56 Friday, April 29, 1977
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israel Philarmonic at 40
TEL AVIV—Guest con-
ductors, trials and tribula-
tions, and the history of the
Israel Philharmonic were
recalled recently as the or-
chestra celebrated its 40th
anniversary.
Established in the late
1930s, the orchestra is
housed in Mann Auditorium
in Tel Aviv, its home since
1957. Among the conductors
who have appeared with
the orchestra were Arturo
Toscanini, Leonard Bern-
stein and Zubin Mehta, with
such illustrious soloists as
Artur Rubinstein.
The orchestra was cre-
ated as a result of a dream
of Bronislaw Huberman, a
musician in his own right,
according to the Israel Di-
gest. Uri Toeplitz, flautist
with the orchestra from
1936 to 1970, recalled that
Huberman ruled the orches-
tra with an iron hand and
refused to hire the Eu-
ropean conductors who es-
caped Nazism.
A problem with estab-
lishing the orchestra was
the ethnic mix and the fact
that the musicians came
from different schools of
playing.
Toeplitz recalled that a
Toscanini-conducted con-
cert was usually sold out.
Some former performers
recalled that in the early
days they not only had to
lug around their in-
struments but construct
and dismantle the stages as
well.
During World War II, the
orchestra performed for
British, Australian, New
Zealand and American
troops, touring in Lebanon
and Egypt as well as in Is-
rael.
Poetess' Works Are Reviving Interest
in the Ancient Samaritan Sect in Israel
By MOSHE RON
The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent
There is a small commu-
nity of Samaritans in Is-
rael. They call themselves
the oldest original Jews,
who have kept their Jewry,
their Bible, tradition and
history for ages. They are,
according to the Bible, for-
mer gentiles - who were
brought from other coun-
tries to Eretz Israel from
the King of Ashur in the
Eighth Century BCE, in the
era of the return of the Ba-
bylon Diaspora.
Then- the Samaritans in-
terferred with the returning
Jews in their efforts to
build a new Temple in the
gates of Jerusalem.
The relations between'
Jews and Samaritans de-
teriorated. The Romans
also persecuted the Samari-
tans. The Byzantines com-
pelled the Samaritans to
convert to Christianity.
They also suffered from the
Moslem rule in the 10th Cen-
tury.
Only a few remained.
Under Turkish rule some of
the Samaritans lived in
Syria, Egypt and Eretz Is-
rael, especially in Nablus,
where in 1952, 300 Samari-
tans concentrated around
their center on Mount Griz-
im.
Their writing is similar to
the old Hebrew writing, but
their calendar is different
from the Hebrew calendar.
They believe in the Bible of
Moses and preserve the Sab-
bath and holidays. Their
Passover is celebrated in a
traditional ceremony. They
observe Brit Mila but do
not apply tefilin.
Samaritans in Nablus and
Holon now number 350 and
marry only among them-
selves.
A Samaritan woman,
Rachel Zedaka, is the first
Samaritan poetess to write
in Hebrew. She just pub-
lished her first book of
poems "The Mountain of
the East."
She is 40 years old and is
a granddaughter of the poet
Abraham Hasafri. Her fa-
ther, Jefet Zedaka, is the
Poles to Finally Show Jewish
Martyrs in Auschwitz Display
By JOSEPH POLAKOFF
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
A protest by a Jewish pro-
fessor at Howard Univer-
sity to Polish officials that
their government is failing
to show the contributions
made by Jews to Poland
and their martyrdom dur-
ing the Nazi occupation has
resulted in a pledge that at
least part of the neglect
will be rectified.
Zubin Mehta, right, conducts the Israel Philharmonic
at one of its frequent outdoor concerts. Established in the
1930s, the orchestra is marking its 40th anniversary.
"Finally the Poles are
doing something," said Dr.
David Korn, chairman of
the German-Russian Depart-
ment at the predominently
`Spandau: The Secret Diaries'
Paperbacked by Pocket Books
"Spandau: The Secret Di- -
aries" was a sensation
when first published as a
confessional by the con-
victed Nazi General Albert
Speer who related his per-
sonal account of the Hitle-
rite role.
Now in a Pocket Books—
Simon and Schuster—paper-
back edition, the sensation-
al story of Speer's career
and his defense gains added
interest.
Hitler's personal con-
fidant, architect, and pro-
tege, Reich Minister for Ar-
maments and War Produc-
tion, and second most pow-
erful man in Nazi Germany
at the end of World War II,
Speer was the only defend-
ant of the 22 top Nazis at
the Nuremberg Trials to as-
sume the burden of guilt for
the Reich's war crimes.
Sentenced to 20 years in
prison, he kept a secret
diary during that time—in
the form of a minuscule
scrawl on calendar pages,
toilet paper. cigarette wrap-
pers—which he hid in the
sole lining of a shoe and in
the bandage wrapped
around one leg to relieve
phlebitis. He managed to
persuade sympathetic
guards to smuggle his writ-
ings to the outside world.
Speer was released Oct.
1, 1966, and waiting for him
in the home of relatives
were more than 25,000
pages of his notes.
