2 Friday, April 4, 1975

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

An Appropriate Honor: A Forest
in Israel for Lowdermilk

A Christian group in San Francisco has undertaken the
sponsorship of a most appropriate honor for one of the
great philo-Semites of this century. The planting of a Jew-
ish National Fund Forest in Israel bearing the name of Wal-
ter Clay Lowdermilk honorably perpetuates the memory of
the eminent soil conservationist and registers the determi-
nation of an appreciative community to pay due respect to a
man who had done so much in his chosen field and who had
contributed greatly towards Israel's agricultural develop-
ment.
In the Jewish community, the Lowdermilk name is un-
forgettable. His name, and the name of his equally distin-
guished wife, are perpetuated in the Lowdermilk scientific
building established at the Technion in Haifa.
Detroiters share with many in communities through-
out the land the recollections of eloquent declarations in
support of Zionism and the Jewish state by Dr. and Mrs.
Lowdermilk. They are remembered for their eloquent
speeches here at gatherings of the American Christian Pa-
lestine Committee and at other important events.
Dr. Lowdermilk's important book, "Land of Promise,"
served as an inspiration to many, and the late Judge Frank
Picard de . r:terl himself to the chairmanship of the Michigan
branch of the American Christian Palestine Committee
(whose honorary chairmen were U. S. Senators Homer Fer-
guson and Arthur H. Vandenberg) out of the inspirations he
affirmed upon reading this valuable work and later meeting
the Lowdermilks.
The project for the Lowdermilk Forest in Israel leads
to reminiscences about the activities of the Lowdermilks in
Detroit. He had given encouragement to this community's
Christian Palestine Committee and the city's most distin-
guished Christians became aligned with the movement that
gave support to the Zionist liberation ideal.
George F. Pierrot often presided at seminars conducted
by the Christian Palestine Committee when the Lowder-
milks visited here. Howell and Clara Van Auken were al-
ways among the dedicated participants in these labors, and
Clara expressed her interest in the Zionist cause and sup l
port of Israel during these trying times.
The Jewish interest in the Lowdermilks was, of course,
especially significant. The old file of the Lowdermilk record
of association with this community's admirers of his labors
brings to light a review of his book in the Detroit News by
the late Philip A. Adler. The distinguished journalist — he
lost his life in a plane crash in Japan in the late 1940s — had
become a follower of Vladimir Jabotinsky. He rejected ap-
peasement and felt that a militant stand was necessary to
attain the Zionist goal.
In his review of Lowdermilk's "Land of Promise (De-
- troit News, May 19, 1944) . Mr. Adler wrote, inter alia:

Several years ago, when the United States was
threatened by the dust bowl, Secretary of Agricul-
ture (now Vice-President) Henry A. Wallace ap-

California Christian Committee for Israel Earns- Commen-
dations for Remembering Lowdermilk, Noted Philo-Semite
. . . Recalling Christian Detroiters' Many Friendly Roles.

pointed Dr. Walter Clay Lowdermilk, distinguished
American soil expert, as the head of a commission to
study the causes and cures of dust bowls, which in
tiie past destroyed many a country and whole civili-
zations.
The commission traveled far. It went to China,
Japan, India, Persia, Egypt — 24 countries in all. It
studied deeply. It overlooked nothing. It even looked
into the Holy Land.
There, in the land of miracles, a miracle hap-
pened. In the Zionist portion of Palestine, compris-
ing but 5 per cent of the total area of the country,
with an agricultural history but a few decades old,
it found a cure for dust bowls.
But let Vice-President Wallace himself tell the
story, as he does on the jacket of Lowdermilk's book
"Palestine — Land of Promise," just published by
Harpers.
"He (Lowdermilk) returned from abroad and
came to our office. The very first thing he gave me
was a 30 to 40-page document with photographs, the
result of his observations in Palestine. Lowdermilk,
who is not of Jewish descent, has become the most
complete Zionist convert anyone could ask for."
* *

