4 Friday, December 16, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 1 neurpont t t THE JEWISH NEN\ S Th( I)Gtrol t ictrish Cimmi•h• emu/tic/trim/ with thy issm. Qt • .///1y /9:4 Nleinher American Association of English-Je\vish Newspapers. Michigan Press Association. NaCi ■ mal Editorial Associairon. Published every Friday by The Jewish News Ptd}lishing 17.-)1:, \V. Nine Mile. Suite iiii,.1,1. Mich. Isi ■ Tri. Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield. Nlichigan and Ad,::.t ional Mailing tf•ices. Stihscript SI2 PHILIP SLOMOVITZ CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher DREW LIEBERWITZ Advertising Manager Business Manager ALAN 'Iasi:). Nt... Editor...111:11)1 PRESS. 1..i.tant N• ∎ ■ . Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the seventh day of Tevet, 5738, the following scriptural selections will be rend in Our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Genesis 44 :1# -4 7:27. Prophetical portion, Ezekiel 37:15-28. Tuesday, Fast of the 10th of Tevet Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 32:11 14 ; 34 :1 10. Prophetical portion (afternoon only), Isaiah 55:6 56:8. - - - Candle lighting, Friday, Dec. 16, 4:44 p.m. VOL. LXXII, No. 15 Page Four Friday, Dec. 16, 1977 The Crucial Days of Human Testing These are days of testing for all humanity. The meeting of minds in Geneva, preparatory to the fulfillment of the hopes for peace in the Middle East, may we serve as an inspiration to all peoples everywhere not to abandon faith when striving- for an end to warfare. The—unbelievable has occurred. Two peoples who have been judged as arch enemies are in a fraternal mood. Why can't it be the means for all peoples in that part of the world to lay down arms and to transform their countries into agricultural and industrial implements for an elevation of standards of living in an atmos- phere of amity? The question may well be posed now why the major powers in the world cannot learn a lesson from Anwar Sadat and Menahem Begin and their associates. The American people can take pride in their government's concurrence with the aspirations for peace in far-off lands. Why are the Soviets creating obstacles for Egyptians and Israelis? Doesn't this lead to a loss of faith iliop.the Kremlin's policies while .talks of dis- armament are in progress? The two spheres of conflict are inseparable. If the Soviet Union is to remain untrusting in the Middle East it will continue to invite doubt over its intentions in the Fast-West struggles. The dramatic sessions in Cairo therefore emerge as the most significant pace-setting events for human decency. That which may be attained in Cairo could well become the prece- dents for peace-making everywhere. A success- ful approach to peace in the Middle East must become the guideline for all future negotiations for an end to warfare globally. But an Egyptian-Israeli pact of amity to end bloodshed is not sufficient. The saber-rattling must end in that entire area. Yet the threats to the peace-makers in two countries has not ended. Warmongers in other Arab lands are encouraging the continuation of bloodshed. Israel's existence still is an irritant to obstruct- ionists whose concern is perpetuation of power rather than an end to suffering among their own peoples. That is why the testing in Cairo is so crucial for so many. The determined will of a cou- rageous Egyptian leader has gained the ap- plause of his own people and has inspired the hopes of his Israeli neighbors that "no more war, no more bloodshed" will be a reality. Will the Egyptian defiance of warmongers gain the support of the rational and pragmatic in the Arab world? The hope that the aspiration for human values will overshadow the outbursts of hatred is gaining momentum. That which could not be attained at the United Nations and might never have gained ground in Geneva has become a reality. Egyptians and Jews are talking to each other and their actions are being watched by the media of communications, press, radio and television. Jewish reporters are on the scene without hindrance. The Big Lie that has in- spired the Big Hate is no longer a reality. At least -two nations have come to their senses. The power of the American ideal of -fair play and human decency is backing them up. A new day is dawning for an embattled part of the world and is offering the hope that all mankind will learn the lesson that is now broadcast to them from Cairo. Fourth Hanuka Light, 5738 The Fourth Light of the Hanuka Festival of the year 5738 on the Jewish calendar will be written down as an historic occasion. That night, after three decades of acrimony, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Ashraf Ghorbal listened to the singing of the Maoz Tzur Yeshuati—Rock of Ages—as the Synagogue Council of America celebrated the Festival of Lights with a welcome of joy to him as a man of distinction who was bringing brotherly greetings from his people to the Jews of America. That message was