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THE JEWISH NEWS

. incorporating The Detroit' Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951

Member American Association of Mash-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association. National Editorial Associ-
ation Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co.. 17515 W. Nine Mile. Suite 863, Southfield, Mich. 48075.
Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices.
Subscription $8 a year. Foreign $9

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor and Publisher

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

business Manager

CHARLOTTE DUBIN

City Editor

DREW UEBERWiTZ

Advertising Manager

.
'
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sob
. bath, the 13th day of Tishre, 5732, the following scriptural selections

will be read in our - Synagogue*:
Pentateuchal portion, Deut. 32:1 ,52, Prophetical portion, II Samuel 22:1.51.

Sukkot Festival Scriptural Selections

Pentateuchal portions: Monday and Tuesday, Levit. 22:26-23:44, Num. 29:12.16.
Prophetical portions, Monday, Zechariah, 14:1.21; Tuesday, I Kings 8:2-21.
Hol Harmed Sukkot Torah readings: Wednesday, Num. 29:17-25; Thursday, Num.
29:20.28; Friday, Num. 29:23.31.

—
Candle Lighting. Friday, Oct. 1. 6.15 p.m.

VOL. LX. No. 3

Page Four

October 1, 1971

70 Years of JNF Reclamation Work

An event of historic significance in the land would make• it possible for the impover-
Zionist movement and in tasks for Israefi ' ished Jewish masses to settle in the colonies
upbuilding will be marked at the celebration that were being established by the World
of the fund's 70th anniversary.
Zionist Organization, and since 1901 on land
acquired by the JNF, resort to this injunc-
When Israeli and world Jewish person- tion was of vital importance to the Jewish
alities gathered in Basle, Switzerland—where liberation movement.
the fund first was organized in 1901—
the meager beginning for redemption will
It is important to note that often very
be contrasted with the impressive accomplish- high prices were paid for land in Eretz Israel
ments that were among the gradual results that became the property of the entire Jew-
of world Jewry's dedication to th-e-affor-sta- ish people through the Keren Kayemet. The Era of Pogroms, Revolution
tion and settlement objectives of the Itth'en
Arab fellaheen' were oppressed by the ef-
Kayemet—as the JNF is officirlly recorded fendis and these peasants at the outset wel-
in Hebrew.
comed Jewish settlement which changed
It began with the hope that with contribu- ownership from the rich absentee Arab land-
tions of as little as a penny a day, sufficient lords to Jewish cooperative management. The
funds could be raised for acquisition of land standard of living of the Arabs in Israel was
Students of Jewish history who depend upon, their knowledge for
for the establishment of the Jewish state uplifted, and often Arabs themselves acquired
envisioned by Theodor Herzl and his asso- land and became neighbors of the Jewish English texts again are provided with the most authoritative studies
ciates. Thanks to the practical approaches of colonists. It is these Arabs who did not run in the fourth volume of "History of the Jews" by Simen.Dubnov.
from friendship with Jews and who remained
the fund's founder, Prof. Hermann Schapiro,
In a splendid translation by Moshe Splege.1, published by-Thomas
Israel upon the establishment of the Jewish Yoseloff,
the fourth volume covers the eras from_ Cromwell's common-
the foundation was laid for the first Zionist in
state.
wealth to the Napoleonic period.
voluntary fund with which the Zionist func-
tions commenced under the aegis of the
As part of the program that was intro-
This fourth definitive edition provides translations from the Russian
World Zionist Organization.
duced- by Prof. Hermann Sohapira, the Golden of Dubnov's original volumes VII and VIII. •
Book
of
the
Jewish
National
Fund
was
cre-
The beginnings were small, yet the foun-
Commencing with a general survey oCthe years 1643-1789,
dations for great settlements were rooted ated. It was at the specific request of Dr.
Dubnov's work deals with the era of the ilkrandan pogroms up to
the French Revolution, and some -..of the` horrifying details are
in soil acquired by the Keren Kayemet. The Theodor Herzl that Hermann Schapira's name
his, in an acknowledgement of the
supplemented with incidents of a deeply moving nature. Among the
most notable achievements in the JNF record precedes
of the founder of the Jewish National
occurrence; in 1648 is this one involving - pidyon Shehttidin, and
are those attained during the 23 years of labors
Fund.
Dubnov related: "Some cities discerned the ipProldrof the enemy
Israel's statehood, as indicated in this factual
from both sides—Cossacks on the one hand: and Tatars on the
record:
In the 70 years of- its existence, the JNF
other. So Jews resolved to surrender voluntarily- to 'captivity by
1948
1971
became the most popular fund in Jewish
the Tatars, before the Cossacks could- arrive , and massacre all of
TREES PLANTED
5,000,000 105,000,000
them. Approximately 3,000 Jews, along with. -their Wives and
ranks. As a tree-planting medium in Eretz
LAND RECLAIMED
children, made their way to the camp of -..the , Tatars. -As they
Israel, it has won many followers. Scores of
(Dunams)
45,000
500,000
approached their destination, Reb,Hlinit,: the Cantor:of Zhiwotow,
forests have been planted in Israel in honor
ROADS BUILT BY JNF
began to chant the El Male Rahandm CO God, lull of mercy . . .'),
or in memory of great Jews, and that fort
(Kilometers)
30Q '
and the entire throng burst into loud walling.:-The- Tatars, evincing
3,700
of Zionist activities commenced with the
mercy
on the unfortunates, took them captive- and promised to
JNF LANDHOLDINGS
planting of the Yaar Herzl—the Herzl Forest
bring them to Turkey, where the -large Jewish comnumities
(Dunams)
942,000
4,450,000
that was the first of its kind to inaugurate
usually
ransomed such prisoners. And indeed,. the captives were
AREA AFFORESTED
large-scale afforestation in Israel.
brought to Constantinople, where -the local community. spareel no
(Dunams)
22,000
400,000
effort or money on the ransom (Pid.ifon Shebtoim). - In -order to
The JNF's 70th anniversary will be cele-
RURAL SETTLEMENTS ON
ransom future captives, which the Tatars fetched in groups from
JNF LAND
221
450 ,13 rated on an international scale at functions
Poland during that summer, money was:collected in Salonika and
in Basle, when the JNF first was set up, in
POPULATION ON
other cities of Turkey."-Funds were also collected in the Italian
JNF LAND
mid-October.
Communities
everywhere
will
seaports of Venice and Livorno, and then transmitted to Con-
125,000
920,000
stantinople for ransom."
make note of the occasion with special func-
These figures are as impressive as the tions and • with increased contributions to
It is this descriptive method that details . Jewish history and pro-
JNF itself. The fund was founded on the the land redemption and afforestation fund in
injunction in the Bible: "Land shall not be Israel.- In this fashion, one of the very great vides an understanding of events that marked the trying .conditions
in
the
centuries under review.
sold in perpetuity, for Mine is the land, creative tasks in modern Jewish history gains
saith the Lord." Because only publicly owned due recognition from Jewry everywhere.
The current volume has major significance in its outline , of the

