48 Friday, July 25, 1975
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
A Bicentennial Feature
<9,
The Government of Moses and the United States
(Editor's Note: The fol- sonahle to examine the na- seven years, in the year of
lowing article is a portion
ture of government He did jubilee, all debts should be
of the book "The Origin of ordain, and we shall find it cancelled and all unful-
Republican Form of Gov- consisted of those parts, filled obligations annulled.
ernment" written by Os- besides the magistrates of
In that year, likewise, all
car Straus (1850-1926),
the several tribes and cities: agricultural property and
who served as Minister they had a chief Magistrate, all realty other than real
Plenipotentiary under who was called Judge or estate located in walled ci-
Presidents Grover Cleve- Captain, as Joshua, Gideon, ties was to revert to the
land and William McKin-
and others; a council of sev- original owner or to his
ley. Straus' book showed enty chosen men, and the heirs at law, discharged
that the form of govern- General Assembly of the from all lien, debts, en-
ment established by Moses people.
cumbrances, etc. In this
was followed in later
wise the permanent accu-
The first was merely oc- mulation of large tracts of
times. This article is an-
other in a series published casional, like to the Dicta- lands in single hands or
by the Jewish News dur- . tors of Rome . . . The second families was rendered im-
ing the American Bicen- is known by the name of the possible, and thereby would
Great Sanhedrim, which
tennial.)
being instituted by Moses, have been preventive of the
according to the command
of G-d, continued till they
were all, save one, slain by
Herod.
And the third, which is
the Assembly of the people,
was so common that none
can be ignorant of it, but
such as never looked into the
Scripture. The author then
cites Josephus, Philo, Mai-
monides, and Abarbanel in
confirmation of his text.
OSCAR STRAUS
Algernon Sidney, whose
"Discourses Concerning
Government" was the chief
text-book of the founders of
our government, and whose
works were to he found in
the libraries of Franklin,
Adams, Jefferson, and
many others of our scholars,
statesmen, and divines,
sums up his estimate of the
Hebrew Commonwealth in
these words: "Having seen
.what government G-d did
not ordain, it may be rea-
Aside from this popular
and progressive system of
government that was or-
ganized by Moses and his
immediate successors, a
number of statutes were
passed, doubtless with a
view of raising the people
up to such standard of
moral worth that they
might be a law unto them-
selves-and long cherish the
blessings of civil freedom
under their G-d given gov-
ernment; statutes that lie
at the root of our most ad-
vanced civilization, that
embody the highest justice
and the broadest human-
ity. They had their stat-
utes of limitations, which
provided that at the end of
every cycle of seven times
species of slavery known as
the feudal system.
No better law than that of
Moses. could have been de-
vised to maintain political
equality. The effect was the
same as if the state retained
the fee and every 50 years
made leases to every head of
a family at a nominal
rental. In fact, we find a
positive provision that the
land should not be perma-
nently alienated: "The land
shall not he sold forever; for
the land is mine, for ye are
strangers and sojourners
with me" (Legit. XXV 23).
The Homestead and ex-
emption laws find their ori-
gin in the following humane
provision of the Mosaic code:
"No man shall take the up-
per or nether millstone to
pledge; for he taketh a
man's life to pledge." The
principle embodied in this
law is being gradually rec-
ognized in the civil laws of
all nations, that a man can-
not by distraint for debt be
deprived of the necessary
means of sustaining life.
Provisions were also
made prohibiting the land
proprietor from gleaning
the fields and reaping the
corners, so that the poor and
the stranger might gather
the leavings, and thus be
relieved without being hu-
miliated.
(Copyright 1975, JTA. Inc.)
VIENNA — The Jewish
community in Austria is
dying. In Vienna, which was
one of the world's greatest
Jewish centers before World
War II, only 7,311 Jews are
registered. In 1938, it was
more than 200,000.
"I cannot see much of a
future for Jews in Austria,"
said Anton Pick, president
of the Vienna Jewish Com-
munity (Kultusgemeinde).
