THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

10—Friday, June 9, 1972

American Veterans of Israel Recall
Role in 191-849 Wa r of Independence

By BEN G. FRANK
(Copyright 1972, JTA, Inc.)

Just off the main Tel Aviv-Jaffa
mad there is a relatively small
forest at whose center is a five-
foot stone plaque with a simple
heading and inscription:

"American Veterans of Israel
Forest in Memory of Volunteers
from the United States of America
and Canada who gave their lives
in Israel's War of Independence.
1949 1949 " •
The plaque lists the names of
some 60 Americans and Canadians
who died for the Jewish homeland.
But there is more to be said
about the Americans and Cana-
chans of nearly 25 years ago who
picked themselves up from a com-
fortable America and went to the
then Palestine to fight for a Jewish
State
We know some of the names:
Col Daiiti Mickey" Marcus
'about wh,m Hollywood has made
a film, the American. William
Bernstein, second mate, who was
killed by British sailors on July
18, 1947, when they boarded the
famous Ilagana ship "Exodus." off
Gaza

There are the ones who are
living today: Eli Kalm, "the
srilor from the Bronx." who also
was on the Exodus; Sidney
Rabinovich of Forest Hills, N.Y..
whose unit fought in the Jeru-
salem corridor and the Negev;
the American' marine who sin-
glehanded held a hill in the
Jerusalem corridor from the
Arabs: pilots who flew in the
Army; Navy men who rescued
the so-called "illegal immi-
grants" in what was known as
"Aliya Bet:" and the boys—now
in their late 40s—who still have
steel plates in their heads; who
lost an eye or leg or arm.

The stories of the bravery of
these boys—how they stopped tanks
and held the Arabs at bay—al-
ready have been told in several
books.
Sid Rabinovich put it this way:
''It was after World War II and
we started hearing about what
happened to the Jews in Europe.
With the trouble in Palestine in
1947, we thought it would happen
again to Jews . Somebody had
to do something."
About 1,500 Americans and Cana-
dians were on the illegal shins and

'European Council
l()Ks 5-Year Budget
t-

NEW YORK—Adoption of a five-
. year operating budget by the Euro-
pean Council of Jewish Community
fought in what was known as Ma- Services is another indication of
hal--a Hebrew word whose letters the growing strength and maturity
stand for volunteers from outside of the rebuilt Jewish communities
of Israel.
of Europe, Samuel L. Haber, execu-
tive vice chairman of the Joint
Today, these veterans have re-
Distribution Committee. said on
vived their organization. They
call it the "American Veterans
his return from a tour of JDC
of Israel" and they want the
operations in Europe and Israel.
American Jewish community and
Ile noted that the increased bud- ,
the Israelis to know- that in Is-
get will be used by the council to
rael's hour of nerd there were
stimulate action by its member
men who answered the call.
communities in training personnel

Eli Kalm of New- Y...< was one
of them. In Ruth Grutier's "Desti-
nation Palestine, The Story of the
fiagana Ship. Exodus, 1947," you
will find that one afternoon that
year walking down Marseilles' main
street was Eli Kahn, "the sailor
from the Bronx," who began tell-
ing the author about the historic
refugee ship.
The people and the sailors then.
of course, were not permitted by
the British to enter Palestine.
But today, Kalrn, who was
chief steward aboard the Exodus,
never forgets that epic ship which
broke the back of British policy
in Palestine, or his former buddies
on the "Mayflower of Israel," as
he likes to call it.
Nearly every summer he visits
the grave of the American Wil-
liam Bernstein, second mate. who
was killed by the British on the
Exodus.
In 1947. Kahn, then 26, noted
that the "passengers - on the ship
were "Bible people, stubborn and
stiff-necked. -
Kahn's story is Just the story of
one of these veterans who fought
in 1947 and 1948. It's difficult to
assess the military contributions of
these volunteers 25 .i.ears later.
Mickey Marcus helped put an Is-
raeli army into the field. There
were the individual aats of bravery
of AVI soldiers.

and des eloping programs to appeal
to young people and uncommitted
Jews as well as strengthening Jew- '
ish organizational life.

The decision was taken at the
council's semi - annual meeting,
which was held in Berlin, the first
international Jewish conference to
take place in Germany since 1945,
Haber said. The council, which con-
sists of representatives of the or-
ganized communities of 18 Euro-
pean countries including two in
Eastern Europe. n- as originally
formed at the initiative of the Joint
Distribution Committee in 1960. At
that time it was called the Stand-
ing Conference of European Jewish
Community Services.

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increased its activities. They hold
reunions. They march in the an-
nual Salute to Israel Parade up
Fifth Avenue in New York and
they are concerned about the Is-
rael they fought for so bravely.

It is the "living" Israel
.. -I the "real" Israel
. . .' the Israel possessed
with the courage to
carve a garden from the
desert . . . with the
compassion to make a
home for the homeless
... with the
determination to set
up a democracy for the
oppressed. It is the
Israel of hope, of pride,
of dedication. It
is the Israel you
will see on the —

JNF MISSION TO ISRAEL
and TOUR of COPENHAGEN

JERUSALEM (JTA i — Israel
began taking its first national cen
in 11 years and the first co
liens counted were }'resident Zal
man Shazar and Premier Golda
Men- The head count is ill take 10
days and will cover only Israeli
ten- itory within the boundaries that
existed before the Jima; 1907 Six
Day War.
The current census is being taken
for statistic al and planning pur
poses and include. hou,ng But
several thousand ultra Orthodox
Israelis led by zealots of the Na-
turei Karta sect. lefty, to he
counted and spread poster.; all over
Jerusalem today urging other - God
fearing Jews to do the sante
Accoitheg to a spokesman for the
sec t which does not rcc i2.111/1' tire
smereigntv -leis is)] state a
poputiti Iii ,111!1 .
Mess J.-
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But in one aspect, the Ameri•
can help could have been cru-
cial. One AVI member said it
"is doubtful that without over-
seas volunteers, the Israelis
would have been able in the
first months of the war to fly
the bombers and heavy transport
planes that helped bring in the
vital supplies that were needed
to throw back the Arabs."
In the last few- years. AVI has

•

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THERE'S AN ISRAEL THE
TOURIST NEVER SEES

Naturei Karta Says: Count
Us Out of Israel Census

HUNDREDS
OF NEW
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FROM

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