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THE JEWISH NEWS

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

Member American-Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Associa-
tion. Published every /friday y The Jewish News Publishing Co.. 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 46075.
Second-Vass Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign 69

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

editor and Publisher

CARMI

SLOMOVITZ

CHARLOTTE DUBIN

business Manager

City Editor

_ Ation4FAHAPP1 ANIINCACM it ISRAEL

DREW LIEBERWITZ

Adverfisinig Manager

Sabbath Rosh Hodesh lyar Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the first day of lyar, 5732, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues.
Pentateuchal portions, Let-it. 12:1-15:33, Nun+. 28:9-15. i'rophetical portion.

Isaiah 66.1-24.

idle lighting. Friday, April 14, 6:54\ p.m.

VOL. LXI. No. 5

Page Four -

April 14, 1972

Israel at 24: Triumph for Will to Live

s

On the fifth day of the Hebrew month of
lyar—next Wednesday—Jewish communities
everywhere will add their voices to those of
the Israelis in a collective message of good
wishes to Israel on the Jewish state's 24th an-
niversary. It will be an occasion to recall the
veritable miracles that enabled a small, unpro-
tected community of fewer than 700,000 peo-
ple to withstand the attempt of five enemy na-
tions. numbering 80,000,000, to destroy it.
To this very day there is this avowed decla-
ration of the enemies on Israel's borders to
annihilate it. But the collective voice of the
Jewish people not only defies all these
threats but asserts that the '10 omut'—the
affirmation "I shall not die"—in Psalms re-
mains an indestructible slogan.
Even the most unbelieving began to ac-
cept the reality of miracles in relation to
Israel when a handful of people, often armed
only with. pop bottles and protected by the
noises of a Davidka machine gun manufac-
tured in Israel that was like a mere toy, with-
stood savage attacks from all the borders of
the little land. Wasn't the Six-Day War sort
of a miracle in Israel's struggle for survival?
Now we have the added miracle of many
thousands of Jews clamoring for settlement
in Israel from a land—the Soviet Union—
whose doors had been shut to anyone seek-
ing exit. The miracle is that after half a cen-
tury of Communist thought control those
who were inspired by Israel's redemption
have dared — are daring' — to speak out
against an oppressive regime.
The greetings that go to Israel will come,
therefore, not only from free Western coun-
tries, but also from behind the Iron Curtain.
We may well expect that, except from Red
('hina. Albania, and Poland, there may even
be messages of good will and extention of
good wishes from Romania, Hungary, Bul-
garia and Yugoslavia.
In extending greetings to Israel on the
24th anniversary of the state's sovereignty,
the Israelis' friends do not overlook their
shortcomings, while reviewing the many suc-
cesses.
There is no doubt about the successes. In-
dustries are prospering and the country is
open for settlement to all Jews who either
seek haven there or who pursue a Jewish exist-
ence in a redeemed spiritual-cultural environ-
ment devoid of obstacles to their heritage and
traditions. The triumphs recorded by the
pioneers of the Jewish state are not only in
the military sphere of self-defense but also

in the pursuance of aims to establish high
standards in an extensive educational sys-
tem, to contribute toward the scientific re-
search for the improvement of man's well-
being and in assuring highest modes of liv-
ing for hundreds of thousands who had not
known freedom until they came to Israel.
In the process, there are difficulties.
Russian Jews with differing habits and ways
of life must be integrated into a society that
is more than 55 per cent Oriental. The latter
come from uneducated and impoverished
backgrounds, with large families, and they
must be given opportunities to remove the
obstacles that go with sub-standard experi-
ences.
There is the problem of housing and of
providing secondary education opportunities
for the less affluent. There is no unemploy-
ment, yet there exists the problem of creat-
ing the proper jobs for the properly fitted.
Meanwhile, there remains the issue in-
volving the Arab enemy states and Israel's
Moslem citizens. The war-threatening neigh-
bors are the constant danger and the inter-
nal problem involving the Arab citizens also
will not be fully solved until there is peace
between the cousin-peoples.
The eyes of the entire Jewish people are
on Israel, and the hearts of all Jews' are
attuned to the glory of a creative relation-
ship among Jews everywhere. It is no won-
der that tourism has become one of the four
leading Israeli industries. It is no wonder
that hotel rooms and space on planes are
at a premium for those desiring to visit Is-
rael. Neither is it any wonder that tens of
thousands of permanent settlers are expected
in Israel again this year.
It is the link between Israel and world
Jewry that is vital to a continuous and unin-
terrupted partnership in providing the great-
est measure of security for the embattled
yet progressively developing Jewish state.
The international relationships, especially the
United Nations role in the Middle East, are
far from happy. But the American-Israel
friendship continues to be heartening.
American Jewry's loyalties and the Amer-
ican friendship are perpetuated alignments
with Israel that serve major purposes as
leading contributing factors toward Israel's
security. To that end we seek re-dedication on
the eve of Israel's 24th anniversary which is
such a vital landmark for the entire Jewish
people.

