Ambassador Dinitz Brings Message of Courage to Campaigners
(Continued from 'Page 1)
heard about that comment
and while he had lunch with
Abba Eban on March 14, as
the third call from him
reached him that day, he told
Kissinger: "You have your-
self filled half of my own
quota of calls for a day."
Dinitz declared at the out-
set that "strength is needed
to win the peace," and he
added that "we would not
have been able to win if it
had not been for your and
America's help in 1973."
"Do not take Jewish sur-
vival for granted," he ad-
monished the audience. He
declared that the Arabs, with
the Ihelp of the Soviet Union,
are stronger than ever before
and that "there has not been
the acquiescence from the
Arab states to accept the
existence of Israel." Never-
theless, there was a lesson
for Sadat in the October war,
because "with all the unity
of Arab forces, with all the
help from the Soviet Union,
his forces were not able to
advance more than five miles
from the Suez Canal, while
Israel's forces reached with-
in 18 miles from Damascus
and 50 miles from Cairo."
"Therefore," Dinitz said,
"to come to terms he must
meet with Israel at the con-
ference table."
"The Jewish state will not
be beaten and will stay for-
ever in the Middle East,"
Dinitz declared.
He added that Israel, too,
has learned a lesson from
the October war and that his
government is determined
that "the disparity must not
be renewed" as it did in the
surprise attack of Yom Kip-
pur. "We have every deter-
mination to win wars if they
are inflicted upon us," he
declared.
Analyzing the role of Rus-
sia, and the encouragement
Andrei Gromyko has been
giving the Arabs in their aim
to destroy Israel while the
USSR remains as a partner
in the Geneva conference,
Dinitz said, "They are wait-
ing to catch us weak enough
to accomplish what they
aimed for on Yom Kippur.
They have purchased Africa,
At Final Campaign Dinner
they have irritated Europe
and have scared some Amer-
icans. But we have faith in
America's friendship. Israel
is determined to survive and
the Jews of America are our
bulwark. We'll need wisdom
for what is essential for life
in Israel. We need talent to
negotiate."
"It is the strength of our
society that will matter,"
Dinitz asserted, "to avoid
war and to win the peace,"
he said. "Don't mind our say-
to you do not stop instead
of thank you. Ahead of us
are difficult battles. Wash-
ington is watching our every
move to know how people re-
act to our needs. The United
States government must con-
tinue to learn that our people
are behind them in the sup-
port of Israel, and that can
be attained by your doing
what you have done and will
continue to do. I speak to you
not out of despair but with
hope for the coveted peace. I
don't know if I inspire you,
but a lot of inspiration comes
to us - from you and your ded-
icated labors."
Zuckerman and Grossman
supplemented the pledges for
continued efforts, after Di-
nitz's address , by assuring
him that there will be no
cessation in the labors in
Israel's behalf.
In a concluding address,
Avrunin gave high praise to
the co-chairmen, Davidson
and Grossman, and expres-
sed appreciation to his staff,
to Samuel Cohen, Federation
administrative director; Sol
Drachler, campaign director;
Harold Berke, Emanuel Mark
and others who labored de-
votedly with the volunteers
for the success of the 1974
philanthropic tasks.
Commenting on the view
that Detroit and Cleveland
are the top communities in
the country in fund-raising
for Jewish causes, Avrunin
reported that this year for
the first time Detioit has
exceeded Cleveland's achieve-
ments and he implied a
hope that the order in which
he mentioned the cities, "De-
troit and Cleveland." will
continue in years ahead.
Avrunin utilized the occa-
sion to mention another co-
worker, the pioneer in local
social service, Esther Prus-
sian, who was observing her
birthday that evening. The
gathering joined him in ap-
plauding a dedicated worker
in the ranks of welfare serv-
ices.
Davidson, in his opening
remarks, emphasized contin-
uity for the drive in the com-
munal determination to attain
maximum results and assur-
ing Detroit Jewry's "readi-
ness to identify with Jews
everywhere, to understand
Jewish life, enrich it and pro-
tect it." He pointed to the
especially impressive labors
in the drive of Arthur How-
ard and George Zeltzer, who
had just returned from partic-
ipation in the Israel mission
with Prime Minister Golda
Meir, and the many division
heads who led their groups to
the great success of the 1974
drive.
Daniel Honigman and Irv-
ing Seligman presided over
the portion of the meeting
during which division reports
were submitted. Among those
reporting were: Sol Cicurel,
mercantile; Irving Laker,
services-arts and crafts; Mar-
vin H. Coleman-, industrial
and automotive; Milton Bar-
nett, real estate and building
trades; Bernard Weisber„7,
food; Bruce E. Thal, profes-
sional; Burton D. Farbmaa,
junior; Morris Asher, metro-
politan; and Mrs. Merle Hal-
ris, women.
Campaign leaden;
_ably
commended for their devoted
labors included Phillip Stoll
man, campaign treasurer
Samuel Hamburger, Willian i
Sherr, Graham Orley Philip
Warren and Norman Wacu
ler, among others.
The concluding dinnei
meeting of the campaign
was an occasion for reuni,
of a number of pioneer work-
ers. Alex Schreiber, an Allieci
Jewish Campaign leader in
the 1920s through the 1956s,
now a resident of Los
Angeles, was among the
guests. Dr. Richard C. Hertz
gave the invocation.
Difficult Tasks Ahead for Genocide Convention
By JOSEPH POLAKOFF
(Copyright 1974, JTA, Inc.)
