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14—Friday, August 9, 1974
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
`Borderline', Reviewer's Verdict
on Zeldes's 'Golgotha' as Art
diminish Peter's hatred for
A Review
By ALLEN A. WARSEN Jesus.
The body, however, was
"Golgotha" by former De-
troiter Chayim Zeldes (Avon that of another victim.
Some time later when un-
Books), does not have a con-
tinuous plot, but consists of expectedly he saw Jesus
82 incidents. Most of them alive and well and accom-
are either horror stories or panied by a woman, he be-
descriptions of sex orgies. came so terrified that he lost
The incidents happened at the conciousness and began to
time Judea was a Roman deteriorate physically and
province and Pontius Pilate mentally.
its procurator (governor).
Like Peter, the other char-
In addition to Pontius acters too are morally de-
Pilate, the book's more im- prayed and sexually perver-
portant characters are Jesus,
Peter, Herod and his wife.
Though the names are his-
torical, the roles their bear-
ers play are not. They are
the creations of their author's
imagination.
Let us examine some of the
characters.
First, who is the Jesus in
"Golgotha?"
Originally, he was the
leader of a band of freedom
fighters. Soon, however, his
courage deserted him and he
became despondent and in-
different, and "did not feel
that something could come
CHAYIM ZELDES
from life."
ted. For instance, Herod's
That attitude outraged Pet-
wife (no name) was attended
er and he reproached Jesus: by naked males and females
"What a miserable speci- while bathing. She cultivated
men you are . . . I don't paramours "as one cultivates
,understand it, I really don't. animals for amusement."
You were another man en- One of her paramours, be-
tirely when we were out in lieve it or pot, was Peter.
the desert and in the caves. Her husband . was just as
You were passionate; you wicked, if not more so. No
were articulate; you had less wicked were the Roman
ideas, plans. You were a officials including Pontius
real leader in every sense of Pilate. They were, moreover,
the word. But in the past bloodthirsty brutes. Even the
few weeks . . . you're not pathetic Judas was found in
even a caricature of a lead- a shed with a milkmaid.
er any • more. Frankly, I
Fortunately, no periodical
don't know why we ever with high journalistic stand-
chose you."
ards would publish quotations
However, Jesus' mood re- depicting obscene descrip-
mained unchanged. His frus-
tions. Therefore, this review-
trations even increased. He er left out all erotic refer-
even started to doubt in the
ences including the ones re-
existence of a world-to-come.
lating
to Jesus and Peter.
". . . what life other than
Should someone ask, "Is
on earth could there be?
Only a deluded or deranged "Golgotha" a work of art or
is it smut?" The reply would
mind could project the im-
age of this world beyond the be, "It is on the borderline."
grave."
Frustrated, Jesus departed Jerusalem Beauty
to the wilderness where by
coincidence he met a girl Advocate Haezrahi
he had known from a pre- Dies at Age of 54
vious encounter. There in a
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Fun-
cave they lived like husband
eral services were held Mon-
and wife.
Now what sort of a man day for Yehuda Haezrahi, a
writer and one of the most
was Peter?
A butcher by occupation, consistent campaigners for
"Peter was a big-boned man" a beautiful Jerusalem, who
with a thick-skulled head, died Friday night at the age
blue-black chin and dark of 54. As the leader of the
deep-set eyes. He felt an an- Jerusalem branch of "The
imosity for Jesus, though he Council for a Beautiful Is-
was his right-hand man and rael, Mr. Haezrahi devoted
chief of the disciples whom his last years to an uninter-
he regarded as "bumbling rupted battle for the preser-
idiots." His animosity was so vation of the beauty of the
strong that in a vision "He capital, inveighing against
saw Jesus flogged, hung the intensive developments
drawn and quartered, pierced of skyscrapers and modern
by a rain of arrows. He saw hotels which were obliterat-
Jesus on a crucifix with nails ing buildings of historical
value.
through his wrists and
Described by many as the
"ankles."
While witnessing an execu- "Don Quixote of Jerusalem,"
tion at the Hill of Skulls he stubbornly led the battle
(Golgotha, the place where for architectural beauty from
the Romans crucified their his Jerusalem stone-built
victims), Peter thought that home in one of the city's
he recognized on a cross the older neighborhoods.
once slender and graceful
body of Jesus now "hideous-
A life is more precious
ly mangled." Even this than the time you'll save
frightening scene did not speeding.
Device by Israeli
Helps in Protection
of Winter Crops
BEERSHEBA — An Israeli
tractor mechanic has devel-
oped a device which facili-
tates the covering of vege-
tables or fruits in the fields
with polyethelene sheets.
David Zmiri who studies
mechanical engineering at
Ben-Gurion University of the'
Negev, developed the device
while working on a project
under the direction of Simcha
Bar-Nafi and Eliezer Rappa-
port of the faculty of tech
nological sciences.
"European markets are
starved for vegetables during
the winter months and in Is-
rael it is possible to grow
vegetables during this season.
It is customary to protect
them from frost by means
of -gunnels' made of polyethe-
lene sheets supported by steel
arcs," Zmiri explained.
