THE JEWISH NEWS FOiti1/481K1.414TEk1 9 77 Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July .20, 051 Member American Association of English-Jewish lewspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing- Co., 17515 AA'. Nine Mile, Suite Sti5, Southfield, Mich. 48075. 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 tiitsky, News Editor . . . Heidi Press, Assistant News Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the fourth day of Tevet, 5737, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Genesis 41:1-44:17. Prophetical portion, Zechariah 2:14-4:7 Friday, Dec. 24, Fast of the Tenth of Tevet Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 32:11-14; 34:1-10. Prophetical portion (afternoon only), Isaiah 55:6-56:8. Candle lighting, Friday, Dec. VOL. LXX, No. 16 Page Four 24, 4:47 p.m. Friday, December 24, 1976 To the Synagogues, Ye Faithful In a wholesome society, people of good will respect the festivals of those who differ religiously. The holiest day on the Christian calendar is a time for Jews to greet their Christian fellow citizens with best wishes for merriment. Christians exchange the compliment and wish us a Shana Tova on Rosh Hashana and a Happy Hanuka when we greet them with a Merry Christmas. These friendly and human spirits do not affect synagogue or church. We go to the former, they go to the latter, and when there is a common spirit of genuine Good Will it has emphasis in the houses of work- ship when each faith respects itself. It is out of such self-respect that there develops re- spect for one another. Therefore, when the neighbors go to church, we go to the synagogue. And in exchanging wishes for good will and festival merriment we increase our re- spect for those who observe faithfully. In such a society it is necessary for those who admire the faithfulness of others also to be faithful to themselves. Therefore, the clarion call to the Jewish community on this Christmas Eve: To the Synagogues, ye faithful! Kissinger in a Blaze of Respect Dr. Henry A. Kissinger's departure from the highest post in the land next to the presidency may not be in a blaze of glory, but it certainly is in a role of great respect for a very brilliant statesman. Of course there are arid there will be criticisms. Already there are assurances that the incoming Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, will be different, that the powers that had been attained by Dr. Kissinger will under the new Administration revert to the President. The implications are clear—that the retiring head of the State Department had dominated in the making of foreign policies. Nevertheless, there is a record for service by the retiring diplomat that should not be ignored. There are Jews iri Diaspora and Israelis in Israel who are embittered over the Kis- singer Middle East policies. There are many others who have an appreciation for the Kissinger efforts. The fact is that the Kissinger shuttle diplomacy which the incoming Administra- tion promises to scrap has brought results not to be ignored and greatly to be ap- preciated. - Israel made concessions to Egypt and Syria, and the extremists don't like it. But hostilities ended on both borders, warfare has ceased and there is a measure of coop- eration with both Egypt and Syria in assur- ing an adherence to a workable armistice. Will the truce last? It has survived many criticisms, and Dr. Kissinger still is the butt of many thrusts at him for not hav- ing yielded in many anticipated special in- clinations for Israel. The most recently quoted Kissinger view that he believes Sadat to be more amicable for diplomatic agreements than the Israelis may create resentment. But the retiring Secretary of State did reach into previously closed quar- ters in both Sadat and Assad camps, and the ultimate result must be viewed as of benefit to a hoped-for peace in an embattled area. Dr. Kissinger has been blamed for the U.S. support of the recent UN resolution which was critical of the establishment of a number of Jewish settlements in West Bank areas. The contention is that this has been a consistent U.S. policy and that support of that resolution of rebuke to Israel averted adoption of a much more serious condemna- tion. There is cause for regret for many of the State Department positions pursued in the foreign policy programs relating to the Middle East, but the long-range results augur a good mark for the Kissinger pro- gram. The ultimate aim, preventing more bloodshed, aspiring to an accord for an end to hostilities, is what is vital historically. Naturally there is hope that the new Secretary of State will be successful in br- inging the contending Arab-Israel forces closer, that there may be some form of peace. Yet it must be admitted that the hoped for successes by Secretary Vance will be the result of preparatory labors by Secre- tary Kissinger. Therefore, the Kissinger ef- forts must be viewed as meriting glory and certainly will be marked historically with respect. Auction Bloc Threat to a Nation If it were not so serious it would be humorous — the manner in which every nonentity in the Middle East is speculating , over Israel's existence. PLO and cohorts, Sadat under pressure, Assad in a renewal of amity with Arafat after the Lebanese civil war — all are en- gaged in architectural ploys formulating a new so-called Palestinian state. None asks the Jordanian king for an opinion or Israel for consent. The assumption is submission. But to submit in the form proposed for the peace used as a taunt would mean Israel's suicide. The enemy hasn't learned that in Jewish life suicide is anathema. M EW P EAc( - 7 - \ - .. hv iriATIVES 4 are g jwing aip Atikk, l‘ita, Impressive 900-Page Volume Sachar's 'History of Zionism' Covers Total Zionist Experience Jewish historical studies are greatly enriched and Israel's history is monumentally presented in "A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time" by Howard M. Sachar (Knopf). So thorough is the summation of Zionist and Israeli history in this impressive volume of more than 900 pages that it covers every aspect of state-making and state-building, with a timeli- ness in coverage and the most up-to-date facts yet published in a single book. Dr. Sachar traces Zionist history with a thorough study of Jewish nationalism as it is affected by conditions in European communities. The result of such a study is the emergence not only of pre-Israel Jewish experiences but actually of the basic historic events as they affected Jewish life, during the tragic eras leading up to the Nazi period and the subsequent occur- rences that were inherent in the struggle for statehood in the troubled times of British mandatory rule in Palestine. None of the important events in Zionism is ignored in the voluminous work. The Weizmann-Jabotinsky conflict, the chal- lenges of the Revisionists, the power of the Labor Party Mapai Poale Zion as well as the American experiences all combine to form a matrix of historic merit. Equally significant is the evaluative approach in most scholarly fashion of the roles of the Soviet Union as well as the British in a struggle that resulted in fulfill- ment of Jewish aspirations for an end of homelessness despite obstructions from the British Foreign Office and the pro-Arab manipulations of the Russians. Prof. Sachar's notable work is not limited to the political. It em- braces every aspect of Zionist ex- perience, including the inner Israeli struggles and the conflict that arose ideologically and temperamentally between the Sephardic Ashkenazic communities settle( Israel. This, too, is a distinct con- tribution in scholarship by a student of the Middle East whose works on the subject are now among the most HOWARD M. SACHAR definitive. There is a clarity on many aspects of the subject, such as the so-called Palestinians , and on the problems emerging from the Arab antagonisms. Another element of distinct merit in this volume is the biographical, the fact that the reader becomes more intimately acquainted with Zionist leadership, whether it is Chaim Weiz- mann or Louis D. Brandeis or Vladimir Jabotinsky and all their associates. -- It stands to reason that the American scene is not ignored, and in this factor there is the quality of completeness that enriches history. This is how the new Sachar volume is to be judged: as an enrichment of Jewish historical studies.