There are about 500 regis-
tered Jews living in other
parts of Austria. The num-
ber of Jews who did not reg-
ister with community or-
ganizations is estimated at
about 2,000 persons.
The
Kultusgemeinde
opened a new administra-
tion building combined with
a home for the aged in 1972.
The home — with space for
150 old-age pensioners —
was combined with a geria-
tric clinic that can take care
of 40 patients.
At the 1972 election of
the Vienna Jewish Com-
munity the Poale Zion
(Bund Werktaetiger Ju-
den) representing Zionist
and Socialist politics —
gained 14 seats. The Or-
thodox group won three
seats; the Bund Jued-
ischer Verfolgter Des Nazi
Regimes (led by Nazi-hun-
ter Simon Wiesenthal)
three; and the Zionists
four seats.
The community offers a
new kindergarten which is
attended by more than 30
children. About 250 children
attend two Talmud Torahs.
The Kultusgemeinde is
working on plans for a
youth exchange program
with Israel.
Pick said there were sev-
eral reasons why the num-
ber of Jews is still declining
in Austria. He listed the
shock caused by the Nazi
Holocaust 'and latent anti-
Semitism in Austria as
main causes, besides the old
age of many members.
Some people are also wor-
ried by the neutral position
the Austrian government
takes in the Middle East
conflict, a Jewish source
said. Bruno Kreisky, Aus-
tria's Jewish-horn Chancel-
lor, claimed there is no anti-
Semitism in Austria.
This statement was con-
tradicted by a public opin-
ion poll published by the
weekly magazine Profile
last winter. The poll showed
that 70 percent of all Austri-
ans over 16 had at least
some anti-Semitic feelings.
Of these, 24 percent admit-
ted they had strong anti-
Semitic opinions; 35 percent
would not marry a Jew; 21
percent felt that it would be
best if there were no Jews at
all in Austria.
Jews are also very un-
happy because of Austria's
attitude towards the Mid-
dle East. Austria adheres,
in its official policy, to res-
olution 242 of the United
Nations Security Council,
ordering Israel to return
all occupied territories.
Kreisky visited the Middle
East twice in recent years
heading fact-finding mis-
sions of the Socialist Inter-
national. He has tried to
ease the path for the solu-
tion of the Middle East con-
flict, as he sees it.
Kreisky hosted President
Anwar Sadat of Egypt in
Vienna late in May. Israeli
Premier Yitzhak Rabin is
expected to pay a long-de-
from centuries of bondage,
not only recognized the
guiding principles of civil
and religious library that
"all men are created equal,"
that G-d and the law are the
only kings but also estab-
lished a free common-
wealth, a pure democratic-
republic under a written
constitution, "a government
of the people, by the p -
and for the people."
Akin to this humane and
tender consideration for
the poor are the statutes
requiring the master to
pay the hire of his servant
promptly on the day when
due: "Neither shall the
sun go down upon it, for he
is poor and setteth his
heart upon it." There is a
Boris Smolar's
sense of mingled kindness
and justice expressed in
this injunction, and the
reasons assigned for its
strict obedience appeal
touchingly to the master's
o bliti
ga on.
Editor-in-Chief
Numerous other laws of
Emeritus, JTA
universal application are s (Cop y ri g ht 1975, JTA, Inc.)
contained in this code,
which provides not only
for justice tempered with
THE RETIREMENT ISSUE: The method of retiring
mercy, as between man highly experienced top executives by Jewish organizations
and man, but prohibits and communal agencies is beginning to stir up special inter-
cruelty towards the lower est in the communities. There are today in the field of Jew-
animals.
ish communal service at least 200 retirees from major Jew-
'Between You
... and Me'
The lessons of the decline ish organizations, Jewish Community Centers and Jewish
of this republic are as valua- education agencies. All of them have accumulated experi-
ble and instructive as that of ences valuable to Jewish communal life. Some of them have
its development. It was not distinguished themselves in making exceptional contribu-
subverted by force, nor by tions not only to their own agencies but also to the Jewish
the tricks or cunning devices community in general.
of unscrupulous leaders, as
In the last two years alone some 30 creative top execu-
was the case with the Gre- tives have been retired, half of them executive vice presi-
cian, Roman, and Venetian dents and executive directors — thinking men of high
republics, but by the people standing in communal work and with enviable records of
exercising their democratic achievements. The others were similarly well-seasoned and
prerogative, the right of highly experienced, each serving 25 years or more.
choice to set up over them-
How have they been replaced? . . . Some of them
selves such form of gover-
very few—were succeeded by members of their own staff
ment as they might elect.
