■ .... ■•■ ••• ■ ■■ ••,•• •■•■• imi:• ■ •; ••• ■ ••• ■ ■••■ • • THE JEWISH NEWS Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle coin mencing with the issue of1nly 20, 1951 A CLUN SWEEP Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. -N175: Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $10 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ DREW LIEBERWITZ Business Manager Advertising Manager Alan tiitskv. News Editor . . . Ileidi Press. Assistant Nel ■ s. Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 13th day of Adar 1, 5736, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 27:20 - 30:10; Deut. 25:17- 19. Prophetical portion, 1 Samuel 15:2 - 34. Candle lighting, Friday, Feb. VOL. LXVIII, No. 23 Page Four 13, 5:44 p.m. Friday, February 13, 1976 Political Dissectors and the Media Daniel Patrick Moynihan has become a sub- ject for political dissection. News analysts have acquired in him a topic for scrutiny involving in- ternational issues and because of his role at the United Nations the special emphasis is on American interests in the foreign policies of our government. possibility of temptation by a possible presiden- tial draft, why not Pat Moynihan's submissive- ness to a senatorial offer? Both are friends of Israel and the Jewish people. Would an oppo- nent or opponents to either one claim enmity for the Hebraic or the Gallic or the Slavic or even the Islamic? To some he is a genius, for others he is ana- thema and a means of emitting spleen. In the "Jewish vote" canard is imbedded dis- respect for the votor. Taking New York as an example, to be elected, any senatorial candidate would need two or three times the votes that might be accumulated by every available Jewish voter in the state. Why, therefore, create a trav- esty on common sense with the "Jewish vote" fa- ble? His flamboyance annoys some, and his mastery of repartee and use of strong English in tackling the indecencies that have been hurled at the United States and at Israel by the combined Arab-Communist bloc has had curious effects. Perhaps it is not surprising that he should be accused of seeking political advantage from the popularity he has attained. The annoyed call it notoriety. In the process of pinning uncertain- ties on Middle East issues revolving around the presidential election, there is the repeated refer- ence to the mythical "Jewish vote." Moynihan now is accused of seeking political advantages from this voting group he is described as having enchanted by his UN actions. Thus, even so logi- cal a writer as Russell Baker, commenting on Moynihan's sharp-tongued rhetoric, in a New York Times column entitled "Dangerous Case of English," linked Moynihan to possible Jewish vote-seeking: "Reporters who enjoy the hospitality of State Department men and even of Kissinger began. speculating publicly that Moynihan was speaking English for base and selfish pol- itical gain. In brief, that he was merely trying to ingratiate himself with the Jewish vote so as to launch a political career in New York." This could be prophecy or speculation or sensational gambling for newsgatherers' sensa- tionalism. But what has that to do with the Jew- ish vote? Indeed, Moynihan, whose motivation for re- signing as the chief U.S. delegate to the UN is his desire to retain his professorial position at Harvard, could, indeed, be drafted for the sena- torial candidacy in New York. What's wrong with that? If Hubert Humphrey admits to the Year of Solidarity Now, therefore, is the time for Jews to be- come annoyed. Moynihan can defend himself. He has given assurance that he has no present political ambitions. If he has, it is his business. There is no denying that he charmed many Americans, not necessarily Jews alone. What has occured at the UN, whose basic principles are being undermined in villainy, calls for guts. This country attained a strong representative whose fearlessness boosted him into dominance in front page headlines. If he can and wishes to capitalize on such sensational attainments, more power to him. Factually, however, a man seeking a high post in New York State would need many mil- lions of non-Jewish voters. A senatorial or any other campaign can not possibly be based on re- ligious appeals. But when the religious label is affixed to a candidate's intentions it can harm t' group claimed to be his aspirants more than ttr.