Exodus Veteran Remembers and cans of Spam, the unused contribution of a generous donor who was unaware of the dietary requirements of a shipload of Jews. The passengers and most of the crew (Ike and a few others successfully hid in se- cret tunnels of the ship) were taken aboard three British prison ships, once used to hold Nazi prisoners of war. Instead of the usual destin- ation, Cyprus, they were taken back to France, and there they remained, refus- ing to disembark. All along the shore, Weinsaft recalls, sympathetic French mounted Stars of David atop burning telephone poles, and planes overhead dropped flowers aboard the ship. There was a general work stoppage. Eventually, the refugees were returned to Germany and placed in two former concentration camps. John Grauel went on to submit a graphic report on the British naval attack to the UN Spe- cial Committee on Palestine, which ultimately agreed to partition. Within a year, the DPs were smuggled in to Palestine. Weinsaft was net among them, however. Even as the Exodus was anchored on the coast of France, he had his orders to escape. He was involved in other refugee missions, like the 15,000 placed aboard two Lib- erty Ships out of Constantsa (caught and unloaded in Cy- prus) and other, smaller ships. "After 1945, there were close to 25 blockade runners to Palestine. I would guess half made it." FOR BEGINNERS — But now Weinsaft's work took on a different kind of INTERMEDIATE — ADVANCED MON. — WED. — FRI. urgency. War was imminent. Back in the U.S., he worked CLASSES NOW FORMING with the small but highly For Further Info. Call efficient smuggling organiza- LI 6-8040 tion run by Teddy Kollek out Hotel 14, next door to the " METRO BRIDGE CLUB of Copacabana nightclub. Every 23029 COOLIDGE lead was followed; every OAK PARK dealer in army surplus was approached. They called it " rilimillirli.11.!T "Operation Jewish Trojan Horse": arms and ammuni- tion were hidden in big hollowed-out electric trans- TO ''''.- -.., --Jr4 formers and shipped to Pal- estine. Weinsaft got some help in Invites you to have the greatest Detroit — from people like experience during your visit in Lou Berry, Arnold and Nor- man Michlin and, particu- larly, Sally Fields, he said. We assure you that you will An organization called Ma- i have a spiritual satisfaction. terials for Palestine, operat- ing out of the David Stott PLAN TO GO TO ISRAEL FOR SHAVUOTH Building, collected blankets, first aid kits and many of Exceptionally well organized the other items that would and Complete Tour — Holiday in Jerusalem be needed in the war. But there were obstruction. • Enjoy a week in Jerusalem. ists too—. those who were afraid that such efforts were • 2 Sabbaths in Jerusalem. counter to the laws of the • Sight-seeing trips to Sharm U.S. and might hurt the Jews. Massada, El Sheikh, Eilat, 0 n e Detroiter alerted the Golan Heights, Tombs of FBI to Weinsaft's secret op- the Patriarchs, Mother erations; but the FBI had its Rachel and other Holy own friends of Israel. Wein- (Continued from Page 48) Aboard was a volunteer crew of 18 Americans includ- ing two Gentiles — an engi- neer and a minister. But the minister saw his mission of soul-saving as far different from the usual interpretation. John Stanley Grauel was a Hagana volunteer who took up the cause of the Jewish survivors as his own. On the Exodus, he served as cook. "We called him Jesus," Weinsaft recalls. Weinsaft, the security' of- ficer, remembers the suffer- ing of the passengers, many of them bearing the scars of the concentration camps. But pne man, Capt. Isaac "Ike" Aronowicz, a Hagana volun- teer who came aboard in Italy, kept his people together through their desperate voy- age from France across the Mediterranean. "He was a _little guy, of slight build — around 24 or 25. But he was a dynamo, and we idolized him." The Exodus never made it. The British intercepted the refugee ship — now bearing the flag of a yet-to-be-born Israeli nation, made from hedsheets and scraps of blue dresses — off the coast of Palestine. They boarded like pirates, with grappling hooks, in the middle of the night. But it wasn't without a fight, said Weinsaft. The passengers had mis- siles of their own: potatoes BRIDGE LESSONS MIZRACHI TOURS ISRAEL ISRAEL places. • First class hotels with 2 meals daily. • Round trip by El Al. Travel with the Organiza- tion which has arranged trips for over 30,000 satis- fied tourists. Mizrachi Tours gives you the most for your money. 