THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
40 — BUSINESS CARDS
JULIUS ROSS
MOVING CO., INC.
Political Violence: Anathema to Democracy
By S. A. BARRAM
Special to The Jewish News
LONDON — South-East
London turned into a bloody
battlefield when right-wing
radicals clashed with left-
357-2674
wing extremists in August.
A hundred people, including
WALL WASHING
police officers, were taken
(By Machine)
Paper Hanging
to hospitals, and 200 were ar-
rested. The police were at-
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tacked with missiles, sticks
Insured
WELLS
366 5322 and carving knives.
Call before 9 am
The National Front, a ra-
or after 7 pm
cialist right-wing extremist
DRAIN -RITE
group chose Lewisham, a
borough with a high immi-
SEWER & DRAIN
grant population, for their
CLEANING
demonstration. The police
refused to ban the march al-
$22.50
leging that they would be
531-0726
able to maintain law and
order.
Germany in the 30s, like
E. LARKINS
England now, was torn
MOVERS
apart by strikes, unemploy-
Referral service,
ment, economic and politi-
personalized since 1946
cal unrest. The Weimar Re-
public was ruled by a tiny
822-3417
majority and lacked the po-
litical foresight and back-
TEPELI
bone to cope with the eco-
CUSTOM
nomic and political diffi-
HOUSE PAINTING
culties . at - the time.
Interior Exterior
Political leaders which,
Small repairs
sympathized with the Left
Call 541 4326after 4 pm
blamed the Right for the
disorder in the country and
51
MISCELLANEOUS
those who considered them-
selves conservatives ac-
cused the Left.
FOR SALE— Brother blind hem-
No effective step was
mer. for alterations. with swing
taken to eradicate radi-
arm. 2 years old: Like new.
calism, whether it came
$500.
from the right or the left.
In the street battles, the po-
649 5885
lice sporadically changed
sides and never took a con-
WANTED-Prepared hot dinners
sistent stand.
to be picked up weekly for
Hitler's party, at the out-
young working couple.
set, consisted of a handful
of rough-necks who went
Call 588 7390 after 6 pm
out
to provoke fights. Their
Price negotiable
leader knew that his gang
would come home bleeding,
53 — ENTERTAINMENT
but he also knew that they..
would be martyrs and
BAND
heroes and a few broken
bones and cut-up faces
Excellent Music
would not deter them from
For All Social
picking the next fight.
Occasions
The backbone of Hitler's
party consisted of social
731-6081
failures: university drop-
outs and graduates whose
education never brought
Conservatives
them the glittering salaries
Support Israel
they thought they deserved:
unemployed and dis-
NEW YORK (JTA)—In a
appointed former army offi-
move that surprised some
cers, who suffered from de
observers, Young Ameri-
fusions"
of greatness.
cans for Freedom (YAF)
The composition of both
the nation's largest conserv-
radical camps, now as
ative youth organization,
then,
is not different. Both
went on record voicing over-
go out to destroy the exist-
whelming support for Israel
ing social system by radical
at its ninth biennial conven-
means.
tion.
It is frightening that, now
In one of its resolution,
as then, radicals from the
the right-wing group af-
right and from the left are
firmed its "fundamental
support for a militarily attacking and disrupting
the democratic process,
( ong Israel capable of pre-
_rving peace by resisting while the government is too
attack" and for "continued weak to act.
With slogans and propa-
ties with moderate anti-
gandist lies the radicals en-
Communist Arab coun-
deavour to obtain public ac-
tries," and claimed that
ceptance and at the same
"the forced return of Israel
time, the rivals fight out
to its pre-1967 borders
their political differences
would only encourage Arab
on the streets with carving
and Communist aggres-
knives, sticks and gas
sion. " In addition, the dele-
bombs, creating public un-
gates called for the United
rest and havoc. Wherever
States to withdraw from the
the Neo-Nazis are gather-
United Nations.
ing, the left radicals are
Let a dog on your chair
there to attack and vice
versa.
and he'll jump on your
Eventually, the notion
table.
Custom work, household moving,
offices, packing, piano and appli-
ances. Local and State of Michigan.
Friday Se tember 2, 1977 53
that the democratic process
is powerless and cannot
cope with the problems
posed by the radicals will
prevail and make way for
rule by decree under a dic-
tatorship, as happened in
Germany.