Dr. Lowdermilk's book is an expansion of that
original report. Much of it has to do with geology,
the chemistry of soils, erosion, irrigation, foresta-
tion and such. Much, which also has to do with the
soil, is accessible to the layman and is as fascinating
a story as any that has ever come out of the Holy
Land.
Removed from the soil for some 2,000 years, the
first Zionist settlers in Palestine tried to emulate the
peasants of Poland and Ukrainia, whence they
came, by just casting seeds on the ground and hop-
ing to gather a harvest. They soon discovered that
Palestine was not Ukrainia.
Centuries of neglect by Arabs had converted Pa-
lestine from a land of milk and honey into a land of
dust bowls and barren rock. Erosion had washed
away the humus. The Mediterranean which washes
Palestine is neither blue nor green, but a dirty
brown, saturated with the fertile soil of the Holy
Land. What to do?
So some 50 years ago Jewish pioneers in Pales-
tine did exactly what Secretary Wallace wanted Dr.
Lowdermilk to do. They made a study of the malady
of the soil, discovered its cause and found a cure.
Following is Dr. Lowdermilk's summary of their
work:
"This effort is the most remarkable we have
seen while studying land use in 24 countries. We
were astonished to find about 300 colonies defying
great hardships and applying the principle of co-op-
eration and soil conservation.

"Amazed by this phenomenon we gave much
time and attention to study of the methods ane
achievements of these colonies and the difficultie ,
they had to overcome.
"Here in one corner of the vast Near East, the
roughgoing work is in progress to rebuild the fert
ity of land instead of condemning it by neglect to fu
ther destruction and decay."
* * *
While studying Palestine's soil, Dr. Lowder-
milk made another discovery — its people. His con-
clusions are a denial of the view advanced by 13744 -\
ain's colonial office, as a justification of
government's breach of the Balfour Declaratio...,
that Palestine already has reached her saturation
point and cannot absorb additional Jewish immi-
grants.

Dr. Lowdermilk supports the Zionist position
that Palestine, which had reached her saturation
point of about 600,000 under Turkish-Arab domina-
tion, today supports about 1,800,000, thanks to Zion-
ist methods of economy, and, if turned over to Jews,
could support a population of about 5,000,000.
Dr. Lowdermilk makes the startling discovery
that the Bibical Palestine had a population of about
4,000,000.
He holds that Jewish genius, industry and
idealism can once more restore Palestine's prosper-
ity and make it the Land of Promise not only for
Jews but for mankind.

An important chapter in Zionist history is recapped by
the honors now being accorded the Lowdermilk name in the
form of a JNF Forest. Sponsored by Christians, it assumes
a universal aspect. It is a recognition of significant humani-
tarian efforts by a noble Christian who believed in the Jew-
ish cause and labored for it devotedly. The Lowdermilk
name thus continues to be inseparable from Zionism and
from Israel.

The Gullible to Arab Tourism
Damn clever, these tourist agents who organize trips
for rabbis, Christian clergymen, gullible writers!
They pay the price, they see what they are shown, they
hear those selected to appease them.
If a trained newsman who has an assignment in Cairo
or Beirut or Damascus or Baghdad or Riad can't get
through many of the gates shut to the public media, what
can a rabbi or a priest or a gullible touring newsman learn?
It's a good business and the tourist agencies have capi-
talized on gullibility. Some of the speeches by clergymen
and the articles by the newsmen have exposed the too-easily
deluded.
The warning, therefore, to listener and reader of re-
ports from such naive _people is: take what they give you
with a grain of salt.

`Hazor:' Fascinating Combination
of Israel's History and Archeology

Archeology has become
one of the great fascinations -
for Israel and for many
thousands who have visited
the country to participate in
searching for historic data
being unearthed under the
guidance of eminent schol-
ars and experts in recover-
ing lost treasures.
Prof. Yigael Yadin, for-
mer Israel chief of staff, is
the leading "digger" and the
guiding genius over activi-
ties of the many volunteers
who assisted in the great
and serious efforts.
Prof. Yadin's labors at
Masada and his volume de-
scribing the work, the best
selling "Masada," and his
subsequent work describing
additional findings, "Bar
Kokhha," had already estab-
lished the enviable record of
the noted scholar.

