Mondry.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting the
amount pledged was $5,700,000, the current total of $7,214,355. ' The official opening of the drive
Shaye announced upon introducing
Pre-campaign activities, women's has been set for March 31. The
the program. T h e additional division Phonogift solicitations and citywide coverage will conclude
amount raised at that dinner, related efforts will continue through with what is anticipated as a vic-
therefore, was $1,514,355, to make March. . tory dinner on May 5.
Successful - AJC Pre Campaig 3A'ctivities
Reported; Sectional Meetings Announced
The pre-campaign activities of
the 1971 Allied Jewish Campaign
are reaching their culmination as
the trades and professional divi-
sions step up their work on behalf
of world Jewry with several meet-
ings planned in the next two weeks.
Meyer M. Fishman and Max M.
Shaye, campaign chairmen,' -report
that "the pre-campaign meetings
of our 1971 campaign were the most
successful in our history. The re-
sulk' iecurately - record the spirit
of the-greater Detrhit Jewish cam-
el/WO - in ranting to the, aid of
Israel and global Jewidi causes In
this year ofcrisis. The 'success re-
flects the fine_ work done by the
volunteers of _ the pre-caMnign
drive, headed by Lewis -S.; Gross-
man and David- S. MondrY, -- chair-
men." ._
Fishman and Shaye announce
these campaign meetings.sr.heduled
for the coming weeks: -.
Acconetante Settles win meet
YOSEF 'YEKOAHL
for brunch 10 am. Sunday at Ras-
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS cal House, reports Harry L. Silver-
man, chairman. Yehuda Hellman,
executive director of the Confer-
ence of Presidents of Major Ameri-
can Jewish Organizations, will be
the speiker.. Harvey L. Kleiman
and Joseph Lattin are co-chairmen
of the section. Seymour M. Israel
and Julian S. Tobias are advisors.
Attorneys' Section will have Ber-
nard Cherrick, executive vice pres-
ident of the Hebrew University in
Jeruslaent, as guest speaker at a
luncheon 12:15 p.m. MondaY at
the Detroit Hilton G.
Jacob is chairman. Nathan EL Mil-
stein, Robert M. Warren and Barry
Taker are -co-cisairmen. Stuart
.Hertzberg. David IL Page and Er-
win C. Ziegelman are . associate
chairmen. • . .
ted Jewish Appeal mission, will
address the group. Ma. 'Robert
Sorock is vice chairman of the
section. Mesdames Alan H. Finer,
Michael W. Maddin, Sanford 11.
Passer and Jay L. Waldman are
associate chairmen.
Social Service Section will hold
its annual brunch 10:15 a.m. Feb.
21, at Rascal Hduse. Eugene Jaffe
is chairman. Dr. Boris E. Nelson.
professor of humanities and direc-
tor of fine arts -at the University
of Toledo; will be guest speaker.
Harold Dubin is co-chairman of
the section.
Dentists' Section will - meet 6:30
p.m. Feb. 24, at Raleigh House.
Dr. Jack J. Freedland is chair-
/WM.,- be Loskove, who has
wind as-direetor of the-Joint Dis-
Junior Dtvislia Women's: Special tribution ComMittoe in North - Af-•
Gifts will-intiett -ii" p.m.. Thursday 1 1881111. South •Ameticii„:„Will
at Caryle.25wiees,-Ale0080kig 10
Mrs. Robert G:ROdbisitliainsiss.
Mr. and Mrs. /Bekaa Maddbi„..ro;
redly returned from- a tour of Is-
rael as members of- it special Uni-
_ ,41seilker. Dr.--ituartiraik is
Ottist(
mobIkatan of the :isaidien:Drs.
"Jetnt .Coben, - Lonna - Daniels and
David. Wilkie are mandate chair-