THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
THE SOURCE
Member American Association of English.Jewish Newspaper., Michigan Press Assoct•tion, National Editorial Assoc'
lion. Published every Friday by
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Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 18th day of Tevet, 5733, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Gen. 97:28-50:26. Prophetical portion, I Kings 2:1.12.
Candle lighting, Friday, Dec. 22, 4:45 p.m.
VOL. LXII, Ns. 15
Page Four
December 22. 1972
Anticipating Peace in Midst of Trouble
Israel is compelled to defy the United ing it published after the election—when it
Nations when there is a gangup of enemies was made public—our chief executive stated:
who fail to take into account the aim to de-
"The Middle East will have a very high
stroy the Jewish state. What the enemies of
priority because while the Mid East has
Israel and of Jewry fail to take seriously is
been, over the past couple of years, in a
the refusal of Jews to commit suicide. Any
period of uneasy truce or armistice, or
yielding to present demands from those who
whatever you want to call it, it can ex-
would introduce a new Genocide could mean
plode at any time."
exactly that: submission to a suggestion for
national suicide. Since suicide for Israel
True: the armistice can end momentarily,
would Jewish
be the people,
most cruel
setback
for the
entire
we must
support
Is- the temporary peace can explode, except for
close
with Jordan there can
rael's stand in the UN, with a pledge to give Israel's
be trouble
on relations
all fronts.
it all the moral backing at our command.
How will our government act then? Will
There enters into the issue the serious
the Golda Meir-Richard Nixon friendship
question of the position the United States is
overcome obstacles? Will the dangers be
placed in and what Israel is to expect in the
averted by a firm U. S. stand?
future. American aid remains vital to Israel's
continued progress and perhaps to the state's
There is much talk about a Nobel Peace
very survival. We have assurances that the
Prize for Richard M. Nixon. It is in the cards
friendship between Israel and this country
—but it depends more on a peace in the
will not be curtailed under -any circumstances.
Middle East than even in Vietnam. The
American Jews must encourage it, and our - Vietnamese struggles are ending, the Mid
non-Jewish friends owe it to the historical
East battles may begin anew. There is a
relationships involving prophecy not to aban-
Rogers Plan, and Secretary of State William
don Israel to the wolves at her door.
Rogers remains in a pivotal position to deal
There is, at the same time, the diplomatic
with the issue. But the chief negotiators may
approach which involves President Nixon, the
prove to be President Nixon and Henry Kis-
State Department and others in our govern.
singer. Perhaps these two men can actually
ment. In the interview President Nixon gave
bring peace in that embattled area: no one
the Washington Star-Naws on the eve of the
will then begrudge them if they share the
November election, with the intention of hav-
Nobel Peace Prize.
Mental Retardates and the Social Responsibilities
An increased interest in one of the most
serious social problems—that of mental re-
tardation and the obligation to confront it
with the utmost earnestness, became addi-
tionally evident at the University of Michi-
gan recently.
More than 70 clergymen gathered on the
university campus under the sponsorship of
a committee of Michigan clergymen and the
U-M Institute for the Study of Mental Re-
tardation and Related Disability—ISMRRD-
and the questions the churchmen were to
find answers for dealt with religious educa-
atn, family relations, parent counseling and
"the church as advocate for the retarded, the
church and community relations on behalf of
the retarded and their families."
Surely, if synagogues had applied for
participation in such discussions they would
Toynbee's 'Humanism'
Prof. Arnold Toynbee's views on Jews
and Israel are well known. He deplores Is-
rael's very existence and he has called us
"fossils." tie has just repeated his cliches.
called Israel's existence "a mistake" and
there is no secret about his animosity, under
the guise of philosophical historicity. toward
the Jewish people.
lie flaunts his views under the slogan of
"justice to the Arabs," but there is lacking
that sense of justice which would acknowl-
edge historic rights and especially the human
right of a people to their own destiny in the
territory to which they have been bound
from time immemorial. Is it possible that
because this people is the ancient Israel that
he would deny it the freedom and justice
he seeks for others? Ile certainly offers us
a lesson in a peculiar form of humanism that
could be interpreted as Toynbee's dislike for
Jews.
not have been barred. Perhaps the very isola-
tion of such a problem under such important
auspices as the ISMRRD on the U-M campus
rebukes both the sponsors of the discussion
sessions and those who were either elimi-
nated from them or had abstained from them
points to the inadequacies of the discussions.
