Purely Commentary Massive U. S., USSR Aid for Arabs; Falsified Propaganda for Israel Amid threats to Israel and assurances in Washing- ton that amity in the Middle East justifies the proferred and increased financial assistance the U. S. is giving to the very nations that are hurling warnings of destruction to Israelis, the arms race is escalating. Now the Egyptians are saying that they do not want or can not receive muni- tions from Russia, and they therefore apply for military hardware to the U. S. It becomes imperative, therefore, to make some basic facts known regarding American aid to the Arabs. So much exaggeration is often expressed by anti-Israel propagandists, in attempts to portray America as giving all out aid to Israel to the exclusion of the Arab states, that the following facts, made known by Congressman Clarence Long of Maryland, demand special attention: U.S. ASSISTANCE TO ARAB NATIONS 1. U.S. arms supplies, economic aid and U.S. share of multilateral aid (28 per cent) in fiscal years 1968-1973 $1927 million 2. U.S. "invisible foreign aid" to Arabs— tax credits for Arab royalties $7025 million TOTAL U.S. ASSISTANCE TO ARABS $8952 million SOVIET ASSISTANCE TO ARAB NATIONS 1. Soviet arms supplies—not including Soviet arms resupply during and after Yom Kippur War $2603 million 2. Soviet economic aid—with estimated figure for 1973. $1104 million TOTAL USSR ASSISTANCE TO ARABS $3707 million Thus, total U.S. assistance to Arabs (1968-1973) was 2.4 times total- Soviet assistance to the Arabs over the same period. The report also included government figures for U.S. arms supplies, economic and multilateral aid to Israel during the comparable 1968-1973 period Arms supplies $1352.6 million Economic aid $ 420.5 million U.S. share of multilateral aid $ 34.4 million (out of a total $122.7 million in foreign multilateral aid) TOTAL $180'7.5 million These staggering figures of massive support for the Arab states by both the United States and the Soviet Union points again to the dangers to Israel and the threats to world peace. Instead of ending armaments the war threats are increasing. Even worse is the spread of propaganda which por- trays Israel as the recipient of American benevolence and military support, and the propagandists, in the process, leave the impression that the Arabs are ignored. In the same pattern of misleading the people of this country, the impression often is given that many millions of Arabs have been displaced by Jews as seekers of territorial ex- pansion. The true figures -are overshadowed by falsified propaganda, and little is said about Israel's need for self protection. These facts make the situation even worse than the Kissinger struggles to attain disengagement. Falsified facts create falsified backgrounds for the negotiations as well. The situation certainly has not improved and the Middle East continues to be a battleground, with Israel a major victim. Dr. Walter C. Lowdermilk: Noble Christian and Eminent Zionist They were unforgettable—both Dr. Walter C. Lowder- milk and his wife Inez Marks Lowdermilk. Both had been here on their missions in behalf of the Zionist cause, and Dr. Lowdermilk inspired scientists, agriculturists, soil con- servationists, as well as the supporters of the Zionist ideal in the early years of struggle, during the Nazi period and subsequently, when the dream for Jewish statehood be- came a reality. When the American Christian Palestine Committee functioned here, for the support of the Zionist cause, in the early 1930s, the Lowdermilks were among the most impressive personalities at sessions aimed at enrolling Christian support for the Jewish cause. Some are here to attest to the inspirations that were gained here at the Christian Zionist assemblies from both Dr. Lowdermilk and his charming wife. George Pierrot, Clara (Mrs. Howell) Van Auken, judges, members of the clergy, educators and scientists will recall the Lowder- milk visits here. Dr. Lowdermilk's death, at 86, serves as a reminder of an interesting era. His book, "Palestine—Land of Prom- ise," was among the most effective instruments in bring- ing many Christians to the Zionist platform. The late Judge Frank Picard, who chaired the American Christian Palestine Committee Michigan Chapter for many years, kept the Lowdermilk book on his desk, repeating constant- ly that it had influenced him the most in his support of the Jewish hopes for the redemption of Zion. Dr. Lowdermilk, the guiding genius in efforts for soil conservation, proposed the establishment of the Jordan Valley Authority Power and Irrigation Project. When pumps started the