: • THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with thc issirc Qt . lid!/ 20, 1951 ARABS, COMMUNISTS AND OMER TOTALITARIAN$ Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 \V. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075. Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan arid Additional flailing Offices. Subscription $10 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ CARMI M. •SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher DREW LIEBERWITZ Business Manager Man News Editor . . . Heidi Pres,. Advertising Manager ant \ Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 18th day otAr 5735, the f011owing scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentatenchal portion, Dent. 7:12-11:25. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 49:14-51:3. , Candle lighting, Friday, July 25, 8:1-0 p.m. NOL. L\% II, No. 20 Page Four Friday, July 25, 1975 Cultural Exchange Deplorably Ruined Cultural exchanges between nations have so much value in cementing the best international relations that they must be encouraged and should serve valuably in advancing good will among peoples. Regrettably, the prejudices that stem from and have been enacted in the Soviet Union have served to destroy rather than ad- vance the most practical and most productive cultural relationships. Two eminent artists, the American operatic star Beverly Sills and the eminent Israeli pianist David Bar-Ilan, in a letter to the New York Times, published on July 13, expressed their indignation over occurrences which have marred the cultural exchanges and have disrupted the good feelings that should exist between the U. S. and the USSR. They stated in their letter which appeared under the heading "Preventing the Purpose of Cultural Exchange": Two recent instances of censorship in the United States raise serious questions about the consequences of American-Soviet cultural exchange. The first episode occurred in Los Angeles in June. Three separate advertisements were placed in the Bolshoi Opera program at the Shrine Auditorium. One, sponsored by the lo- cal Jewish Federation Council, welcomed the Bolshoi visit, but pointed out that continued repressions of Jewish artists in the Soviet Union were incompatible with the spirit of cul- tural exchange. The others were commercial: a piece promoting Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipe- lago," and an announcement of the appear- ance of the San Fransico Ballet in Los Angeles featuring Valery and Galina Panov (who are not defectors, but legal emigrants). The Bol- shoi threatened to cancel the company's ap- pearance unless all three ads were eliminated, and the auditorium management bowed to his pressure, and had the three pages of ads torn out of the program. The next episode took place in New York. Here, the Greater New York Conference on So- viet Jewry sought space for an ad in the Lin- coln Center playbill. When challenged that an ad might be considered offensive, the confer- ence offered to purchase a blank page which would carry nothing but the signature of the organization. It was then told no space in the program was available for the entire three- week run of the Bolshoi. The late Sol Hurok used to say that cul- tural exchange is "good" because it enabled a Russian ballerina to buy a $15 dress here and show it to her friends in the Soviet Union. Many of us have doubted that such exposure to the material benefits of free enterprise justi- fies the price, i.e., the respectability which the Russians felt cultural exchange gave them, and which carried within it the West's implicit approval of, or at least tacit indifference to, continued repressions in the Soviet Union. Now the Bolshoi incident serves to illustrate even further how perverted the purpose of cul- tural exchange can become. Instead of promot- ing• contact and liberalization, it has made us acquiesce to censorship. Under conditions like these, cultural exchange may become not only useless, but dangerous. The unfortunate incidents recorded in this letter point to many regrettable demonstrations of prejudice and indicate the shocking spread of stubborn bias that not only disrupts the worthi- ness of cultural. exchanges but also undermines the very dignity of human relations in ap- proaches to international good will. It is difficult to understand why Commun- ist Russia, which officially boasts of being the only form of government that declares anti- Semitism to be a crime against the state, should be a leader in fostering anti-Jewish feelings. The inheritance from Nazism has found root in the most socialistic of governments. The proof of the double talk on the part of Russian officials, who assail anti-Semitism when it serves the USSR purpose but fail to uproot the seeds of bigotry became evident in the Commun- ist trials, the explusion of Jews from major gov- ernment and academic positions and the sup- pression of the Yiddish press. The most shocking example of medievalism that has negated the most boastful of claims that Communists reject anti-Semitism became evident when the Russian government failed to interfere in the spread of the worst of all bigo- tries, the charge of ritual murder that had spread in the Ukraine and undoubtedly to other portions of the Soviet Union. The form that Russian prejudice has taken has spread to many areas. It is affecting Jewish attitudes. It is poisoning feelings here, as it has in Russia proper. Added to the restrictions on emigration