At present, metal wires in
short lengths are passed from
one worker to another who
bends them and thrusts them
into the soil. Following this,
a machine stretches the
sheets over them.
Zmiri discovered a device
which presents the flexible
steel wires to the worker
who, in turn, bends and
thrusts them into the soil. The
device pulls the flexible steel
wires directly from a bundle.
By a grooved wheel the wire
is transferred to the worker.
Thus it is possible to save
the time and labor of one
worker.
Israel Seminar Set
for U.S. Sephardim
NEW YORK — A group of
more than 40 young Sephar-
dim from throughout the
United States will depart
Monday for an intensive
three-week travel and study
seminar in Israel to prepare
them for - work in the Sep-
hardic Jewish community in
the United States.
Haim Eliachar, chairman
of the board of the American
Sephardi Federation, which
is sponsoring the Summer
Seminar for Young Sephardi
Leadership,•said that the par-
ticipants were recruited by
adult community leaders.
Ranging in age from 17 to
25, they were chosen because
of their leadership or "poten-
tial leadership" abilities.
The participants will study
immigration and integration
of Oriental Jews, social prob-
lems and social structure in
Israeli society and the Orien-
tal influence in Israeli folk
dance, music and folklore.
Course for Jewish.
Librarians Started
LOS ANGELES (JTA) —
The Los Angeles Bureau of
Jewish Education has started
a librarian-teacher accredi-
tation course, in conjunction
with the California branch of
the Hebrew Union College,
the Reform seminary, for
professional in Jewish
schools, synagogues, centers
and other Jewish communal
institutions.
According to Edward San-
ders, president of the Jewish
Federation-Council, a varied
curriculum of Judaica and
library science is being of-
fered through HUC with
formal certification awarded
by the BJE, the educational
arm of the federation.
Trade Act Amendment Opposes Foreign Aid -
to Nations Preventing Emigration
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Rep. Jonathan Bingham
(D., NY) announced that the
House Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee adapted his amend-
ment to the administration's
proposed Foreign Assistance
Act for the fiscal year of
1975 to put the Congress on
record as opposing American
aid to any country which
denies its citizens the right
to emigrate.
In the first day of con-
sidering amendments to the
act, the committee adopted
the Bingham amendment,
which, he said, was stimu-
lated primarily by the tragic
plight of 4,800 Syrian Jews
who have not been allowed
to leave that country.
"These Syrian Jews have
been subjected to arbitrary
arrest and harassment and
have been denied the most
basic human rights and lib-
erties including. the right to
emigrate and escape oppres-
sion," Bingham said. "My
Literary Footnote:
Peres Is a Poet
aniendment expressed the
sense of Congress that United
States aid should not be pro-
vided to such nations which
deny their citizens the right
or opportunity to emigrate."
!Bingham, who has long
supported the Jackson/Mills-
Va n i k legislation denying
most favored nation status
and trade credits to the So-
viet Union until it permits
free emigration, noted that
his amendment was the first
significant extension of this
principle to other nations.
The amendment was included
in the section of the bill
which authorizes $2.8 billion
in foreign aid, including al-
most •1 billion for nations of
the Middle East.
Rabbi Joseph Harari, di-
rector of the Committee for
Rescue of Syrian Jews, told
the JTA in New York that
two weeks ago, in prepara-
tion for the presentation of
Bingham's amendment, his
committee members sent
telegrams to every senator
and congressman urging the
adoption of the policy ad-
vanced by the Bingham
amendment. "We urge you to
insist that no aid or credit
shall be granted in any form
to the Syrian Arab Republic
until it permits the departure
of its captive Jewish minor-
ity," the telegram said in
part.
"We hope, that this con-
gressional action makes it
clear to the Syrian govern-
ment that it cannot expect to
receive any American aid un-
til it releases our brethren,"
said Rabbi ,Harari. He said
Bingham, as well as Repre-
sentatives Herman Badillo --
Ogden Reid, Benjamin R
senthal and Edward Koch,
all Democrats of New York,
deserve credit for` their part
in bringing about this amend-
ment.
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By YITZHAK SHARGIL
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Moshe
D a y a n dug archeological
relics, and now it turns out I
that his successor, Defense
Minister Shimon Peres, digs
poetry, and even writes it.
In fact, a poem written by
Peres and recorded by the
fainous Israeli singer , Yaffa
One of Allied Van Lines Largest Haulers
Yarkoni, is now moving up
to the top in pop songs on
- 1300 N. Campbell Road
2253 Cole Street
Israel radio.
Royal Oak
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The public did not know
that Peres wrote poetry until
LI 1-3313
MI 4-4613
he disclosed it himself during
an interview several weeks
ago. Miss Yarkoni then asked
Peres to give her one of his
poems for her to record as a
song.
The poem he gave her was
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written after the Six-Day
War and was about Kalya,
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IMMEDIATE
Miss Yarkoni presented
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Peres with a record of the
song, "In Praise of Kalya,"
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adapted by Kobi O _ shrat from
the Peres poem.
It includes such verses as:
"Behind the scenes Kalya is
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