Purely Commentary

Rabbis and Mixed Marriages: Dilemma or Fright?

Mixed Marriages . .
and Rabbinic Duties
. . 'Portnoy' Problem

B y Philip
vomovitz

Roth's 'Portnoy': Huge Joke or Grave Insult?

Reform rabbis were consistent until a very few years ago in adher-
In his review of Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint," the movie
ing to a policy of opposing participation in ceremonies of mixed mar- based on the sensational "Jewish" novel, Vincent Canby wrote in
riages, unless, of course, the non-Jewish partner in the marriage the New York Times that it is "really a Jewish joke but a distressingly
adopted the Jewish faith. Conditions have changed. Now it is reported poor one." He describes Alex (Alexander Portnoy): "He can love
that at least 41 per cent of the Reform rabbis freely participate in only shikses, yet he is incapable of marrying one because — well,
performing such marriages, and the Central Conference of American shikses aren't Jewish girls. lie becomes impotent."
Rabbis, at its meeting last week, postponed decision on policies to be
Then, about the director of the movie, Ernest Lehman, Canby
adopted on the question of intermarriage, pending additional study wrote:
of conditions.
Because the images are either so prim (you've never seen an R
Even if it were a mere 1 per cent of rabbis performing mixed
film with so little nudity) or so perfume-ad pretty, the language that
marriages they would be creating a problem for Jewry and would
pours out of the soundtrack does, indeed, sound as dirty as sonic
be placing themselves on the defensive.
misguided critics said the novel was.
In previous years, there might have been no question as to the
It sounds dirty because Lehman, a writer making his first
action to be taken. It would have been firm—with an adherence to
directorial effort, seems to have absolutely no sense of humor, or,
an established Jewish tradition of rejecting approval of intermarriages.
at least, no sense of how humor is communicated by film.
Does the current CCAR action denote a dilemma, or does it indicate
(Reviewing "Portnoy" for the Free Press, Susan Stark com-
fright on the part of rabbis? Do they fear reactions from their congre-
mented: "One need not be Jewish to hate 'Portnoy's Complaint.
gants—because there has been such a marked increase in mixed mar-
One need merely be human").
riages and parents have begun to insist on rabbinic participation—or
Does Roth embarrass Jews with his novel and now wiith his movie?
do they really believe that some Jewish souls can be saved by the
Or, should we judge it as part of the trend in "Jewish" literary ranks
signalizing of endorsement of deviations from strict Jewish regulations
to desex us or to oversex us?
by rabbis'
Simultaneous with the release of the Roth-Portnoy movie we
The seriousness of the situation, the earnestness of the issues in-
were treated to an interesting comment by a very eminent Christian.
volved. are undeniable. Not to be denied also is the fact that concessions
Richard Crossman, member of the British Parliament, the non-
on the question of mixed marriage must lead to harm to the Jewish
position with a mounting danger of losses of many of our youth and a Jewish parliamentarian who befriended Chaim Weizmann, visited
Israel
numerous times, had been our guest here for the Weizmann
reduction of our ranks. There is little hope for retention of Jewish
loyalties from offspring of intermarriage, and only a handful of con- Institute of Science, in his "Personal View" column in the London
Times (June 14), wrote:
verts prov:d.• a gain for Jewry.
When we go away I always
Perhaps it is to the credit of the Reform rabbis that they did not
leave it to my wife to select my
yield to pressure to give outright endorsement to approval of a rabbinic
others find it even more exciting
paperback reading and It was
role in mixed marriages. But the brewing trouble is in evidence with
to imagine her beauty being vio-
not until I reached Corfu this
such a large percentage of rabbis yielding to the love theory that
lated by a leering Jew. Looking
year
that
I
realized
my
holiday
condones abandonment of one of the very basic principles in Judaism.
at Her Stuermer I realized for
task
included
'Portnoy's
Com-
arria
ge
er\h
attitude by a humanist
the first time what Chaim Weiz-
It was not so long ago when a pro-interm
plaint.' From what I had heard
rabbi was shouted down vigorously. Now a andful of such humanists
mann was later to expound to
I concluded that it was high-
.se to be exerting greater influences upo their confreres than do
me at length, that every gentile
class porno and the rave re-
the traditions they have been taught. There is no ing anti- or un-Jewish
is infected by the anti-Semitic
marks of the critics reprinted
about humanism, but when it yields to scrapping of Jewish values and
bacillus and that it can be acti-
inside the dust cover confirmed
traditions such as the ban on mixed marriages, it earns the rejection
vated by this particular asso-
this suspicion. As I read it,
of Jewry.
ciation of ideas. I suppose there
however.
I
became
aware
of
an-
Now there is also talk about Conservative and Reform Judaism
were a few anti-Semitic Jews in
other strain which took me
coming closer together, with some yielding from each. Dr. David
Berlin who read Streicher for a
straight back to the summer I
Poll..h, one of the very able Reform rabbis, propagates such a move-
good laugh. But in my wildest
spent in Berlin in 1930. Berlin
ment and hopes for its attainment. Endorsement of rabbis' participa-
dreams it never Occ
urred to me
at that time was a pretty per-
tion in mixed marriage ceremonies may put the kibosh on any attempt
that in the 1970s an American
missive
society
but
there
was
Jew
would
concoct
a book on
at such a merger.
one kind of porno which was re-