-'candidate himself. Perhaps it needs repetition to express re- sentment at the excessive resort to a "Jewish vote" influence and to the effects on peace for Israel of a presidential election. If emphasis can not be placed on the issues and on the personali- ties then an American ideal is basically harmed. The task for responsible news analysts is to avoid such approaches which are detrimental to American political dignity. Aliya LaRegel A multiplication of difficulties for Israel in to Israel so that the evidence of interest in Israel the struggle to attain a status of modernism in should be in personal contacts with Israelis. an area that is influenced by medievalism makes That is why the LaRegel movement, the ex- unusual demands upon the kinfolk who make up pansion -of Solidarity Year, must be applauded. the Jewish people everywhere. The encouraging El Al Israel Airlines re- It stands to reason that every concerned and port shows that tourism to Israel is viewed in all identified Jew must provide the means for Is- seriousness as a vital part of Jewish devotion to rael's social program which would suffer with- the support of Israel. out the supplementary aid for which Jews share Meanwhile there emerges again the prob- a great responsibility. The duty to assist in in- vestments in Israel, in the purchase of Israel lem of Aliya, the need to encourage settlement Bonds, as a means of boosting Israel's economy, in Israel. This appeal is primarily addressed to the youth for whom there are so many oppor- is equally understandable. tunities for pioneering, for creativity, for valua- ble contributions to the advancement of prog- There are other obligations. Tourism is ma- jor in the program of cooperation with Israel. ress for Jews in an area of great challenge. The tourist dollar is vital to Israel's economy "Arise and Let Us Go Up to Zion" is the and even more important is the urgency of as- Aliya LaRegel clarion call meriting the cheerful suring continuity in kinship in the form of visits and dedicated response of American Jewry. Britain's Early Bigotry: Anti-Semitism Without Jews The dreaded Yellow Badge as a symbol of hatred for Jews first was in evidence in England. The atrocious ritual murder libel was rampant in the land that was later to become a beacon of light for the free world. In literature the Jew was depicted most miserably in the English language. One of the major sources of anti-Semitism was the work_ of the Bard of Avon, whose Shylock was used as an image to arouse dislike for and prejudice against Jews. Yet, Shakespeare wrote the "Merchant of Venice" at a time when there were no Jews in England, and most of the other evidences of venom were by people who did not know Jews because there were practically no Jews in England from the time of the expulsion in 1290 until the last years of the 16th Century. Many of the detailed facts are outlined in "Anti-Semitic Stereo- types Without Jews" by Rabbi Bernard Glassman (Wayne State Uni- versity Press). Numerous plays and literary appeals to hatred are among those researched in this excellent study of Jew-baiting in the land whence Jews had been driven. The few Jews who were left were unknown or were means for commercial gains in the land. Dr. Glassman gives an account of the ritual murder libel that became known as the High of Lincoln case that was drummed up against Jews. The guilt of the religious elements, of churchmen, in arousing hatred of Jews, is told factually, in quotations from tracts of anti- Semitism and sermons. The notorious case of the falsified treason charge against Eliza- beth's personal physician, Dr. Rodrigo Lopez, an apostate Jew who was sent to the gallows, is similarly related here as an incident in 1590. Then came the era of Cromwell and the resort to Jews as means of aiding England's economy and the role of Menasseh Ben Israel who led the appeal for the return of Jews to the British Isles. Dr. Glassman defines the end of such bigotries and the later role of Britain as a democratic country when he states in his concluding analyses of a land of venom when those discriminated against did not even know their oppressors: Ultimately, the increasing secularism of the age, the spirit of emerging capitalism, and the new social philosophiep pushed many of these anti-Jewish attitudes into the bad >j ground. It was not any significant change in Christian doc- trine that er.couraged the eventual toleration of the Jew in so- ciety. Instead, in the years that followed, forces beyond the realm of organized religion brought this goal to fruition, and they eventually made England a haven for Jews seeking re- fuge from persecution. The concluding summation on the interesting subject of anti- Semitism even when the Jew is out of sight contains these evaluations: The Jew, long associated in Christian teachings with the devil, was the logical person to be branded as a subversive. Along with the witch and the Catholic, he was the focus of the irrational fears of the multitudes. Yet, with the exception of the Lopez trial and a few less dramatic incidents, the actual Jews living in England were left in peace. Perhaps the main reason why England never had an or- ganized anti-Jewish policy after the explusion was that there were too few Jews in the country to pose a serious threat to the religious establishment. Thus, scattered Jewish families were not disturbed, even though theoretically they were forbidden to live in the country.