Notable Periods Covered in 4th
Volume of Dubnov's History

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Russian "Pale of Settlement." 'Czarist regulations, Jewish fears of
impending oppressions, the Mahal conferences and the constant efforts
to ameliorate the Jewish conditions are develoPed in their historical
lights, as well as the Jewish communities' attempts to solve many of
the problems. It was then, at the beginning of the 19th Century, that
the first a gr icultural Jewish settlements were created, that encourage-
ment was given to handicrafts as a Jewish pursuit in the cities.

Linking Children With Community

When we speak of identification of youth
with their community- we have in view the
need for an understanding of Jewish 'values
that need to be utilized as means of creating
common interests between the young and
their elders.

Let it be recorded to the credit of the
Jewish National. Fund that it had instituted
very valuable educational projects in the
American Jewish schools. While - encouraging
the planting of trees in JNF forests in Israel,
the fund provided the children in our schools
with historical data that has encouraged them
to pursue studies in relation to Israel, state-
building, leadership and other aspects of Jew-

ish concerns in a world that was beset by
many problems.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary
of the JNF—the fund that has acquired so
much affection from the Jewish masses as
the Keren- Kayemet_--an essay- contest for
our -Children is now being conducted in
schools throughout the United States.
Of course, there will be valuable and cov-
eted prizes. For the community as an entity
the importance of the projeets lies in the in-
vitation to - our boys and girls to devote their
interests to, further study and to set down
their views in writing on the JNF and its
significance, so that others may benefit' when
youth participate in the JNF essay contest.

This, also, was the period during which the Hasidic-Mitnaged
schisms occurred, and the Dubnov analyses provide valuable guides
toward knowledgeability about these developinents. - •

This Dubnov volume contains the baSic 'details regarding the
emancipation trends, the effects of the French Revolution upon

Jewish exPeriences and the. Napoleonic decree -of. 1866.. The
Sanhedrin of Paris and the Jewish roles is that period are under
scrutiny.

Because it deals with Hasidism, the Frankists, Mendelssohn and
the Enlightenment, this volume assumes importance in it –iioverage
of significant occurrences that provide backgrounds for study of
current events. -

Blood libels were part of Jewish experience of that time, and
notable trials are under review as part of the historic experienps
which have been outlined by Simon Dubnov, retaining for the Russian
Jewish historian a major position among those who_ have recorded
Jewish history for the ages.

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