a transmission of courage and good neighborliness to the people of Israel. It was an historic occasion. It marked an end to suspicions and hatreds. It signified the will of a representative of a great nation to come to fellow men of another faith with a message of cheer signifying his nation's sincerity in spon- soring and propagating peace. It was not so long ago, it was a matter only of days, when a confrere of the Egyptian ambassa- dor, the Egyptian, ambassador to the United Nations, was expected as a matter of routine to participate in venomous attacks on his nation's neighbor, Israel. Now the poison has been removed and representatives of two of the lead- ing nations of the world are meeting in amity in Cairo as their kinsmen are meeting as fellow men in New York. What a glorious night that was when the Fourth Light of Hanuka was commemorated and an Egyptian was fraternizing with Jews! Let the event be recorded with joy and with dignity. Let it be known for all generations to come that while the Festival of Lights com- memorates the courage of people who would not submit to tyranny, the festival, 2,100 years later, begins to symbolize brotherliness, good neighborliness, an end to war. May such days of glory become repetitive symbols of good will for all peoples of all faiths on all calendars, never to be erased. Israel Biderman Volume Meritorious Recognition for Historian Mayer Balaban . A posthumously published work by an eminent scholar and a leader in major Jewish movements merits special consideration. It is a work that not only acquires recognition for one of the most eminent Jewish historians of this century. It calls attention at the same time to the author, the historian's biographer, who was himself an outstanding writer, researcher and a personality of distinction in Zionist ranks. "Mayer Balaban: Historian of Polish Jewry" is the title of the book. The authIsrael Biderman, completed his scholarly volume shortly before his death and the tribute to a great historian has just been published by the Dr. I. B. Biderman Book Committee. While this is a work resulting from extensive reaserch by Dr. Bider- man into the life and works of Mayer Balaban, it should be noted that the introductory essay is a supplementary chapter that is dovoted to the author of the posthumously issued biography. The publication committee, of which Dr. Abraham I. Katsh, president emeritus of Dropsie University is honorary chairman, pays honor to the memory of Dr. Biderman. Here, in a seven-page foreword, the reader meets a distinguished personality, a man of letters, a researcher with many skills. Dr. Biderman had an important role in Labor Zionism in the U.S. He was an important member of the staff of the Jewish National Fund. It was in his writings that he emerged as the contributor to Jewish knowledge, as his biography of Mayer Balaban indicates. In more than one sense, the Biderman biography of a noted history is history itself. Balaban had covered the vast field of Jewish expe- rience in Poland, and Biderman, in his selections, not only gave recog- nition to Balaban for his historical skills but also portrayed Polish Jewry in all its aspects. Indeed, the Balaban story invites special interest in the person and the subject he was devoted to because too little attention is given to the eminent historian of Polish Jewry. As a specialist who had devoted himself to a specific country where Jewish life embraced the elements of the historic, Balaban earned a place with Graetz, Dubnow and certainly with the authors of the stories of the Jewries of the United States, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia and other lands. - It was as the head of the archives of Polish Jewry under the Juc, rat that Balaban had a tragic, albeit historic role during the Holocaust of which he was one of the victims. Even in that sad role he left his mark as archivist and historian. Thus, in the story of the Holocaust, the share Balaban had in writing history remains immense, on a par with what he had accomplished before the Hurban (destruction). With all the devotion to the heroism of Jews during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, here again it is Balaban who has added greatly to an understanding of what had occurred, the resistance, the dignity that marked the determination to strive both for identity and survival. The richness of Polish Jewish activities is reflected in this volume. The Jewish community of more than 3,00000 before the Nazi terror had its great religious and Zionist institutions. It also had its secular- ists. It was founded on the principles of the Kahal which had a valu- able historic background. The Balaban historical records are immense as the definers and interpreters of these factors and Biderman picked them up with great skill. Thus the latter's "Mayer Balaban: Historian of Polish Jewry" becomes must reading for all who are concerned with the factual about significant chapters in Jewish history.