In Egypt: Where Israelis in Khaki Crave for a Second Exodus (Continued from Page 1) If there is need of proof that a certain sense of humor remained among the Israelis it is in the appellation given the Arab force. It is referred to as the shmate army. The sobriquet comes from the variety of weapons used by Israel's enemy—from Russia, Yugoslavia, England, wher- ever tanks and other military hardware could be accumu- lated in the battle aimed at Israel's destruction. Israel's soldiers spoke with affection for General Sharon. They love the man, have 'on- fidence in him, gave his par- ty — Likud — the largest vote ever given by the soldiers to a non-labor list. The 43 per cent vote for Likud by the soldiers, as against a 39 per cent vote they registered for the Labor Alignment, echoed a national sentiment. It is Detroiters in Israel Detroiters in Israel rep- resent dedication to the ideal of assisting fellow Jews in retaining highest standards in academic aims, profes- sional and spiritual activi- ties. Former Detroit City Plan- ned Edward Kersh is now with the Jerusalem City Plan- ning Commission. He, his wife, the former Marcia Ko- baker, and their three chil- dren have integrated into Jerus ale m's activities, in their apartment in the French Hill area. Dr. Hayim Donin and his family have moved into a new Jerusalem apartment at 22 Pinsker St. Rabbi Donin, who is completing work on a new book, "Parents' Guide to Jewish Education and Child-Raising," has been commissioned to write an il- lustrated paperback on "Suk- kot" by Keter Publishing Co. and the Jewish Publica- tion Society of America, for publication before next Suk- kot. Professors Bernard Epel and Robert Rockaway are continuing in their posts on the faculty of Tel Aviv Uni- versity, in the mathematics and history departments, respectively. Dr. Louis Shifrin, who has made his home with his fam- ily in Safed, is on the staff of the Safed Government Hospital and his services in orthopedics have been most valuable during the war pe- riod, in the area they now live which is among the most vulnerable close to the Golan Heights. There are Detroiters in the volunteer forces, in student bodies, on a year's enroll- ment in many services, filling needs while the tens of thou- sands of reservists are on the front lines defending Is- rael. Meanwhile, representatives of fund-raising forces come to Israel to join in campaign planning and to provide cour- age for the Israelis. Paul Zuckerman, Max M. Fisher, Dr. Leon Fill, Phillip Stoll- man, Michael Pelavin of Flint, many others, have been here, others are coming on such missions, to establish links for the American-Israel partnership. 48—Friday, Feb. 15, 1974 heard in Egypt, in the Isra- eli military installations, as well as in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and the entire country. Do the soldiers approve of the disengagement, of the concessions made through Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, to Egypt, the United States and the United Nations? They want peace. They crave to go back home to their families. Habaita, the desire to go home, is what they emphasize. Do they foresee peace? One of the soldiers gave proof of pessimism: the Arabs, he said, do not have the seihel — the wisdo m —to understand the value of peace to them. Therefore, there is not too much hope for it. At Bir Gafgafa there is a Science and Culture as National Aims President Katzir and the Charm in Israel White House JERUSALEM — Israel's President Ephraim Katzir ex- udes charm and creates won- derful hospitality in the Is- raeli White House. He was host to representa- tives of 21 English-Jewish newspapers. The mission was supervised by Leon Aaron of the national United Jewish Appeal staff. Another staff member assisting him was Thea Shapiro. Chairing the several ses- sions was Robert Cohn, edi- tor of the St. Louis Light and president of the American Jewish Press Association. Most of the participants in the mission were members of this association. President Katzair described the Israeli presidential role as "symbolizing." The presi- dent is a symbol personify- ing the state's position as a nation among nations. He welcomes dignitaries and heads of state, he appoints the judges. He does more: he encour- ages cultural activities and he spoke to the newsmen with a deep appreciation of the role of world Jewry in assur- ing Israel's continuity as a spiritual factor. Dr. Katzir said that he keeps studying Jewish his- tory anew. The visits from great scholars inspire him to keep re-learning what he had acquired in the Jewish schools. Commenting on a question whether previous experiences under his predecessor, Presi- dent Shneur Zalman Shazar, are continued, since Shazar is such a dedicated support- er of the