Incorporating

THE JEWISH NEWS

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 by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075.
Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $8 a year. Foreign 19

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

S.ditor and Publisher

CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ

Business Manager

CHARLOTTE DUBIN

City Editor

DREW LIEBERWITZ

Advertising Manager

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 13th day of Adar II, 5733, the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Levit. 1:1-5:26, Deut. 25:17-19. Prophetical portion, I
Samuel 15:1-34.

Purim Scriptural Selections, Sunday
Pentateuchal portion, Exod. 17:8-16, in the morning.
Candle lighting, Friday, March 16, 6:21 p.m.

VOL. LXIII. No.

1

Page Four

March 16, 1973

Israel at 25: History Vindicated

A special section in this issue dedicated from whose ranks emanated an unintentional
to Israel's 25th anniversary offers a review error that turned into a horrible commitment
of the state's accomplishments and of world in the anxiety for self-defense.
Jewry's role in its redemption. There are
An unbreakable partnership has been
many other factors that are inseparable from created between Israel and the Jewish peo-
Israel's rebirth 25 years ago.
ple. That relationship calls for criticism of
The Jewish people's role as an historic Israel's acts and when they are inexcusable.
factor is vital in marking this important an- But it also calls for firmness in a position of
niversary. We were a persecuted, a struggling support for the embattled state, especially in
people. But we never abandoned the hope a time of suffering and calamity. The Sinai
for Zion's redemption. We were nourished by incident was that sort of calamity during
the teachings of our prophets and we believed which our kinsmen were• not to be abandoned.
in their auguries. We were confident that Zion The 25th anniversary is a time to take
shall be redeemed with justice. We had faith such occurrences into consideration. Not all
in the hope that sustained our people during that Israel does is holy, but if there are to
the most tragic years in our history. There- be corrections of blunders and if the road
fore, survival was a normal pattern for the in state building is always to be honorable it
People Israel. can be accomplished through loyalties to the
There were the antagonists who believed basic ideals that guide the people under stress
we were doomed to be the homeless, the dis- in the struggle for life and progress.
inherited. There was a bias that created The
That is why, when we observe an anniver-
Wandering Jew. But the wanderer clung to sary as important as the present, we must
Torah, he held fast to an historic heritage. sharpen the weapons for survival—and the
It gave him strength to defy the obstacles that chief weapon in our partnership for Israel is
were placed in his path wherever he went. the United Jewish Appeal—in our own corn-
That strength brought him back to his ances- munity the Allied Jewish Campaign. It is the
tral land.
Israel Bond drive and it is the Zionist move-
Even the redemption was not easy. In the ment and its idealistic libertarian aim that
25-year history there were already three wars, must play ther roles. They are causes to be
and now this ancient people, redeemed in its honored while rejoicing in a holiday spirit.
devastated homeland that Jewry again is There are, of course, other factors. There
transforming into a land of milk and honey, are the relationships with the non-Jewish
is striving for peace, is laboring to the end world. There is the neighborliness with Chris-
that there should be no more wars. tians. There is the dire need for an accord
Even in peace there is struggle. In the with the Arabs. These play their roles in an
anxiety to prevent calamities there are re- event as historic as the present.
petitive calamities. There was one in the Sinai
The 25th anniversary of Israel is a vin-
Desert only weeks ago. Out of the necessity dication of history—a fulfillment of prophecy,
to protect what has been established, to de- a realization of a people's historic will to live.
fend the people who have returned to their In these respects, the 25th anniversary of
homeland, to provide security for Israel and Israel marks one of the most impressive oc-
Israelis, many people lost their lives. It was casions on the calendar of the Jewish people.
a time for mourning. It was a tragedy for In such a spirit we look to the historic day
world Jewry that death should have struck —the 5th of Iyar—as an occasion to salute
so many innocent people, that weapons wield- Israel in a spirit of faith in its continuity as
ed by Israelis should have caused so much an indelible fact among the nations of the
harm. This presented a challenge to our peo- world. In that spirit we mark the date of this
ple: to weep for the dead, to mourn over a anniversary as history-recording for the
tragic error, yet not to abandon the people Jewish people and for mankind.

Punm—Festwal of Joy and Remembrance

Purim, to be observed on Sunday, finds its toric identifications. As lessons for our peo-
significance in the ninth chapter of the Book ple Purim retains a traditional historicity.
of Esther. We read in Megilat Esther:
Thus, in the literature that has accumu-
" . . . And Mordecai wrote these things, and
lated about Purim through the ages, there is
sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the
emphasis on the significance of a festival,
provinces of the King Ahasuerus, both near and listed as minor, nevertheless glorified as an
far, to enjoin them that they should keep the
inspiring event on the Jewish calendar. Here
fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the
are examples of the emphasis given Purim
fifteenth day of the same, yearly, as the day
in midrashic sources:
wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies,

and the month which was turned unto them from
sorrow to gladness, and from mourning to a holi-
day: that they should make them days of feast-
ing and gladness, and of sending portions to one
another, and gifts to the poor . . . Therefore .. .
the Jews ordained and took upon them and upon
their seed . . . that these days should be remem-
bered and kept throughout every generation,
every family, every province and every city; and
these days of Purim should not fail from among
the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from
their seed.

