THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday; September23, 1977 37
Begin Envoy Blames Israel's Woes
Disco Parties by
'Between You on Socialism, Lack of Jewish Ethnics
their national self-pride
The evening was chaired
. . . and Me
Citing a sense of self-
with the accession of Chur-
by Detroit Zionist Revision-
IINFINI
ishness. inefficiency and the
chill, the people of Israel
ist head SteVen Goldin. Can-
Boris Smolar's
By PHILLIP APPLEBAUM
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1975, JTA, Inc.)
—
COMMUNITY IN TRANSITION: American Jews know
very little—practically nothing—of the life of the 80,000
Jews in Iran (formerly Persia), the land of the ancient
ruler Ahasuerus.
This 2.500-year-old community—which maintained Jewish
continuity under oppression and deprivations for centuries,
living in ghettos under most miserable conditions—is now
emerging from rags to riches under full equal rights, and is
becoming integrated in every sector of the country's econ-
omy and academia.
There are still poor Jews in Iran, but these are mostly the
ick and the elderly, and they constitute a small percentage
of the Jewish population. The slum-ghettos in which the
Jews were forced to live for many generations—known as
"Mahallehs"—are being emptied out; Jews move out from
there and can live in any section of Teheran, the capital of
Iran, or any other city. Progress and changes are noticea-
bly appearing in all phases of Jewish life. Poverty. how-
ever, still prevails in rural villages.
Jews in Iran now constitute a middle-class element in the
country, with the proportion of upper middle-class growing.
Many Jews have entered the ranks of rich and even upper-
rich.
All doors are open to Jews in the Iranian system. Only a
few years ago there was hardly a Jewish physician in Iran
since Jewish parents were too poor to give their children a
.university education; today there are more than 300 young
Jewish doctors in the country. The same can be said also
about dentists, engineers and Jews in other professions.
One finds a Jewish professor, Dr. Laleh-Zari, as the dean of
the faculty of pharmacy in the University of Teheran. He is
also a senior member of the Royal Academy of Science.
There are at least 70 Jews on the faculties of the country's
universities.
THE JDC CONTACT: Isolated from world Jewry for so
many centuries, the Jewish community in Iran is seeking to
establish its place in the ranks of the Jewish communities
in the democratic world. It is ambitious to develop close
contact with communal leaders and organizations in all
democratic countries.
It is with this mission that a delegation of two prominent
figures in the Teheran Jewish community has arrived in the
United States. The delegation—composed of Mrs. Shamsi
Hekmat and Musa Karmanian—is seeking to influence
American Jewish leaders to visit Iran and be better
acquainted with Jewish life there.
The JDC came to Iran in 1950. It lost no time in organiz-
ing a substantial program of direct material assistance to
individuals and families, helped to organize a hospital,
mother-and-infant health clinics, established milk distribu-
tion centers. supported Jewish schools and kindergartens,
inaugurated—through ORT—the best vocational educa-
tional system in the country, introduced individual health
care programs. substantially advanced the cause of Jewish
education and immeasurably improved the position of the
Jews in the country. The JDC also encouraged the devel-
opment of local community structure and leadership.
Today the JDC is spending more than $1.500,000 a year on
various forms of aid to the poor in the areas around the
Mahallehs.
The main problems facing the Jewish community in Iran
today—when emerging from centuries of deprivation and
isolation into an era of opportunity and open doors—are
development of young leadership, improvement of its fund-
raising capacity: and bringing the community to a point of
self-support. Also to train youth leaders, educators and
social workers in modern techniques of communal work. To
achieve these aims the "know-how" of the American Jew-
ish community is essential.
Donald M. Robinson, vice president and president-elect of
the JDC, escorted by Henry L. Zucker of Cleveland, a
prominent American Jewish social worker and member of
the JDC Executive, made an intensive study in Iran of the
IPDC program there. The "two-man mission" submitted
recommendations to the JDC Executive in New York which
are now being studied.
A MODERN KING: It is under the present ruler of Iran,
Shah Reza Pahlevi, that Jews received complete equality.
Not only did he abolish the centuries-old anti-Jewish
restrictions, but his government now aids Jewish
institutions which are open to all Iranians.