100's of tours & flights available. For Further Information Coil or Write Mizrachi Tours 23125 Coolidge, Ook Park .- - - - - 3'78--7113-0 saft got away with a warning. "Most volunteers had no affiliations, no religious back- ground, not even a Zionist background," Weinsaft says. "They were ordinary Moshes and Yaakovs. "There were three of us involved in .small arms and ammunition. We hid things in oil drums or marked them as used machinery. In a chicken factory, we fixed up generators to make them look new and filled them with arms. Actually, the United States should give us a medal because we got thousands and thousands of small arms — hand guns — out of the country. We used to clean out all the hock shops in Texas. "I remember in Shreve- port, La., there was a play- ground factory owner doing some of the packing. One of the company drivers noticed machinegun barrels sticking out of the packing cases. We told him we were using gun barrels for playground mate- rials, and he thought it was a great idea." For a year, Weinsaft en- gaged in the smuggling op- eration. The creation of the state took place shortly be- fore he landed in Israel, carrying a load of heavy air- craft on a ship from Mexico. In 1949, one job completed, he took on a different kind of mission for Israel; raising funds for the United Jewish Appeal. In 1950, he settled in Detroit and for the past 10 years has owned an art gal- lery. It's a comfortable life. With a wife and two children, Weinsaft has turned 50 with a certain equanimity a n d good humor. And so, when Israel again faced her en- emies in 1967, Weinsaft would not have been first choice at the front lines. But there he was. Early in 1967, on a visit to his mother and sister in Afikim, Wein- saft could see it coming. He decided to remain and join the Israelis he had helped two decades earlier in an- other fight for life. Now his old friends were high-ranking army officials. Weinsaft became an ambu- lance driver. He was with a tank outfit in the Golan Heights when the Israelis took that vital point. , Weinsaft cabled home on June 11: "We have it. They had it." Weinsaft says he isn't look- ing for thanks. "The Israeli Defense Force is a busy army. Everybody is in- volved." At the same time, looking back 25 years, he wishes that the Israel government would acknowledge the role of so many foreign volunteers who helped Israel. He estimates that 350 volunteers died in the War of Independence, 72 of them Americans and three Fighters for Israel at ZOD `LeHayim' The "Lehayim Israel" social and toasting evening of the Zionist Organization of Detroit 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Zionist Cultural Center, will be marked by salutes by the former ZOD presidents and by members of Mahal, the fighters for Israel's independence in 1948. Non-Jews as well as Jews are members of Mahal. Among the participants will be Charles Crudgington, pilot in the War of Independence, and Harry Weinsaft, member of the crew of the ill-fated Exodus. . Dr. Sanford A. Bennett, chairman of the ZOD program committee, announces that Israel wine and refreshments will be served during the celebration. He states that the celebrants will be led in toasts of L'Hayim and singing by Cantor Jacob . H. Sonenklar: of them Detroiters. He knows of 15 Christians among the Americans. "The Israeli kid who mourns the war dead should know that others came from miles away to fight for an unknown country," said Weinsaft. "Yet, the Israel government has been silent. I guess you could just say we're the lost brigade." Hebrew U. Cites Golda Meir JERUSALEM—Prime Mini- ster Golda Meir was honored at the Hebrew University for her contribution to "assuring the Jewish nation a future in freedom, dignity and peace." She was one of five recipients of the Morris J. Kaplun Prize, an annual award made avail- able by a donation from the Morris and Betty Kaplun Foundation in the United States. Also receiving the Kaplun Prizes each worth $5,000, were Prof. Albert Neuberger, of the St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, University of London, a deputy chair- man of the Hebrew Univer- sity's board of governors; Prof. Harry A. Wolfson of Harvard University, Prof. Aharon Barak, the Auqusto Levi Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the Uni- versity's Law Faculty, and Prof Zvi Lipkin, of the Weiz- mann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Prof. Wolfson, who is 85, was unable to attend the ceremony and will receive his award in the United States. 