The fact is that churches and synagogues
have failed to contribute toward a solution
of the serious issue. But it is also a fact not
to be ignored that the retardates are not
the responsibility of churches but of society,
and it is doubtful whether religiosity is an
answer to the problem.
It is true that the family involvement is
very serious, but the over-all issue remains
one to be dealt with by society as a whole, on
a nonsectarian basis, and as one that chal-
lenges every American regardless of polit-
ical party, race or creed.
Establishment of an institute at the Uni-
versity of Michigan — ISMRRD — for the
study of the mental retardation problem is a
most welcome act by a great institution of
learning. But the moment it becomes a
church matter, or the issue is directed toward
religious rather than social considerations,
there may be a setback that will lead to
further delays in securing help for the un-
fortunates who must be helped as human
beings and not as groups belonging to one
religious sect or another.
It is the responsibility of government that
is most vital in this field of social needs
which were neglected to a degree but 'which
are gaining increased interest and concern.
It is through government and the financial
assistance it can provide that solution will
come Prayer and participation in religious
services will be supplementary, but they will
be minor in the long run.
U-M authorities would do well to take
these factors into consideration if ISMRRD
is to enjoy success in its program of action.
Molly Cone's UAHC Booklet
for Children Inspires Loyalty
To the series of very impressive "Shma Storybooks" issued by
the Union of American Hebrew Congregations has been added a very
instructive and entertaining booklet for - children—"About Belonging"
by Molly Cone. Together with the splendid illustrations by Susan Peri,
this well-told series of narratives emerges as poetic inspirations for
the young readers.
Interspersed with words in Hebrew—Israel, Shma, B'reshit, Eretz
Israel, Tzedaka, Shalom uVrakha—the young reader is given a history
lesson which links present with past and defines holidays while creat-
ing celebrations for the events narrated.
"We are the people who promised" is the brief tale with which
the stories begin, and they go through experiences is Jewish history,
proceedings unto such tales as "When we say Israel we remember
that we are Jews," "We are the people who live by Torah" and
"When we say Shma Israel . . . we remember that belonging to the
Jewish people is part of our religion."
The well-illustrated booklet will serve schools and parents well.
Facts About the Middle East
in 'True/False About Israel'
Dr. Jacob A. Rubin, historian who has done much research in
American Zionist history and Middle East problems, provides answers
to numerous problems involving Israel's role in world affairs.
In "True/False About Israel," published by Herz' Press, Dr.
Rubin explodes many libels. He deals with such issues as the Deir
Yassin accusations, proving the falsity of some of the charges
against Irgun.
Are Israelis aggressive and aiming at acquiring more Arab
territory? Dr. Rubin shows the fallacy of such beliefs and of the
Arab propaganda that motivates them.
Many of the accusations that stem from Arab sources, from anti-
Semites, from the oil interests are refuted in this important book.
It is as "An Imperative of International Justice" that Dr. Rubin
outlines the Zionist position. Dealing with Jerusalem, he shows that
Jews have been a majority in the Holy City for generations.
'Trotsky and the Jews' Newest
Volume Published by the JPS
The Jewish Publication Society of America has just published
"Trotsky and the Jews" by Joseph Nedava.
Leon Trotsky, Lenin's partner in the Bolshevik revolution of 1917,
was one of the titans of our times. Despite Stalin's painstaking efforts
to eradicate Trotsky's memory from the annals of Russian and inter-
national communism (his name is still anathema in the Soviet Union),
his stature in world history remains unimpaired.
Trotsky was a prolific writer, and much also has been written about
his life and ideas by others, friend and foe. Yet one vital aspect, bear-
ing upon his entire personality and career which may greatly elucidate
his revolutionary zeal as well as his ultimate downfall, has only been
touched upon—namely, the Jewish aspect.
The present book, based on documents and on as-yet-unpublished
material, aims at filling this gap. Trotsky considers himself an all-out
internationalist and shunned the Jewish problem as much as he could.
But the inexorable course of events finally caught up with him; Hiller's
rise to power in particular drove him, at the end of life, to change his
stance somewhat, and even to beat a certain ideological retreat.
Trotsky's life and career are here reviewed against his Jewish
background, and his persistent fight against pogroms and other anti-
Semitic manifestations in Russia is examined in the light of his own
writings. As he was unwilling to admit to being the epitome of Jewish
participation in the Russian revolutionary movement, he often experi-
enced inner conflicts, clearly indicating his ambivalence at crucial
moments of his career. l'he extent to which anti-Semitism was involved
in his struggle for power with Stalin is discussed, as well as Trotsky's
attitude toward the Birobidzhan project and toward Zionism.