Christiandsrae I Friendships

Animosity toward Israel expressed in a
few Christian pulpits is justified cause .i'or
concern. The seriousness and sincerity with
which Israel tackles religious problems with
a determination to guarantee 'freedom of ob-
servance for all should have encouraged the
friendliest attitudes among non-Jews every-
where in relations with Israel.
Also—while there . are political consid-
erations which stand in the path of total
cooperation between Israelis and Arabs with-
in Israel, the economic advantages to Arabs,
their benefits from higher standards of em-
ployment under Israeli administration, the
fact that Arabs from any land may visit Is-
rael without restrictions—these are beneficial
developments that should induce amity rather
than incitement to hatred.
Christian leaders in Israel have expressed
satisfaction with the treatment the governing
administration accords all faiths.
A typical message of good will from Chris-
tians is contained in the salute to Israel by

the Christian Bible Students Association in
its magazine Harvest Messenger which, under
the title "The Time to Favor Zion Is Come,"
states on the occasion of Israel's anniversary:
"The preservation of the people of Israel
confirms the inspiration of. the Scriptures.
Only in the Law and the Prophets do we have
a logical explanation of Israel's unique experi-
ence. There unfolds the prophetic panorama
of Israel's birth, growth, decline, fall, exile,
return and ultimate role in the Divine Plan
of the Ages."
In this message Christian adherents to
the prophetic teachings apply them to Is-
rael's current role as a national entity.
In the Western countries, in spite of some
antagonisms, there is, in the main, an atti-
tude of admiration . for Israel. The hope of
Jewish communities everywhere is that the
Christian-Israeli. like the Christian-Jewish,
friendships will be strengthened. This is one
of the aspirations on Israel's 24th anniversary.

Middle East Political Dictionary
Fills Researchers' Basic Needs

llistorians, students of the Middle East, and all who are interested in
events involving Israel and the Arab states, as well as the United
Nations' role in the situation developing in that part of the world, will
find themselves blessed with a most valuable encyclopedic work on
all these subjects.
"Political Dictionary of the Middle East in the 20th Century" is
a most welcome book. Printed by Jerusalem Publishing House for
distribution by the New York Times Library and Information Services
Division, this 435-page book (each page has two parallel columns)
covers the field that is so crucial in world political affairs.
Produced under the co-editorship of two authoritative writers.
Yaacov Shimoni and Evyatar A. Levine, this dictionary includes every
conceivable item related to Zionism, Arabism, the United Nations, the
emergence of Israel, the wars and the personalities who played impor-
tant roles in the nationalistic experiences of the Middle East.
• The subjects go far enough back to relate to what is happening
today. Herzl, Jabotinsky, Weizmann, Ben-Gurion and other Jewish
leaders are as prominent here as Habash, Heykhal, Hussein, Nasser,
Sad at.
So that there should be available data regarding the backgrounds
of the conflicting movements, the authors have described the revived
interest in Hebrew which has become a living and spoken language in
Israel, and they have gone deeply into matters involving the Muslim
faith.
For those doing research on the Middle East. this book becomes
a must; and readers of daily news reports and those listening to radio
and televisions broadcasts will find this a handy guide when seeking
acquaintance with developing Middle East situations.
The 760 entries in this dictionary are the compilation of experi-
enced researchers. Yaacov Shimoni has served in the political depart-
ment of the Jewish Agency and Israel's foreign service, and is the
author of important books and essays. Evyatar A. Levine studied and
taught in Israel's universities, is a leading member of Israel's Lawyers'
Association and is a military judge in Israel's defense forces.

Novel Deals With Era of Akiba,
Bar Kokhba, War With Romans

Ancient Jewish characters pass in review in "Son of a Star" by
Andrew Meisels. The book has just been issued as a Pyramid paper-
back. Originally published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, this is a novel
about Bar Kokhba. It is described as "a passionate novel of love and
war in ancient Israel." On that score it is certainly fantasy, but the
novelist has fused into his story many of the ancient historic facts.
thereby making it a good historical novel.
Bar Kokhba is not the only hero of the story. Rabbi Akiba is a
major personality. His stoicism, his feearless devotion to faith, his
refusal to abandon his Jewish loyalties, made him one of the leading
antagonists of the Romans. •
Thus, the Prelude, which gives sc-ne basic historical facts; the
Epilogue and the Afterword lend special significance to this well writ-
ten story.
It is in the Epilogue where Meisels describes the last day of Rabbi
Akiba, the Roman slaughte7 of Jews and the impression given then
that Jewry was dead, that Jews had been exterminated.
But the Afterword is the expression of pride by the author in
new developments, as discovered in the Bar Kokhba relics unearthed
by Yigael Yadin at Ein-Gedi. The Afterword is a paean of joy over
the survival of Jewry, while the Romans of olden times had vanished.
Linking facts with fiction, giving accounts of actual occurrences as
corroborated in history, the Meisels novel emerges as a powerful
story. He has turned it into a "novel of love" and it is, of course,
as the story of Bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiba actually was, primarily
a novel of war.

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