of Russian Jews, the bias that has become evident in the course of sponsorship of cultural exchanges has disrupted the road to de- tente. The tragedy is that Americans who should know better, those who should encourage rather than hinder cultural exchanges have given com- fort to the Russian bigotries. Had the American sponsors of concerts by Russians exercised a measure of wisdom rather than submit to the poorest judgments in handling such matters, the confrontations might have been averted. Beverly Sills and David Bar-Ilan are serving the cause of cultural relations among nations in good fashion by warning against prejudiced and highhanded handling of programmatic rela- tions. Their rebuke also is an admonition against suppression of freedom of expression by people who differ. Not only cultural exchanges but freedom of the media are involved in the warnings of the two distinguished musicians. Perhaps their admonitions will aid in preventing the spread of the bigotries that have been hatched in the Soviet Union. Israel and the UN 'Herodian Period' Adds Value to Jewish History A major Jewish historical and literary task, which commenced some 15 years ago with the publication of the first volume in the se- ries, with the publication of the first of the encyclopedic works, "At the Dawn of Civilization," edited by the late Prof. Ephraim A. Speiser, reaches new heights with the appearance of the latest addi- tion to the vast effort which has just been published. "The Herodian Period" is the title of the new volume in a collective effort under the general title "The World History of the Jewish Peo- ple." A debt of gratitude is due the publishers, Rutgers University Press, for having undertaken this important task. The plan, thus far proceeding with significantly impressive re- sults, aims to cover all of Jewish history. The first five volumes already published are evidence of the progress made and the ex- tent of the researched labors incorporated in the immense ency- clopedic product. Dr. Michael Avi-Honah edited "The Herodian Period," with the as- sistance of Dr. Zvi Baras. A sad note accompanies this accreditation. Dr. Avi-Yonah, one of Israel's most distinguished scholars, died before the publication of this work and it serves as a specihl tribute to his memory. The 424 pages of text, including the extensive annotations, numer- ous maps and historic photographs of relics from that era, contains a thorough account of the very exciting Herodian period and the related Roman role in the shaping of events of that crucial era. The Roman-Hellenic conflicts, their effects upon the Jews in their struggles for independence, the temporary triumphs of the Hasmo- neans and their collapse which soon led to rule by Herod — these are the introductory factors in the struggles in that embattled field. In the turbulence of the epoch under review here, historic fig- ures play great roles. It is the period of Herod the Great, his son Herod Antipas, Roman emperors, Julius Caesar, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ. Scores of others historically significant are related to this era and are in the cast of characters of the volume that assumes vast importance in historical analyses. The years covered in this story, 63 BCE to 66 CE, are considered as the golden period in Jewish history. Yet they were marked by a begin- ning that was rooted in fratricide, by cruelties that were part of th royal family's quest for power, and at the same time by Temple-build- ing and notably constructive achievements. The excellent relations Herod I, called the Great, had with Rome, contributed to his successes in Temple construction and the building of fortresses, cities, citadels, which are now becoming better known as a result of extensive excavations. It was after the 100-year period un- der review here that the first Jewish expulsion from Judaea took place and the Bar Kokhba Revolt against Rome, in 66 CE, ended the epoch labeled the golden one in Jewish history. Responsible Americans are actin g promptly with their warnings that an attempt to expel Is - rael from the United Nations will not be toler- ated. The advance admonitions to the Third World, Arab and Communist delegations at the United In the work, "The Herodian Period," there is clarification of the Nations could well be interpreted as a warning long disputed interpretations of the Herodian policies. He had been to avoid the death knell for the world organiza - labeled a tyrant, a foreign agent who had undermined Jewish tion. traditions. The new approach in the present volume treats Herod The hatreds that developed on the banks of as the great creative force, as the builder and as the man who had the East River in New York have already rele - elevated Jewish standards and practices. Excavations play their role in the study under discussion and the gated the international arena into a cesspool of prejudice. The mere talk of expelling Israel has recent findings, as a result of the many digs, add to the merits of new created the nausea that may awaken those who historical research and analysis. by noted scholars, A. Schalit, M. Stern, J. Klausner, have joined the haters to withdraw from medi - S. Participation Safrai and H. D. Mantel, in addition to the editors, provide exten- evalism that has so often turned the hoped - for sive studies on the Masada structure, the social, economic and agricul- civilized society into a jungle. tural aspects of the period under discussion.