Their original construc- trained "to take over." But most of the replacements came
tion provided such a contin- through luring away executives from other Jewish agencies.
gency, and while giving As a result, somewhere in a Jewish community an executive
warnings against it, con- place remained vacant in some agency. It was eventually
tained instructions for es- filled by a candidate less experienced than his predecessor
tablishing a form of monar- and with less knowledge in the field.
chy which would be farthest
A lot of valuable experiences have been lost also in the
removed from tyranny. communities where organizations and agencies succeeded
Thus we see at this early pe- in luring away good workers from their positions to fill the
place of the retired top executive. Very few newly-appointed
executive vice presidents or executive directors have the will
to consult their predecessors; most of them prefer to go
their own way. The consultative status which some of the
retiring top executives are given in recognition of their ex-
pert knowledge is in most cases fictional.
layed official visit to Aus-
FLEXIBILITY IN RETIREMENT: The National
tria in late August. Rabin's
visit had been postponed Conference of Jewish Communal Service, at its meeting last
repeatedly because of grow- month, predicted in a resolution that problems related to
ing differences between the retirement will eventually present a serious challenge to the
two countries on the Middle entire American Jewish community.
The basic question is: Is there a need for greater flexi-
East assessment, Jewish
sources said.
bility as to retirement age, and whether retirement should
These included Austria's he mandatory or perhaps gradual? The NCJCS anticipates
position toward the Pales- that the number of retiring Jewish communal workers will
tine Liberation Organiza- increase substantially in the next five years. The Council of
tion. Another issue, which Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds similarly foresees
influences relations be- this possibility.
This is why the Council has embarked on a prograr?
tween the Austrian govern-
ment and the Jewish com- supporting the training of young men and women for c'
munity is the refusal of tive positions in the Jewish communal apparatus. The 1:1-„in-
Austria to compensate Is- ing process is going very well, as indicated by the Baltimore
rael for lost property of Jewish College and other selected Jewish institutions of
Jewish Nazi victims.
higher learning where the program has been introduced.
Jews are unhappy be-
But it takes several years until a new crop of trainees for
cause Austrian Justice
executive posts is ready to enter the field. In the meantime
authorities have not the cadres of thinking top executives with innovative ideas
is thinning out.
staged a single war crimes
trial in the last three
A very important factor that emerged from the respon-
years. Simon Wiesenthal,
ses to an NCJCS questionnaire is the current inadequacy of
head of the Jewish Docu-
some pension plans in the field; also the need for retirement
mentation Center, said the
income to be related to the changing economic conditions.
Austrian government was
Some of the national Jewish organizations and some Jewish
afraid that trials would
federations have already begun to make inflation adjust-
end in acquittals.
ments in the pensions of their retired executives.
In 1970, a total of 800 war
The Council of Jewish Federations has made a special
criminal cases were under study of pension standards in Jewish communal 'institu-
tions. The recommendations emanating from the study
investigation in Austria.
Five years later, all but
were approved by the CJFWF General Assembly last year.
about 30 of them were They urge, among other things, the reviewing of pension
plans periodically to upgrade and update pension provi-
closed without going to
sions.
trial, Wiesenthal said.'
Austria's Jewish Community Is Dying
By PETER FRIEDLINGER
7 6 - 19 I C'
riod of mankind — 1,500
years and more before the
Christian era, before Rome
had obtained a foothold in
history, 500 years before
Homer sang, and 1,000
years before Plato had
dreamed of his ideal re-
public, when all western
Europe was an untrodden
wilderness — the children
of Israel on the banks of Jor-
dan, who had just emerged