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Zionism Impossible to Liquidate

It's worth turning back the pages of history for the
views of parliamentarians on the status of nations and
the hopes of oppressed for better days. -
In May of 1947, some months before the United Na-
tions partition decision on Palestine and the soon-to-
emerge redemption of Israel,
one of England's most respect-
ed parliamentarians, Richard
Crossman, member of the Brit-
ish House of Commons, stated:
"History either defeats you or
elates you, either crushes you or
makes you stronger. The Brit-
ish were made stronger by the
blitz and the Jews of Palestine
have been made stronger by ad-
versity, tougher, more national,
more solid and more impossible
to liquidate. Doubt is impossible
for them, and because they be-
against a Great Power, they are
lieve in their ultimate victory
going to win in the end."
in recent times, Crossman,
who was a close friend of
Chaim Weizmann, who was
Crossman
an admirer of the work of
the Weizmann Institute of Science, who had visited Israel
many times and had written extensively on the Middle
East situation, has been somewhat skeptical. He ad-
vocates recognition of the so-called Palestinians and the
establishment of a "Palestinian State." Do the obstacles
that have arisen in Israel's path to peace and to com-
plete acceptance by the Arabs reduce the prophetic note
that the Zionist ideal is impossible to liquidate?
Our historic experience remains that the more dif-
tficult the task, the more certain the reality of the Jew-
ish libertarian hopes. It is doubtful whether Crossman
would abandon this optimistic approach.
(Two weeks after this item was written, the sad
news came from London that Richard M. S. Crossman
passed away on April 5 at the age of 66. He was one of
the great statesmen in Britain. As long ago as in the mid-
1940s Winston Churchill said about him: "That young
man might be prime minister one day if he wasn't so
sure of himself." The irony is that when Churchill him-
self was much younger he replied to classmates' taunts:
"I'll be a great man one day." Mr. Crossman had risen
to great heights even if he did not go as far as 10 Down-
• ing Street. He was a strong defender of Israel, even when
he urged Zionist concessions in the past few years. But
even those urgings were with the best intentions, and for
these and many other gifts his memory is honored in the
history of our time).

*

*

For the Pioneers: A Kallen Legacy

A 91-year-old San Francisco doctor (Franklin H.
Cookingham) calls subjection of mandatory retirement at
age 65 a crime. He happens not to be alone in his senti-
ments and practices. He is not alone as an adherent to his
profession as a nonagenarian. Horace M. Kallen was ac-
tive until his death a few weeks ago. He was 92.
A letter Dr. Kallen had written to Philip Lown, an
eminent American Jewish scholar and philanthropist,
only a month before his end, gave emphasis to his deter-
mined will to carry on his labors as an educator. He was
referring to his own and his wife Rachel's roles as vaca-
tioners in Palm Beach, Fla., in early January, and he
concluded his long letter—he always typed his own cor-
respondence—by stating:
"We two are doing not badly for our years, although
I must confess that occasions come which simply frus-
trate because strength gives out before a job is done. I
suppose this is part of the price of living into extreme
old age. Nevertheless, the action is worth the price—for
the action is the life and the end of it; whether we rec-
ognize it as success or failure, is only the termination of
the action, its true death, which education translates into
a kind of immortality."
Dr. William Haber, having shared the quoted letter
(it will add to the rich philosophic works of the great
Prof. Kallen), made his own comment: "It explains why
some people reject retirement if it means 'termination of
the action.' "
Bill and Fannie Haber had just arrived for a visit
with Prof. and Mrs. Kallen in their vacation apartment
in Palm Beach, on Feb. 17, when Dr. Kallen, as he greeted
them, suddenly felt ill. It was the Habers' (together with
Mr. and Mrs. Lown and Prof. and Mrs. Oscar Janowsky
who were then guests of the Kallens) sad experience to
witness the last gasp in Kallen's life. Their memories, as
is that of this commentator, are filled with blessings for
having known and worked with Dr. Kallen. He had added
to his philosophic teachings another gem, as a lesson for
the pioneers, that "termination of the action" only in-
spires continuity of the action if, like him, they have
something to offer to mankind.