"This cannot happen in
Britain," I am told, "demo-
cratic principles are too
deeply rooted in the men-
tality of the British people,
ticians fail to recognize the
they will never permit this
symptoms and the danger.
to happen." I cannot help Apathy, indifference and un-
being doubtful. I have concernedness made way
heard this before from Aus- for Hitler.
trians, before they became
Nazified and I have heard
The extremists abuse the
it before the Sudetenland right of freedom of speech
was "Germanized." and demonstration, which
,It appears that the histor- only democracy grants, to
is lesson has not been pursue their own undemo-
learned. Now, as then, poll- cratic ends.
The denial of the street to
those who provoke violence,
whether from the Right or
the Left, banning of march-
es and demonstrations
which lead to violence, in
the preservation of democ-
racy is essential now. A
swift decision to stamp out
this growing cancer in so-
ciety has to be taken before
it is too late.
-
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-
—
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Staten Island Jewish Center Faces Problems
By BEN GALLOB
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
Since the Verrazano Nar-
rows Bridge was opened in
1964, connecting Staten Is-
land with Brooklyn. the is-
land's Jewish population
has grown from a few thou-
sand to around 30.000 and a
prediction has been made
that by the year 2000.
100.000 Jews will be living
on the island.
The data were presented
by Herman L. Zimmerman.
executive director of the
Jewish Community Center
of Staten Island. in a report
at the annual meeting of
the National Conference of
Jewish Communal Service.
Zimmerman reported
that more than 70 percent
of Staten Island residents
lived near the island's north
shore before the bridge was
opened. He said that while
the north shore commu-
nities had "some modest
growth" after the bridge
opening, the greatest
growth has taken place in
communities south of the
original settlement towns
and that newer commu-
nities were now arising
even further south.
The new communities are
about 30 percent Jewish.
compared to a Staten Is-
land average of less than 10
percent. Willowbrook,
largely an Orthodox commu-
nity. is probably 75 percent
Jewish, Zimmerman report-
ed.
At present. he added.
there are relatively few el-
derly Jewish residents
since most families moving
to the island are young.
with children.
He asserted that unlike
other sections of New York
City. the Jewish community
of Staten Island is growing
in three dimensions. One is
a large active Orthodox
community. A second is a
large community of conserv-
ative and Reform Jews.
Third. there is "an even
larger unaffiliated Jewish
population," he said.
For the 50-year-old Jew-
ish center. the rapidly
changing conditions devel-
oping from the bridge open-
ing presented a series of
challenges. Zimmerman
commented. The Jewish
center is located in or near
communities that are ten-
ding to become older and in
which Jewish residents are
being replaced by non-
Jews. One result is, he re-
ported. that while programs
and participation in them at
the center remain high,
"there are ominous hints of
things to come."
He reported that the cen-
ter's "non-Jewish member-
ship rate has grown to 17
percent across the board, af-
fecting every age group and
total membership. stagnant
for many years. is begin-
ning to decline. at a time of
considerable growth of the
total Jewish population," he
said.
That growth has put the
Jewish center into com-
petition "with a variety of
profit and non-profit organi-
zations." Zimmerman cited
as an example that "what
was once almost a monopo-
ly" of the center. "day care
and nursery. especially
among the Jewish popu-
lation." have become
"spheres of considerable
competition. often at prices
below" those of the Jewish
center.
He cited as another ex-
ample "an expanded YMCA
attracting young Jewish
families because fees are
significantly lower and fam-
ily membership is not a req-
uisite. There are also fledgl-
ing youth programs in a
number of synagogues
which did not exist three or-
four years ago."
He declared that "the
message" for the Jewish
center from these changes
was that the center "must
offer quality service. unique-
ly Jewish. at a price that
must remain competitive"
and that the center "must
become active and visible
in the growing Jewish com-
munities and neighbor-
hoods," expanding "to
reach new communities"
and to involve the Jews in
needed services.
`Tradition and Politics' Looks
at Israel's Religious. Parties
By ALLEN A. WARSEN
Gary S. Schiff's "Tradi-
tion and Politics" (Wayne
State University Press) is
the first complete study of
the religious political par-
ties of Israel. Its approach
is historical and analytical.
The author commences
the study by tracing the ori-
gin of the religious parties
to 19th Century Jewish na-
tionalism, namely, the
"Hovevei Tziyon" ("Lovers
of Zion") movement; Dr.
Leo Pinsker's "Auto-Eman-
cipation;" the forerunners
of religious Zionism,
Rabbis Yehuda Alkali
(1798-1878) of Serbia, Zvi
Hirsh Kalisher (1795-1874)
and Shmuel Mohilever
(1824-1898 of Poland; and
the "grass-roots affinity to
folk Zionism."