Chabad Hasidic movement, President Katzir said that he himself has even begun to study the Shul- han Arukh. Is he the master of Yid- dish, as his predecessors were: "Of course," he told on Page 1 about humor in Israel). * * * Yiddish in Knesset With Israel President Ephraim Katzir in the New Presidential Mansion in Jerusalem this correspondent. "Yiddish is my mame-loshen — I was raised in a Yiddish-speaking home." He was asked about the view that Jews evince a mea- sure of genealogical super- iority. He spoke at length on the subject, expressing a be- lief in Jewish intellectual qualities, many stemming from experiences gained in the course of their wander- ings among many nations. (When the text of his com- plete answer to the question about Jewish genes becomes available, it should be among the valued viewpoints corn- ing from the Israeli presi- dential home.) Fascination in Israel's in- spirational presidential envi- ronment becomes more com- plete with the added greeting from Shulamit Schwartz Nar- di, the secretary to Israel's presidenty since 1963. Mrs. Nardi, an American Zionist idealist, a Barnard honor graduate who now also teach- es at the Hebrew University, is among the most qualified Israeli scholars, a linguist, thoroughly informed on world Jewish affairs. She is a great asset to Israel and to world Jewry. Some may still pos- sess her classic book, "Zion- ism," one of the first full- length historical analyses of the movement, still one of the best, among the earliest, on the subject. An explanatory little essay on the new Israeli presiden- tial home by Mrs. Nardi is treasuded by those visiting the home as a classic me- mento of the charm that stems from one of the most important government struc- tures in the Jewish state. The new presidential home in Jerusalem is a source of architectural pride—for sim- plicity, choice of art, the set- tings and the spaciousness. (For President Katzir's witticisms, see story starting As director general of the Knesset, Netanel Lorch is among the best informed men in Israel on the country's parliamentary experiences. Lorch, whose interesting book on Israel, published 13 years ago, contained an in- troduction by Gen. S. L. A. Marshall, hosted a luncheon at the Knesset for the Eng- lish-Jewish correspondents. Explaining that only He- brew and Arabic are the Knesset working languages, Lorch stated the following: "Hebrew and Arabic are the only permitted languages in the Knesset. I can tell you that some foreign Par- liamentarians, when I tola them this, were rather sur- prised that one couldn't make a speech in Yiddish in the Knesset of Israel. ...."You can quote in any language. And precisely what the quotation is—I don't want to go into technicalities—but this is something which we sometimes have to discuss with members of the Knes- set. Some read. half a speech in English. But it must be a direct quote from a docu- ment. Some of them speak —some of them use Latin quotations; some of them use a little bit of French; and at Very rare intervals, but sometimes when they curse each other they use Russian." Mrs. Lorch, the former Erika Frost—they have three children, two in the army— later commented on the stat- us of Yiddish and expressed her regret that its use is de- clining. Mr. and Mrs. Lorch retain a long-standing friendship with Gen. and Mrs. S. L. A. Marshall. Complaints Galore: Government, Religious, Press Among Victims Justified complaints are heard against the Orthodox domination that causes de- spair in securing divorces, even in arranging funerals. A youngster just out of the army married a gal a bit younger who also just left the army, but she must have been somewhat disturbed to walk out on him. Now the home they purchased for the six months of their marriage is empty, he paid the taxes, makes payments on the house, pleads for a settle- ment to formalize the di- vorce, but the Rabbinate has its rules: it's an outrageous policy, some say. The result is unjustified suffering. Conservative and Reform Jews have added reason to be angry: they are not rec- ognized at all by the Ortho- dox, and those attending their services are like an outlawed folk. Related to the religious is- sue is the experience a trav- eler on El Al planes to Israel will have in witnessing two THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS kinds of kosher food. El Al Jane Austen (1775-1817) had the proper definition for complaining when she wrote in her "Pride and Prejudice": "Those who do not complain are never pitied." In a world in which com- plaints against governments, economic conditions, military and other burdens are mul- tiplying, it is no wonder that Israel should be filled with complaints. The reservists at the front are craving for a return home to go back