The Jews in Iran speak of the royal family with vener-
ation. They call the Shah "Cyrus the Second"—a reference
to King Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, who after
conquering the Babylonian army in 539, ended the Babylon-
ian captivity of the Jews and allowed their return to Judea
with Temple vessels. He also permitted them to rebuild the
Temple in Jerusalem when the city became part of his
empire. Many American Jews, in appreciation, named their
children after him. They are today even naming their chil-
dren Cyrus. hardly knowing the origin of the name in Jew-
ish histog,, t afij /01 SCITOH
ZIWUJA8 aVLID
loss of Jewish values
through socialism as the
root causes of Israel's
domestic and diplomatic
woes. Hayim Landau,
Israeli Prime Minister Men-
ahem Begin's special envoy
to the United Nations.
addressed an audience of
about 100 people at the
annual Jabotinsky Evening
of the Zionist Revisionists of
Detroit Saturday evening in
Stollman hall at Young
Israel of Oak-Woods.
Landau. a former Knesset
member and crony of Begin
in the pre-state Irgun Zvai
Leumi underground, char-
acterized the Israeli people
as "demoralized" before
the election of Begin last
May. Since that time. a
"new era of confidence"
and a "revival of moral
values" has occured
because of the leadership of
Menahem Begin, who "sees
himself as a Jew first."
Landau declared.
Asserting that the leftists
attempted to supplant Jew-
ish values with a new sys-
tem of ethics based only on
socialism, Landau said they
had in effect wiped out the
sense of Jewish morality in
Israel, thus producing the
present economic crisis
fomented by corruption and
sloth, and leading to pov-
erty, organized crime, dis-
crimination against Oriental
Jews, strikes and yerida.
Landau stated that Prime
Minister Begin would now
attempt to reverse the
trends of the past.
Landau compared Israel
to Britain during World War
H, and said that just as the
British people had regained
Pernick, Fenton
Named to Academy
Screening Group
Judge Joseph Pernick of
the Wayne County Probate
Court and attorney Robert
Fenton have been named
members of Sen. Donald
Riegle's Military Academy
Screening Committee.
The committee is respon-
sible for interviewing and
making recommendations
to Sen. Riegle on applicants
who live in the first, 13th
and 14th Congressional dis-
tricts. Qualifications include
scholastic examination
scores, physical aptitude
scores, high school class
standing, medical-
examinations. Deadline for
applications is Sept. 30.
(
Singles
Events
MICHIGAN JEWISH SIN-
GLES COUNCIL will have a
combined planning meeting
for both the 18-25 and 25-35
program arms 8 p.m.
Thursday in the home of
Heidi Press, 27600 Franklin,
Southfield. For required
reservations to the meeting,
call Ms. Press, 355 - 2626.
.b9nnBlq
had likewise gained self-
confidence with the election
of Begin. Citing Zeev Jabo-
tinsky as the successor to
Herzl, and Begin the succes-
sor to Jabotinsky, Landau
stated that Begin sees him-
self not just as the leader of
Israel's three million Jews.
but as standing at the helm
of the world's 14 million
Jews.
On the problem of peace
in the Middle East. Landau
stated that "the heart of the
problem is neither ten-i-
tones nor r' tlestinians." He
proposed ct negotiations
between .srael and the
Arabs. the signing of a for-
mal peace treaty, and the
establishment of normal
relations between Israel and
the Arab states as the way
to peace.
Landau rejected outright
the idea of a West Bank-
Gaza Palestinian state.
saying that the existence of
such a state would be "hell"
for Israel, as it would serve
as a base for Soviet power.
Landau also implied that
Israel would not hand over
to the Arabs the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, saying those
territories were "part and
parcel of the land of
Israel," a remark which
was greeted by loud
applause from the audience.
Seeing no problem with
the large number of Arabs
in the territories, Landau
said that Israel would dis-
solve the refugee camps and
rehabilitate their
inhabitants, "as the Arab
states should have done."
Stating that former Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin was
a weak leader. Landau
claimed that President Car-
ter had ordered Rabin to
negotiate with the PLO, but
that Carter had not made
such a statement to Begin.
Proclaiming Begin as a
"man of resistance,"
Landau said he would stand
up to American pressures,
and through strength. force
the Arabs to make peace.
tor Hyman J. Adler lead in
the singing of the American
and Israeli anthems.
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