Now there is renewed
enrichment in Yadin's
"Hazor — The Rediscov-
ery of a Great Citadel of
the Bible" (Random
House). An old historical
chapter has thus been re-

written and the labors of
dedicated people are de-
scribed in such detail,
with such love, that the
author will surely share
inerasable glory from his
superb efforts.

As at Masada, Prof. Ya-
din was assisted by a large
corps of workers. As in the
Masada story, he goes into
great detail in describing ev-
ery step of the great pursuit
of historical truth in locat-
ing the ancient city and its
temple and in re-establish-
ing the truth of the story in
the Bible.
The Yadin diggings con-
firmed that the city of Ha-
zor, whose history dates
back to 2,500 BCE, was the
largest in Canaan, that it
was not only, as recorded, a
"chariot parking lot," but an
area that related to many
events in ancient Jewish his-
tory.
Prof. Yadin makes the
interesting observation
that:"Despite the fact that
our expedition was among
the largest of its kind in this

part of the world, after five
years of hard work we man-
aged to excavate only a
small fraction of the area.. It
would require another 500
years of digging — assum-
ing financial means were
available to us — to uncover
Hazor's secrets completely.
"Perhaps future archaeol-
ogists will revise some of
our conclusions and gain
further important data for
reconstructing the history
of Hazor. I wish these fu-
ture excavators one thing:
that they be able to recap-
ture the sheer excitement
and drama that pervaded
the work of the earlier exca-
vators of Hazor, this amaz-
ing tell of 22 cities."

The details described in
this immense work sub-
stantiates such conclu-
sions. An entire panorama
of historic details, the fas-
cination inherent in the
diggings, the experiences
of the volunteers and the
experts — all relate to a
great story which makes
"Razor" by Yigael Yadin

one of the outstanding
works relating to the ex-
tensive archeological
works conducted in Israel.

The summation by Prof.
Yadin gives a brief outline
of history reconstructed in
the new findings. Prof. Ya-
din states: "Clearly, as early
as the third millennium BC,
people had been attracted to
this spot by the springs in
the vicinity, the fertile
fields, and the strategic po-
sition of the nearby mound.
At that time, the city was
built on the mound only and
did not differ from many
other contemporary cities in
the country; in fact, it was
not among the largest.
"However, following the
establishment of the exten-
sive city — in both the upper
and lower areas — in the
18th Century, Hazor be-
came the seat of the Ca-
naanite kings who domi-
nated the area of Upper
Galilee and perhaps even
further north, south and
east of. it.
"It was with the rulers of
this Hazor that the kings of

By Philip
Slomovitz

Babylon and Assyria ex-
changed emissaries and
maintained active commer-
cial and political relations.
This was also roughly the
period of the Patriarchs,
who migrated to this part of
the world from Babylon.
Despite repeated destruc-
tions and reconstructions,
Hazor continued to be the
so-called capital of the area
during the 14th Century,•as
evidenced from the el-
Amarna letters and sup-
ported by our excavations.
Finally, in the 13th Cen
tury, Jabin, king of Hazor,
was defeated by Joshua and
the conquering tribes of Is-
rael."

With "Masada" and
"Bar Kokhba," the vol-
umes that preceded it,
"Hazor" adds glory to
science, archeology and
historical research.

"Hazor" combines history
with archeology and the
book reads like a novel. Is-
rael's noted quest for schol-
arship is greatly enhanced
in this magnificent work.
—P. S.

Eliav Quits
Labor Party

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Ar-
yeh Eliav, a veteran Labor
Party member and its for-
mer secretary general, an-
nounced last week that he
was quitting the party be-
cause of his long time differ-
ences over policy and the
quality of its leadership. He
said he would retain his
Knesset seat as a one-man
independent faction.
Eliav charged the p
with indulging in extA
gances and actions ill befit-
ting a workers movement.
He said his disgust with
the party's chasing of public
loans to pay its debts and
his votes against the party
line in the Knesset led to a
confrontation which decided
him that the time had come
to leave its ranks.

Streisand Party
Aids Jewish Fund

LOS ANGELES — The
United Jewish Welfare
Fund here received more
than $423,000 in pledges at
an afternoon meeting at the
suburban home of singer
Barbra Streisand.