Playing with words or principles would be intolerable in tackl-
precisely the same formula as
garded
as
unreadable
outside
ing the mixed marriage issue. Mass endorsement of rabbis' priv-
Julius Streicher and receive the
the Nazi party, That of course
ileges to officiate at intermarriages and insistance by rabbis on
ecstatic acclaim of so many lit-
was Her Stuermer, the weekly
:iuch rights must be judged as spelling suicide for Jewry, and
erary critics, including Jewish
organ of Julius Streicher, Hit-
critics.
we are not submitting to self-imposed genocide.
ler's
chief
Jew
baiter
was
a
When I put this to a Polish
We are not worried about losses to Jewry from mixed marriages.
brilliant and corrosive propagan•
Jew of my acquaintance he
After all, throughout history it has been the shearit Israel—the rem-
dist who relied for his success
smiled sadly. "I learnt the dan-
nant of Israel—that assured survival. But there is concern about the
on one psychological trick. He
ger in Warsaw," he said, "and
dignity inherent in rabbinism. If rabbis persist in approving practices
sugared the pill of anti-Semitism
so I agree with you. The trouble
that so definitely lead to disintegration in our ranks, how much confi-
with a thick layer of sexual per-
about American Jews is that
dence and respect could possibly be engendered for those ordained to
version. If some people find it
most of - them would rather face
spiritual
leaders?
be
exciting to imagine themselves
the gas chamber than be ac-
in the arms of a beautiful blonde
The Roosevelt Record of Misjudging Jewish Needs
cused of lacking a sense of
Franklin D. Roosevelt's record keeps emphasizing the poor judg-
humor."
ment the great ,_President had when he dealt with matters relating
Some of us detected the joke when we read the novel: (Why read
to the Jews.
the novel, many had asked). But the joke is mounting into a huge
Ile had issued flowery statements about Zionism and did nothing roar of laughter. Is it at our expense or will it be at Roth's? But
to implement them. In fact, he gave comfort to the enemies of Israel
Roth reputedly made a million from his porno at Jewish expense?
when he met with Ihn Saud.
SoL--as we study the Jewish writer (he is no different in England
lie could have been more helpful in providing rescue for the than he is in America), we wonder what has happened to the Talmud
sufferers from Nazism.
Torah training so many of them received. Is it a revolt against their
Additionally amazing is the revelation about his lack of compre- early background? Now we need another revolt against a new Estab-
hension of the position of Polish Jewry. How could he possibly have lishment—the one that created the joke that berates the rebels who
overlooked the tragic fact that Poland was anti-Semitic and that there
call for new revols to mark a return to the dignity that makes for
was no hope for Jews in that land, in spite of many demonstrations proper Establishment.
of loyalty by Polish'Jews to the Polish people and government?
In the correspondence with Winston Churchill, just made public,
FDR's attitude is revealed in the following:
"The President asked His Majesty (Ibn Saud) for his advice re-
garding the problem of Jewish refugees driven frOm their homes in
of having been separated for
JERUSALEM—The Israeli pop-
Europe. His Majesty replied that in his opinion the Jews should return
elation is undergoing more and many generations.
the
lands
from
which
they
were
driven.
to live in
more inter-ethnic marriages and
Familial Mediterranean fever
"The President remarked that Poland might be considered a case
will, in the near future, be a popu- ilFMF) has been thoroughly
in point. The Germans appear to have killed 3.000,000 Polish Jews,
lation in which the ethnic origins studied in Israel and found among
by which count there should he space in Poland for the settlement of of individuals will be difficult to Jews originating from Mediter-
many homeless Jews."
assess.
ranean countries. The frequency
When FOR met with King Saud of Saudi Arabia on the U.S. gun-
It is important, therefore, to of the disease among them is
boat the Quincy, Feb. 14, 1945, he reported having learned more from
population about one in 2,300. Among these
examine the Israel
Saud in five minutes about the Middle East than he had in all his groups while their origin can still communities the highest frequen-
be ascertained, in order to un- cy was among Jews from Libya.
experiences with Zionists.
derstand the genetic structure of
lie was a great President in treating domestic matters. He gets
Among Moroccan Jews a gene
due blame now for blunders on the international scene. In relation
a knowledge
the population,
has been found which causes a
to the Jews who danced to every one of his tunes, he was a great
which will be of great value for
deficiency of an enzyme resulting
clinical and research purposes in
sinner
in glycogen storage disease. The
Perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt has consistently been atoning for
the future.
frequency of this gene has been
her husband Franklin Delano. She had begun with a prejudice
Dr. Tirza Cohen, of the depart-
found to be one in 5,000.
ment of genetics at the Hadassah-
against Jews that vanished quickly, and for three deTades she
Among Ashkenazi Jews various
Hebrew University Medical Cent-
was a staunch friend and defender of Israel.
analyzed the hereditary diseases are observed.
er, recently
has
Joseph P. Lash's books about her pros ide the details of the
The
best known is Tay-Sachs dis-
genetic
markers
which
are
to
be
Eleanor Roosevelt role in behalf of Jewish causes and Israel, as well
found in the different ethnic ease, which causes death at an
as her r-, action: to the ant: Zenist positron that was taken during
age .
early
emergence into state-
groups in Israel.