WASHINGTON—If Senate
ratification of the Genocide
Convention, dead for the re-
mainder of this session of
Congress, is not voted next
year the likelihood of it ever
winning approval will become
extinct. This opinion among
informed senatorial sources
must come as a shock to
those elements, particularly
Jewish organizations, which
have fought so hard and so
long for the U.S. adherence
to the United Nations treaty
that resulted from world hor-
ror at the Hitlerian holocaust
that numbered 6.000,000
European Jews among its vic-
tims.
Hopes ran high for ratifi-
cation after two unprecedent-
ed actions took place in the
contemporary Senate. The
first was the 10-4 vote by- the
foreign relations committee
in March of 1973 to report
it to the Senate. The second
was the actual debate within
the Senate itself this January
and February. At no time in
the 26 years since the -U.S.
government signed the con-
vention in 1948 has the Sen-
ate gone that far towards
ratification. But a filibuster-
ing Senate minority prevent-
Mercantile division chairman Sol Cicurel is shown mak- ed a vote to take place and
ing his closing renort at the Monday evening event at blocked two attempts at clo-
Temple Beth El. From left, in upper photo, Joseph Garson ture to end it.
of services-arts and crafts, and Marvin H. Goldman and
Party lines were obliterat-
Milt Barnett of the industrial and automotive division await
their turns to report. At the back dais are, from left, ed . in the two votes on cloture.
Lewis S. Grossman and William M. Davidson, AJC-IEF Of the 95 senators who voted,
chairmen. Next to the podium, are UJA general chairman 39 Democrats and 18 Repub-
Paul Zuckerman, Israel Ambassador to the U.S. Simha licans opposed the filibuster
Dinitz and Federation Executive Vice-President William and 15 Democrats and 23 Re-
publicans backed it. The fili-
Avrunin.
At a front table in the capacity crowd are, from left, buster opponents mustered
Mrs. William Davidson, Mrs. Alan E. Schwartz, food divi- 55 votes on each ballot but
sion, associate chairman Thomas Klein, Mrs. Paul Zucker- actually 57 voted against it.
man, Mrs. Samuel Frankel and Federation treasurer George Two senators who did not
M. Zeltzer who had just returned from the special UJA vote on the first ballot did
mission to Israel.
on the second and made up
Some Jewish Welfare Federation business is accom- for two absentees. Three ad-
plished before the AJC-IEF closing dinner Monday evening ditional senators who were
as -Federation President Mandell L. Berman confers with not present at all were re-
vice-president Samuel Frankel. Frankel headed the 1973 corded as opposing the fili-
drive with co-general chairman Paul Randleman.
buster had they been present.
Thus, altogether the anti-fili-
buster senators totaled 60—
seven shy of the theoretical
two-thirds minimum of 67 re-
quired, if all 100 members
were voting, to both shut off
debate and adopt the treaty.
The pro-filbuster senators
totaled 36 the first time.
These stayed intact on the
second- ballot and they were
joined by two additional
members. The fact that the
pro-filibuster array increased
its strength prompted the
leaders of those backing the
treaty (Senators Jacob K.
Javits, R. N.Y., Frank
Church, D. Idaho, and Wil-
liam Proxmire, D. Wis.), to
postpone their fight and an-
nounce their intention "to
use the next few months to
engage in public education on
the real meaning and im-
portance of the Genocide
Treaty" because "during the
debate it became apparent
that a great deal of misinfor-
mation about the treaty had
been circulated and totally
unwarranted fears about the
treaty were generated."
Hope for success next year
rests in part on the fact that
four of the senators who
voted to continue the filibust-
er have announced their re-
tirement at this session's
end, including Sam Ervin,
(D., N.C.), the opposition's
leader and principal spokes.
man whose reputation as a
constitutional expert strength-
ened the minority. Despite
these factors, it is recognized
that failure again after all
these years of trying will ex-
tinguish the enthusiasm that
will bring two-thirds of the
Senate to vote affirmatively.
Senator Claiborne Pell,
(D., R. I.), whose father was
the U.S. representative to the
United Nations Crime Com-
mission, was in great part
responsible for the U.S. posi-
tion that genocide should be
considered a war crime, has
put the issue in these forms:
"I am told by some op-
ponents of the convention that
`if you vote for the Genocide
Treaty, you are a traitor to
your country.' If that were
true then every American
President since Harry Tru-
man, Democrat or Republi-
can all of the secretaries of
state, the attorney general of
the United States, the majori-
ties of the Senate Foreign Re-
lations Committee — and I
could go on and on listing
groups of impeccably loyal
American — would fall
into the category generally
reserved for such people as
Benedict Arnold . . I do
not suggest that even the
most benighted opponents of
the convention by their op-
position approve of genocide.
Yet the implication remains
that those who oppose the
convention are indifferent to
its basic tenet that the killing
or destruction of peoples, be-
cause of race or other rea-
sons, is a horrible crime."
Senator Church, chairman
of the foreign relations sub-
committee on Genocide, de-
clared the treaty to be "a
significant statement of
man decency—a code of con-
duct, if you will, for nation'
to observe in dealing with
their religious, ethnical, --
cial or national constituk
parts."
With the opposition having
argued that many of the 76
nations that adopted the
treaty had wrapped them-
selves in reservations,
Church pointed out that he
himself had offered a reser-
vatiorithat "states in a simple
and straight-forward way"
that by ratifying the treaty
the United States retains th-
right "to bring to trial be
fore its own tribunals any
of its nationals for acts com-
mitted outside the United
States."
The job ahead, calls for
language, persuasion and in-
finite devotion to the concept
that genocide is a crime.
Howard Confers With Rivlin
Arthur Howard, right, was greeted by Moshe R ivIn
director-general of the Jewish Agency, during the specii
mission sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal. Howar
and Federation treasurer George M. Zeltzer were among_
top national leaders who participated_ in the mission la
week.
56—Friday, March 22, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH FIN