Kallen: 'Absolute Priority for Education

In his Jan. 11 letter—could it have been his last?—

2—Friday, April 12, 1974

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Theodor Herzl
View on Jerusalem

status
Jerusalem's
threatens to remain an
issue in the deliberations
for an Israel-Arab under-
standing. An apparent
change in the Vatican's
attitude on the subject
make concessions to the
Holy City's unification
under Israel's administra-
tion and the assurance of
freedom for all the reli-
gious holy places as al-
ready instituted by Israel.
The Jerusalem issue was
not ignored at any time.
Theodor Herzl recognized
its existence when he
wrote, in 1895, in "The
Jewish State":
"The sanctuaries of
Christendom would' be
safeguarded by assigning
to them an extra-territor-
ial status such as is well
known in the law of na-
tions. We should form a
guard of honor about
these sanctuaries answer-
ing for the fulfilment of
this duty with our exis-
tence."
Only the
prejudices
stemming from enmities
to the entire status of Is-
rael can possibly stand in
the way of an accord
based on the realities of
Israel's sense of realism
that spells justice for all
faiths in the Jewish state.

Iran's Shah
and Jerusalem

Muhammad Reza Shah
Pahlavi of Iran also had
something to say about
Jerusalem. He was inter-
viewed in his Niravan Pal-
ace in Tehran and he said:
"You know how stub-
born the Israelis are, and
senstitive on this question.
But they must not forget
that other people could be
sensitive. How could they
accept that Muslim places
be run by non-Muslims?"
Surely, the Shah knows
full well that the non-Jew-
ish religious places in Is-
rael are supervised by
volved. And under Israeli
rule they possess the full-
est freedoms with their
beliefs.
The Shah has befriend-
ed Israel, but he always
appeased his fellow Mus-
lims with kind talk. One
day, it is hoped, that
kindness will be active:
when agreements are
reached establishing re-
quired understanding on
Jerusalem and the rest of
the Middle East, with Is-
rael as a recognized en-
tity.

;

Like Ancient Plagues, the New One Introducing
Despair Totally Rejected by Tradition . , . Zionist
. A Horace Koller" >Legacy
Invincibility Recalled