18—Friday, May 4, 1973 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Ionesco Receives Jerusalem Prize JERUSALEM (JTA)—Eu- gene Ionesco, the Romanian- born French playwright, ac- cepted the Jerusalem Prize at special ceremonies at the Sixth Jerusalem International Book Fair here. Ile was given the $2,000 award for "contributing to the concept of the freedom of the individual in society." The 61-year-old playwright, 'best known as the creator of the "Theater of the Absurd," said he felt pride at receiv- ing this "prize of liberty." Boni Feinstein, director general of the Jerusalem Municipality and chairman of the Book Fair permanent committee told a press con- ference earlier that this year's turnout qualified the fair for 'admission into the International Fairs Associa- tion. About 100,000 persons were expected to visit this year's Jerusalem Book Fair, which has 38,000 books' on display. About 80 per cent of the 720 publishers whose books are being shown here have sent personal representatives to the fair. It's Nice To Deal With Joe Slatkin's DEXTER CHEVROLET 20811 W. 8 Mile between Southfield & Telegraph 534-140* Our Promise To You: BETTER SERIKEI EVERETT HICKS has joined our staff Sir Albert's Styling Lounge Complete Tonsorial Service and Manicures 17445 W. 10 MILE, SOUTHFIELD 1 blk. E. of Southfield 557-9871 557-2949 JWB Gives Book Awards NEW YORK — Seven au- thors of books of Jewish in- terest published in 1972 are winners of awards to be pre- sented by the Jewish Book Council of the National Jew- ish Welfare Board (JWB) at its annual meeting to be held at the Park Avenue Syn- gogue. The announcement was made by Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz, editor of Sh'ma and president of JWB's Jewish Book Council. Elie Wiesel and Dr. Samuel Sandmel will receive the Frank Ethel S. Cohen Awards in the field' of Jewish thought. The Bernard H. Marks Award will go to Dr. Arthur J. Zuckerman. The Leon Jolson Award has been won by Dr. Aaron Zeitlin. Robert Kotlowitz has been named winner of the William and Janice Epstein Award in the field of Jewish fiction. Awards also were won by Mrs. Johanna Reiss and Meir Sticker. Israel May Avoid Cannes Film Festival NEW YORK (JTA) — Is- rael probably will not parti- cipate at this year's Cannes film festival according to Variety, the American show business weekly, "for rea- son of caution and for rea- sons that the host country will insist upon." France, explains Variety made it known that Israeli participation at the festival would be possible only if Israel supplied tight secur- ity measures. FRIDAY 12:25 p.m.—Periscope: The idea of catfish for food is discussed by Newsweek Senior Editor Dwight Martin. 3:55 p.m.—Blue-Jay Baseball: The Southfield Blue-Jays play the Ferndale Eagles at Southfield. Join the WSHJ sports team of Bob Garber and Larry Hersh for all the baseball action. 6:30 p.m.—Wolfman Jack: Up tempo rock show with dj Wolfman Jack presented by the Air Force. MONDAY 12:25 p.m.—Periscope: Prospects for change in Mormon attitudes is discussed by Newsweek Religious Editor Kenneth Woodward. 3:55 p.m.—Blue-Jay Baseball: WSHJ's sports team will have all the action when the Blue-Jays take on the Kimball Knights at Southfield. 6:30 p.m.—Hear Tonight: Hosts Mike Gordon and Tim Downy in' view channel 4 sportscaster Don Kramer. TUESDAY 12:25 p.m.—Periscope: The Status of the American High School. 6:30 p.m.—Entertainment Plus: Esther Wein reviews the multi-Tony award winning play "A Little Night Music" with music and lyrics by Stephen Soundheim. WEDNESDAY 12:25 p.m.—Periscope: Movie Critic Dwight MacDonald is the topic of discussion. 6:30 p.m.—City Council Highlights: Howard Goldberg brings you the highlights of the city council meetings. THURSDAY 12:25 p.m.—Periscope: Newsweek Editors Dwight Martin and Osborn Elliot report on The Creative Explosion on Madison Avenue. 6:15 p.m.—City Speaks: Steve Zenoni interviews Southfield city officials. 6:30 p.m.—School Board Highlights: Bruce Buchsbaum brings you the best from Southfield's Board of Education meetings.