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2 October 17, 1975

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

Sakharov, the Man of True Greatness . . . Contrasts
in Senatorial Wishful Thinking . . . Christendom's
Bankruptcy in Lebanon ... Majority-Plurality Debate

By Ph ilip
Siomovitz

A Sick World's Armament Race

Bankruptcy of Christendom's Public Opinion

Israel's Minister of Defense Shimon Peres could not have had a different approach
to the opposition that has arisen to military aid for his country than the admonition,
which could also be interpreted as a warning in which he declared: Let the Egyptians
return the massive weapons they received from Russia, let them and the Syrians stop
gathering deadly weapons with which they are provided by the Soviet Union, and there
will be no need for additional military supplies for Israel.
It has been said before and it needs constantly to be reiterated that as long as there is
an armament race Israel must be fully provided with defensive weapons.
While the latest Israel-Egyptian agreement is a vital necessity for both peoples, the
future remains uncertain. Prophecies are either for those with tongue-in-cheek or for the
foolish: the Yiddish saying is "a novi is a nar" — a prophet is a fool.
In the endless struggles for Israel's security, in the aggravated complications that
affect Israel's status under a variety of pressures, anything bordering on a reduction of
Israel's defensive abilities is tantamount to an invitation to catastrophes.
The tragedy, on an international scale, is the armament race. The greed in national
quarters, including the competitive in this country which may be instigated by those
stemming from France, Russia and Great Britain, is a greater cause for alarm — and
disgust — than anything else occurring in this world afflicted with the sickness of oil and
arms-making on an international scale.
Shim Peres has sent forth a warning in his people's defense and a rebuke to muni-
tions makers. Will this, too, be ignored?

Israel's difficulties amidst a sea of enmity stem from age-old hatreds as well as
present-day bigotries. The anti-Semitism of fellow Semites, as the Arabs choose to call
themselves, adds poison to sick minds that begrudge Israel the right to live.
Lebanon's troubles are different. When that beautiful country that borders on Israel
emerged into statehood in the 1940s, the Christians are believed to have been equal in
numbers with the Moslems. The changes that have taken place, the numerical overbalance
of the Moslem population, the greed that comes with the quest for power — these are
some of the emerging factors that have created a menacing situation for the Christians
in Lebanon, especially the Maronite Catholics who have been craving for stability in a
friendly, sustained and secure Israel.

The Jew and the Arab:
Contrasted Wishful Thinking

In the U.S. Senate debate on the resolution approving
participation of American technicians in monitoring the
Sinai buffer area, the Jew, Jacob Javits, envisioned the au-
guring of an era of peace; the Arab, James Abourezk, pre-
dicted a war bloodier than ever. Was this a contrast in wish-
ful thinking?
Compelling also is the puzzle on Abourezk's stand on
the situation in Lebanon. He stems from Lebanese stock. If
he is a Manonite Catholic, or of whatever Christian denomi-
nation, doesn't he foresee greater trouble for his fellow co-
religionists in the current state of horror in the land that
was native for his parents, and how extensive is his compas-
sion for the pro-Israel Christians in Lebanon?

Andrei Sakharov, a Man
of True Greatness

Jews resenting and battling against hatreds, have had occasion to deplore the indif-
ference of Christians and their docility that often linked them with the barbarians. The
Lebanese Christians have a more serious complaint. The Christian world should have
come to their defense. A total victory for the Moslems who have been bred on hatreds
could lead to another horrible massacre of Christians comparable to the barbarities of the
Turks against the Armenians after World War I. Having had that experience as a lesson,
the Christian world nevertheless appears silenced by the oil magnated Moslems
The Christian silence in the wake of the Lebanese Christian tragedy and impending
danger is an indictment of the Christian world. One does not have to condone massacre
of Maronite Catholics; silence is tantamount to it.

Bernard Isaacs and S. M. Levin
Two of Detroit Jewry's most distinguished and highly
cultured personalities will be missing from the communal
activities and functions.
Bernard Isaacs and Samuel Levin, 93 and 87 respec-
tively, remained active and alert to the events affecting
their fellow humans to the very last hours of their lives.
Prof. Levin left an indelible mark in the academic com-
munity. His pupils were legion. Students of economics, so-
ciology and politics will continue to benefit from his many
writings. His essays and full-length books, his magazine ar-
ticles and his speeches, viewed the developing situations af-
fecting the three generations of his lifetime with a serious-
ness that was marked by progressive and liberal thoughts.
He was a pioneer in modern thought in his specialized field
of teaching and his many admirers attest to it with their
tributes to him.
Bernard Isaacs was a remarkable man. He ranked high
as teacher. He was the type of educator who inspired and
encouraged continuity in Hebraic studies.
A scholar who can both teach and address audiences
fluently, trilingually, as Mr. Issacs did, and who can write
with equal enthusiasm in three languages — Yiddish and
Hebrew in addition to English — does not surprise his con-
temporaries when he acquires recognition in world Jewish
ranks. He was admired in Israel as much as in this country
because his narratives, his skill as a fiction writer, gained
large readership in the ranks of Hebraists as well as the
English readers who benefited from the translations of his
books.
Because he had a good sense of humor in depicting the
Jewish characters in his short stories, he was able also to
charm his readers and listeners, and he emerged equally as
impressive as a conversationalist. It is no wonder that the
tributes paid to him are as warm and affectionate in Israel
as they are in this country.