to their families and jobs, and many are embittered. Some are disillusioned by lack of support for their families from which they have been separated. Americans in Israel have their gripes. A university professor is puzzled by re- duced income and slowness in receiving the salary on which he must depend for a livelihood. Olim—newcomers —would like a more frater- nal feeling between new set- tlers and the native sabras. It is slow in coming. serves only kosher food, but there is a specially privileged type: Glatt kosher. The ultra- observant insist on kashrut but do not trust those for whom they provide mashgi- him, special supervisors for kashrut. But traveling from Israel homeward there is only one kind of food: it is all kosher according to the Is- rael Rabbinate. Why the difference created by a Glatt designation for those who apparently do not trust their own mashgihim who are designated for oth- ers? What a dietary inconsist- ency! At any rate, there is much to squawk about, there is many an axe to grind, and the best advice for complain- ants is to be culled from "The Kicker" by Josh Bil- lings (1818-1885): The wheel that squeaks the loudest Is the one that gets the grease. Talk about complaints: if there is a single matter to object to in Israel, it is the attitude of the press toward Diaspora Jewry. Squawkers — the justified and the otherwise—are upset because there isn't better fraternity between Israelis and immigrants (olim). The press is worse. It is con- cerned with politics, with Is- rael's needs, of course, with major world events. It doesn't seem to give a damn about world Jewry. All the emphasis on Amer- ican news is that with the Washington dateline. Other- wise, coverage is practically nil. You can find more news about hockey played in Eng- land and Germany than about the problems of Jews in the Western world. If the American Jewish press were to give as little space to Israel news as the Israeli press given to Amer- ican Jewish news, the result would be calamitous. * * * Jewish News correspond- ent's comments on Knesset opposition leader Menahem Begin on Page 7. Hevra Kadisha — the tradi- tional Jewish burial force— that took care of the dead. Coffins were prepared there for the temporary burials of the victims of the tragic war. In the interim there is rel- ative quiet. The Egyptian front is peaceful, the soldiers spent their time reading, sun- ning themselves when the weather is more pleasant than it had been for a num- ber of days. Newsmen go through the area without fear of molestation. There is an effort to smile, to tell stories. The takes the current de ments stoically. He'll tell you the Bar-Lev Line was a mir- age: Gerald Sachs, who came from South Africa and had been with El Al in the seven years of his Israeli citizen- ship—calmly commented that fire hoses washed away those encampment which were val- ueless. The fact is that there were 20 such bunkers with not more than 40 Israeli mil- itary in each, and these less than 800 had to confront some '70,000 invading Egyp- tians. Meanwhile the salvaging of military junk goes on, hun- dreds of thousands of pounds of metal will be gathered for resale to some foreign coup tries, after removing usable parts. Will those who have been to Egypt during the negoti- ating and disengagement pt. riod ever be able to return to it as Pro-Israeli Jews, without the elimination of Is- rael's reference on the pass- port? If it occurs, it will surely mean peace. "That's living in hope," echo the sen- timents for peace. Arab Rights: Open Roads Span Jordan AT ADAM BRIDGE, on Jordanian Border — Heavy snows caused some damage and the Allenby Bridge over which thousands of Arabs trek on their way to Amman, Jordan, with the fruits they grow in Israel-administered territory, was closed. There- fore the observations of the interesting process were at the Adam Bridge, where sim- ilar interchanges of move- ments from Israel to Jordan and back take place regular- ly. Arab-driven trucks cross these bridges with their prod- ucts. Having been checked by Israeli military, they pro- ceed across the bridgeall0 removing the Israel "7"." plates and revealing the -Jor-"' . danian. Upon their return there is the reverse process, with a return to the use of the Israel plates. Naturally, they are searched thoroughly. But the movements proceed, there were no interruptions during the Yom Kippur War, the symbolism of possible ac- cord between Arabs and Jews continued and keeps continuing. Does this open bridge pol- icy teach the desired lessons? It assures elimination of conflicts on the West Bank of the Jordan, it creates a measure of good will—per- haps it is because business is business — but it hardly guarantees peace. Approach- es to amity are slow in ma- terializing.