flow of water from the Jordan to the parched areas of Beersheba, as a result of Dr. Lowder- 2—Friday, May 17, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Arabs Get Arms From U. S. and USSR While Israel's Role is Blurred . . . Tributes to Lowdermilk and May . Commendable Communal Program by Selected Leader No Submission to Destruction Guilt is mounting. Arabs keep talking about "frustrations" to justify mass murders. The United Nations , remains ineffective and a tool of the ter roes. Only from the United States, Canada and the Vatican came prompt re t i eat of um anities The world is on trial, as f bias the (mess of ,su# milk's program which led to soil conservation in Israel, the Lowdermilks were there to see the blessings of their teachings. Dr. Lowdermilk became famous for what he had termed the Eleventh Commandment he proposed for his conservation program. It was while speaking over the Jerusalem Radio 30 years ago that he uttered that Com- mandment, as follows: "Thou shalt inherit the holy earth as a faithful steward, conserving its resources and productivity from generation to generation. Thou shalt safeguard thy fields from soil erosion, thy living waters from drying IT, thy forests from desolation, and protect thy hills from over- grazing by the herds, that thy descendants may have abundance forever. If any shall fail in this stewardship of the land, thy fruitful fields shall become sterile, stony ground and wasting gullies, and thy descendants shall decrease and live in poverty or perish from off the face of the earth." It was this Lowdermilk-phrased Eleventh Command- ment that influenced the adoption of the Lowdermilk land and soil conservation program in Israel, and it spread to many lands. In expressing sympathy to Mrs. Lowdermilk on the passing of her eminent husband, those who shared the blessings of the Lowdermilk spirit and scientific skills also remember the share she had in his labors for Zionism and for human values. He was a blessing to Jewry and to mankind, and she remains among the great ladies who had a major role in these labors. The Remarkable Mortimer May Mortimer May was such a lovable man! He was a great Zionist—among the first Reform Jewish leaders to enroll in the movement and to become one of its chief advocates. Throughout his life, adherence to Reform Jewish prin- ciples and support of Zionism were his major ideals. He 'was a kindly man, always dignified, never shirk- ing responsibilities. His good wife was also with him. At Zionist con- ventions, at World Zionist Congresses, at sessions in Is- rael—they were together to be inspired and to inspire. Mortimer May enriched the Zionist ranks with his dedication, and his name will live in American Zionist history as a blessing. Kissinger Wit, a Joke While Shuttling; Possible Sarcasm When Henry A. Kissinger last traveled to Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, he must have become apprehensive about five members of the correspondents' corps who were Jewish, since Jews had not been admitted to Faisal's coun- try. He admonished the Jews who accompanied him, but they challenged him, and they went along in an apparent defiance. Bernard Gwertzman, one of this Jewish group, reported on it at the time. Last Friday's Gwertzman report to the New York Times by Gwertzman from Cairo was "A Reporter's Note- book" on a single day's activities, dated May 9, and it included this portion: "11:32 A.M.—Newsitan notes this is first time Mr. Kissinger had not come back (to the newsmen's section on the plane) to joke about an arrival in Riyadh. In past, taking note of Saudi anti-Zionism, he had suggested that WASPs on plane depart first." It wasn't a joke originally: perhaps it developed into sarcasm. In any event, in an era when the newsman compels respect for honor and honesty in politics and the White House, the shuttling of diplomats also developed an hon- orable approach to prejudice against Jews in an area in the world being developed into oil-infested power. The press can do more to compel human decencies than all the other estates that rule mankind. An Impressive Community Council Platform by the New President Less than a week before he was elected president of the Jewish Community Council, Lewis S. Grossman in- formed the delegates to the movement's assembly that he had accepted the nomination for the high office, offered to him by the unanimous decision of the nominating corn- By Philip Slot olitz mittee, to be in position to put into action a program which he formulated as follows: The Council Delegate Assemblies must become the major forum for the discussion and