The author then analyzes
the factors that led to the
First World Zionist Con-
gress in Basel in 1897 and
examines the role of the re-
ligious Zionists at the histor-
ic gathering.
In similar manner, he
evaluates participation in
the following three Con-
gresses. However, in 1901
at the Fifth Congress, the
author notes, the religious
Zionists organized a faction
they called Mizrachi, an
acronym of "Merkaz Ru-
hani" ("Spiritual Center").
A year later, in Vilna, at
a specially called confer-
ence, the Mizrachi Organiza-
tion was formally founded.
Two years after the Vilna
conference in 1904 in Press-
burg, Hungary (now Bratis-
lava, Czechoslovakia), the
Mizrachi's first world con-
vention was held. Its histor-
ic resolution reads:
"The Mizrachi is an or-
ganization of Zionists stand-
ing on the basis of the
Basel program. . . The Miz-
rachi sees the possibility
for the survival of the Jew-
ish people in the obser-
vance of the Torah and
Commandments and in the
return to the land of our fa-
thers."
Shortly after Mizrachi's
formation, factions emerg-
ed within the organization.
The best known are the
Tze'irei Mizrachi and the
tism
and
refusal
to
haPo'el haMizrachi. Before participate with other Jew-
long, factions appeared in ish organizations in the re-
haPo'el HaMizrachi.
building of Eretz Yisrael.
Eventually, the Mizrahci In contradistinction to the
and the various Mizrachi Agudah's isolationism, the
groups formed the M*- Mizrachi always has taken
dal--haMiflagah haDatit an active part in Israel's
Leumi (National Religious restoration.
Party).
Nonetheless, the Second
In like fashion, the au- World War and the
thor delineates the evolu- Holocaust forced the Agu-
tion of Agudat Yisrael and dah to modify its isolation-
its offshoot "PAY"—Po'alei ist position and to cooper-
Agudat Yisrael. ate with the Jewish Agency
Founded at a convention and the Va'ad Leumi "on
held in 1912 in Kattowitz, questions of rescue and im-
now Poland, Agudat Yisrael migration."
decided "to take part in all
Since the establishment
matters relating to Jews of the state of Israel, the
and Judaism on the basis of Agudah, like • the Mafdal,
Torah."
has participated in all elec-
The convention's most no- tions to the Knesset and
table achievement, how- local councils, and at vari-
ever, was the establishment ous times held high posi-
of the Mo'etzet Gedolei tions in the government.
haTorah ("Council of the
Profound are the author's
Torah Greats") to be the concluding observations:
Agudah's supreme author- "Mafdal's ideology ex-
ity.
presses concern with the na-
The difference in lead- ture of the state and the
ership between the religious community...While Agudah
parties is noteworthy: while would also prefer to organ-
the Agudah is headed by a ize life in the state accord-
clerical council, the Mafdal ing to its world view, it lim-
is led by laymen. its itself to attempting to as-
The two parties, more- sure that its adherents can
over, differ in their oper- live their lives according to
ational ideology: "The Agu-
dah took the purely in- their traditional customs."
strumental stand that Eretz
"Tradition and Politics"
Yisrael was only one of sev- is a comprehensive study of
eral means to the end of ful- the Mafdal and Agudat Yis-
filling the Torah. Mizrachi rael, and contributes to a
took the integralist position better understanding of the
that Eretz Yisrael itself con- religion in Israel.
tributed an integral part of
The author, Gary S.
the Torah's obligation."
Schiff, is director of Middle
There still is another fun- East Affairs of the National
damental difference be- Community Advisory Coun-
tween the parties. Histori-
cif, and visiting assistant
tally the Agudah distin-
professor of political sci-
guished itself by its separa- ence at Yeshiva University.
Jordan River Diversion Cited
TEL AVIV—The Jordan
River is in danger of extinc-
tion.
According to a research
study done by Dr. Micha
Klein of Tel Aviv Univer-
sity, a tremendous amount
of water has been diverted
from the Jordan River for
the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan's massive irrigation
scheme of damming the
Ilf
Yarmoukh River and pre-
venting its flow into the Jor-
dan.
The river's decline has al-
ready resulted in a sharp
decline of the water level of
the Dead Sea, into which it
empties. A drastic change
in the river's path could
also create a border dis-
pute, claims Dr. Klein.
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