Selection of Andrei Sakharov for the coveted Nobel-
Peace Prize provides great encouragement for all adherents
to libertarian principles and defenders of the cause of jus-
tice everywhere.
Dr. Sakharov was the dissident in Russia, in spite of his
dominant role in nuclear science. He has now won a coveted
prize for his battle for hu=
man rights.
He was unhesitant in
his defense of Jews who
wished to emigrate from the
USSR to Israel. During the
most vicious anti-Israel
propaganda centered in the
Kremlin, he defended the
Jewish state.
Outspoken, fearless,
displaying courage during Leonard N. Simons' Study
the most critical years for of Non-Philanthropic Tzedaka
himself personally, when he
Leonard N. Simons could have chosen research into his-
defied bigotry in his de-
mand for just rights for his tory, literature and ethical teachings and he would have
fellow men, he became one been as successful as he is as an advertising executive.
His "thoughts on the noblest Jewish tradition" pub-
of the world's most pro-
nounced and outspoken lib- lished as a "Zedakah" pamphlet and distributed by the Jew-
ertarians. The Nobel Com- ish Welfare Federation contains more than thoughts: it is a
ANDREI SAKHAROV
mittee itself gains glory for collection of basic interpretations of tzedaka as a matter of
having chosen for the honor so great and so courageous a non-philanthropic ideals of justice perpetuated in Jewish
man. Pride in the honor accorded Andrei Sakharov will be experience. It is the result of research and of anthological
devotion.
shared by lovers of liberty everywhere.
The recipients of this 24-page brochure will bless him
for the wealth of material he has gathered to share with the
booklet's readers.
UNESCO'S Corrective Attempt

UNESCO's board of directors, at a meeting in Paris,
undertook to correct the outrageous anti-Israel position it
had taken nearly a year ago.
Much more needs to be done than merely to reopen an
avenue for Israel's participation and for the restoration of
American financial support to the agency that should have
retained its vital role in human ranks, a role it abandoned
due to Arab bigotries concocted in cooperation with the So-
viet bloc.
If it is the American dollar that induced the new move
to return to sanity then it will react against the cause again
in the course of time.
Presently there still is the Communist insolence and
inhumanity that stands in the way of true decencies in re-
capturing the UNESCO role. Three Communist bloc na-
tions, including the Soviet Union, voted against the adopted
resolution to restore justice for Israel in the UN agency.
Decency still beckons for full reparation.

Isabella's Inquisition: Whorf's Delusion

Mike Whorf's Kalesidoscope (WJR), usually enlighten-
ing, rendered a disservice Monday by distorting historical
facts. The program glorified Isabella of Spain (on the occa-
sion of Columbus Day), with only a passing reference to
Isabella's role as a creator and encourager of the bloody
Catholic Inquisition. The program also gave a false image to
Christopher Columbus who may have been a Marrano Jew.
The afterthought repudiation of the Inquisition in a brief
mention did not correct an unfortunate misrepresentation
of established facts about a very cruel woman.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, who master-
minded the Inquisition and who endorsed the outrageous
ritual murder libel, built an empire and also set the roots
for the worst crimes in history. For this Isabella is dignified
with glory? Let the truth be re-established so that people
will not be misled by falsified history!

Parliamentarian Dispute:
Majority versus Plurality

Except for some states which require run-off elections
for major offices when a candidate does not attain a major-
ity vote, the plurality principle abounds.
How fortunate that the plurality principle is preferred
nationally and in most states for major offices! Selection
of a President might otherwise be delayed for many months
and the cost to the country and the states would be
enormous.
But at the Chicago convention of the Zionist Organiza-
tion of America there was a dispute over an amendment to
the constitution, which was recommended by a decisive ma-
jority of the national Executive Council, in favor of the plur-
ality idea. The need for a two-thirds vote caused the defeat
of the amendment for which 113 cast a favoring ballot but
the minority of 64 was enough to defeat the proposal.
It was because, at an earlier election, the chosen presi-
dent, who received a substantial vote, garnered only a plur-
ality against two opponents that the issue was raised. Dr.
Joseph P. Sternstein, who
was the plurality winner in
1974, has, in the first year of
his ZOA presidency, risen to
great esteem for his firm-
ness and courage. It has
merited his re-election by a
unanimous vote at the con-
vention in Chicago last
week.
What the ZOA constit-
uents had overlooked, possi-
bly knew nothing about,
was that on another occa-
sion a ZOA president rose to
the great honor by a plural-
ity vote. It was at the ZOA
convention held in Detroit in
1936. Dr. Solomon Goldman
SOLOMON GOLDMAN
was the victor against two
equally eminent rabbis and
scholars, Israel Goldstein and Israel Levinthal.
Only one strong possibility could possibly militate sen-
sibly against a plurality vote: in the instance of an uncanny
candidate lining up a large number of contestants who
would so split the vote that he, prepared for the trick, could
slip in with a handful of backers. But this implies dishon-
esty and no honorable Zionist would accept a suggestion
that such dishonor might sully Zionist dignity.
Suppose, however, such a sense of trickery existed?
Calling to witness, into the discussion, an eminent psy-
chiatrist, a solution is available in such a dispute. The
eminent Detroit and national psychiatric leader in his
ranks, Dr. Peter Martin, will assume the position of presi-
dent of the American psychiatric Association in January.
At that time he will begin a campaign for election to the
presidency of another prestigious organization, the Ameri-
can College of Psychiatry. The reason for such a campaign,
which will take him to many communities for an acquaint-
ance with his colleagues is that two other men have entered
the race for that post. Dr. Martin explained that all he
needs is a plurality vote — provided it is 40 per cent of the
total. Only if such a percentage is lacking will a run-off be
required. This suggests a way of retaining the plurality idea
while preventing intrusion of low grade political tactics.
In the instance of the Zionist Organization, one of
American Jewry's most eminent personalities, Dr. Solomon
Goldman, earned the ZOA presidency and one of his oppo-
nents, Dr. Israel Goldstein, a few years later also was ele-
vated to that post. With honorable intent a movement's
dignity is retained and protected.

