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 Jewish New. Publishing Co, 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48076. Second•Class Postage Paid at SootInfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription 86 • year. Foreign W PHILIP SLOMOVITZ &haw and Publids., CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ CHARLOTTE DUBIN City ■ usiness Manager 'Otter DREW LIERERWITZ Advertising Manager 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.