Speer includes lively,
often petty, sketches of his
fellow Nazi prisoners. Ru-
dolf Hess believed that the
guards were poisoning his
food; Karl Doenitz insisted
that he was still the legal
ruler of Germany; and Con-
stantin von Neurath ambled
about in a kind of senile
daze.
Speer's gift for recalling-
events and conversations
vividly and accurately
makes this one of the most
fascinating annals to
emerge from behind any
prison wall.
black university in Washing-
ton. He said he received a
letter from the director of
the Auschwitz Museum,
Kazimierz Smolen, which
disclosed that a "complete
change" is to be made at
the museum of the Nazi con-
centration camp at Auschw-
itz-Birkinau, where about
three million Jews were
gassed, hanged or shot.
Korn said that because of
"pressure by Jews outside
of Poland, the Polish gov-
ernment has finally agreed
to rebuild Barrack 17 of the
Auschwitz-Birkinau camp
to be known as 'Martyro-
logy and Struggle of
Jews," and it will be
"open to the public."
On a visit to Poland,
Korn said, he was shocked
to see that not only syna-
gogues, cemeteries and mu-
seums depicting Jewish life
are not being maintained
but that the few remaining
ones are disappearing and
that in Auschwitz the mu-
seum -depicting the mas-
sacre of Jews shows every-
thing but the Jews."
In his letter to Kakol on
Sept. 1, Korn said: "I have
just returned from my trip
and rush to inform you that
despite all the assurances
you and your associates
have given me I cannot be-
lieve you. -
Korn wrote that in
Auschwitz the Jewish bar-
rack is "closed for remod-
elling - but only after Korn
threatened to enlist the sup-
port of American Ambassa-
dor Richard Davies in War-
saw was he allowed to
enter "an empty barrack
with several pictures of
Himmler and Hitler as well
as pictures of B. Brecht,
E.M. Memarque and others
with captions stating that
they perished during the
war."
leader of the Samaritans in
Israel.
She has already distin-
guished herself in painting.
When she was 13 years
old, she was married to her
cousin Abraham Zedaka.
But her mother, who came
from Russia, succeeded in
annulling the wedding.
Rachel studied and became
a teacher in Jaffa.
She writes poems for her
pupils and songs. One song
she dedicated to the hero of
the Entebbe action, Yona-
tan Netanyahu. Her hus-
band is the general secre-
tary of the Fruit Export Co.
In his free time he trans-
lates biblical works and Sa-
maritan hooks into Hebrew.
Her husband influenced
Rachel to publish a book of
songs.
Rachel told us that other
Samaritans are writing
books. Many of them were
published but her's was the
first book by a Samaritan
woman.
Rachel is also the first Sa-
maritan woman with a high-
er education. Her son
is the first Samaritan
studies music. "It is high
time that the Samaritans
should deal with our old
treasures of literature," she
says.
Jewish Bioethics Quiz
This quiz was prepared from material offered in courses
sponsored by the American Jewish Committee-'s Academy
for Jewish Studies Without Walls.
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
1. Classical Judaism teaches that therapeutic care is
A. rorbidden
B. optional
C. mandatory by virtue of rabbinic decree
D. an obligatory biblical commandment
2. Which of the following does not present a specific
problem in terms of Jewish law?
A. autopsy
B. transplant surgery
C. skin grafts
D. artificial insemination
3. Insofar as the practice of medicine is concerned,
Judaism
A. requires everyone to acquire at least a rudimentary
medical education
B. requires every qualified student to seek admission
to medical school
C. demands that every qualified physician make his
services available to patients
D. does not require any specific person to either study
or practice medicine
4. Prohibitions with regard to which of the following
are not an exception to the principle that all laws are sus-
pended for the sake of preservation of human life?
A. homicide
B. homosexuality
C. Yom Kippur
D. idolatry
5. The commandment "to be fruitful and multiply" is
fulfilled by siring
-
A. three children
B. a son and a daughter
C. a son and a daughter each of whom becomes a par-
ent of a son and a aaughter
D. a single child
6. The modern contraceptive regarded by most author-
ities as most closely approximating the mokh of the Tal-
mud is
A. the diaphragm
B. the condom
C. the I.U.D.
D. a spermicide
7. According to Jewish law, a fetus may be sacrificed
in order to save the life of the mother
A. until the beginning of the final trimester of preg-
y
B. nuannticl the onset of labor
C. until the major portion of the body or forehead has
emerged from the womb
D. until the baby has been completely delivered
8. All authorities permit a therapeutic abortion when
A. the fetus is deformed
B. pregnancy affects the, health of the moth
C. the mother suffers from an already existing',
which is aggravated by pregnancy
D. m
proetghnearncy itself poses a hazard to the life of the
9. Although a person must seek medical aid when nec-
essary, there is no obligation to seek medical care when
A. it is expensive
B. the patient is unconscious
C. the available remedy is of unproven therapeutic
value
D. the procedure is painful
10. In terms of normative Jewish law, jeopardizing
one's life in order to save the life of another
A. is prohibited
B. is mandatory
C. is permissible
D. is sanctioned only if the act is of greater value to
society than the person who jeopardizes his own life
ANSWERS
D I;Q'8D'ZU I
D . 0I D •6 Q •8 D . L V •9