2 Friday, October 7, 1977
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Memorializing Babi Yar,
a Major World War II Tragedy
Babi Yar—"the old woman's ravine"—is now memorial-
ized, to a degree.
It is the site, a ravine near Kiev in the Ukraine, where
tens of thousands of Jews were murdered, sent to a mass
grave while still alive, in September of 1941, by the Nazi
invaders of Russia.
Its identity was kept a secret in Russia. Why? Why were
the facts hidden, tourists kept from the tragic spot, histo-
rians deprived of data regarding the horror that will be
recorded in history among the worst of the Nazi crimes?
Is it possible that collaboration by many Ukranians con-
tributed to the secretiveness imposed by the USSR?
But the facts became known as a result of public pres-
sures. The shame of Babi Yar was exposed when the noted
. Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko fearlessly wrote about
the devious Russian policy. His "Babi Yar," will be
recorded among the never-to-be-forgotten poems in this
translation from the Russian by the equally eminent Jewish
writer Marie Syrkin:
No gravestone stands on Babi Yar;
Only coarse earth heaped roughly on the gash.
Such dread comes over me; I feel so old,
Old as the Jews. Today, I am a Jew...
Now I go wandering, an Egyptian slave;
And now I perish, splayed upon the cross.
The marks of nails are still upon my flesh.
And I am Dreyfus whom the gentry hound.
I am behind the bars, caught in a ring,
Belied, denounced, and spat upon I stand,
While dainty ladies in their lacy frills,
Squealing, poke parasols into my face.
I am that little boy in Bialystok
Whose blood flows, spreading darkly on the floor.
The rowdy lords of the saloon make sport,
Reeking alike of vodka and of leek.
Booted aside, weak, helpless, I, the child
Who begs in min while the pogronichik mob
Guffaws and shouts: "Save Russia, beat the Jews!"
The shopman's blows fall on my mother's back.
O my own people, my own Russia folk,
I know you international at heart;
But often those unclean of hand have dared
To brandish your most pure and lofty name.
I know the goodness of my native land.
How vile that anti-Semites shamelessly
Preen themselves in the title they defile:
"The Russian People's Union."
Now, in this moment, I am Anna Frank,_
Frail and transparent as an April twig.
I love as she; I need no ready phrases...
Only to look into each other's eyes!
How little we can smell, how little see...
Leavei are forbidden us, the sky forbidden...
Yet how much still remains; how strangely sweet
To hold' each other close in the dark room.
They come? No, do not fear. These are the gales
Of spring; she bursts into this gloom.
Come to me; quickly;' et me kiss your
They break the door? No, no, the ice is breaking.
The Babi Yar Bestialities: The Belated Memorial
and the Yevtushenko Poem Recalled...The Lazaron
Role and the Story of an Antagonist's Repenting
lines of the ravine.
Narrow paths were cut along the verge, leading
through groves of poplar, birch and chestnut trees and
past carefully tended flower beds.
A ramp-like massive pedestal of rough concrete
extends about a hundred feet into the ravine and is
topped by a huge bronze sculpture 50 feet high. Twelve
figures are entwined in a motif of despair — they
seem to be falling into the pit.
The abandonment of secrecy. the revelation of truth
about Babi Yar has a redeeming factor in the knowledge
that the site now can be visited. A group of Detroit women.
planning an Allied Jewish Campaign mission, will visit Babi
Yar. That's how the memories will be retained. Only by
retaining facts of history can the tragedies of the past be
relegated to the ravines and their repetition avoided.
The Morris Lazaron Zionist Case:
Like Penitent the Former
Antagonist Seeks Flexibility
Rabbi Morris Lazaron, now in his nineties but still alert
to the situations which lifted him into notoriety over Zionist
ideology, has reopened his own case in an interesting letter
that appeared in the New York Times on Sept. 24.
Dr. Lazaron is not a newcomer to the NYTimes. That's
where he had written some vitriolic letters against Zionism
and Zionists.