Smolar Award
Deadline Set
for July 31

NEW YORK — The deadline for
submission of nominations in this
year's inaugural Smolar Award
for Excellence in American Jewish
Journalism will be July 31. it was
announced by Jerold C. Hoffberger
of Baltimore, chairman of the
award committee. The 1972 awards
will cover material published since
June 1, 1971.
The award, established earlier
this year by the Council of Jewish
Federations and Welfare Funds in
honor of Boris Smolar, editor-in-
chief emeritus of the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency and a distinguished
author and columnist, will be pre-
sented annually in the fall at the
time of the CJF general assembly.
This year's award presentation
will take place at the 41st general
assembly in Toronto, Nov. 8-12.
Application forms, which detail
rules governing the award, have
been distributed to American Jew-
ish newspapers and to interested
individuals and offices of local
Jewish communal agencies. They
can be obtained as well by writing
to the Smolar Award, Council of
Jewish Federations and Welfare
Funds, 315 Park Avenue S., New
York 10010.
The award is in two categories:
a $500 prize awarded to a jour-
nalist for distinguished reporting
of Jewish communal affairs or
issues of an English language
newspaper primarily covering
news of interest to the North
American Jewish community; a
citation to a newspaper for over-
all excellence in the reportage and
coverage of Jewish communal af-
fairs and issues.
Award winners will be selected
by the Smolar Award Committee
under the chairmanship of Hoff-
berger.
Nominations can be made by the
weekly, bi-weekly or monthly ,
newspapers eligible for the award;
by journalists of the American
Jewish or general press; by read-
ers; or by any interested organiza-
tion or individual including the
nominee himself.

More Nazi Victims
to Get Compensation

TEL AVIV (JTA)—West Ger-
man Ambassador Jesco Von Putt-
kamer said that his government
would pay compensation to Nazi
victims who arrived in Israel af-
ter 1965 and were therefore ineli-
gible to share in the reparations
paid to Israel under the 1952
agreement which expired before
their arrival.

Genetics of Israel's Population Under Study

the crucial Nears 1947 48. on the' use of Israel's
hood. 1.a-11's story shows how Mrs It ooseselt defended the right of
Jews from this ootintrn to assisit in Israel's strughle for imlepenclenee.
It tells of her defense of the partitionine of Palestthe so that the
Jewish st :te co:11,1 lee' est:06,14,i WIlat 1-'1 , 1t tale,1 to do. Flea•,

helped attain

2 — Friday, June 30, 1972

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

The Karaites are an example
of immigrants from two dif-
ferent countries (Egypt and
Iraq) w ith common ancestors)
many centuries ago, who show
similar gene frequencies with
regard to blood groups in spite

A marker gene recently has
been observed in Jerusalem
among
newborn offspring
of
groups
who have
originated
from
Middle a n d Eastern
Europe. This marker gene is an
abnormal hemoglobin and has

been observed in about one per
300 Ashkenazi newborns, but It
is not associated with disease.

Other diseases are caused by

genes which are rare in most pop-

ulations but attain a very high
frequency in some ethnic groups.

Dr. Cohen's investigations, to-
gether with similar surveys by
the late Prof. Elizabeth Gold-
schmidt, showed that inter-ethnic
marriage is on the increase in
Israel and that members of the
Israel population are intermarry-
ing more and more. It may be
that in a few decades some com-
munities will have disappeared as
a result of this. What will be the
-genetic structure of the Israel
population? How will all the mark-
er genes of the once isolated pop-
ulation influence the genetic
structure of future populations?

The rare genes, like those caus-
ing Familial Mediterranean Fever,
or Tay-Sachs will be diluted in
the much larger population. and
will result in such diseases us
these becoming very- rare