resolution of the im- portant issues affecting the Jewish community; We must improve our internal mechanism for com- municating with our local Jewish groups and refine our procedures for reacting to potential crisis situations; The Jewish Community Council should be innovative and creative in reaching the growing population of non- affiliated Jews; Our leadership role with groups outside the Jewish community must be re-established in the solution of com- mon problems; Jews face a crisis in propaganda as a result of a "new era" of Arab propaganda and political machination. We must intensify our activities in maintaining popularand governmental support for Israel, and we must into - those activities responsive to the problems of our Jews in the Soviet Union, and throughout the world; We must be far more effective in establishing com- munication and rapport with Jewish Welfare Federation agencies; and equally important, to expose Federation to additional community input and constructive criticism, as necessary. Reasoned discourse, active participation by all groups, can only help us all to achieve what should be our common goal—a vigorous, vital Jewish community. This is the set of rules which now will guide the JCCouncil to be administered by newly-elected President Grossman. The dignity with which he offered his objectives must have especially impressed the assembly delegates to give the mandate to Grossman. His outlined proposals suggest valuable means of attaining continuity in the stature of a movement aimed at advancing interest in civic protective aims, raising communal cultural standards, assuring re- spect for human rights for all in our community, and never forgetting the duties to Israel. Grossman was the successful campaigner (with Wil- liam Davidson as his co-chairman) in the great 1974 Israel Emergency Fund-Allied Jewish Campaign. Now he em- barks on another task in assuring a forum for communal services. He will surely have similar cooperation from all his fellow citizens in attaining goals for highest stand- ards in Greater Detroit community affairs. In Search of Correspondent With Late Justice Brandeis Purely Commentary, Oct. 24, 1941, carried this item regarding a young man who corresponded with Mr. Justice Louis D. Brandeis: Brandeis and Jewish Lawyers: A Story Related for First Time Now it can be told. Justice Louis D. Brandeis was not a defeatist. He rejected the attitude of those who desired that Jews should stay in the background and should not aspire to rise in the professions. In 1936, a young Detroit boy wrote to both Jewish Justices of the United States Supreme Court—Beh- jamin Nathan Cardozo and Louis D. Brandeis—asking for their advice whether a Jew ought to go in for the study of the law. Cardozo replied: "In my experience young men who give themselves faithfully to the daily task, year after year, attain a fair measure of suc- cess. There is, I am sure, some other formula." Mr. Justice Brandeis wrote back to the young man. In his first letter he stated: " 'Poor Jewish boys' have a great inheritance — the ability to pursue courageously a high ideal, patiently and unswervingly bearing the incidental hardships with confidence and resourcefulness. "Of course, 'if your heart fails, you do not climb at all.' But that would be unworthy of your inherit- ance." And a few weeks later he wrote the same boy: "The need of good lawyers—learned, diligent, de- voted to their clients and to the public, was never greater than it is today. The fact that one is a Jew and 'without connections' is no bar to success. Be scrupulously honest; live simply and worthily; work hard; have patience and persistence; and 't measure success by the number of dollars coil, .1, waste neither time nor money." Here's a credo which sums up the genius of one of the greatest Jews and Americans in many genera- tions. It gives briefly a set of rules worthy of the role in which he has been pictured—that of a modern prophet. At this juncture, it is difficult to explain why the young man's name was omitted from the comment. Now Prof. Melvin I. Urofsky of the State University of New York at Albany, together with Prof. David W. Levy of the University of Oklahoma, are in the process of completing another volume of the "Letters of Louis D. Brandeis." The referred to letter of more than 30 years ago would be valuable for that collection. If the young man whose letter Purely Commentary quoted can be reached, an important service in protecting historical records would be served by securing a copy of the inter- esting exchange of correspondence. Young man of 1941, please respond!