On Jan. 16, 1976, in these columns, the Lazaron Case was
reviewed extensively, and a platform was given the emi-
nent rabbi who had been a campaigner for Zionism in the
1920s but opposed the establishment of Israel in later years.
He now says it was because he wanted binationalism, along
with Martin Buber, Judah L.Magnes, Henrietta S zold and a
group that formed the Ihud.
In any event, in the review of the case by this Com-
mentator in the Jan. 16, 1976 issue, Dr. Lazaron was treated
as the penitent who really does not wish to harm Israel
now. He says so in his latest NYTimes letter which follows
in full and is offered here in fairness to Dr. Lazaron and as
means of some additional comment on the so-called P alesti-•
nians to which the rabbi refers:
To the Editor:
The so-called American "Jewish leaders" have never
consulted the rank and file of Jews in this country. They
have assumed an authority which has never been granted
them; and have-led the Jews here into accepting an empha-
sis on folkism at the expense of Judaism.
Our country 'is under the greatest pressure from many
sources, Christian as well as Jewish, particularly from poli-
ticians with large Jewish constituencies. All Jews are
united in the determination that Israel must survive. We
are not united as to The means to achieve this. The worst
thing that could happen would be for the Administration to
say: "A plague on both your houses." Russia would step
By Philip
Slomovitz
into the vacuum. Under any circumstances final judgement
will be made—must be made—on the basis of what is in the
best interest of the United States. I would utter a word of
warning to these pressure groups: their endeavors could be
counterproductive. Already there are signs of impatience
with the inflexibility of both sides on some issues, in par-
ticular the issue of a homeland for the Palestinians.
It should never be forgotten that the original United
Nations resolution called for the extablishment of two
states: a Zionist state was established, but the Arabs
ignored its creation and attacked Israel. President Carter's
call for a Palestinian homeland therefore is but a repetition
of the original UN resolution.
It is true that I opposed the establishment of the state. I -
stood with Judah Leon Magnes for the establishment of
bi-national state, Arab and Zionist, but united in federal
union on the model of Switzerland.
Since Israel has been established, I have not written or
spoken a word in criticism of or opposition to Israel. I
ardently believe the destruction of Israel would be one of
the greatest tragedies in world history and I fervently
endorse our country's support of the state morally, emo-
tionally, economically as well as politically.
The Arabs have used the refugee issue as a political foot-
ball, and it is true that the official policy of some Arab
nations and the PLO refuses' to recognize the existence of
Israel. But the fact remains that the establishment of a
homeland for the Palestinian Arab is still UN policy.
The Zionist hope that all Jews will return to Israel is fan-
tasy. The American Jewish community is deeply rooted in
the American scene, economically, artistically and socially.
One thing seems to have been forgotten in all the dis-
cussion of peace terms, but is important: Arab confiscation
of property and funds belonging to Jews and amounting to
millions, which were taken when Jews left Iraq. This must
be considered in any financial settlement.
American Jews should know that there is more criticism
of Israeli policy among Israelis than among Jews in this
country. To achieve lasting peace, flexibility by both sides
is in order. The situation demands less unbridled emotion
and more objective thinking.
(Rabbi) Morris S. Lazaron
Blowing Rock, N.C.,
,
The fact keeps reminding the recalcitrant that Jews also
are Palestinians, that Menahem Begin, Moshe Dayan, Yitz-
hak Rabin, Shimon Peres, et al, also are Palestinians.
And Israel welcomes the Palestinians who are mayors of
cities on the Jordanian border and others in their class as
spokesmen for Arabs in the debates over the future of that
area.
In the main, Dr. Lazaron now speaks not only as a peni-
tent but also as a fairminded defender of Israel's right to
exist and to sovereignty. Welcome back to Zionist ranks,
Rabbi Lazaron!
.
On Babi Yar weeds rustle; the tall trees
Like judges loom and threaten...