Should all others festivals cease to be ob-
served, the days of Purim will never be annulled.
—(Midrash on Proverbs).
The Book of Esther was composed under the
inspiration of the holy spirit.—(Megila).
In the time to come all the other parts of the
Prophets and the Writings will lose their worth
and only the Torah of Moses and the Book of
Esther will retain their value. — (Jerusalem
• Megila).

Purim carries its joyful message to the
Jewries of the world. It has the historic les-
son for those who seek our destruction and
Even if the story is mere legend, as it always end up being themselves destroyed.
may well be, Purim nevertheless is perpetu- We are on the eve of the festival whose
ated in our history, and its lesson is vital. significance is retained for all ages. The el-
There are the admonitions of the dangers of ders as well as the youth may well glory in
anti-Semitism and the emerging lesson of the the courage it always instills in our people.
survivalim of Jewry; there is the matter in- Thus, the minor holiday we await again pro-
volving the remembrance of obligations to his- vides occasion for joy for Jews everywhere.

73
-cm
Arthur Ruppin's Zionist Role
Told in Memoirs and Diaries

4

"Arthur Ruppin" is more than a biography. It is an impressive
chapter in American Zionist history.
The volume, 'containing memoirs, diaries and letters of the noted
statistician and Zionist pioneer, published by Herzl Press, provides
exceptionally interesting views on the earliest pioneering efforts in
Palestine, on the Zionist aspirations and on the practical labors that
needed to be fulfilled in. achieving the -goals for eventual statehood,
"Arthur Ruppin: Munoirs, Diaries, Letters," translated from. the
German by Karen Gershon, was edited by Alex Bein, a biographer of
Theodor Herzl.
Dr. Bein's tribute to Ruppin, the pragmatist, the Zionist leader who
advocated practical efforts by the Yishuv, is summarized in his intro-
duction as follows:
"There are people, -colnetimes one personality, who are a symbol
of expression of an entLe era. There is no doubt that Arthur Ruppin
was the man who represented and symbolized the second era in
Zionism, just as Herzl was the creator of and central figure in the
second period, Chaim Weizmann in the third period, and David Ben-
Gurion in the fourth. Ruppin paved the way from a purely political
Zionism, which was for 4- many more declarative than substantive, to a
pragmatic Zionism, in which practical settlement work and political
deeds were only different names and facets of the one enterprise: the
upbuilding of the land and the people. 'There are few of this generation
among us, wrote Zalmacl Shazar in his collection 'Or Ishim' ('Light of
Personalities'), who can say that their life's work was so necessary,
so fruitful and so rich with potential as the blessed life-work of Arthur
Ruppin, German ZionisC pioneer of the last years of tranquility, who
was the architect of the early period of Jewish society in the Land of
Israel.' "
Ruppin's "The Jews of Today," ("Die Juden den Gegenwart") was
was his famous work, published in 1919, that served as the most author-
itative factual collection of data about world Jewry.
His present work, his Memoirs and diaries, his comments on events
and personalities, combine into a veritable historical record of events
that influenced Jewish history.
That he was the very practical man 'becomes apparent in his
criticisms even of Herzi the dreamer.
Especially significant in his newest work is his description of the
early agricultural task' by the Jewish pioneers in Palestine, with
emphasis on the settlements' major needs, such as water, implements,
etc.
Ruppin's relationships with Zionists in America are described -*
his diaries. He found American Zionists "in a good mood," and
response he received vw s favorable, to the degree of having met many
prominent personalities.
It is noteworthy that the Ruppin volume concludes with the text
of an address delivered at the Technion, in 1968, in honor of Ruppin's
memory, by Moshe Dayaa, who spoke of him as "a humanist by nature,
a man of conscience, and when he encountered the 'Arab question,' he
wanted to be persuaded that Zionism could be fulfilled without detri-
ment to the Arabs of Paiestine."
On his view of the Arab situation, Dayan quoted a statement by
Ruppin, in 1931, that "What we can get from the Arabs is of no use
to us, and what we need we cannot get from them," to which the
Dayan comment was: "This definition sounds to me very up-to-date,
when I sometimes read that today the Arabs are offering us the 1947
partition plans. And Dayan concluded his speech of tribute by saying:
"Today, too, unfortunately, a year after the war, and despite the
fact that we are standing on the Suez Canal and an the River Jordan,
in Gaza and in Nablus, despite all our efforts — including a willingness
for far-reaching concessions — to bring the Arabs to the peace table,
the things which Ruppin said 32 years ago still seem sound."
The diary concludes in 1942, and the references to what was
happening under Nazi. , ,v.'n are• heartrending.
The autobiographica work, the historic facts incorporated in it,
assure for the Arthur i.uppin volume a significant place in Zionist
history.

•