y Philip
Stomovitz

The Plague of Despair: Rejected by Jewry Outright

Another plague is speculated by the pessimistic and the antagonistic as an
addition to those already incorporated in the Hagada. But this time it is an infesta-
tion proposed for Israel and for Jewry. It is one of despair over what is happening
to Israel. It is rejected outright, firmly, by inherited traditions and historic experiences.
Columnists, theorizers, the panic-stricken over recent events, the pessimists
who run for cover as soon as there is an emerging danger—these have already pre-
dicted doom for Israel, some have even said that Zionism has failed. That's a lot of
nonsense and subsequent events will prove it.
Some Israelis, among them a good proportion of youth, are quotedly despairing
over the gloom that has set in since the Yom Kippur War, and are in fright because
Israel was struck by what they call an "Earthquake." Therefore, these people say,
they are ready to emigrate. Very -well. So Israel may lose some residents. Many
Russian Jews who had intended to go to Israel now are clamoring for the Goldene
Medineh—for the United States. Very well: after all, no one expected a Litvinov to
be a Zionist, even if his grandparents deep down their hearts had an affection for
their Jewish kinsmen and might today have become avowed Zionists.
But the people Israel, the state Israel, the Jewish spirit are not collapsi
Therefore, life goes on, in spite of setbacks. Hasn't Jewry prospered most when
there were regressions and misfortunes?
This rejection of despair is especially needed now, at a time when some of
Israel's heroes have been rebuked. The military demotions must be judged as part
of Israel's democratic way of life. It is because the people placed its trust in a
responsible commission that the facts regarding blunders which led to terrible loss
of life have been placed on record. That's how it is in a true democracy, and the
type of commission that gained Israel's confidence adds to the view that the demo-
cratic idea keeps prospering in Israel.
It was a remarkable commission, consisting of notables worth describing, as
follows:
Prof. Yigael Yadin, the only one of the five commission members who is a
sabra. He was born in Jerusalem in 1917, he was graduated from the Hebrew 'Uni-
versity, joined the Hagana forces that defended the Jewish settlements, directed the
Israel Officers' School and became Israel's second army chief of staff after inde-
pendence. His great love is archeology, and he has followed his father, the late
and very eminent Prof. Eleazar Lipa Sukenik, in that field. He has become famous
for his direction of the Masada Expedition, his writings on that and other archeological
subjects. Those of us who witnessed the impressive ceremony of his being awarded
the honorary doctorate by Dropsie University two years ago recall with admiration
that the man with whom he differed the most over authenticity of the Dead Sea
Scrolls—Prof. Solomon Zeitlin—chose to express his admiration for Prof. Yadin
by placing the hood upon him at the Dropsie testimionial, thus acknowledging the
distinction of this scholar who has rejected many political and army offers in
his preference for his chosen career as an archeologist.
Supreme Court Justice Moshe Landau, who has made many friends in Detroit
when he visited here in behalf of the Technion. Born in Danzig, in 1912, he studied
law at London University, began to practice his profession in. Palestine upon his
arrival in 1933, -was named Haifa magistrate in 1940 by the British, became district
court judge in 1948 and was appointed to the Israel Supreme Court in 1951. His
fame reached international proportions when he served as presiding judge at the
trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961.
Chief Justice Shimon Agranat, head of the commission, the native American
on the panel who was born in Louisville, Ky., in 1906, is a University of Chicago
graduate, he settled in Palestine in 1930, practiced law there from 1932 to 1940
when he was named to the Haifa Magistrate Court, became president of the Haifa
District_Court in 1948, for 10 years was an acting member of the Supreme Court,
its permanent member since 1950 and its president since 1965.
Israel State Comptroller Dr. 'Yitzhak Nebenzahl, trained in the law profession
in Germany where he was born, in Frankfurt, in 1907, and before coming to Palestine
in 1933 he lectured on civil law in Frankfurt University. He was associated with the
Hollander Concern banking firm, was its chairman from 1947 to 1961, when he
assumed his post as State Comptroller. He is devoutly Orthodox.
Gen. Haim Laskov, who also served as Israel's army chief of staff, was
only six years old when he was brought to Palestine from Russia in 1925. During
his service in the British army in World War II; he saw action in Italy, Belgium,
Holland and Cyrenaica. Before being named Israel's army chief of staff he was,
from 1951 to 1953, commander of Israel's air force. He gained great respect for his
efficiency as director of Israel's Port Authortiy. Like Justice Landau, he has made
many Detroit friends.
With such a cast, the commission at the outset gained the confidence of the
Israeli public. Now it is to be assumed that the commission's findings, which are
certain to arouse bitterness in some quarters, condemnations in others, will never-
theless retain respect that must lead to improvements in Israel. What will happen
in the process will be a restoration of faith in world Jewry that the aims for honest
dealings and fairminded judgments of political and military actions will tend to
strengthen accord and assure strict watch over all factors involved in assuring
Israel's security and honor and strength of the people's character.
All of this is part of rejection of whatever attempts may be made to inject
pessimism and despair on Israel's tough road toward a life of dignity and the type
of self-respect that assures the world respect for the fighters for justice, freedom
and the right of life among the nations of the world.

to Philip Lown, Prof. Kallen expressed concern for Israel
and he had this to say:
"Israel . . . is never out of my mind. If the 'powers'
are decent and are simply not playing politics for their
own interests with the survival and potential of Israel,
there is an even bet. If the powers conduct 'business as
usual,' the present is all there is and must be salvaged
as may be. But for the most vital issue of the survival
of the Jewish heritage—more vital because, among the
powers this is the inwardness of Israel's own existence
and growth—this depends on what the communities of the
Diaspora do toward the education of their generations
as Jews, harmoniously with their education as citizens of
the countries where they are born and grow to maturity.
My feeling is that this education should receive an abso-
lute priority. I hope you share my feeling, but whether
you do or not, I think you, I, Milton (Prof. Konvitz), and
several others who really care should talk the matter out.
It is necessary that you should keep yourself in good

.

health, increasing strength and the capacity to take sans-
faction in living on. Indeed it is necessary that we all
should.
"It occurs to me that even Milton, who all these
years has been as more than a son to me, is already in
semi-retirement at Cornell, and I don't see anywhere a
young man or woman readied to take over. The same
thing is true at the other institutions of 'higher' learning,
even at the New School."
There are so many admonitions here for this genera-
tion! The need to make education 'a workable instrument
for survival and dignity, the urgency of training leader-
ship, the necessity of encouraging adherence to scholar-
ship and learning! And the lack of manpower!
Is this another legacy to the coming generations—
a Kallen appeal for action? He was an unbeliever, yet he
believed and labored more earnestly than the most devout.
He had taught well and it is to be hoped that his teach-
ings have left the desired mark.