All screams in silence; I take off my cap
And feel that I am slowly turning gray.
And I too have become a soundless cry
Over the thousands that lie buried here.
I am each old man slaughtered, each child shot.
None of me will forget.
Let the glad "Internationale" blare forth
- When earth's last anti-Semite lies in earth.
No drop of Jewish blood flows in my veins,
But anti-Semites with a dull, gnarled hate
Detest me like a Jew.
O know me truly Russian through their hate!
Revealing exposes by Anatoly Kuznetzov were primarily
responsible for ending the secrecy about Babi Yar. There
was a Ukrainian plot to erase the memory of that tragic
event. The former president of Russia, Nikolai Podgorny,
had been blamed for encouraging that attempt to prevent
even the basic knowledge about the horrible massacre.
Yevtushenko and Kuznetzov did more than most others,
with their appeals and the demand for truth, to assure the
eventual erection of a monument. A Washington Post corre-
spondent thus describes the emergence of the monument:
Work began on the memorial in the early 1970's. The
site was excavated down to about 18 feet below ground
level in an irregular shape that suggests the original
National Survey of Russian Immigrants Planned
being ,supported by the
American Joint Distribution
Committee at a cost exceed-
ing $100 per month per per-
son. HIAS helps them with
the formalities necessary to
secure a visa and ORT
maintains for them courses
in English and helps them
to utilize their waiting time
for readjustments 'in
vocations.
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Editor-in-chief, emeritus, JTA)
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
There are today about
20,000 Soviet Jews in this
country. Some 10,000 of
them have made their
homes in New York.
assisted by NYANA, the
New York Association for
New Americans, which
receives its funds from the
United Jewish Appeal. The
remainder have been
absorbed by 140 Jewish
communities in various
parts of the country with aid
provided by the local Jewish
federations.
In addition to the 20,000,
there are at present also
about 3,000 Soviet Jews in
Rome awaiting visas to the
United States. The Ameri-
can Consulate in Rome
issues an average of 300
visas a month to Soviet-Jew-
ish applicants. But each
month brings to Rome some
600 "drop-outs" from the
transports of Soviet Jews
whose destination was origi-
-nally Israel. and who
changed their minds upon
leaving the Soviet soil.
'
BORIS SMOLAR
Last year, at the inter-
vention of Max Fisher of
Detroit, head of the Jewish
Agency, the U.S. govern-
ment issued an extra 4,000
visas to Soviet Jews congre-
gated in Rome. Whether the
same generous gesture will
be repeated by Washington
this year remains to be
seen.
It takes from three to four
months for the American
Consulate in Rome to clear
applications of Soviet Jews
for U.S. visas. In the mean-
time the applicants are
The U.S. government
covers the cost of their
transportation from Rome
to New York. However, this
is done -on a loan basis..
Repayment of the transpor-
tation has to be made by the
emigrants in monthly
installments to HIAS upon
becoming self-sufficient in
the United States. HIAS,
upon collecting the repay-
ments, turns them over to
the government.
Jewish groups are now
interested in obtaining a
total picture of how the
Soviet Jews have adjusted
themselves to • life in the
U.S.; how long it took them
on the average to get on
their own feet: what kind of
aid they received from the
Jewish community; to what
extent have they become an
integral part of the Jewish
community.
Surveys of this kind had
been conducted by some
communities locally; how-
ever, they were never
coordinated nationally. In
some communities the new-
comers were maintained
with food and shelter for
three months, while ir - -
others they were main
tained one month only, fol-
lowed by loan assistance
where necessary.
A national survey is now
being planned to secure a
unified picture of the total-
ity of aid given- to Soviet
Jews and its effect on bring-
ing the newcomers to self-
sufficiency and complete
integration. Helpful in this
coordinated study will be
guidelines just issued by the
Council of Jewish Feder-
ations and Welfare Funds to
Jewish communities which
are reviewing their assist-
ance policies and programs.
,